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Basschat at the LONDON BASS GUITAR SHOW 2017


seashell
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Been back about an hour - travelled up with Lozz and aDx - journey home was a bit of a nightmare but a great day out. Had a chat with Ped, met Bluejay, Shell and few others. Seemed like there were fewer BCers than usual. Where were you all?

The event was little less busy than last year, fewer exhibitors but that, if anything, was a positive. Less volume - and it wasn't just the slappers playing too loud. Managed to get an item signed by all the celeb players and exhibitors ready for the Herts Bash - many thanks to [b]Guy Meredith from Bass Player Mag[/b] who went out of his way to help despite being run ragged. Good man.

Loved the TE Elf - arriving in the UK at the end of the month - just need to place my order with Bass Direct.

Cody Wright was excellent but the star of the show, in my opinion and of those I was with, was Glenn Matlock who was amazing - where else would you hear "I want you back" (Jackson 5) followed by "Anarchy in the UK" (Sex Pistols) - great set sir.

Would have liked to have got into Scott Devine's seminar but that was oversubscribed and TBH I didn't miss being in a room with no windows or air con.

Again many beautiful and incredible instruments on show (think ACG/ Marleaux/ Enfield) but there were manufacturers conspicuous by their absence.

All in all a great day out - if you missed today but can make tomorrow I'd recommend it.

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[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1488663934' post='3250949']
And our Chris Sharman has an NBD - he was at the show with his wife, who approved the purchase. Happy Shuker NBD Chris! :) :gas: :sun_bespectacled:

[/quote]

Loved the green bass on that stand - forgot to get a picture of it!

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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1488664387' post='3250952']

The event was little less busy than last year, fewer exhibitors but that, if anything, was a positive. Less volume - and it wasn't just the slappers playing too loud. Managed to get an item signed by all the celeb players and exhibitors ready for the Herts Bash - many thanks to [b]Guy Meredith from Bass Player Mag[/b] who went out of his way to help despite being run ragged. Good man.
[/quote]

I'm guessing that the reason why the show may have looked a bit less crowded to you, Mick, is that this year there are several more rooms outside the main hall and the auditorium/masterclass areas. The luthiers' area and Scott's room were pretty full of people most of the time, and when it was chucking out time from both rooms the whole show looked and felt a lot more cramped!

As for the exhibitors, some of the big names seem to have been replaced by a lot of new (to this country), highly original luthiers, many of whom are based in Europe as opposed to the States. I see it as a good thing, Brexit notwithstanding...

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[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1488665661' post='3250965']
Loved the green bass on that stand - forgot to get a picture of it!
[/quote]

Here you go...I loved it too

[URL=http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/lbgs17/IMG_20170304_122017_zps598mmxy6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q639/FairfaxAikman/lbgs17/IMG_20170304_122017_zps598mmxy6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Loved this too

[URL=http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/lbgs17/b0f52706-254d-4513-90b6-a914c954e794_zps1gmzs18z.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q639/FairfaxAikman/lbgs17/b0f52706-254d-4513-90b6-a914c954e794_zps1gmzs18z.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1488668055' post='3250978']
Here you go...I loved it too

[url="http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/lbgs17/IMG_20170304_122017_zps598mmxy6.jpg.html"][/url]

[/quote]

Yep, thing of beauty - a little out of my range though :D

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Yep, Glen Matlock was the star of the day for me. Amidst many very technically great players, sheer entertainment stood out, to a standing ovation at the end of his shift.

Additionally the one stand that seemed to be busy all day was Promenade Music, who had a range of affordable and regular instruments, rather than expensive and niche.

Is the LBGS seeing a shift in the balance here, standing ovation to a Sex Pistol who played a Precision through a battered Fender Bassman stack and people flocking over a stall with off the shelf instruments?

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Met Cody Wright.. had a chat.. watched his thing... played his bass... said hi to Scott

Watched Glen Matlock... and as Loz said ... really great entertainment! fun! made a few mistakes... had a laugh.. and played lots of tunes, sound was awesome!

and the drummer had the smallest (as in physical size ) drumkit I have ever seen! lol but sounded great!

oh and there was lots of basses I couldnt afford too! :)

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I had a great day, saw Ped, macdaddy (though missed the Zebra Shuker, sob!), bluejay, dood, plus of course annoyed Skelf (Mr Sir Alan Cringean of AC Guitars) and Alex, Bobby and the chaps of Barefaced.

And I purchased and walked away with a One10, very happy!

Edited by Merton
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[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1488663934' post='3250949']
And our Chris Sharman has an NBD - he was at the show with his wife, who approved the purchase. Happy Shuker NBD Chris! :) :gas: :sun_bespectacled:




Edit: the GAS-inducing Shukers in full view


[/quote]
I had a go on the lower bass there, but unfortunately someone was playing one louder on the next stand, so I couldn't really hear it; it felt quite nice though.

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I said hello to Ped, Bluejay & Mark from Bass Direct, I think I saw Lozz in the distance (Hi Lozz - the Barefaced is still going strong!). The Scott Divine workshop was great, very enjoyable. As for most of the rest, I found it a bit meh to be honest. Lots of unusual basses in shapes that didn't appeal to me, lots of noise and no obvious bargains apart from some string offers so I came home with nothing. I'll still be back next year though. The show is a good thing overall and I do want to support it. I think this year just wasn't for me.

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I enjoyed it. I ended up buying a set of Gotoh Machine Heads and a book from Bassline. I was disappointed about the lack of bass bits. The Aquilar pickups I was interested in was £194. They retail elsewhere for around £150. A bridge on the Tonetech site was £180. I need a new bridge, but not for that price.
The performers I saw were top notch. Like a few people, I thought Glen Matlock was a highlight.
As usual, there was very limited left handed basses. I saw 3. I did like the Shuckers.

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[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1488704926' post='3251095']
I had a go on the lower bass there, but unfortunately someone was playing one louder on the next stand, so I couldn't really hear it; it felt quite nice though.
[/quote]

Why doesn't everyone have what ACG had, where you can just plug in with headphones and really hear the sound of the bass? Seems such an obvious way to do it but as far as I could see he was the only one. As a result, the ACGs were the only ones I actually know what they sound like without a huge bass rumble.

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[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1488714462' post='3251185']
Why doesn't everyone have what ACG had, where you can just plug in with headphones and really hear the sound of the bass? Seems such an obvious way to do it but as far as I could see he was the only one. As a result, the ACGs were the only ones I actually know what they sound like without a huge bass rumble.
[/quote]
This is why I decided, even after buying tickets, not to bother after all. All considered, tt would be better to go to The Gallery or Denmark Street. I'm interested in an Overwater, but I can wait until another chance comes up.

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[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1488714462' post='3251185']
Why doesn't everyone have what ACG had, where you can just plug in with headphones and really hear the sound of the bass? Seems such an obvious way to do it but as far as I could see he was the only one. As a result, the ACGs were the only ones I actually know what they sound like without a huge bass rumble.
[/quote]
I played a Dingwall through headphones and it was OK, but they couldn't handle the bottom-B.

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Really easy trip on the high speed into St Pancras, then picadilly line to Barons court, 10 mins later in the show.
Saw a load of basses that I'm not really interested in but I'm liking the Enfield stuff by Martin Simms.
Saw David Ellefson, I'm not into Megadeath but he was very good, then we watched Ida Nielson funk it up (she was amazing too), bumped into Glen Matlock (literally). We also watched a Latvian duo where he was playing like those percussive acoustic players, very intersteing too
Trying to get a cup of coffee was ridiculous. I've never seen such useless staff.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself and didn't buy anything.

Really easy journey home as the trains just fell into our laps (timewise)

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[quote name='aDx' timestamp='1488697101' post='3251057']
Met Cody Wright.. had a chat.. watched his thing... played his bass... said hi to Scott

Watched Glen Matlock... and as Loz said ... really great entertainment! fun! made a few mistakes... had a laugh.. and played lots of tunes, sound was awesome!

and the drummer had the smallest (as in physical size ) drumkit I have ever seen! lol but sounded great!

oh and there was lots of basses I couldnt afford too! :)
[/quote]


The camera never lies

[URL=http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/Ad%20and%20Cody/IMG_20170304_140455_zpsjvxjtwpc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q639/FairfaxAikman/Ad%20and%20Cody/IMG_20170304_140455_zpsjvxjtwpc.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/Ad%20and%20Cody/IMG_20170304_140145_zpswdvdldrc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1167.photobucket.com/albums/q639/FairfaxAikman/Ad%20and%20Cody/IMG_20170304_140145_zpswdvdldrc.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[url="http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/Glenn%20Matlock/IMG_20170304_170557_zpsp6qwnlwh.jpg.html"][/url][url="http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/lbgs17/IMG_20170304_160539_zpsmvd8w6p1.jpg.html"][/url][url="http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/FairfaxAikman/media/lbgs17/IMG_20170304_122017_zps598mmxy6.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited by TheGreek
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Forgot to mention Shez Raja. Didn't manage to catch his workshop but met up with him towards the end of the day and bought his album. Really enjoying it - you can hear both Jaco and Ozric Tentacles influences in some of the tracks.

Free download of "My imaginary friend" at www.shezraja.com

check it out.

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Had fun today and met Ped, Seashell and finally Dood for the first time. I did see McDaddy, Bluejay and Sibob, but they were somewhat busy and I didn't want to interrupt. It was also really cool to catch up with Alan at ACG and Martin Simms as well.

I had 2 massive "step away from the vehicle" moments though. The first one was trying that light burl Shuker. Good grief!! That was evil!! It had a particular growl in the low end that I've only ever heard anything similar with really old Warwicks. Brilliant bass. I can now see why Shukers are rated so highly, though until today I'd never played one.

The other was the new Darkglass amp. No Youtube demo can do that thing justice. It's just devastating. I was playing a Maruszczyk Hellwood into it and the thing just killed. What was more insane was when I looked at the volume knob which was somewhere down in the 7 o'clock position (barely on) and the thing was brutally loud. I could have quite happily went home with them. I do think that not giving you the bag with the amp is a bit cheeky though, but that's another matter. The Jon Stockman pedal is really, really good as well, but I guess it has to be being that it'll probably be more than £300.

I had never tried Cog effect pedals and I'm not a fuzz person at all. However, on wandering round, I catch this gentleman playing a Warwick into this Cog 66 pedal and I thought it just sounded fantastic. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't buy it. Tonally it wasn't that far off the Darkglass or even the Jon Stockman pedal they had. Yeah, okay, some of you are going to should "DIE HERETIC!!!" at that, but they had similar properties on some frequency bands I felt.

In the end I came away with nothing, which is most unusual and not what I expected as I thought I'd get some strings or something, but it was good to meet a few Basschatters and browse some quality gear as always. Ida Nielson was brilliant and Glen Matlock was hilarious as well. A top day out.

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Anyone else somewhat disappointed with the number of exhibitors at this year's show?

I was a shame Status were not there, and MXR / Dunlop etc too. I saw John East was there, but not as an exhibitor.

Has the cost V's sales pushed a few businesses away?

The knitting exhibition on the lower floor seemed 'buzzin'! (looked only as the lift door opened)

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