BillyBass

I imagine it would be impossible to find a musical instrument shop, or delivery service that hasn't had at least one unsatisfied customer. For every ten of us that would praise Andertons, or anyone else, there will be those whose experience has been negative. I have had a very positive experience buying stuff from Andertons and being that they are just over an hour away from me on the M25, I will use them again and accept that the slightly higher prices they charge for stuff as payment for the good customer service I have experienced. I was under the impression that Bax were based in the Netherlands, or was it Belgium? Looking at the Bax website, however, you are right, they now have an address in Kent. On further investigation, Basepoint Business Centre offers 'virtual offices' so let me guess, Bax probably don't have any staff at all in Kent; just a virtual office.

I always think that when you buy stuff from very cheap online companies, particularly from abroad you are taking a risk. I have used Bax before once (pre Brexit) and the transaction was smooth. If it hadn't been smooth then I expect the contact, return, refund etc would have been problematic. Companies like Bax and others of a similar vein keep prices low by several means, one being keeping the payroll to a minimum. Minimum staff equals poor customer service.

So what do you think? I like yellow basses, this seems a bit mustardy? But still looks good. Was this bought to mod or have you decided it needs it?

I had the black dots on a roasted maple neck/fretboard replaced with Luminlay dots. Bad idea; the luminlayr dots blend in to the neck, pretty much, so I bought some larger black stick on dots from Amazon, and these really stand out. Looks rubbish though.

This does have that but the neck is quite shallow so it doesn't feel big in your hand. It is a very comfy neck.

I'm going to sign up again for this. Last year was a difficult year, financially, this year should be a lot better but I really can't think of anything else I'll need.

I don't like detuning the E string on a 4 string bass, it just confuses me. I like to know where the 3rd, 5th , 7th, and octave are without having to think. Consequently, I feel more comfortable with a five string if I'm playing anything below E. I have also never detuned any of my 4 string basses to Eb standard, or D standard as I think the shifting of the notes on the fretboard would possibly confuse me, though I might try that one day. I play covers and the key of a song is dependant on the singer so I am, quite often, playing songs that were originally written/recorded in E, but we transpose to Eb or D. If the original bass line makes good use of the open E, for instance, the fingering becomes more difficult on a fiver as I will then have to fret the Eb on the B string. This may or may not be problematic, depending on the BPM of the song. You pays your money you takes your choice. I prefer to use the fiver, if I have to, warts and all, rather than de tune.

They look so wholesome don't they

I've often been tempted by one of these. Congrats.

Nice looking bit of wood the, congrats. I particularly like the cut away and the very sensible place to fit the truss rod adjustment wheel.

And use your ears. Loose connections in plugs etc cause arcing, which eventually will show signs of thermal damage, like in the plug above. You can, however, hear arcing if you are in a quiet environment. I can't describe it accurately but it will be an uneven, crackly sound, not a constant hum. If you hear this, investigate further or call an electrician. Yesterday, I was called out to an old customer's house, he had an issue with his lights and tried to sort it out himself but failed. I reconnected the disconnected conductor in the pendant and all was good but I noticed the light switch made a faint crackly sound. I binned it and fitted something else. Loose connections can sometimes be inside appliances, and in this case I wiggled the conductors and this altered the sound but the terminals themselves were tight.

I've read, more than once, that users have found the output from the Baby Sumo when paired with pre amp pedals was lower than they expected and the amps would run out of steam earlier than you would expect with the stated power output. It would appear you haven't had this experience then?

I like yellow basses, and this looks good but I would prefer a yellow or clear pickguard too.

Ibanez SG500 - sold Fender 2013 MIM P bass Fender 2019 MIM Jazz bass Yamaha BB434 - sold G&L Kiloton tribute - sold Balaguer Select series Goliath Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas PJ IV blue Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas JJ V Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas PJ IV lime green metallic Squier 40th anniversary P bass - sold Spector Pulse II Reverend Decision P Reverend Triad Reverend Mercalli V I can see myself selling the Balaguer and possibly one of the Fenders this year.

Another pic, showing off the scarlet 'wine red' flamed maple top.