Cosmo Valdemar

Strange name for a song. How did he want them? In a jar? And how many would satisfy this bizarre desire?

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1408552233' post='2531308'] Really hating this thread now - was in London today so made a detour to Wunjo, and yes, they had the Guilds in stock- Korean, £795 inc hard case, play like a dream. I now need to sell some stuff and hand on to some gig money...... [/quote] I went to Anderton's a few months back, cash in pocket, all ready to buy the Guild Starfire bass they had in. Unfortunately the shop model left a little to be desired and they took forever getting the other one for me to try that I left empty handed. Still have major GAS for one though.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1408636889' post='2532115'] Allow me; [media]http://youtu.be/80dsyo2Ox-0[/media] [/quote] That's the ultimate as far as I'm concerned. In bass playing, bass tone, fashion and facial hair.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1408631142' post='2532018'] However did a quick price comparison and against my better judgement went with Thomann, despite having my last 2 Basses from them delivered damaged. Everything looked OK and it did not appear to have been dropped when it arrived so swapped out strings, adjusted the action then noticed a small clear coat dimple on the top bout and close to it, a further mark under the clear coat too. Will now have to play the merry dance with Thomann: Me " There some manufacturing faults on this Bass, see the photos". Them : "it looks fine to us". Me " I'd like a replacement that is perfect please" Them: "Send it back, we'll decide if it's faulty". Me: "I'm telling you it's faulty...etc etc. Should have gone with a UK Supplier who are almost the same price....Has literally taken the gloss off it...! [/quote] I've just had a very similar experience with Thomann - bass arrived with badly bent tuner and (clearly not their fault) a wonky bridge. All packaging undamaged. Just been through the rigmarole of sending pictures (something I considered refusing to do but decided it could delay the process further) and having them claim their 'guitar expert' could see no fault with the bridge. I got a bit shirty in the end and insisted they take steps to arrange it's return, at which point they sent the shipping labels. It's really put me off using them again! Anyway, sorry for the hijack! Beautiful bass

[quote name='grenadilla' timestamp='1408623875' post='2531886'] I just bought The Who- Live In Texas 1975 . It is a concert DVD I got for only $10 and it has John Entwistle playing his regular-shaped Alembic. It sounds great! There s a lot of treble twang without much distortion. [/quote] He's actually using quite a fair bit of distortion, but in a very controlled way - the inherent tone of the bass is never compromised. Plus, it's running in stereo so the bottom is always present and clean - only the output of the bridge pickup is distorted. It's a great DVD but I wish we got to see a bit more of JE!

John Entwistle - Dancing Master, Talk Dirty Both cheesy songs but some stunning Alembic tone! Dancing Master has a monster bass solo in the middle played on both 4 and 8 string (there are drums underneath but the bass is very loud in the mix throughout).

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1408450796' post='2530236'] Yeah I have a 424x and I'm looking for a brown 1024x. Hens teeth though! Truckstop [/quote] I've been in touch with the Yamaha rep I met at the LBGS and he confirms this. All of the X basses are in extremely short supply at the moment. I was considering 'upgrading' to a 1024x but then realised there was nothing about the 424x that I was unsatisfied with so I'm sticking with these for a while. Incredible basses for the money.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1408391395' post='2529773'] Nah, you'd have to be a pretty aggressive pick player to achieve any real damage! Most light scrapes you can buff out with a bit of T-cut anyway. I think pick guards hark back to the times when most/all guitars came with either natural wax/oil finishes or nitrocellulose finishes which are much less hard wearing than modern poly finishes. Truckstop [/quote] This. I'm sure most pickguards today are there for aesthetics rather than anything else.

Shockwave's Ashdown Mibass now resides with me after a very quick transaction. Good communication and excellent packing. It's a pleasure to finally complete a transaction with you!

Now, this looks interesting!

[quote name='Samfordia' timestamp='1408292355' post='2528694'] Yeah they do seem to look a lot cooler. Although the red one may look better without. Is there any real need for a pickguard on a bass? Is there any real reason for having them? [/quote] Yeah, not too sure about the red one... That would look better with a white plate I reckon, as would the sunburst! The pickguard, as it's name suggests, protects the body from being scratched by the pick. On some basses, such as the revised Fender Precision, it serves as a mount for the controls.

I was reunited with my red sparkle Ibanez ATK. It was a touching moment for sure.

I currently run all my pedals in front of a Tech 21 Leeds which then goes into the effects return of my amp (Ashdown MiBass 550). So, effectlively the Leeds is my preamp. I have an LPB-1 and it currently sits between the Leeds and the amp. I previously put it just before the Leeds but found that it pushed the gain too hard and the tone became far more overdriven. Between the Leeds and the amp provides a far cleaner boost which, like you, I use very sparingly. Beware though, the LPB-1 is really hot! I doubt you'll need the knob much past 9 o'clock.

Also, the 424x has a control plate and different knobs. I prefer the X model as I like having the edge of the pickguard to rest my thumb on. And I think it looks a bit cooler too.

[quote name='parker_muse' timestamp='1408142524' post='2527666'] I did very well out of cash generator in Gloucester. I picked up a CMI naughtynaughty-copy-of-a-famous-company-bass for £90 (I think). They didn't know what it was or how rare it was. Needed a very small rewire due to a touch of hum. Still has the pickup cover on it and everything, played like a dream. Sadly I had to move it on as i bought it to sell it just before i moved to uni. Sold it to Cosmo on here, I believe! Still miss it and I only had it for about a month! [/quote] Blimey, you made a hell of a profit on that one!

Those headstocks are growing on me.

BC Rich Ironbird bass from the Plumstead branch. Advertised at £99 but there was a worrying bow in the neck - when I questioned the returns policy the chap leaned over and offered it to me for £40! Turns out it had just been tuned comically high, once re-tuned the neck settled nicely. Sadly my local branch in Dartford always seems to sell their instruments for reasonable prices, which is really no fun at all.

I've smelled it, and heard it, and what a miniature marvel it is! The EHX Glove that is. I'm not great at describing tones, particularly when it comes to overdrives/distortions, but this one I really like! Very natural sounding and no loss of low end that I noticed... Just thick, thick overdrive. It doesn't mask the sound of the bass either. Excellent for those John Wetton / King Crimson moments. Before purchase I had the chance to A/B this pedal against several others and it's actualy very close in tone to the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes. The Darkglass is far more tweakable but is about 4 times the price. I spent most of rehearsal the other night with a big daft grin on my face, and even our guitarist gave it the thumbs up! Highly recommended - and thanks to dudewheresmybass for the heads up!