chris_b

I've had that. The cat must have been asleep inside my Mesa Boogie 118 when I loaded up the car. At the gig I put the cab down on the pavement and was surprised to see our tabby fly out and freeze!! I managed to get a hold on a back leg and throw it into the car. No gentleness or niceties, we were on a very busy road and by that time the bloody thing had scratched my arm and hand to pieces!

Our roadie forgot to pick up the singer on one gig. He arrived at the gig with the PA and no front man. We were bass, drums and guitar, and had to scrape a couple of set lists together in 20 mins. We all sang a couple of songs (even me) and played a few instrumentals, then we asked if anyone in the audience would like to do a number. A guy in a suit got up and sang some rock and roll in the style of Johnny Rotten on speed. This was 5 years before JR. We also had a guy who was transitioning into a woman! He got up and did a strip to us playing Green Onions. He got everything out, meat and two veg and a pair of boobs!! We made it through the night and even got an encore! I wish someone had recorded it.

You mean these guys aren't on WhatsApp or Facebook?

These "I like my cheap bass, so why does anyone pay any more than I did because they aren't getting anything better than my bass" threads are tedious.

The bass in the video is a 5 string Warwick. They are using a 5 string on the record. It might be the same bass, but who knows. Contact the band and ask the question.

I believe the Japanese Metro builders are now working under the Thee Dots company name. I'm glad they are still making basses.

These days there are 1 x 112 cabs that can easily replace older 2 x 112's.

I liked that. Thanks for sharing.

You can't stop at one. It's against the rules.

Multiscale is not a recent idea. The Bandora was a multiscale Cittern type instrument from the late 16th century. I briefly picked a Dingwall up at Bass Direct and found it easy to play. I wouldn't rule out owning one in the future. Lee Sklar has used Dingwalls for years and makes them sound very good.

So were the original Musicman basses.

I got lots of "Whinging Pom" digs (good natured, mostly) when I lived in Sydney, but. . . . you've never heard whinging until an Aussie gets going. It's another thing they can beat the Brits at!!

Never be in a band that used the singers name, you can never fire him. Some friends were in a band which used the singers name and he left. They couldn't carry on using his name so it made for a bumpy transition period until their audience caught up.

If your price covers shipping, you still have to pay VAT and various charges. . . . all extra to the price of the bass. Are you paying in Pounds or Euros? Who is paying the bank charges to convert one into the other?

If the CITES docs say it's OK then OK. Don't forget the 22% - 25% additional cost of importing a bass.

There are various levels of interest. The A list, or whatever it's called, is the stuff that cannot be imported or exported under any circumstances, Brazilian Rosewood, Ivory etc. There is no exemption for anything on that list. Various other rosewoods were added to the list a couple of years ago, but were later taken off for musical instruments. I'm not aware of any of the details, and don't know what they were, but the restricted materials will be listed in the CITES documentation.

123 means that in the lower positions #3 has to stretch. There is no point in doing that when the pinky can easily cover the note without stretching. Your pinky is a much stronger finger than your ring finger. Get it into your playing style and see the benefits.

Brexit has changed everything. When we were part of the EU Customs Union we could send anything between member countries without any customs involvement. I imported a bass with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard from Europe without any difficulty. Now we are a separate country with no customs links, so anything that is on the CITES list will not be allowed to be imported or exported.

Freddie Washington is fabulous, but that drummer gets me every time. What a fantastic groove!!! Freddie's bass isn't standard, I know the bridge was changed to a Badass and the pickups are non standard, maybe Barts.

Zombie threads are just threads. Discussions, information and ideas can still be valid 10 - 15 years later.

You can never be sure with the US legal system. That's why so many chancers bring spurious court cases and why no win no fee started up.

Yet another person after a payday via the US court system.

I've got the Forte HP. I was interested in the features; compression, HPF and 1200 watts, and after a positive experience using Bergantino's cabs, I wanted to check out their amps. First impressions, I think this amp sounds great. There's an authority in the tone that I like. A full, solid and warm feel to each note. I've never used compression before and after several sessions playing with the controls and a couple of gigs, I'm finding I can take it or leave it. The HPF just works quietly in the corner. With my Barefaced cabs I'm not sure I have a problem that requires an HPF to fix. I have it set at about 9 o'clock, just before I start to hear it thinning out the sound. 1200 watts. . . . that's lots of punch and there is headroom to spare, but this year I've taken a step back from doing many of my very loud gigs, and really my 500 watt amps are fine for what I now need. There is an overdrive, but I have no interest in that. The firmware can be updated from the Bergantino site which gives different base sounds. It's something that I'm not sure I really need. Whatever download was on the amp when I bought it suits me just fine. I'd probably never change it. My conclusion is the Forte HP is like buying a Ferrari to run the kids to school and then do the weekly shop at the supermarket. I have nothing but praise for yet another world class Bergantino product. That company is just in a league by themselves. This is the most amazing amp I've used so far, but the truth is, I'm an old skool player and it's way over spec'ed for my needs.

Good news. Another one lured to the dark side.

Over the years this is a familiar story. I know a band where the bass player is in because he owns the PA.