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On Friday 24th October, I made a Freedom of Information request regarding the information held by the Leicester Court service in relation to Case Reference 33JJ0821825. I received a very speedy reply, via email. Basschatters will see that I have not commented on the case, nor given an opinion on the defendant. Instead, I am simply collating and sharing facts that have already been published elsewhere. However, I have added in my own clarification text in square brackets, to give context to their response. Their email, below: "Good Afternoon, Thankyou for your email. I can only see one case for this defendant [Michael Mason] on our system - 33JJ0821825 - Leicester Crown Court - 26/11/2025 Offence 1 - Make / supply article for use in fraud - Fraud Act 2006 On 16/05/2023 at Leicester you made an article, namely made, intending it to be used to commit, or assist in the commission of, fraud 'Contrary to section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006 Offence 2 - Commit an act / series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice On 16/06/2023 at Leicester you, with intent to pervert the course of public justice, did a series of acts, namely producing a fake court order, which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice 'Contrary to Common Law 3 - Pretend to act under the authority of a County Court On 16/06/2023 at Leicester you acted under a false colour or pretence of the process or authority of the county court in that produced a fake court order intending to convince a county court sheriff that you had a genuine set aside order. 'Contrary to section 135(b) of the County Courts Act 1984 I cannot see anything on the case that says "ADJ TO THE 26.11.2025 DUE TO LACK OF COURT TIME" [ I had asked what this phrase meant]. You can request a court transcript via the link you have provided. [ I had asked how I could obtain a transcript of the 26th November case, and the official confirmed that I can request the transcript via the link here https://www.gov.uk/apply-transcript-court-tribunal-hearing ] Kind Regards, [Official's name redacted]"

I always suspected Julia Hofer was classically trained in some way, shape or form. Now I find out she's a Cellist like me. Interesting performance, too...

Yes it has, thanks for asking. Delivered around 2pm yesterday. Perfect timing as the band was working on some new numbers last night. I unpacked it to make sure all was in order (which it was), had a quick play and parked it until the practice. The short answer to your question is I'm loving it!! I hadn't said anything to the other members of the band but much to my surprise they were all over it with 'Ooos' and 'Wows' as soon as I took it out of its gig bag. Much more important than that, they were very complimentary about the way it sounded as the evening went on. For rehearsals I go through a Mesa D800+ and Barefaced SC3 with amp EQ pots centred at 12 o'clock. A few tweaks of the 'voicing' and HPF controls and experimentation with the low boost quickly found the right 'default' sound with both pickups selected on the bass. The Mullarkey has a robust but well-defined presence that sits very nicely in the mix. This is timely because our guitarist's new Strat has very dominant lows that were competing with my stuff. Can't wait to hear this bass through my Ampeg SVT-7 PRO and LFSys Monaco gig rig a week on Friday. More later.

The craftsmanship on this ..... Just love 30 inch basses now

Incredibly disappointing thread based on that title 😂

Nearly finished rehousing this old combo head. Someone on Basschat offered it for free (!) in the recycling section here a while ago. I can’t find the messages to name drop them and thank them again. 12mm ply, original knobs were missing so put on this hideous set. Just got to find screws to hold it in to the case now. It was supposed to have some sort of fault, but after a quick poke around and reseating the power amp to preamp cable, it works beautifully!

Deon Estus. His bass work for Wham! was sublime.

To most of the audience it's a guitar.

If you want one then yes. If you don't then no. I find a J more versatile overall but sometimes, for my ears, only a P will do. I doubt the audience cares though!

I'd not call myself an expert, but I can offer a bit of insight here. There's not a lot of standardisation regarding how amplifier power is measured. Some spec sheets will state "at the onset of clipping", others will define it at 0.1% THD others at 1%. The fact of the matter is, once you're starting to clip the THD rises very quickly, so there's not much difference in the measured power whether it's quoted at 0.1% or 1% - certainly not enough to account for the discrepancy between 300W and 500W. Something that really confuses the issue is that volume controls are not calibrated, so you have no idea where clipping is. To make matters worse the control law of volume controls vary a lot, too. Even if the gain of two amplifiers is the same with their volume control maxed out, their gain at 50% might still be wildly different. (When I worked at HH, it was believed that our midlands based rival were "cheating" by using linear rather than logarithmic volume contols. At low volume settings these give much more gain than logarithmic controls and it's easy to mistake this for being louder or more powerful!) Then we have the sensitivity of speaker cabs which vary wildly and this can have a huge effect on the actual acoustic power that's being generated. Which is to say it's all very complicated and unless you can calibrate the gain of everything any subjective comparisons of "power" or "volume" are pretty meaningless. That's not to say anyone is wrong about whatever their favourite amp/cabinet is, just that any comparisons with another bit of kit in terms of volume may not be very valid. (In the Hi-Fi world it's generally reckoned that you need to gain match to within 0.1dB to make any valid sound quality comparisons. 0.1dB is the difference between 100W and 103W!) Hope this is of interest and maybe even help, too!

I'd go one further and say I expect a prototype to be even better - I would expect individual attention paid to it, and if they're trying to get a new product line off the ground, they need to impress at trade shows and the likes. I had the pleasure of owning an actual prototype bass (a Harley Benton HB-50) which had been hawked around Guitar Summit then sold as B-stock by Thomann. It was superbly put together and It had better hardware than the production model which finally appeared, specifically the bridge.

Oh yes, she has just as many chops on the cello as the bass too. On top of all that, she seems like the nicest person too. Don’t you just hate her?

I think it boils down to how we see the membership. Are we mates, colleagues or just a resource. I was interested to read about a mates rate being offered when there is hidden pricing - something is up for a certain price but the seller will sell to certain folk at a lower price. I hate haggling and only make an offer when one is invited. I would not be aware such a price was available. Naturally, anyone can sell their own stuff at whatever price they like. Like I said, I have a mental list of people (which this thread is expanding) to whom I wouldn't want to sell, because I feel their subsequent sale is again my own view of this place. As with sellers, that is my perogative.

No.

Okay, so I've owned quite a few Precisions over the years, from 2008 American Standard to AVRI to Nate Mendel & early Classic Vibe to Mexican Standard. Latterly, the only one I ever kept and used for about 5 years was the first generation American Professional (the white/mint one that was used in several Andertons videos - yes, that very bass), due to its lovely clear top end from the excellent V-Mod pickup. Sadly, after I left a named 60s band continuation to join another live show, it sat for two years unplayed, so I moved it on as per the rules of basses not earning me money. Oddly, I've never been specifically asked to play a Precision for a session, gig or show of any kind, but it's sort of received opinion that you should have one. Playing wise and sound wise, I've always been more on the Jazz bass side, both for it's relative delicacy and adaptability. What's feeding this line of thought? I played a £5000 Olinto Precision at Andy Baxter's the other day. Obviously I'm not going to pour that kind of money into one, but maybe another 1st/2nd gen American Professional may be on the cards..? Whadda-ya'll reckon? Discuss...

I’ve just completed this Basschat parts build and it’s beautiful.

one nit pick: the chrome neck pickup cover is for a P, its wider than a J cover

I’ve gone full circle on this, back in the day when I started earning a few quid I bought precisions and loved them, then I got the jazz bass itch and played only jazzes for many years, they gave me the nice lows I preferred for reggae and dub, now I’m into both but really appreciate the sound of the P bass more than I did then, I couldn’t be without either

Here is my pedal board. Any suggestions for a better order?

And just in case you don't think a magnet can't hold a Gnome captive. This is my magnetic tray doing the lifting

They probably wouldn't need to be that big either. Strangely I nearly ordered some last night to hold on a grille I'm fitting to my BC108 I'd just ordered a couple of bits from AliExpress including some threaded inserts for mounting the speakers and noticed the said magnets in the corner of the screen at a good price, but just as I clicked so too late. I'm sitting here with my Gnome in front of me, as you can see the feet are naturally dovetailed so flipping them over would be possible. Alternatively a bigger bolt head or a steel washer would bring the screw head up to a fraction below the feet so that a set of four neo button magnets would engae with the bolt head and it would stop an amp sliding around. Another option would be to embed a magnet into the feet to engage with magents embedded in the cab.-

Flipping basses for profit on Basschat is perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned. There's so much to consider regarding the original sale price, like did the seller need a quick sale and reduce the price accordingly, did they know the true market value of the bass, did they bother to find out? Everyone on Basschat is an adult, making their own decisions. It's a big bad world out there, and Basschat is part of it. You can't infantilize people by protecting them from themselves. It's the sellers responsibility to set a price they can live with. Providing no one has cheated anyone or been intentionally dishonest, that's it. Once the bass is sold it's someone else's property. They can do as they please. If I sold an instrument on Basschat and the buyer then flogged it for more I would be delighted for them, or at worst I would blame myself not the person who made a profit, and learn from it.

I don't think you'll be disappointed, I'm over the moon with mine. I nearly went for the bigger Monaco, but I'm glad I went for the Monza, I really am.

Wait ... you can sell basses?

This topic has been raised numerous times with the same opinions offered. If someone is happy to sell an item to someone for price A and the buyer then does a little tinkering, freshens it up, plays it for a while, then sells it on for price B (higher) I really don't see the problem. The problem would be if the buyer misled the seller by saying something like "Please can you sell it a little cheaper as I only have X much cash and this is an item I have always wanted" and then they flip it for a profit straight away. I have bought literally thousands of guitars and basses over the years, my 'buying rule of thumb' is to never buy something for a price where I'll likely loose money if I sell it. This has given me a fantastic opportunity to play with more basses/guitars/amps than I EVER would have had I paid absolute top dollar all the time. It's also meant many many people have made a sale at a price they were happy with. Being honest, on balance I've probably made a little money on most basses etc. I've ended up moving on down the line, but they have typically left me in better condition than they arrived. I've also sold basses to known BassChatters at X price to the see it listed for a much higher price a week later. So be it, I sold the bass so I then don't have a stake in what that buyer does with it after that - I've got my cash. While direct profiteering might not be in the spirit of BassChat, I don't have an objection to it so long as the seller wasn't misled by the buyer. We dont complain at Bass Direct and Bass Bros making their back end, nor about literally any shop we buy anything from. Just my two cents!

On Saturday we rocked up bright and early and set up at one of our favourite venues in Bolton. Our dep drummer walked in just after 8 with his phone to his ear and a stunned expression. He said his elderly mum had had a fall and was on the flooring her kitchen and he had to go sort her out with an ambulance. He said he'd be back asap. A bit of a shock, but we decided that our only way forward was to play the two sets acoustically, instead of the 4-5 we were going to start with. Our dep drummer didn't reappear as he was in A&E at Wythenshawe hospital and his mum was only seen at 2am. I felt so sorry for the dreadful situation with his mum. He sent us an awful photo of her bruised face. He did exactly the right thing. Fortunately it went down very well and we even threw in some songs we'd never played together before. It's such a pleasure to have my new guitarist in the band. There's enthusiasm now, as opposed to the 'getting through it' that we had before.

I always liked the look of a Fender PBAC, they don't appear often so even the chance to just try one out is very rare. Having waited a few years for one to appear, to my amazement one did appear, not only that, it was being sold by none other than @Happy Jack, so no worries about, well, anything really. I wasn't the first to see the ad but I was the first to say I'd have it if it hadn't already gone..? 🤞 Phew, it hadn't. I drove over to Jack's the next day. I'm not one for sitting down with an instrument and noodling for hours before deciding if I like it, I am impetuous to the point of foolish and have bought a few basses only having played a few notes. However, in this case, I think I'm right in saying I didn't play it at all, just seeing it was enough, let's just say we hit it off instantly. I had briefly seen @Silvia Bluejay at the front door on the way in and before Jack knew it I was off. I should apologise really for not hanging around longer being sociable but on the way I realised I had double booked my self and had to rush back to do some archery coaching! I got home and, as ever when I buy a new bass, I put it in the rack and forgot about it for a few days. I don't know why I do this but I do, I also always take my basses straight to Guitar Technical Services as soon as I get them for a set up, luckily he could fit me in that weekend. I drove up to Warwick, the bass was checked over and was in top order, he did remark (something I had noticed too) that the fingerboard was screaming out for some oil! I left it with him to fettle and tweak, he knows how I like my basses set up. As I was driving back I realised I still hadn't played a note on it (I don't think). I'm rambling, anyway, a week later I got it home and on the following Friday I used it during a rehearsal. Although I have very much got used to short scales I adapted pretty quickly (which is odd for me). All my basses have thumb rests, the PBAC doesn't have one so I rest my thumb on the very bottom of the fingerboard, the notes really bloom on this bass when played in this position, playing there also helped with the shift from short to long scale. We played several of our songs and the difference with a full sized bass was huge, a real improvement all round. Having had it a few months now I have to say I am loving it. The other fretted basses are lingering and looking like they need to be moved on. The chrome flats on the PBAC fit most of our songs, my new Sire GB5-4 (stupid name) will fit the few that need that bright metallic twang, but it's going to be difficult, the PBAC is the sort of bass that fits with an acoustic duo perfectly, it might have to be prized out of my cold, dead hands. Now I have a wait of Bog knows how long until a fretless version appears...

I never bought into that "Every bassist needs a P bass" bs. Some of the best bassists in the world aren't Precision players...I'm sure I don't have to make a list...and I don't have one in my current bass lineup. Do I need any of these? No, but they're what I 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦, not what I was told to choose.

Jesus that’s good!!

I'd put the POG2 before the Big Muff, as the Muff will affect the tracking on the octaves. Experiment with chorus before and after the Muff, it makes a big difference!

I think this distills it really well. It's also why I prefer (when possible) to meet people and hand over or collect basses in person. The last bass I sold (pre-EB Stingary) we met up and had a lovely coffee and a fantastic chat in the sun.

As a confirmed Precision man of course I’m going to say yes. But rationally speaking, if you need that sound then yes, because although many basses will get near it, well it’s only near, not spot on. But if it’s just because, well because, then probably not.

I think they definitely can be, if you watch some of Sean Hurley’s videos his effortless playing and tone is just so good , I don’t think you’d get the same outcome if it wasn’t a P bass

At the very least we get to stop the complaints over it not having had a phaser like it’s somehow the most important effect ever.

Took a quick lunchtime trip up into beautiful Northumberland to see local electronics wizard Dave Coates who diagnosed and fixed the issue in about five minutes. As suspected, one of the four legs of the volume pot board was loose in the main board. A quick whizz over with the soldering iron and she’s as good as new.

For the longest time ..... I did not need or in fact particularly care for Precisions .... I prefered the jazz body shape , i prefered the tone and artists who used Rays' ... Or gibson basses. I suspect it's the " horrid black Argos / Encore P bass with the white scratch plate that every single young bass player round my neck of the woods was using where I grew up has " tainted " me , i don't recall many entry level Jazz options back then ... unless you had Rich parents ... which not many of us growing up in Hounslow seemed to do. It wasn't until i grabbed a cheap P bass for my own wedding gig a squire abroad to save on shipping a bass i figured i'd buy one then flog it back to them used ... they seemed quite happy about it I played pretty much everything in the store under Euro 500 ..... the Antigua classic Vibe came home and you know what i even paid to ship the bloody thing home ... its great ...

@scrumpymike you have got some amazing rigs there to go with your fantastic bass! Enjoy!

Harmony H22 batwing , SG , and Gretsch Thunderjet 6128B , all with flats , I’m a thumper.

Once again, Bill goes above and beyond with advice and help. Mods, please make him a Grand Master. He probably won't be fussed, but it's the least BC can do. Edited to add: Have since found he's already a GM. Just wanted to record my appreciation of his generosity in sharing his knowledge and expertise. Good on ya, Bill.

I used to have strong feelings about/against it, but firstly it's what shops such as Bass Direct/Bass Bros do and we don't have a problem with that. Secondly (and more importantly) we never know what a person is dealing with in life, quite a few members have lost their jobs recently, or have other financial problems (divorce/increased cost of living etc), and while I've historically tended to flip basses for a loss here, if I were in a difficult situation financially and struggling to pay the bills/put food on the table, I'd have no problem doing it for a profit. I hope it doesn't come to that, and I suspect I'd probably still make it clear where the bass came from. Basschat is a strong community the members of which are 99.99% of the time highly supportive of each other, even to the point of happily donating gear and even money to other members with problems. Perhaps part of that charitable ethos is also to allow other members to make a few quid buying and selling?