Steve Browning

Do we know why a chunk of the scratchplate is missing?

Nailed it. This one.

Just imagine them 20% lighter! 🙂

I have two basses that are active. The OLP Stingray that was converted to pre-EB spec and my fretless Precision. That's actually a passive Lace Sensor with a piezo in the bridge. I installed a buffer to bring the piezo output down to the LS level. I only use the fretless on gigs and have a Mike Hill switcher that has a level control on one channel so I can balance the outputs to the amp. In terms of eq, I use the eq on the fretless to get the tone, keeping the amp eq the same for both this bass and the SVLs that I play for the majority of the set.

There have been 5 string orchestral basses for many years, of course. I don't get the horn player argument as jazzers have generally played 4 string uprights throughout the history of the genre. As you conclude, we play what we play/suits us and no-one can tell us we're wrong.

I can only add that the Alto has settings to match it to other Alto tops. It is pretty obvious that a more expensive unit will be better, but there is a budget here. My ears told me it was way more than a boom box.

See question 40 and reverse the procedure. Relevant VAT applies. You are linking to an interpretation and not the relevant law. It is the VAT Act 1994 that applies in the UK. In very simple terms, there is ALWAYS a VAT charge. It is either applied by the seller or local Customs. The difference is that a business can recover the VAT. We won't get into partial exemption unless you want to. You also have to be mindful of the origin rules. A Japanese guitar originates in Japan, even if bought in the EU.

I can describe what I use. I don't think there are pictures of it but I'll look. This may be more detail that you want but I did what I did for the reasons I give following ... The lighting set up (each side) is a Kam Party Bar WFS (the wireless one, which seem to be £209 each at the moment) and Stairville LED Flood Panel 150 40° RGB (40 quid each, but bought s/h here). I bought the tallest stands I could find so the lights are positioned as high as possible. Again, bands at concerts aren't generally lit at head height. The Kam sits at the top and the other lamp is attached to the stand just below the Kam (positioned on the 'audience side' of the stand). The foot controller was bought here for 40 quid (Stairville LED Foot 8 DMX controller). I had originally intended to use the Kams wirelessly, with one as master and the other as slave using a single pedal to switch both. When that didn't work well, I switched to master and slave and used a dmx cable to link them. That wasn't really satisfactory and a problem remained. Advancing years has meant that the side markers on my basese are getting harder to see when it's dark. Normally you don't need them, but when you look down and you can't see them you (or rather, I) panic. As I said, I tried to look at the lighting as if it were a 'serious' gig. By that, I mean I looked at how bands are lit at a concert at a decent venue. What I noted was that they don't use random changes (auto chases) or sound to light. I had a video of a gig I did years ago where the lighting guy was going barmy with chases etc and it looked dire. We were actually in darkness a lot of the time, as lights flashed all over the stage. That meant I stuck with solid colours. I am operatinmg the switches, so it has to be simple. The Kams use 4 channel dmx so they use channels 001 to 004 and the singles use 005 to 008. Scene one is everything on full white (setting up and breaking down if there is no decent light at the venue). Scene two is low blue on all fixtures (I noticed that they often use this before the band hits the stage). Scenes two onwards are solid colours on the Kams and white on the others, so me, the keyborad player (next to me on stage) and the guitarist/singer (other side) can see what we're doing. Again, for the all the colour changes at concerts, the main performers are usually picked out in white. Now let me try and find some pictures to illustrate some of that.

And we get first dibs.

Sure thing Al. It'll take a day or two.

It has to be said that drummers, ok some drummers, have the knack of sticking their cases exactly where you want to be - both setting up and breaking down.

Thomann has a UK VAT reg and charges UK VAT normally.

Not quite. A German shop would charge German VAT on a sale to an individual (not a business) outside Germany but within the EU. I get your point, however.

The process is far more tedious (and therefore costly) and stuff sent by non-businesses (bought from private individuals) now attracts VAT on importation.

A quick look at the Sandberg site shows they only sell within the EU themselves. Non-EU sales are via a dealer, so the tax position depends where that dealer is, and which incoterm they use. ExW would be normal, but DDP (delivered duty paid) is not impossible.

Absolutely correct. I would assume they sell with incoterms ExW (ex-works) and you will be responsible for the costs of transportation (including insurance etc) to which HMRC will add UK VAT. The courier will (usually) settle the import taxes and charge these costs on (plus their admin fee) before they deliver the guitar to you.

I can add some qualification to this. I previously had a pair of Alto 15 tops and no sub. The band did an outdoor gig and someone had hired one of these. With just the tops, the sound just disappearted (as it often does outside). Plugging in the sub suddenly made it sound like an indoor gig again. It was quite a revelation, and I bought one within a few days.

While that's true, he needs to get his gear on stage and place it in the right place. Maybe there's an argument about whether that requirement should be borne in mind when the lights are being set up. In terms of lighting itself, I have two of those 4 lamp led bars and two single led lamps. They are all controlled by a foot controller and simple dmx. The bars are set to solid colours and the single lamps are always white (so I can see the side markers). All the lighting is on two stands either side of the stage. I have always looked at how lighting is used at concerts. You never see the random colour changes of auto sequences or sound to light. That's why I thought I should learn basic dmx and create some simple settings for a handful of changes.

I have an Alto TS312 which works very well with the Alto T312 tops. It has impressed the whole band with the depth and clarity.

Strike that. Missed the Geddy.

Got to be a Jazz. 🙂

The Stinger pre-amp is just what you need, as @Hellzero states.

In my case, because I want to. I don't like the sound of the B string. They never sound 'right' to me. An entirely personal view, but I will never own a 5 string.

Midge Ure at Portsmouth Guildhall. Voice seemed to take a couple of songs to warm up, but a cracking gig. Great band of youngsters with him, but he is uber talented. Surprisingly, the tune that he played (and which he said had influenced him most) was The Supernatural. Played a good few of the hits and had the audience up and singing along.

Not to mention the Limelight slab Precision at Classic and Cool at the moment.