London bass guitar show 2018

[ezbass]

44 minutes ago, CygnusX2112 said:

 

Chris Child's show was excellent, if I can get back today I'd like to see his masterclass.  Bobby Vega was on good form, though I'm not sure I learnt much from his master class.  I also caught Steve Lawson before he left, a very interesting talk on the nature of improvisation.

 

Chris is a top bloke who I’ve followed for years, he really is a top player, but knows what to play when and how to play it. I had a play on his Sandberg sig bass, very, very nice. His masterclass should be very informative.

Bobby V is a force of nature and very individual. I spoke to him afterwards and he’s very keen on players doing their own, natural thing and not being slaves to others’ styles. Another thoroughly nice bloke.

[TRBboy]

On my way now, overslept though and it was lashing down when i left home, so not the best start..... Seems a bit brighter down here though, and no snow! 

[timmo]

Anyone know what time the place opens please ?

[PatrickJ]

10.00

[PatrickJ]

Just now, timmo said:

Anyone know what time the place opens please ?

10.00

[timmo]

Thank you. Be there in 5 mins

 

[Drax]

Thought the show was the best it's been in a while. Joe Hubbard and Gary Willis masterclasses were great. Always nice how unpretentious the show is - stars like Yolanda, Guy Pratt, Bobby Vega hanging out and happy to speak to people. Discovered some cool independents too - German luthier Oliver Lang, and new UK pedal co Flattley. Never enough fretless of course.. but was worth the ticket price this year. 

[TRBboy]

Well, I've had a great time today. Wish i could've stayed a bit longer, but a 3.5 hour trip each way means i can't! Thought the show was much better laid out this year, although Eich and Darkglass/Emma could've done with being down the other end with all the other amps: I was trying out a Bass at Bass Direct's stand, and couldn't hear it even with the headphones maxed! 

Enjoyed looking at all the cool gear, and as always catching up with people. Nice to meet a few fellow BCers this year too! Saw Snow Owl in the auditorium, who seemed like a thoroughly nice bloke and a very competent player. 

And despite all the shiny stuff, the show actually allayed any GAS by confirming that nothing feels as 'right' for me as my Sandbergs! Only purchase was a Gruv Gear 4" neo strap, which seems epic! 

I did nearly fall in love..... Warwick custom shop thumb 5 single cut.... sounded INCREDIBLE and felt amazing too! However, over £6k and seemed to weigh about 20lbs, so a definite no-go! 

Might have to look at going Saturday next time, take the wife and stay over to make the most of it, just need to leave my 3 short-scale TRB's with someone......

[lozkerr]

44 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

And despite all the shiny stuff, the show actually allayed any GAS by confirming that nothing feels as 'right' for me as my Sandbergs! 

The GAS kicked in big style today; if I hadn't left when I did, I would now be annoying every flat in the building with a Cort Bertolini playing through the Ampeg Rig of Doom.

I was supposed to be seeing my kids this weekend but the weather scuppered that, so I decided to go along today. I hope I'll make both days next year, and feel less like a rabbit caught in the headlights! 

[NancyJohnson]

I went yesterday...good to catch up with the usual suspects.

I think if nothing, I came away with distinct non-GAS!  It's interesting to see a load of gear in one place, but peripherals aside, nothing really appealed, which probably says a lot about my current setup if nothing else.

Might get some SIMS LEDs installed this year. 

[Edit]  The Yolanda/Guthrie show was great, Steve Lawson was dreamy, Guy Pratt very funny.  Jah Wobble was a bit meh to be honest; was expecting so much more.

Edited March 4, 2018 by NancyJohnson

[baldwinbass]

Had a great time. Best layout for a while (so much choice) and excellent artists - Jah Wobble hit some really low notes this morning.

[CameronJ]

Yep, just got home after having attended both days. Arrived quite late yesterday and missed all the workshops/seminars but got in a couple of hours worth of gear-drooling.

Spent some time with Alan Cringean of ACG who was an absolute gent and had some glorious basses on display. I had the pleasure of playing a lovely red P-Retro 5 string which I fell a little bit in love with. Just before closing time I got chatting to Scott Devine who asked if I was coming to the pub afterwards. The answer, obviously, was yes. So off we all went (many of the show’s exhibitors, SBL faculty as well as ordinary folk like myself) to The Albion. On arrival it transpired that the pub were hosting a LBGS jam night, kicked off by Dave Marks who had to promptly leave for a gig after playing the opening number. Before long one of the guys I’d gotten chatting to earlier in the day started spreading a rumour that I wanted to sing. I soon had a small rabble of folk peer-pressuring me to get on stage! To be fair there was a distinct shortage of vocalists so after putting it off a bit I obliged. Got to close the evening with a bit of Never Too Much followed by a blagged rendition of Superstition. It was great fun and I got to meet some great musicians!

When the pub kicked us out many of us trawled to the Hilton for another bevvy. Got chatting to Thomas Eich who was happy to talk shop, clearing up a few questions I had re: the Tecamp/Eich split. I didn’t stay long though as I wanted to get to the show a bit earlier today so as to sit in on a couple of workshops.

So today I saw the Scott Devine workshop followed by Rich Brown who was incredible. Wanted to stay for Henrik Linder but got caught up in a wild goose chase looking for John East! In the end I never did find him, much to my dismay. Spent some time at the Aguilar stand, wincing at the prices of their pedals. Also, wincing at their ludicrous signal path: Filter Twin > Chorusaurus > Octamizer > Agro > TLC Compressor > Grape Phaser. I was gagging to tear their board apart and reorder the whole lot . To be honest I was mainly there to try the new Grape Phaser but it was borderline impossible to tell if it was any good or not because there was too much ambient noise and I felt like the TH500/SL112x2 setup wasn’t able to cut through it with any real clarity. It may have been wise for Aguilar to do what many of the other exhibitors were doing and provide a couple of Phil Jones headphone amps.

Towards the end of today I had a chat with Nick Smith (haven’t seen him in about 10 years) with whom I lamented the absence of several British companies. The likes of Barefaced and Alpher Instruments, amongst others. Bit of a shame not to see them at LBGS to be honest.

All in all though, a great weekend was had. I met some lovely people and saw some great playing. I was a first-timer and it wasn’t the mad slap fest I had anticipated, though of course there were moments of it. I’d happily go again next year.

Edited March 4, 2018 by CameronJ

[Bobthedog]

I went today and thoroughly enjoyed Jah Wobble and Mo Foster, both on the main stage. The Guy Prat masterclass was very entertaining, albeit not much masterclass but still a great discussion with some very funny anecdotes. Also went to the bass set up with Rob Elrick, he seemed to be replacing Mike Tobias - perhaps a little basic for some but for me, certainly interesting, he popped a couple of myths and elevated my opinion of luthiers and the knowledge involved to create a decent bass. I popped into Yolanda Charles' masterclass which sounded great but left to go to the Rich Brown workshop which was so packed I did not make the effort to find a seat. I think that room did very well attendance wise today. I liked the room division idea.

On a more negative note, I was left only feeling whelmed by the exhibitors. Some new luthier names, to me, which was good but overall it felt a bit limited. I found nothing that inspired any GAS, even remotely (I even brought my own headphones and a fully loaded bank card!) - see caveat below. Like others I was not impressed by the volume from the Eich stand. I felt sorry too for the Wobble / Foster performances, the auditorium was less than half full for both bands. Perhaps the weather was still causing issues for potential attendees.

In the past I have managed to be entertained for both days or at least for one total day. Today was tough, I originally wanted to stay for Peter Hook but after four hours attendance, I was done and could not muster up the enthusiasm to hang around for another two hours and so left. Perhaps I was not in the right frame of mind, but even so, I did leave feeling just whelmed. My only purchase? A £1 Basschat lanyard!

[TRBboy]

2 hours ago, lozkerr said:

The GAS kicked in big style today; if I hadn't left when I did, I would now be annoying every flat in the building with a Cort Bertolini playing through the Ampeg Rig of Doom.

I was supposed to be seeing my kids this weekend but the weather scuppered that, so I decided to go along today. I hope I'll make both days next year, and feel less like a rabbit caught in the headlights! 

I was really interested in trying some of the cort stuff today, but it all seemed to sound terrible through the little practice amp they had, no matter what i did with it.....

[TRBboy]

Also, @ped, i was chatting to you and completely forgot to introduce myself (old big vs new small trace rigs!) 

[ped]

3 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

Also, @ped, i was chatting to you and completely forgot to introduce myself (old big vs new small trace rigs!) 

Ah yes, nice to meet you. This is why I always say we need a BC handshake! 

Glad you enjoyed the show

ped 

[lozkerr]

18 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

I was really interested in trying some of the cort stuff today, but it all seemed to sound terrible through the little practice amp they had, no matter what i did with it.....

Yep, that amp sounded dreadful. I think it was shot, as no matter how much I fiddled with it, I couldn't get a decent sound. Some other folk were trying other basses and they sounded awful, too.

It was a bit better on passive, but it was so noisy that I couldn't hear myself properly anyway. Should have brought cans with me. The Bertolini felt lovely to play, though. I liked the thin neck as I've got quite small hands. I'll definitely give it a proper try-out when I get a new bass.

[Kev]

Enjoyed today, although didn't manage to bump into many of you unfortunately!

Bobby Vega on the main stage was brilliant.  Steve Lawson was okay but didn't really connect with the room at all, lots of people leaving quite quickly which was a shame.

Gear wise, I come away GAS free really, nothing tearing me away from Warwick any more, although I was thoroughly impressed with the Tuli basses!  Amazing craftsmanship.

Eich stand was annoying, far too loud, especially the guy with the ridiculous quad neck bass, noone at the Bass Direct/Darkglass/Earthquaker/Flately stands could hear themselves think when he was playing that thing.  Its funny, everyone I spoke to thought the same, Im sure they must have done more damage to their brand than good over the course of the two days.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Kev

[BassAgent]

I’m almost back in Amsterdam, and I enjoyed the show a lot  The lay-out was better than two years ago (I wasn’t there last year) and although I hung around at the Eich stand mainly (who tried the Bass Board?). Sorry about the noise now and then. We try to keep it down whenever possible but some people love to crank up the amp when we’re not watching. We sometimes had some problems talking when someone was trying out the Darkglass pedals or a Vanderkley amp, so I hooe we can find a better solution for that next year. Testing amps is always a hard thing at a show like this. Personally, the four-neck bass wasn’t my fsvourite either and I’ve turned down the amp multiple times there. But as I said yesterday, please please ask us about the volume next time. We rarely got comments from the lady with the decibel meter, and especially today the guys from Bass Direct didn’t complain either. It’s hard to hear how loud you are on the other side of the room when you’re standing next to an amp  I occasionally walked into the luthier’s room or the hallway to have a chat with Sander de Gier, Andrew (of Anaconda basses) or other great folks.

Absolute peak for me was the Dingwall Combustion 5, the trans white one. It fit my hands perfectly and it’s an amazing match with the Eich amps. Might save up some cash to buy one soon.

Another plus for me is always the city, I’ve visited London many times already and it just feels like home somehow. 

 

I already saw some photos on Facebook, looking forward to seeing more shots!

Edited March 4, 2018 by BassAgent

[TRBboy]

2 hours ago, BassAgent said:

I’m almost back in Amsterdam, and I enjoyed the show a lot  The lay-out was better than two years ago (I wasn’t there last year) and although I hung around at the Eich stand mainly (who tried the Bass Board?). Sorry about the noise now and then. We try to keep it down whenever possible but some people love to crank up the amp when we’re not watching. We sometimes had some problems talking when someone was trying out the Darkglass pedals or a Vanderkley amp, so I hooe we can find a better solution for that next year. Testing amps is always a hard thing at a show like this. Personally, the four-neck bass wasn’t my fsvourite either and I’ve turned down the amp multiple times there. But as I said yesterday, please please ask us about the volume next time. We rarely got comments from the lady with the decibel meter, and especially today the guys from Bass Direct didn’t complain either. It’s hard to hear how loud you are on the other side of the room when you’re standing next to an amp  I occasionally walked into the luthier’s room or the hallway to have a chat with Sander de Gier, Andrew (of Anaconda basses) or other great folks.

Absolute peak for me was the Dingwall Combustion 5, the trans white one. It fit my hands perfectly and it’s an amazing match with the Eich amps. Might save up some cash to buy one soon.

Another plus for me is always the city, I’ve visited London many times already and it just feels like home somehow. 

 

I already saw some photos on Facebook, looking forward to seeing more shots!

 Those Tuli basses were stunning! And very ergonomically designed. I didn't even ask the price.....

[CameronJ]

Saw this stunner towards the end of the day...£6k! Worth it though - the paint flips from lilac to gold on a sandblasted walnut top!! Should’ve got more pics really but the Wenge neck was a dream too. Preamp chargeable via USB with a 500 hour run time (no 9v battery option). Never seen anything like it.

[EBS_freak]

So the biggest unanswered question....

were those the Warwick special discounted show prices...?

[NickD]

Well... I went for a Chowny Pitchcraft and a shedload of inspiration, and I came away with both. 😊 

Top marks to Chowny... with a failing battery on the contactless machine I though I might be going home disappointed, but no. 'You're on the forum aren't you?... Take it and I'll invoice you!' That's above and beyond in terms of customer service... I'll be back!

It was just a blur of performance, coffee, masterclass... repeat until the Argentinian Steakhouse across the road opens!

Snow Owl was brilliant, Mo Foster's band were great, Vega was soooo funky, and bloody lovely to boot. Guy Pratt was proper funny, I'd have loved him to play a little more though. The big take away for me was from Yolanda Charles. Her subdivisions thing from her masterclass will keep me frustrated for a month.

I didn't touch a bass all weekend, the one I would have left with was £6,800😨... but I couldn't stop playing last night!

Edited March 5, 2018 by NickD
Typos - Damn Phone!

[Silvia Bluejay]

Undoubtedly to everyone's utmost surprise, I've got a pic of the whole bass.

Edit: click on it to see it in full resolution.

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by Silvia Bluejay

[baldwinbass]

The Masterclasses by Bobby Vega and Snow Owl were unexpectedly inspirational.........