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Thank you @scrumpymike and the fantastic Scrumpettes for your hard work, enthusiasm, and superb organisational skills in creating and delivering the SW Bass Bash over the years. The Bash was a joy to attend and meet with so many like minded, kind bass enthusiasts. All who attended are extremely grateful for your efforts and kindness. Thank you John

Correction .. the 4 band equaliser had a linear dual gang pot not log/antilog for controlling upper mid and lower mid at the same time (wired so one went up when the other went down). The log/antilog pot was on the parametric equaliser.

Lion's mouth, meet my head...

I have never actually ever had a problem with the MS-02, just they feel a bit flakey, and on mine the power button is not the best (it works, but its like if you push it too much it goes off again). I think they are a great system for the price (wish the stereo / mono and on/off buttons were further apart!) and I will keep them as a backup My channels aren't linked, I never got round to it, I just use 5 and 6 as a pair, and set them manually as I want them.

Bring Me The Horizon were metalcore but now play pop songs with metal guitar tones. They're not really a rock band.

Congrats, Very nice colour, amazing basses, I can’t stop playing mine it’s my go to now , and that’s saying something, I was a dedicated Ric player, The CST is very capable bass in the tone dept, it’s all there, and very well made instruments, neck is very comfy , The EMG X and the legacy preamp are perfect together, enjoy your new Spector in good health . Cheers Geo

I had a MIJ OC-2 and an OC-5 at the same time, and recently sold an Octaver. None left now though, the Quad Cortex model is perfectly good enough for me

I think they are all too "Indie" for your typical Planet Rock audience. For me "modern rock" would be a band like Bring Me The Horizon who use guitar riffs and electronica, or a more modern version of Young Gods.

That bridge is very flexible and technical: if you want you can use only two saddles. But what I didn't like was the adjustments. Take care of the Allen keys, any mismatch with sizes may result in a worn screw. I am pretty sure that the parts are not metric. The plate is aluminium. It is relatively soft. Tighten the sideway adjustment screws only after you have found exact places for individual saddles. Strings can be put to two different slots. String angle and length are different, if that helps. I messed with one bass' bridge position, and had to remove springs. One of those strange screws on top of the saddles anchor the intonation adjustments. All in all the bridge is functional and very flexible, but not my favourite. Nowadays I like Hipshot A style bridge better (19 mm, top loader, no sharp corners).

anyone got a MIJ OC-2 , and OC-5 and an original OC-2 Octaver?? there is an Octaver available in NZ presently I can't remember ever playing one

They're not exactly modern sounding bands. They're mostly old bands playing old music or younger bands playing something sounding like classic rock aimed very much at older audiences. There's nothing breaking away from the standard rock formula. Id have at least expected some Idles and Royal Blood and maybe Frank Turner or Bloc Party.

Thank you @scrumpymike and all those involved in organizing these events. Best £15 I spent last year.

Thanks for the insight @Quatschmacher... Sounds like the VBO may not be what I'm after then - I'll stick with my Octabvre in that case I think.. You have no idea how pleased I am someone else has had the same experience with the OC-5 as me! The cavalry has arrived! 😄

Hello Kiwi, Haha, yes I do have Chinese connections, my wife is originally from China (Tangshan) I believe Ashley did the graphite stuff after I left (which was sometime in 1984 I think). The pickups were almost certainly Kent Armstrong but potted in black epoxy moulded from an original Ebony pickup cover Ashley carved himself. I seem to remember the actual ebony pickup covers on very early models) were problematic (resonance problems) which was solved by the epoxy. You may notice the impression of the grain of the original ebony former in the moulded pickup covers. Unless it has been replaced since, the 3 band you mention was actually a 4 band with both lower mid and upper mid filters controlled by one dual-gang log/antilog potentiometer. It was a bit experimental in those days but Ashley seem to like it. I am sure there are vastly better active units available these days. Here is is a pic of my fretless ...

A mere 6.30- 10, and a 10 minute drive home with no excuse for a food stop on the way for me last night. I was rehearsing with 'The Bartenders' - a scratch band playing on the 17th. They're guys I've depped with before but the music is mostly stuff I don't listen to regularly so I'm still picking up the little details. After a few years of relaxed social gathering style rehearsals with the Hulla, these sessions are more focussed, harder work and they leave me feeling tired. But I also feel a great sense of achievement and as I have mentioned in the past, it's revitalised my playing and my self confidence. It mostly went well apart from my faux pas in getting the key of one of the songs completely wrong. I even managed some decent backing vocals.

Not sure how Massive Wagons have a song in 2026, but thats the date Planet Rock have put down. Most of these are "newer" than 1970's and 1980's but I am no expert Rob

If that wasn't the case, the preamp would make a loud pop, when powered on. If I remember correctly Philip Kubicki made a preamp to his Ex-Factor basses where rotational switch has a stand-by (and mute) position before the sound is turned on. This removes pops.

The Meat Goes On - Sonny & Cher