Wayne Firefly

To be fair I never had any intention of coming across as s***** or anything or actually trying to put anyone off Zon basses. I just was interested to know if anyone else had any experiences with waiting times !!!

Well, I got an email without having to chase it up, last Friday (28th Oct) saying its waiting on the Hipshot de-tuner and should ship the following Wednesday, I.E. tomorrow (2nd Nov.) I wont hold my breath. As far as I can work out, they must be taking orders for a few to come in before building them. Instead of building each bass individually as ordered, they must wait until they have enough orders to make 20 / 25 or so, then sort them all out at once. Considering its not got a fancy top / exotic woods etc, pretty standard parts, Barts, Gotohs, Hipshot etc, I cant really get why its taken so long. Good god, if it got that bad supply-wise for a couple of basses, you could get Gotohs off Ebay !!! Ill put money on the Sonus bodies being CNC'ed then hand finished / sanded like all the other Sonus basses, I can only imagine the necks are standard Sonus necks, I can only guess a 'production schedule' only begins when enough orders are taken. They should be honest and say its a year waiting list instead of being told 'As you paid upfront we can bump you up the production schedule' BS. Got a two week tour starting next week, I would have liked to have had if for then. Guess my tired old MM Sterling will take up the slack.....again !!!

Im led to believe Andrew Levy and his old 70's Jazz played on very early Jamiroquai stuff too, according to an old interview with him in Bassist magazine....Zender had a Streamer, didnt he ?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1477494607' post='3162593'] On the plus side I guess. At least you paid in full up front, thus avoiding a rather nasty shock thanks to the demise of the pound. [/quote] I thought of this !!!

Lets put it this way, if I'd known then what I know now, I probably wouldnt have bothered ordering. I have not emailed lately as Im trying to - A. not worry too much and B. if I do, Im afraid Ill spout a load of negative rubbish so its best I just shut my yap and get used to the idea of waiting. In fact, Im interested to know how long it'll go before Im contacted as I have not had any kind of correspondence voluntarily from them at all. The downside of this is, I'll just end up stewing and worrying if it will end well. Guess that'll teach me for trying to stretch myself !!!

Zon BG4 Billy Gould sig........well, sort of !!!

Bought Bass Player since '91, got pretty much all copies of Bassist when it was out, got BGM from like the 2nd issue but it slowed down to maybe 3 copies per year now as as much as I hate to say it, its slightly 'cheesy' if thats the right word. Its easy to spot who gets a review and how well it will do is what advertising space gets bought. If Mayones and Sandberg get (another) review, mark my words it'll be within 3 pages either side of a corresponding advert. Its just how magazines work. Always has. Same with album reviews, take a half page ad out in a music mag, you'll get a glowing review and maybe a small feature too !! I dont care who's on the cover. Rocco Prestia or Tom Araya !!!!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1475782792' post='3148786'] I shuddered when a guy walked into a shop I was browsing in, to show off his new guitar he'd bought from Thomann 'quite a bit cheaper than you sell it for'. What was the shop guy expected to say? [/quote] When this happened to me I was just slack jawed to start then actually asked outright 'Have you only come in to show me....what you have bought.....from somewhere else ?' I told him to F O pretty much, I was willing to take the risk he might not come back and buy something.

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1476132292' post='3151692'] I wonder if Dave Lombardo leaving Slayer in 1986 was a coincidence or if he had been promised another gig. There is a youtube video of James, Kirk and Rob playing Helpless with Charlie Benante which sounds great. Funny as Lars walks in and his face is a picture. [/quote] Wow, Hetfield, Hammett, Burton, Lombardo........That could have been a blast (excuse the pun). But then again, when you look at Metallica with Mustaine, if that had lasted, how good would they have been or how long would it have gone before it imploded ?? Charlie Benante is a superb drummer, accurate, super fast and creative whilst holding down the band faultlessly. Anthrax certain are lucky basts !!!!

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1475790059' post='3148864'] This is spot on. I worked in that other bastion of rudery - a record shop - for 13 years. Another intimidating environment for the casual shopper. I was (with a handful of notable exceptions...) painfully polite and helpful, which resulted in loyal, happy customers...and a few examples of real human flotsam and jetsam, but that's another story... On a good day, it was brilliant - chatting about obscure 80's U.S Alt-Rock bands, playing Nick Drake, Teenage Fanclub, Posies and NY Disco tunes as well as the typical chart fodder. The other side was The Great British Public. Oh, the stories I could tell...from the cute but confused section... a little old lady with her grandsons Christmas list in her hand, asking for a record by the Ram-oneys, a bemused young bloke asking for a CD by Suzi Cointreau, a lovely old geezer asking for a needle for his Fertility record player...and on. People getting irate when we refused to swap CDs which they smeared jam over and tried to play because they'd seen it done on "Tomorrow's World", for example. My favourite moment was when a guy complained that a compilation CD we were selling at £12.99 (in our dinky little Indie shop) was available at Sainsburys for £11.99. I asked him (not unreasonably. I feel) why he didn't just go and buy if from the aforementioned supermarket. "They ain't got it in stock", he replied. My parting comment was "When we haven't got in stock, we sell it here for £10.99". That day, I lost a sale. Satisfying? You betcha. [/quote] Very funny, well done !!!!

Been a fan of Metallica since 1986, Cliff was a great inspiration to me from an attitude and aggression front. What does my head in, in all the bass magazines for years he was pretty much ignored and as metal has always had its share of people knocking it, he was never really mentioned. Now as the years have passed, Aria now decide to release signature SB1000s and all that now he's a 'legend' !! 25 years too late with the basses although you can pick up an original for a lot less than their signature reissues are !! Scott Ian spilled the firing Lars beans quite blatantly, so if history HAD been different, We could have had a James, Kirk and Cliff band with a different drummer and Metallica might have carried on with another line-up as Lars owns the name. The loss of Cliff made James and Kirk decide to stay put. If they had continued as Metallica, who knows how they'd have ended up sounding ?? Might Cliff had left as the years went by... as I cant imagine him getting a haircut and eyeliner later on somehow. We'll never know.

[quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1476105344' post='3151300'] Law of Sod applies. When you are gassing for something new your gear will be stalwart and unbreakable. When you are finally happy with everything... breaksville! [/quote] For touring duties I change them out every two years or so but Sod's Law does apply !! I bought one of those new VT500 heads couple of months back, plugged in and switched on at a gig, squeal and pop. Refund and back to the Gallien Im using and still using. GAS does invite Sod !!!

[quote name='Jon bass' timestamp='1475844124' post='3149165'] Hi, If it's any consolation I'm also waiting on a BG4 from Zon. I ordered mine start of February, was told it would be ready June/ July as they had already started making a batch and there was one spare. I'm guessing yours is in the same batch? I know for a fact that there were delays with Bartollini. I even contacted Bartollini who were very apologetic and helpful. I've had pretty much the same experience as you it sounds although you've been waiting even longer! Like you, I really don't want to be that PITA guy and likewise I don't have so much of a problem with the delay, but the communication has been disappointing. Doing a bit of research I think it's a case of we will get there in the end, but I would rather be given realistic expectations and updates to save the worry! Can't wait to play that beast of a bass! [/quote] Yeah, I was told Bartolini had been a bit crap about winding the pickups they needed so fair enough, I was also told that my bass had been completed and was ready to ship at the end of the week, 4 weeks ago. Heard nothing since. So, again, if I'd known I probably wouldnt have ordered or indeed paid in full up front. I appreciate they are busy etc etc but still feel like my chain is being pulled. I get it, Im not in Metallica !!!! Just frustrated thats all.

Well, Im having twinges of worry, and thats starting to make the whole thing start to taste a bit bitter and all that. I try to not think about it.

Yeah Im aware I may be a PITA every 6 to 8 weeks or so I drop a line to say hows it going, but its a guy called Martin who is the sales / product specialist and he says that Joe has a small team that works with him. (I left it 6 weeks after the due date to ask..May 1st to June 16th or so until 1st email I sent, which I felt was justified) Then I think I sent one early August and the last one was around Sept 20th. I dont think thats harrassing someone, I'd foolishly wanted a progress report. Two or three sentences is all.

I know, Im doing my best to stay cool about it and not be that PITA guy. Just hanging and hanging on.

Well to be fair, I am starting to feel a bit mugged off. If I'd known it would have turned out this way, I probably wouldnt have made the order in the first place. Due May 1st, as well as this year's gigs we had 8 festivals this summer, short run into Europe, album and E.P. sessions and a 2 week tour this November.... I was hoping to have had it for all this. Tough tittays I guess. Im going to leave it until November properly until I start the 'come on fellas, this is getting silly' routine. Exactly right with the friendly attitude at first too, Joe Zon rang me when I made the order (well, he said he was Joe Zon !!) which was pretty cool. One thing that does make me think, is considering it dosent have a fancy exotic set of woods in the build, you'd think it'd be a quicker to do right ??

Hmmmm, starting to worry to be fair....

I worked in a local music shop for quite some time and I'd always try and be friendly and chatty, be helpful and answer questions as honestly as I could, trying to burst that bubble that can be sometimes intimidating for some. Guitar shops can be a minefield of horror if uninitiated. We couldnt always help, but if we didnt have what the customer wanted, I'd always point them in the direction where they could get what they wanted. BUT from the other side, customers can be A-holes too !! There was this young student guy, would come in (for months) and try out all the gear he'd read about online. He'd then plug in, turn up and play horrible versions of Hendrix and Jethro Tull riffs and the obvious GnR and Nirvana riffs for ages, only ever bought 3 picks. Then theres the metal guy who'd plug in and sweep pick for 20 mins staring at me....Acknowledge my playing you git !!!! Then you get the gang of students on their dinner hour who'd come in and show their mates the new riffs they'd just learned that week, like a little gig. Or the woman who came in and put down a deposit on something only to come back 10 days later asking for the deposit back as her husband had bought their daughter a guitar from somewhere else. Or the guy who bought a guitar from the other shop in town then turned up to show me what he'd just bought..... Then you get the guy who turned up with a '70s Epiphone Thunderbird bass' they didnt do em in the 70s says I..... Yes they bloody did, you wait and see etc etc. Then the other guy who waxes lyrical about the sonic blue 63 Strat in the original case with original bill of sale, you know, the BS types etc etc. Then the lad who came in and asked the difference between an air guitar and an electric guitar. Then the girl who asked of we sold 'fishing glass'. Then the guy who asked if I would hug him....Then the people who bring in unruly kids that run around and smack everything, then the ones who bring two dogs in, then you'd get someone who came in, was friendly and pretty normal, we'd have a little chat about whatever, I'd learn about something that I might not have known, like the local music scene in the 60s and stories about that... they'd brought something in for a P/X/ deal, gets done, everyone is happy or the person who wants a guitar who's not sure what he or she might want so I'd help them out then back off to let them make their own decision, answering any questions they might have. I sometimes go in music shops and see how Im treated for fun, Im polite and friendly but I like to see how staff treat you. The one in Manchester under the arches was A1 by the way.

I ordered a Zon Billy Gould signature BG4 last November. Was told it would take 6 months on the waiting list / build schedule. As I'd paid up front, I was told I'd be bumped up the build schedule. Its 3 weeks away from it being 12 months and no bass or even any emails to explian either why, any progress or updates. I drop a line every now and again (every 6 weeks or so) to ask whats happening to get a short reply. Just wondered if anyone else had any experience in this situation and is it normal ?

I dont know where the ones you mention but I remember one in a Hughes And Kettner ad back in 1990. Its a crappy pic but if you look in the centre, you can see the Star Wars graphic on that right hand Concert bass....JHS's address is on the bottom and lets say the ad was shot in the U.K. it could have been the one you are on about ?? Who knows ?? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Hughes-Kettner-amplifiers-1990-magazine-advert-/110692408829?hash=item19c5c81dfd:m:mp7y0wfjKMZ5GN3bwvWiQ9g Some people will try and sell anything !!!! All the best !!

[quote name='BassBunny' timestamp='1446112884' post='2896925'] Just taken delivery of a Tech21 VTB500 and it looks like it is going straight back. As soon as I plugged in, nix/nadda/nothing. Wiggled the lead around and crackle/pop and then sound. Swapped the lead and it did exactly the same thing. Also the fan seems to be on all the time and it is really noisy compared to my MarkBass. I don't have the confidence to take it out on a gig so looks like it will have to go back. The input Jack socket appears to be the problem. The jack plug is not very tight when plugged in. Loads of play. When it does work it sounds great and the tonal possibilities are endless. [/quote] I had a very same experience.... took it to a gig, plugged it in, made a loud squeal and fried itself. Went straight back.... of course, confidence is shaken now and unsure wether to try another and if I do, how long will it last before the next one dies. Got a refund, went to buy another, they are all out of stock and gone up £50... I love Tech 21 gear so was REALLY disappointed to be fair. Im thinking of a different brand and just sticking with the Sans pedals.

Fair do's if you EVER wanna shift that mate !!

I've got a Billy Gould signature on order, due May 2016 !!!!!! Not my pic but you get the idea !!