stingrayfan

Is this the amp? F**kadoodle-do - look at the size of it.... I think I'm heading off to the porn section to start a thread on Trace Elliot. Anyone coming (so to speak...) ?

[quote name='bassmerchant' post='267801' date='Aug 22 2008, 01:03 PM']I try to treat people as I would want to be treated ,this is not rocket science .If you have a good experience you will want to repeat it ,if not you wont .[/quote] Good man! Been to the Bass Merchant once before you took over and felt welcome. Good range of kit and friendly staff. Would happily shop there again.

[quote name='ped' post='267745' date='Aug 22 2008, 11:53 AM']All it takes is for a member of staff to come over and say hi, ask about what sort of things you like and if you like, play something. I found that when this happens something inside you blooms into a respect for the shop, the staff and also the gear hanging up, because you feel 'part' of it. You feel welcomed as a fellow bass player and with that comes the feeling of pride and by extension pride in the nice instruments in the shop.[/quote] I love the service you get in the Guitar Centers in the US. For those who've not been, they're big superstore places (along the lines of Soundcontrol) and the service (from my experience anyway) is always excellent. As you walk in the store someone will say a friendly passing hello and tell you their name, invite you to try whatever and say "give me a shout if you need anything". The guitars/basses (great range of budget to mid/upper level) are all unalarmed (they check your bag on the way out) and amps are usually all ready to try. You're left alone for a bit and then they'll come over and ask your name, find out a bit about you and suggest other stuff to try. Yes, it's all sales patter but you're made to feel welcome and they'll happily try to do you a deal when you buy something. And you know what? You feel like buying something. Cut back to the UK.... You go in the shop. The guy's got his feet on the counter and looks up from his copy of 'Death Metal Monthly' when you walk in. He carries on reading. The stereo's got some awful music on it. You go to the wall of basses - but they're all alarmed like it's Guantanamo Bay. You ask to try it, sales bloke puts his mag down in a huff and reluctantly plugs it in without saying a word. He walks off and you're left to it. Ten minutes later, you don't feel any incentive to do a deal and buy it there, instead you hang it back on the wall, walk out of the shop and buy it somewhere else. It's not rocket science but we in the UK seem to be hopeless at customer service. Why do we buy so much on the internet? I reckon it's not just price - it saves you having to deal with guitar shop staff!

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='265267' date='Aug 19 2008, 10:01 AM']yes, yes there is. He'll be driving a big red volvo, with a SR5 and a hartke stack, and you'll all know him as Phil_the_bassist [/quote] You'll be virtuallly driving past my house on the day...got any room in that Volvo?

[quote name='grapevinebass' post='264546' date='Aug 18 2008, 01:37 PM']OK to add to the Status-Fest... My Series 2 in Cherry laquer finish over ash The graphite has a red tint to compliment the body. Light and well balanced, and just (almost) never goes out of tune[/quote] Hey, I'm liking that very much.

Very nice OTPJ. You're a Status kleptomaniac.

It should come out somehow but I can't see the side screws that normally hold it in. Once you do get it out, if you need rack ears, British Audio Service on Ebay does them for $20 + shipping. That's what I did with my GP7SM and it worked fine. It now happily lives in a 2u rack with its power and speaker cables.

[quote name='rjb' post='267170' date='Aug 21 2008, 04:12 PM']I think there is alot of truth to the argument that age makes a difference, though. I'm not [b]that[/b] old (31! ) but I can see how they might assume I have more money to spend than your average 16 year old....[/quote] It's true in most cases but in my local music shop, I still get the same cr*p service that I did when I went in there for my first bass at 15. A year or two ago, they had a s/h Stingray hanging on the wall at a brand new price (it's probably still there) but it looked nice so I asked to have a go. "Oh, I'm not sure about that, I'll have to ask," said the young assistant. "It's quite expensive." I'm 36 with a full time job and a gigging band - not a tyrekicker! Truth be told, I actually feel uneasy going in there. It's like being 15 again, they're that patronising. It's everything that's wrong with guitar shops - condescending staff, bad advice and sky high prices. They once charged me £45+vat to fix a jack socket on a PA cab that must have taken all of 10 minutes. To be fair, that's their basic bench fee but wouldn't you do it cheap in the hope of return business and build up a relationship? I did ask but apparently not... Don't get me started!

You've got enough Ps - you don't need any more.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='266881' date='Aug 21 2008, 10:18 AM']Stick to basic scales for now and, when you have that sorted, the rest can follow. The basic major and minor chords will work for 90% of the music you play.[/quote] +1 You can get away with using major and minor box shapes for lots of stuff (I do!). Get your guitarist to show you those.

[quote name='Sibob' post='266824' date='Aug 21 2008, 09:08 AM']Phrygian Dominant is a particular fave of mine![/quote] I prefer Miss Whiplash.

[quote name='Merton' post='266829' date='Aug 21 2008, 09:14 AM']I'm hankering after a Series 6 so badly... [/quote] Someone's got the GAS...

[quote name='Trace_n_bass' post='266655' date='Aug 20 2008, 10:06 PM']I've owned a fair bit of Trace gear, and find that the early amps, particularly MkV and Series 6 hit their maximum power output at about volume 3 (if you have the gain around 7 or 8). If you hook the output onto a oscilloscope you see that once it hits this limit the increase in the volume control simply begins to clip the output signal - it still remains at the same level.[/quote] Aha - that's why people always say: "I never have it above 3 on the dial and it's f**king loud..." Must remember to pack an oscilloscope in the gig bag.

If that fails, take some wire cutters to the guitar amps!

Leave the EQ flat and switch the "pre shape" button in. You should have a great sound right there. Use the EQ to add some top if you need to.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='266617' date='Aug 20 2008, 08:59 PM']he hates my Fender keeps on telling me G & L's are better[/quote] He's not wrong there...

You lucky boy. I've seen some photos of an '83 on the internet.

[quote name='simondee' post='266452' date='Aug 20 2008, 04:56 PM'][/quote] Nice rig. Lightweight cabs - heavyweight rack unit!

Can't commit to another band but if you get really stuck for a dep, give me a shout.

Bit after the event here - but the foam lined photo cases that Maplins do are great for small stuff like mixers and LM heads. The foam cuts out for a really snug fit. Our band mixer's lived in one for a couple of years and it's been great.