Leaderboard

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.

Mwaaaahahaha....😌

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.

final (and much simpler) version of the REAN connector retaining block. no screws & no clips this time - just a one-piece printed part attached with 30mm wide velcro

If you want that dull thumpy flats thing just buy normal Roto rounds and play one gig, job done

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!

Yes they really are. I had one, sold it, regret it. The story of my life. Well, my life since joining Basschat that is...

In May I'll be meeting in Leeds, with a colleague from Scotland. After the meeting I'll be driving home and on to see my customers in the south counties. So, I could drop it into Wal. So as you may not be a tearing hurry, maybe my colleague and I can help?

Thanks everyone for the brilliant replies, much appreciated. I bought a Fusion Urban direct from Fusion. I’m really happy with it. I like the external padded thing that you can move around. I bought the guitar version which is excellent. So nice that I can carry my bass around and not need to worry about bumping it when I walk through doorways or along trains.

My first interest in Fretless bass guitar was Boz Burrell with Bad Company, followed by Jaco and then Pino. I would say that between Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson and then Pino, my interest in playing Stingrays was born and when an immaculate 1993 example cropped up on You Tube about ten years ago I couldn't resist - actually playing all those bass parts recorded on a Fretless on a Fretless rather than a fretted bass (as I did previously) is great fun - a good, and probably not obvious example is Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company - sounds better on a Fretless 😏 However this should dispel any idea a Fretless can't be aggressive sounding as well - excellent slap sound as well as Fretless sound - along with Pino's ever impeccable groove. Musicman Stingray and Trace Elliot I think.

EBay, by comparison would charge 10% They won't be standing about in the shop, supervising people "testing" out your bass. They won't hang around after hours waiting for another punter to try it on the way home from work. EBay don't get sellers calling 3-4 times a week for a report on who tried it and why they didn't buy. EBay won't offer your buyer a 6month after sales warranty. And for the added 5% you won't have your buyer calling PayPal to say it never arrived/not as advertised... can I have a refund please?

I've put my Suhr J Bass with the Gallery to sell for me and I'm very happy to accept their commission. They get the right sort of customers for this bass through their door and browsing their web site etc, plus they will ship...meaning I don't have to. I could have put it on eBay and suffer the charges from both eBay and potentially PayPal and in all likelyhood have to ship it too (not to mention all the tyre kickers with stupid low ball offers and so on) So all in all I beleive that for a high value bass, like mine, a commission sale at places like the Gallery do represent fair value.

I have attended every show since it began. I visited yesterday and noted the differences. The large hall has been partitioned into zones. The upside of this is the feeling of greater intimacy and less noise spill. Several repeat exhibitors have downsized their stands. To my mind, this did not reduce things from a visitors point of view. As an ex-exhibitor, I know that this reduces the amount of effort involved to load in and out. Consequently, we all gain because it makes the exhibitors more likely to rebook for the next show. I thought the luthier demonstration area near the cafe was a great idea. It gives people a place to sit to eat and drink whilst watching something relevant. Another improvement, albeit a small thing, is the lanyards have been replaced by wristbands and e-ticketing. This is not only more efficient it is also more environmentally friendly. I didn't attend any clinics or shows but I know these have become a real draw for visitors. All in all, in my opinion it is an improved show and that we should be grateful for Future to be putting on and allowing a focal point for the bass community.

MiniMert and I quite enjoyed the Little Stubby. The overdriven tones are sublime and it goes quite loud, I’d say louder than the CTM30 but I’m basing this on fuzzy memory only. The feedback control is very cool, it literally feeds the signal back through the preamp valve (pre EQ) to thicken up the tone and add more “girth”. It also adds more volume too. The drive control seemed quite sensitive, below around 10 o’clock there seemed very little if any signal passing through, then it suddenly burst into life with warm thick valvey goodness. After about 12 o’clock you start dialling in more and more grit and overdrive - this thing is a monster for a hellish dirty tone. It’s not something I use a lot of but I can see myself trying it more, hehehe. Anyhoo, the pic is of MiniMert, sensibly defending his ears from the slapathon, giving my the all clear to buy it 🤓

i just joined the club!!! ive been looking for a tasty P 5er then i came across this.... well happy

I know I said back in Jan '15 when I bought my new Am.Std Precision & matching Rumble 200 combo, I was done buying basses until with help from kodiakblair this Peavey beauty came into my possession. It is a 1986 Peavey Foundation bass Made in U.S.A which is in VGC for a bass that is 32 years old, it is in black & rosewood with a matching headstock with OHSC, and fitted with a series/parallel switch. And it cost me less with delivery than a brand new Squier VM Jazz bass . Kodiakblair put me in touch with the owner who had it for sale in December & luckily it hadn't sold emails were sent and phone calls exchanged, his name is Dave and he was gentleman to deal with & we chatted about all this bass & he is a member here even though I don't know his username. The deal was done on the Monday and it was delivered to my work address on Wednesday morning, well and truly boxed up and protected, here are some of the pictures that Dave took of the bass and sent to me. I have always had a soft spot for Peavey's since my Dad bought me a T-40 for my 21st which was stolen a few years later. My Dad passed away this January so I wanted another Peavey bass I haven't got the funds for a T-40 at the moment, but I'm going to start saving for one.

Hi all I had a bit of a moment during a pressured sound check swapping out our support band last weekend. Problems with one pedal and I just needed it off the board quickly. With all the plumbing , and being faced with a pedal sized gap ( just too big for the patch lead!) I suddenly remembered a female to female jack adapter I had in my 'bits box.' Stuck that in place of the miscreant pedal, rocked the joint- hooray! I'm keeping one handy from now on - mine are Rean NYS236, only a couple of quid.

Oh, nice!!! When my F1 dies, I'm getting the Urban

These are really good: http://www.csp.org.uk/publications/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-exercises

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.

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

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.....

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!

Sweet bass, those old foundations are excellent.

@Kiwi Hello. Nice to meet you @SpondonBassed Thank you I'm glad you enjoy the videos！ @Dad3353 Nice to meet you I'm so happy to find this place.

That does indeed look like the original finish. If everything else is kosher then you have definitely got a bargain, considering what prices 70's Fenders are trading at nowadays. I'm sure I speak for other Basschatters of senior years when I say that I cannot believe the price P Basses from this era are now commanding. Thirty years ago they were hard to sell for £200. I know because I was trying to sell a couple! Things change and the world has moved on,I suppose. Anyhow, looks like a lovely bass at a very fair price and I hope you get a lot of pleasure and a lot of fun playing it.

A precision pun on the fretless sound whether intended or not. Tickled me at least.

I used to use wikiloops.com - you can choose which instruments to include and which to leave out. I'm not if it's any use to you though - all the tracks are right handed..

The WB-100 had me dribbling if I am honest, sadly beyond my present budget but it looked and sounded fantastic from the clips he put up. I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to Ashdown, we have a couple of their higher end combos at work and I just can’t get them to sound exactly how I want, which is a bit odd as I am a great TE fan. Perhaps they have just been messed with once too often. They aren’t bad by any stretch but just don’t make me want to run out and buy one. As for the marmite orange, they just do their thing, the sound fits what I need perfectly but they won’t be for everyone by any stretch. It does do a surprisingly good clean sound though, which coupled with a pair of BF cabs makes for the most transparent bass sound I have come across personally, but that’s not what they (or this thread) is about andmits the growl that really makes it come alive. The 1000w version Imhave is obscenely loud and I can’t imagine where you would use that power to be honest. Anywhere big enough to need it would surely see you DI through a desk but there you go. If you are ever in the midlands you are more than welcome to give it a try.

It is a looker for sure and they get great reviews. I already have an Ibby fretless which sort of made my mind up but I may well search one out at some point. I have just received a big selection of plectrums courtesy of eBay and found a nice thick one that feels right, not sure I will use it that much, but I don’t see any practice as wasted so am happy to give it a go. I have also started a build on a DIY pedal so any spare mojomojo you have would,be most useful as I will need a case for it at some point

@tonyxtiger I'll have one. Perfect birthday prezzie for myself. I've been trying to mess about with guitar amp and bass amp rigs so this will make it easy. Good enough for dUg, more than adequate for me

I'm getting a bit of fretless gas now, you buggers!

I have been primarily a Fretless player since 1986. Rock, Jazz, Funk, Latin, big band, small group. It's all on there. I have had fretted basses throughout but don't gig them.

I got to spend a few hours there yesterday morning, and it was highly enjoyable. I hadn't been for a few years, last time I went I was disappointed so I wasn't inclined to return but my wife won me a few weekend ticket and gave me a green pass for the morning so I went down. I really liked the way they laid out the halls - the advertised quiet times didn't play out but the room divisions kept the noise levels down. Only had a problem with one dreadlocked white dude cranking a GR amp and slapping away drowning out everyone who was trying to be more considerate in the amp hall. But hey, just one rusty bullethole was a massive improvement on previous years I've been. 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 I left, a very interesting talk on the nature of improvisation. I actually wish there'd been a bit more in the way of commercial stalls, or at least more stock from the ones that were there. And as per previous comments some more British brands would have been nice, I was disappointed not to see some overwater basses.

I haven't been there for a while, but it used to be a regular place for me to buy stuff. A long time back, I remember going in there to try an Amp with my Sadowsky. Martin said " That's the highest action I have seen, can I do something with it?" Proper Bass shop, long may it continue.

Really enjoyed the show yesterday, highlights for me were seeing Bobby Vega skipping around and being funky with the SBL crew, Steve Lawson was beautifully ambient and I actually thought the coffee was quite good! It actually seemed quieter to me than last year, thunderous thumbs were more timid. At least that's how it seemed. Back again today - really want to have a noodle on some basses. And learn some more from the masters! See y'all there!

I used to play this in my last band. Great song for some improvised fills in the chorus, reactions from the crowd usually reveal the bass players.

I bought a copy of the Pedaltrain (Spider Cases) and was dismayed when I realised my Fuel Tank was too deep... so I improvised. Went to a local hardware shop and got some longer screws and nuts to raise the height of the board just enough to allow space for the PSU. Works a treat! Much cheaper than buying a new PSU too.

Sellers don't need to "justify" their rates. If you don't like the percentage they charge, don't sell through them. It's a free country and they are in business to make a living, surprisingly enough... The advantage, when you sell an instrument through someone with a retail outlet, mailing list or whatever, is that they can put your instrument in front of many more people than you can. "Leaving it on the shop floor" is often beneficial, provided it's a desirable instrument, because so many will see it, so I don't know why some are disparaging that. How many people are going to come to your home and look at it through the window?

If you can play a fretted bass why wouldn't you want to try fretless? Theoretically at least, just about every member of this forum has the fundamental skills needed to play a fretless, it would be stranger if most of us didn't fancy giving it a go at some point.

UPS for me have been excellent every time. They even stopped me in the street once to tell me they were on their way to deliver a parcel so I could get home in time

It's a belter How it's in such great condition after all those years is a mystery, mine are bashed to bits Enjoy your New Peavey Weekend

This is my home built semi hollow, medium scale fretless. Really chuffed with it. Full details are in rebuild diaries if anyone is interested.

1966 Gibson EB-2

Epiphone Jack Casady in Blue Royale... No flash...