bobpalt

I sold an amp to Martin today, and he could'nt have been more pleasant to deal with. Drove over to my house from miles away with his wife and gorgeous (and well behaved!) girls, and was an absolute pleasure to do business with. I hope you are absolutely delighted with the Mesa Martin. Cheers, Bob

[quote name='Bass-ic' post='734177' date='Feb 3 2010, 04:09 PM']Hi. Am interested in this, do you have a pic handy? Im quite close to you so pick up would be very easy. Cheers Matt[/quote] Looks like its gone already (subject to collection). Cheers Matt. Bob

[quote name='thebassman' post='733732' date='Feb 3 2010, 08:30 AM']Thanks for the heads up, i will give machinehead a call today and hopefully nip down this weekend. I tried Coda in Stevenage and they are expecting some Mesa gear in late Feb/ early March.[/quote] Hi. I have a Carbine/Fathom 2x12 combo which I bought from Bassdirect a few months ago, and its absolutely fabulous! It makes the whole stage rumble and still has huge amounts of power in reserve. Everyone in my band agrees its far and away the best bass amp I have ever owned, and I have no idea where people get the idea that its heavy from, as mine is made of birch ply, not mdf, has lightweight Neodymium speakers and I think comes in at about 80lb all in. This is nothing for a combo of this size and power, and certainly causes me no problems with the wheels and fitted handle. I can lift it in the van myself, so it cant be that bad! Although its absolutely my favourite amp though, it does look like I will be selling it soon, as we have recently changed things round in the band, and I now go through the pa and a pair of 18" subs, so I only need a small set up (I also have a TC Rebel and TC speakers). I havent used it for the last few gigs, and with the bookings we have coming up, it doesnt look like things will change much, so, including a purpose made Roqsolid cover, it would be available for £1250? If you buy a new one, I cant see how you would ever regret it! Cheers, Bob

I have always been very pleased with this amp, until recently, when it seemed to develop a minor, intermittent fault of some kind. It still works ok, but sometimes the volume seems to drop off a fair bit, and sometimes the lowest notes seem to rattle a bit. I have done the obvious things like look for tears in the speaker cone (none I can see), and have fitted extra screws to hold the speaker chassis down more securely, but it still does it, so I can only guess that it must be an electronical problem. As I said, it still works, and would be absolutely fine for practice (most of the time it seems to work pretty much as it always did), but as I have a new Lowdown 150 for practicing with, anyone who can come and collect it is welcome to have it for free. I live in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, right next to junction 9 of the M5. Cheers, Bob

Just bought a bass from Tim, and to be honest, the transaction couldnt possibly have gone any smoother. The bass was exactly (or perhaps better!) than described, Tim was helpful and highly pleasant, and I can recommend him most highly. Cheers Tim! Bob

[quote name='thebeat' post='707601' date='Jan 10 2010, 01:02 PM']I presume this is the one i originally owned? you'll know if it was cos i put a thumb rest on it and it should still have the holes, if so i agree with most of what your saying...great looking bass but a f***er to play, partly because of the short scale but i was also underwhelmed by the TV Jones pups and like you, really had to hammer the strings to get a decent sound.[/quote] Thats the one! I put black rubber plugs in the screw holes left by the rest..................... I guess I quite enjoy short scales, having owned a Birdsong for a few years (a superb bass, despite its slightly odd looks), and thats why I enjoyed the physical side of the playing experience, but thats where the enjoyment ended. I just couldnt get any kind of a sound I liked out of it, and I have to say, apart from The Broadkaster I had a few years ago, which was very similar, that has never happened to me with any other bass (and I've owned about 200). Obviously, me and Gretsches were just not meant to be. Bob

[quote name='Rayman' post='701668' date='Jan 5 2010, 02:56 PM']I had a Thunderjet identical to the one at the top, it was a work of art, just beautiful, even the Mrs liked it, BUT, as pretty as it was, I couldn't get on with it at all, neither could the chap that bought it from me. I used it live once, but couldn't get any kind of sound I was happy with, it was very middy sounding, no top end at all, no punch, and the rest of the band were grimacing at me mid set wanting me to put the Jazz back on, which I did, and hey presto, the bass could be heard again. Stunning looking bass, I was so happy the day I bought it, but I only kept it a month and away it went, shame.[/quote] I bought this bass from Russ, and was so excited when I got it. It looked brilliant (I had owned a Broadkaster earlier and was unbelievably disappointed with the tone it didnt have, so assumed this must be a shed load better), and when I got it home it played a dream. It was superbly made, and I couldnt wait to try it at band practice. Oh dear, what a massive let down. After all the hype I had read about TV Jones pickups and the "thunderous" tone this bass was supposed to have, it was awful. The only way I could get any life at all into the tone was to hammer the strings with a pick, which isnt how I play. I nearly cried. It lived in its case under the bed for a while, and every so often I would take it out, admire it, play it, go through the whole huge disappointment thing then put it away again. I sold it in the end to a chap who loves it (I can only guess he doesnt play in a band like mine), and thats a happy ending, but what do Gretsch think making instruments as beautiful as this (and my Broadkaster was super cool as well) that sound like cardboard cut-outs? Its really beyond me. I know exactly what Russ means, and totally agree with him. Bob

I sold my Sandberg Basic to Ian, and there was no argument over the price, the postage cost or anything else for that matter. A real pleasure to correspond with, paid immediately by credit transfer, and I would be delighted to deal with him anytime in the future. Thanks Ian. Cheers, Bob

I ordered a powered monitor and some mike cables at the beginning of December from them. Still waiting for delivery, and they dont answer my e mails. I can see from the updates on their web site that the delivery of monitors they were expecting in mid December has been put back to mid January, but they took my money straight away, and havent updated me or replied to my e mails, the last of which said that I needed the mike cables straight away. Thats not good service, and I doubt if they will get any more business from me, sorry.

Whenever we do cock up, the band leader calls it "playing jazz"!

Absolutely beautiful to play. I've owned several, all brilliant, as are most Pedulla basses. They are now made by just one man, Mike Pedulla himself, and are very expensive new, but for some reason, dont seem to keep their value brilliantly in the States, where the odd bargain can still be picked up (less than £500?). Of course, you have the vat, shipping and duty to pay, but you can still get a stonking bargain if you are lucky. I have gigged many times with my JJ Rapture, and its never been less than a delight. I took it to the Moffat bass bash a few weeks back, and exeryone who tried it loved it. The neck is just sublime. I heard it described by one of the guys as "a real bass". Bob

[quote name='Earbrass' post='683727' date='Dec 14 2009, 09:53 AM']Not had this problem when playing bass, but many years ago I played in a duo as pianist accompanying a singer - and felt very exposed; no matter how well I played, I was only the accompanist so prospects for glory were very limited, but I could easily be the villain by cocking up. Don't remember ever completely losing it but it was certainly touch and go on occassion. Playing bass in a band seems so SAFE by comparison - I don't get nervous the way I used to in the duo, where one comment I received was "so, where does all the blood go from your face when you're playing?" [/quote] I have to say it has happenned to me, and is amongst my worst nightmares, so I have a ring binder with notes for every song we do (over 40 per gig) which I keep in front of me on a stand at all times, and to be honest, whilst I used to worry about how uncool this looked, I really dont give a toss anymore. Everyone in the band (except the drummer) wanders over to my side of the stage at some time during the night to take a quick peek at my book (which I try to keep hidden just off stage or behind something) when they forget a word or a chord, so they never complain at me. I just blame it on old age! Bob

Just concluded a deal with Nigel for my Wilkins, and apart from an enormous amount of hassle with the couriers cocking up what should have been a simple delivery on Saturday morning not once, but twice (thanks for nothing Parcel2Go.com!), it couldnt have been smoother. A very decent and honest guy to deal with, and I hope he and the Wilkins form a close bond! Thanks again Nigel, Cheers, Bob

[quote name='Higgie' post='676403' date='Dec 7 2009, 04:29 AM']Ok I forgot to take the family shot But after having this bass for a for a few days now and not having stopped playing it, I can attest that it is one of the greatest feeling and sounding Jazz basses I have ever played. Why Bob wanted to sell it is beyond me!![/quote] 'Cos I've got another one! I can only play one at a time.................. Really glad you like her! I suppose I'm really more of an active man at heart. Cheers, Bob