Beedster

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Anyone know if it's alright to string TI Jazz Flats through the body? Never had much luck with La Bella flats, and my new Fender RBIV is crying out to get rid of its current rounds. Having paid quite a lot for the TIs, I don't want the E string going before I've even played it![/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Cheers[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]C[/font][/color]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1389902171' post='2339425'] No worries Beedster. I still don't really understand why they are so expensive though. Some of the prices are crazy and it seems as if they have jumped up in price within weeks let alone months. I agree what you say about your Marathon and i love mine but wouldn't pay what they seem to be going for right now. The same goes with my 1970s Fender Jazz. I love it but glad i bought it nearly 20 years ago because i wouldn't pay what they go for now. What we need to do now is find out the next 'must have'. I'm thinking of buying up all the pointy 1980s basses i can as cheap as possible and hope they are next years 'must have' and therefore increase in price ten times. If they don't then i'll have enough wood for the stove next winter! [/quote] Ibanez Musicians. I reckon this time next year they'll be going for around £1200. You can pick them up for £600-700 now. If I was in the buy and sell for profit game (as opposed to the buy and sell for substantial losses game that I appear to have played for several years), I'd be buying one now.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1389900571' post='2339391'] Yes, I must admit that i am but i've had my fun now. [/quote] No, you're fair enough mate, I'll admit that my estimate of their value in the other thread was somewhat lower than reality. I think there's a lot of them out there in very poor repair which explains the cheaper ones I'd seen (if my experience is anything to go by they're not as robust as the average Fender of the same era), and I imagine many of those - perhaps including the defretted one currently listed - are simply uneconomical to repair, hence the premium price for the good/mint ones. I have to say I really liked my Marathon, it was incredibly light and the neck was wonderful to pay, but it simply didn't have the tone I needed. I wish I'd tried it with flats though, I suspect that might have changed my mind at the time. C C

[quote name='jbn4001' timestamp='1389821878' post='2338397'] Hi there, I have had a dpa4099b for about 4 months. I've not gigged in a while so haven't used it that much. I also have a Headway EDB2 pre amp to go with the mic. I recorded a demo in a jazz quartet at the weekend (drums, double bass, trumpet, guitar). We recorded live in one room , albeit in to 8 mics and channels (1 ambient room mic, 4 mics on drums, bass, guitar, trumpet). We were set fairly well apart as the room was large. I was partitioned off with half height boards and bits of padding. The problem: A lot of "bleed" or "spill" of all the other instruments in to the dpa mic. So the bass sounds fantastic on the recording, but the cymbals and the trumpet in particular bleed in to the mic which results in too much ambience in the recording - it sounds like the trumpet is playing far away in a bathroom! Short of playing alone in an isolated room, how can I avoid this excessive bleed? I'd like to use the mic at gigs as well as recording, but am now unsure how viable that is given the above experience. [/quote] That's surely applicable to all mics and DB, not just the DPA4099? You can use the bleed well in the recording, but only if the mic in question responds well to the other instruments (especially cymbals). I've also always assumed the DPA was more for live work and is designed to reject other instruments to a point. Unless you go to ridiculous lengths you'll always get some bleed, there are probably far better mics than the 4099 for recording DB with which the bleed might work better.

This man knows his basses. He also knows how to pack a bass to ensure that a flood, a train crash and even a courier couldn't damage it. Great guy to do business with. Lovely lovely bass as well Chris

I always saw Markbass's Italian-ness as part of their 'thing'. There's something about 'Made in Italy' that is strangely attractive, irrespective of the actual quality. I've got two bikes and they're both Italian - the Japs and a whole lot of other people make what the data suggest are better bikes (e.g., weight, performance, handling etc) and do so a lot cheaper, but give me Italian workmanship anytime. As the great philosopher Jeremy Clarkson always said when confronted by the better performance data of the cheaper German cars "I'd still buy the Alfa Romeo". And he's a man that knows

Excellent stuff, thanks

Apologies if this has been mentioned above, but I've noticed that recently a few Fakers on eBay appear to be evading the Ric police. If so, has something changed at either eBay or Ric Central, or is it because changes on BC make it harder for Ric to find them?

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389649212' post='2336629'] I don't think there's any need to get trading standards involved at this stage - seems like you just need to contact the supplier and return the item as unsuitable. Distance Selling Regs will cover that and any online supplier will know it. You don't even need to give a detailed reason why you don't want the item. [/quote] +1, I only mentioned it as Markbass might start getting into trouble with people who aren't able to return stuff via the distance selling route, depending how long the MII gear has been out there of course. I bet there's a lot of folks checking the backs of their heads/cabs/combos as we speak?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1389649241' post='2336630'] The 70s just like every other decade was made up of lots of music you didn't like along with some that you did. Time generally makes us forget the less good bits. [/quote] There's some logic there but in music terms I still prefer the '70s to the '80s and the '60s. I think I'd rank the '70s and '90s about equal.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1182977416' post='24157'] LOL Right, deep breath I order from first in to last in.... 4s Westone Thunder II (didn't everyone start on one?) Fender '96 USA Jazz (first Fender was a bad 'un. How did it get past Fender QC? Sounded like it was made of tin) Fender Japan Precision (should never have sold it. Everything they said about Jap Fenders was true. Lovely bass) Fender Custom Shop 40th Anniversary Precision (first active Fender, sounded and looked too 'nice'. Lovely ebony fretboard) Fender Custom Shop Classic Jazz (looked awesome, sounded too bright. Started to get message re. Fender active electronics) Fender Custom Shop Jaco Relic (waste of money, I still didn't sound like Jaco, lots of hum, green finish. Was his bass green?) Squire Precision fretless (sounded and felt almost as good as the Jaco at 5% of the price) EBMM Stingray 4 2EQ (the best active bass I've owned) EBMM Stingray 4 3EQ (not as good as the 2EQ) EBMM SUB 4 (amazing value bass, sound-wise indistinguishable from a 'ray. Built like a Russian shotputter) EBMM Stingray 4 fretless (finally realised I need frets) Modulus Sonic Hammer (a monster, too dangerous to have around, kept drinking my beer and shagging my birds) 5s EBMM Stingray 5 (how did EBMM have the nerve to call it a Stingray? Bland and safe. Poor EQ) EBMM SUB 5 (looked and sounded like a 'ray, EBMM should have made this the SR5, the SR5 should have been the Sterling 5) Status Artist 5 (great bass but very acquired taste tone-wise. I didn't acquire it. Amazing neck) EBMM Bongo 5 (great bass, couldn't take the shape. 4EQ was unnecessary and didn't cut it, especially high mid) 6....! Peavey Grind 6 (lovely bass, really lovely tone, too many strings) Back to 4s Shergold '76 Marathon* (current project bass. Neck like a Precision and sounds like a Stingray. Mojo city) Black Rose Custom 4 (great great sounding bass but neck too thin and body too small) Tokai Jazzsound early '80s (possibly didn't give this baby enough time, growly and sexy) Fender Geddy Lee Jazz (can't see what the fuss is about, skinny neck, weedy sound, looks plastic) Fender '79 USA Precision (Danni - wow, the best neck ever, would have kept, but met Kylie) Fender USA Precision Deluxe (the worst active electronics I've played. Mediocre bass at best. Deluxe?) Fender '97 USA Precision with JPUP (Kylie)* (my favourite bass ever) Fender '99 USA Jazz Corona Series* (best Jazz I've owned, slaps like a 'ray on steroids, growls like a grizzly) Modulus Flea 4 (awesome bass but mostly had sounds I didn't need, now gone to someone who will love it) * still have After all that, my two current basses cost me a grand total of £850 Chris [/quote] Crikey, that was a trip down memory lane

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1389647675' post='2336606'] I think you have a point if you make the Trading Standards claim over the weight, rather than the place of origin. Their website still says 15Kg - [url="http://www.markbass.it/product_detail.php?id=37"]http://www.markbass....etail.php?id=37[/url] I'd me miffed to say the least. [/quote] I suspect that in the era of the ethical consumer you'd even have a case for country of manufacture, for example if Indonesia had a record of human rights abuses. Bottom line is that if you buy online on the basis of the comprehensive information that's on the manufacturer's website, that information has to be correct. It's not like buying from a shop when you can either inspect the gear or forgive the assistant for not knowing where it's made.

+1

There's got to be a trading standards issue there if the website still says they're all made in Italy?