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Went to L&M this morning , ordered a couple of sets of shortscale flatwound strings and bought a cable. Pretty good.

Some people are buying two or three Harley Barton’s to save on shipping.

Thomann seem to be selling a lot of instruments from China. I keep wondering if they will be developing more of a presence in North America. They’d be more than competitive with the existing retailers.

There was a Monique preamp in the TalkBass Classifieds last night. First reply was within five minutes of the original post. Sold. I probably would have gone for it providing the seller would do Canada. Perhaps 23 will be the year for Monique.

Bought one just over a year ago , can’t keep my hands off it, in fact I bought a Gretsch baritone because the Squier was so much fun.

Two amps I picked up on kijiji, I saw the SWR right after it was posted , the seller was only asking for a hundred bucks. It’s a nice little amp , 400 watts at 4ohms. Everything works perfectly. Great deal. And a Darkglass E500 , a completely different thing. Using the software Darkglass has made you have a choice of 22 effects and pedals , you can design , save and store presets you create. I’ve been mostly playing around with the E500, it’s a hoot to create presets. And I’m getting better at it.

I use my thumb like that when I’m trying for an upright tone.

At the moment , I’m looking at a fifty year old bass out of province , and a possible cheap counterfeit copy from China.

So yesterday I heard of a chrome Hipshot for sale by the Hipshot Factory Outlet on eBay. I was never aware of such a thing. Unfortunately they would not ship to Canada. I felt it wouldn’t hurt to ask … and they said that they would ship. They also asked for a photo of the bass I planned to install it on as there would be no returns. I sent a photo of my SG bass. All was good. Now I’ve got to say the service and communication was wonderful. (thank you Ellen!) It’s been shipped , I have a tracking number. It was a Christmas miracle.

I’m addicted to kijiji our local online Buy&Sell , but I’ve bought a surprising number of basses new. Some new online from out of province , some ordered new through local outlets , some new off the rack . And used . Some shipped but most used basses were local finds. Most amps were bought locally , some new , some kijiji finds. Most cabs were bought new. I’m surprised at the number of basses I’ve ordered sight unseen , and haven’t found any disappointments. I’ve been lucky. Also interesting that when I’ve made arrangements for a kijiji meet , I’ve always bought the bass. Somehow I got through last year without buying any basses , although I did buy a baritone guitar. I am looking at buying something in Ontario though , right now. A cheap Japanese copy from the early 70’s. Something I find more interesting than the real thing! I should probably seek some counselling.

I kept my thumb mid neck untilI started playing a Longhorn with a very skinny neck. A bass student recently asked me about my wrap around thumb as if was a bad thing.

I have twenty something , there’s really only one I’d sell right now. I’m not in any rush or panic , I’ve sold a few over the years and have a couple of regrets. I didn’t buy a bass in 22 , but did buy a baritone guitar. And a couple more amps.

I was just turning into a teenager when Beatlemania hit. Overnight , everything shifted. But by my late teens I was getting into blues , and the Chess catalogue. So I got lost in the shuffle for quite a spell. Now I listen to a wide range. Still love the blues, but I can enjoy the Beatles again too.

Muff Winwood would be one.

I’ve only had one Stingray, still have it. I love the fat chunky neck. Mine is a 3 band, love it. It’s the bass I left beside the couch. The first thing I’d pick up. Burst , rosewood. Classic.

McCartney had me drooling over Rickenbackers , and there were a pile of other famous players with them. The only problem was that they were incredibly hard to find in Nova Scotia. I spent years hoping to find one. Eventually picked up one visiting Toronto, and I managed to get one that just fit me perfectly. It still feels like home whenever I pick it up. I still get a little weak in the knees when I look at it. I’ve had it for close to 25 years now.

Note duration is a big part of feel. … sustain is highly overrated.

I’m sure that is the manufacturer’s showroom.

A friend has an old bat wing Harmony V22. They were not expensive basses back in the day , but it seems they are now. With old flats they do have a wonderful deep woody old school thump. And I’d love to find one. It’s funny , right up until the reissues came out they were not that expensive , but prices rose quickly one the reissues became available.

… those certainly are obscure , kool and trashy!

My old 72 Pbass with the thumb mark. It’s pretty deep.

I use the fleshy part of the thumb to pluck the string , a lot. And float the thumb when playing fingerstyle.

I have two larger Class D heads , a Bergantino Forte, which is clean and transparent , and a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 . 900 watts with a three tube preamp. The tubes give things a nice warmth , and you can dial in some serious gain , or run it fairly clean . It’s a versatile amp. It can get very warm and dark. Two very different amps.

A Unicorn popped up here on kijiji a couple of years ago , I was going to get it , then decided not to get it , then decided to go for it , and it was gone. I mentioned that I missed it to a friend , and he told me he just got it home. Several weeks later something else came up for him and I wound up with the Unicorn. Funny how things go around. I quite like it. And just because things always go around again. About a year later I spotted a Riverhead Jupiter on kijiji , immediately called my buddy , and he grabbed it. So here’s the Unicorn , it’s the model with the bridge humbucker. The model is RUB 1095 .The bass in not heavy , is well balanced , and despite the Black Beauties on it , sounds pretty good. The neck feels like home. Plays like a dream. I quite like it. I wish I had the original leather bag for it. They are très funky. It does fit perfectly in a LP guitar case.