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OK, looks like I've been conned or am a victim of an error by the vendor. You are all correct about the dropdown except that it appears to have been changed since I placed my order To my memory the dropdown when I ordered said quantity and the only options were 1 or 2 lights. 2 lights were inexplicably at the time several times the price of 1. The ad clearly stated that the stock was held in the UK (Staffordshire) and delivery was 2-3 days. I now have two emails from eBay and one enqiry via email from the vendor. One message from ebay is for the controller at £24 and the second for the light itself at £28.99 . The enquiry says it is for the light but leads to delivery tracking which has a picture of the controller. I should according to tracking recieve my light or controller today. I think it will be the controller which I don't want or need as I have one already. The delivery in 3 days would mean it has come from Staffordshire I've taken screenshots of the original ad which makes no mention of a controller other than the pop down which I believe to have been changed since I placed my order. I haven't yet found a way to contact eBay before the delivery takes place. Does anyone know if I can legally refuse delivery? If not I guess I'm about to go into battle with eBay's returns/complaints policies.

I'll second Newtone Strings. They made me up a batch of ten sets of the gauges I wanted in DBE. Very quick and easy transaction. Takes them about two weeks to make up a custom order.

If I recall correctly, ashdown just made a whopper of a delivery of these to sound control as they went under. This is a distributors worst nightmare as chances are you’ve lost your stock and won’t see much of anything back for them. I think a lot of them were sold off cheaply as a result which canned the reputation of the brand.

Recently I noticed a peculiar bridge design on two 3 string basses which were in their historical state, one of these basses being an Antonio Gagliano (unsure if the first Antonio or the second of the family) and Dragonetti's Da Salo. I think the Gagliano with that bridge and setup sounded very different then any other Gagliano basses I've heard or played on. I also noticed how this design wasn't present on Bottesini's Testore but as the instrument wasn't a 3 string to start he would've gotten a new bridge on it and this design may of disappeared by then. The basses I've seen it on have also been the only 3 strings still in their historical state that I know of .Does anyone know anything about this? The Antonio Gagliano (used by Rinat Ibragimov for his Bottesini 2nd concerto recording) Dragonetti's Da Salo

Woman Woman - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap

Those cheapo plywood guitars can sound really good.

I think that assigning gender to an instrument is the irrational thing. So I'd classify your item as a rational prejudice against an irrational trend!

I think we may need to have a few rounds of bare knuckle boxing (over arm style of course) to resolve this, given that I do also play 7, 8, 9 and 10 string basses which I expect would classify as "one of those silly things with so many strings that you can't pass cant pass as a bass player". In my band I play a lot of two hand tap, which is close to impossible on a 4 string bass. With some songs its much easier to play the piece on an 8 string. If you play standard songs that only require a 4 string bass, then I can partially see your point, but I play and write songs that can't be played on a 4 string as they simply don't have the range. Having somewhere between 6-10 strings available is great fun and opens up the bass way beyond that of its 4 string brothers. It becomes a true instrument for composition and exploration. If ever you're in Essex, swing by and have a go on Binky the 10 string bass, most people hold it for the first time and think its utterly ridiculous (which it is a bit!) but after 10 minutes or so, they understand why it exists and how much it opens up bass as an instrument.

Posts on social media of a view from a stage with the title 'tonights office'. People who name their guitars and then ask me to participate. What's she called? 'Well I haven't assigned a gender and it's a @&#£?!# fender jazz'. (BB King gets a pass).

How about treating your P5 to a new nut with the slots cut to the string spacing of your Warwick, a good fret level (pleked if you can afford it) to get lower without buzzing, and a set of strings with a tapered B and E to help get the string spacing on your bridge closer together? There's a few slots to choose from on the bridge you have on your Pro5. You're nearly there really.

3 Times A Lady - The Commodores

I've used the 30-90 set of Bass Centre Elites for years on my Status basses. I also recently took a part exchange Jack Professional in a fit of 1988 nostalgia (I bought a new Jack Professional when I was 18), which suited the same strings very nicely. On my main Status, I've recently tried a set of GHS Stainless Steel 30-90s. They're a little higher in tension than the Bass Centre strings, but boy are they bright. They sound fantastic. I've tried to gee up Gore (the parent company for Elixir) to make light DBE strings, as I exclusively use Elixir 40-95s on all my other basses, but sadly they don't seem interested. 😩

Hey Steve, now we're getting a little closer to fulfillment of the first batch of orders, could you maybe fill us in a little on the story of this graphite neck production odyssey of yours? What made you undertake this brilliantly ambitious project? (Obviously Status stopping graphite production in '22 has hit some of us quite hard.) Are you doing most of the work yourself, or do you have a China-based factory/maker/partner? Questions, questions... So many questions

Do you ever have trouble with the Line 6 dropping out in a crowded gig with lots of people's phones on that 2.4GHz band? I read on another theead that people have been finding 5.8GHz more reliable. Thanks for posting those spectrum plots. The G10 must have a pretty chunky input impedance. Some people have been recommending the NuX wireless systems. Has anyone tried one of these on a DB?

It would be worth making enquiries of Newtone Strings. They made a set of DBEs for me before. Otherwise... it's the clamp!

Got invited by the drummer of a band I've depped with a couple of times to check out another band of his which is being rebooted. Went down to meet and jam this afternoon, and it's a four-piece alongside singer, guitarist/bv and drummer, playing upbeat rock/alt-rock/indie-rock covers that aren't my usual fodder but I can still see being fun. All involved seem to be affable and have realistic expectations, the singer can sing, the guitarist had his combo up off the floor and was playing at a reasonable volume... sounded pretty good, so I reckon I'll see where it goes. Travelled light as I was on the bus and knew there was a decent cab I could borrow in the room: RB Streamer LX 5 -> Telepath wireless -> Fly Rig v2 -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Hartke VX215

I'd hope that most players take a more balanced approach. Professionally, I use mainly Fender Jazz basses - not custom shop fare, but ordinary run of the mill production ones, yet they are instruments that are special to my hands & my ears, and do the job I need them to do over thirty-forty live tribute shows a year. (2018 American Original & 2016 American Elite.) I still have my boutique basses, mainly by Status, because I've been with the brand for 35 years, the instruments fit me like a glove, and I love the peerless quality control that comes from every bass going through the hands of one man, not to mention the snap and howl and how they cut through any mix. They are something I will hopefully always have, and are usually played on highly technical trio gigs where I can really stretch my stuff. They have their place, basically. So I don't think there is any snobbery as such. Just a case of the right tool for the right job. And remember, it's not just a 'hobby' for some of us - It's our livelihood.

Don't think Stadium are DBE... you wants the Elites DBE. Mine were £20 offer on the bay, via Bass Center.

We played Murton Officials Club in a local colliery village 20 minutes from home last night. It's a small club with a fantastic crowd, and one of our favourite gigs, with a very easy hump in and out. After a week with a chesty cough I struggled with my singing, but keys and guitarist helped out and we really enjoyed a brilliant atmosphere. I only use my Cliff Bordwell fretless on three songs, but got sent this pic of me studying the fingerboard between verses..

Quando Quando Quando - Pat Boone. Engelbert Humperdinck, Michael Bublé, and more

Interesting. I've just been pondering the question of strings, as the ones that came with this bass are properly knackered. I boiled them in some vinegar, so they don't sound totally dead, but they're worn and don't seem to be particularly consistent in terms of string-to-string and note-to-note volume. The front runners from what I've seen of double-ball-end strings so far are Stadium Elites, because they're a) apparently made in the UK, and b) not £50+ like most other sets.