GAC 2020 - the 3 nine diet!

[dave_bass5]

16 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Tech 21 VTDI 'cos @dannybuoy & @dave_bass5 have both been raving about it as their fav Tech 21 pedal (together with a zillion TB'ers) , so I thought I should give it a spin, particularly as Hot Rox are selling them new for not much more than a vgc used one.

Now that im in you've blown your chance of selling me the VTBass DI next month. You will have to give it to me and i in turn will donate a small amount of money to a charity of your choice 😉

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Now that im in you've blown your chance of selling me the VTBass DI next month. You will have to give it to me and i in turn will donate a small amount of money to a charity of your choice 😉

Haha - you could always go buy one in the next two weeks. If not, I'm sure we can find a loophole 😉

[dave_bass5]

11 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Haha - you could always go buy one in the next two weeks. If not, I'm sure we can find a loophole 😉

Well i could borrow yours until Jan st 2021 and then pay you 😉

I might buy one though, im about to sell 3 pedals to a mate so that would cover it.

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Well i could borrow yours until Jan st 2021 and then pay you 😉

I might buy one though, im about to sell 3 pedals to a mate so that would cover it.

Sounds like a plan - and you know where you can get them new for a good price! So it sounds like you're up for joining the 3 nine challenge, I'll add you to the list!

[dave_bass5]

6 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Sounds like a plan - and you know where you can get them new for a good price! So it sounds like you're up for joining the 3 nine challenge, I'll add you to the list!

Well 40mins ago i posted i was done, im now already thinking about the VTBass DI lol.

[ead]

I'll have another shot but need clarification on a custom bass purchase for which I have paid a deposit but will have to pay the balance during the hairshirt period.  Is that eligible spend?

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, ead said:

I'll have another shot but need clarification on a custom bass purchase for which I have paid a deposit but will have to pay the balance during the hairshirt period.  Is that eligible spend?

Yeah, this is gear abstinence made easy (other than it will cost you a £fiver when you fail).

It's basically an excuse for me to climb back on the wagon, having spectacularly failed, this week. If I don't, I'm going to go the way of et @cetera and end up with a gazillion basses (all likely to be different shades of the same Spector model).

But OBVIOUSLY I didn't fail anywhere nearly as spectacularly as @FinnDave whose spectacularly-ness of wagon-falling-off was wondrous to behold and will be sung around camp fires in the vicinity of bouncy castles for eons to come.

The fact that you've put the deposit down already on your tasty custom bass is all good. The matter has been fully disclosed to the tax authorities, as far as I'm concerned. Er hmm - @dave_bass5 I think we've found the loop hole for your VT Bass DI itch. Just bung me a £fiver by way of deposit and if I don't sell it to you then we can put towards something more liquid. That seems to have all basses covered.

You've been duly added to the wall of shame.

[dave_bass5]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

The fact that you've put the deposit down already on your tasty custom bass is all good. The matter has been fully disclosed to the tax authorities, as far as I'm concerned. Er hmm - @dave_bass5 I think we've found the loop hole for your VT Bass DI itch. Just bung me a £fiver by way of deposit and if I don't sell it to you then we can put towards something more liquid. That seems to have all basses covered.

You've been duly added to the wall of shame.

Good point, and if you do decide to sell it i can give you the other £45 with a clear record 😂

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Good point, and if you do decide to sell it i can give you the other £45 with a clear record 😂

You're getting the idea! And £45 should just about cover it 'cos they can't be that great if you keep moving yours on? Or you can pay me in kind with one of your 487 spare amps...

[ead]

Thank you kind sir.  In the interest of full disclosure this is what's on order:

[Al Krow]

Luverly! See - emotionally you already have that in your herd. 

Look forward to hearing how it plays when it finally arrives. 

[ead]

Thanks, I had a go on the prototype at a guitar show at Haydock last year and though it most agreeable.  Having been selling basses and body parts to acquire one.

[dave_bass5]

5 minutes ago, ead said:

Thanks, I had a go on the prototype at a guitar show at Haydock last year and though it most agreeable.  Having been selling basses and body parts to acquire one.

Definitely looks worth the effort. Love the colour scheme. 

[Maude]

Count me in on this one. I usually only buy one bass a year on average and I've already bought two this year already, so how can I fail? 

[PatrickJ]

Add me to the list @Al Krow

Since recently receiving my custom J and buying the HX FX I really dont need anything other than a light 12" cab.  After spending all of 2019 declaring my absolute disgust for them I now feel I need one following a complete directional change in music style.  I should be able sort that before the cut-off.

Hopefully this challenge will stop me buying another amp head I don't need and from ordering one of the new Metro Express J basses from the Sadowsky / Warwick partnership (because I'm curious).

--

What's the thinking on pickups , included or excluded?

Edited March 12, 2020 by PJ-Bassist

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, PJ-Bassist said:

Add me to the list @Al Krow

Since recently receiving my custom J and buying the HX FX I really dont need anything other than a light 12" cab.  After spending all of 2019 declaring my absolute disgust for them I now feel I need one following a complete directional change in music style.  I should be able sort that before the cut-off.

Hopefully this challenge will stop me buying another amp head I don't need and from ordering one of the new Metro Express J basses from the Sadowsky / Warwick partnership (because I'm curious).

--

What's the thinking on pickups , included or excluded?

Oooh good question about pups. Strings are definitely OK we're all agreed. Cases to protect basses are fine, boards and PSUs to organise and get the most out of your pedals, just dandy. But a decent pup, well that's a BIG part of a bass's sound isn't it? Whereas a set of lightweight replacement tuners are not. So we should probably draw the line with pups. Easy solution, get them ordered before Mar 25th and you're good to go!

Totally with you about the portability of single 12" cabs. I'm just about to get my third as it happens, but I still can't bring myself to part with that lightweight bundle of barefaced cheek I bought from you a while back and has done me proud. 

Do you still want to sign up? It looks like it's could save you well in excess of £1k if it stops you getting an amp and a (Sadowsky!) bass, so we'll worth the £5 if you do slip up!

[krispn]

I was gonna relist my 112 but its about 15kg - whats the cut off for light weight these days?

 

[PatrickJ]

52 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Do you still want to sign up? It looks like it's could save you well in excess of £1k if it stops you getting an amp and a (Sadowsky!) bass, so we'll worth the £5 if you do slip up!

Yes I'm in

[Al Krow]

45 minutes ago, krispn said:

I was gonna relist my 112 but its about 15kg - whats the cut off for light weight these days?

It's inversely proportional to the brick shi*house build of the bass player 😁

Edited March 12, 2020 by Al Krow

[krispn]

I was wise and got a cab which was lighter than my kettlebell 😀

[Al Krow]

7 hours ago, krispn said:

I was wise and got a cab which was lighter than my kettlebell 😀

You do realise you're easily one of the top contributors to this thread already, don't you? Other than tempt us with your gear over the next 12 days are we going to get you to sign up for a period of purdah for the rest of the year or is your bass build going to scupper that? How's that coming along?

[krispn]

I don’t subscribe to the premise of a self imposed abstinence or binge buying. If I need it or wanna try it I’ll get it. I do think it’s funny that you’re doing this during Lent though. I know folk are hoarding bog roll and canned goods because of the Corona virus but bass gear is a step too far. There’s an irony in there somewhere😀

I’ll continue to nab a bit of gear as needed or if the notion takes. I’ve not bought any new bass gear in a while but might pick up a used Stomp as the pub band have all gone IEM. Ditched my other band as they are booking gigs which involve nearly a 300 mile round trip -approx 3hrs drive each way! So less need for the full rig.

I‘m not building my own basses but I have been experimenting with pick ups and was pimping a bargain purchase Classic Vibe jazz a while back but it’s long since been completed. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by krispn

[Al Krow]

I totally agree - no point in binge buying, but being on the wagon for a decent period of time can actually be really helpful for some of us in not constantly getting distracted by the next shiny thing out there. You've clearly understood the psychology of this in a forensic manner and not had to self-isolate! 

Besides, when kit comes up at prices you're not expecting (e.g. that VT DI pedal - which has since gone up by nearly 20% at the retailer I've just taken delivery from), or because they don't come up very often (e.g. a mint BB2) sometimes you have to jump... and you know what a sucker I am for a bass bargain!

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Besides, when kit comes up at prices you're not expecting

Exactly what pushed me in to getting my BB435 this week.

[krispn]

 

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I totally agree - no point binge buying but being on the wagon for a decent period of time can actually be really helpful for some of us in not constantly getting distracted by the next shiny thing out there.

Or not if you’ve spent the last 3 months getting distracted with your next purchases. I’m sure they’ll get plenty of use over the next 9 months and they all look like solids bits of gear. Our mutual friend has the VT500 amp and sang it’s praises. I thought you found the T21 stuff a bit ‘baked in’I terms of the tones but it’s useful to have in the arsenal - I know the Tone Hammer DI does some good Ampeg style tones which can be fun but I always thought the Ampeg thing was possibly too scooped in the mids for your preference?

Considering the BB2 - Would you not have been better off with a 110 or 210 to help keep the B string snappy? You’d likely tighten up the whole response over the 12’s. Might be worth looking at down the line. I know the F110 (and f210) look pretty tight and you already know the quality of their kit.