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You'll get plenty of offers doing that. Not sure how many bass related though.😱

Had a huge blast with the Fodera folks picking up my new Emperor Elite 6 last Tuesday. A dream instrument crafted by wonderful people with the deepest passion.

Been after an 8x10 for a while to complete the SVT rig. Went today to pick up one I got on eBay. Sounds good, except I can't really crank it at home right now to gig volume to really hear what it sounds like in anger. Pretty angry, I'd imagine. After hearing horror stories about carting them about, I have to say it's actually easier (provided you've got wide enough doors etc) to move than a couple of 4x10s, just because you wheel it about like a trolley. The head is more of a pain in the backside tbh Anyway, i'm delighted & wanted to share in the delight with you

Can I hear ya' say YEAH! 😁

Good question, and I genuinely haven’t a clue. Maybe it’s the wood selection, maybe the time they put into it. Or, (in a purely fun way) the cynic in me says maybe it’s...

Very nice!

It's the ultimate rig, isn't it? Ampeg do a video on how to transport it, but much like the Daleks, in the video Ampeg don't appear to do stairs!

For the Win..!

There are two ways of rating power, RMS watts and everything else. RMS is what's used when you want to give your customer accurate information, anything else is what's used when you don't. RMS watts might not be the best description, as RMS really only properly refers to voltage, but it's worked well enough for nigh on a century, so there's no reason to change it now.

If You Like A Lot of Chocolate on Your Biscuit, Join Our (Monday) Club...?

Sounds like a slightly more politically correct Black and White Minstrels dance troupe.

Shirley Bassey's vocals had to go through two studio compressors. If you heard her without compression, your effing head would explode. 😁

The newer Rays are great. But I would add the new Ray 25 for $500 and $550 for a 5 are good-playing basses. I played a blonde-colored one at the local shop and was impressed with the neck and the sound. They have a 2-band e.q. and ceramic pickup. The Ray 34 is nearly as good as my 2017 US Ray. The blue Ray 34 in the pictures was made in S.Korea. It has a mahogany back and quilted maple top. It sounds the same as a regular ash body to me. The 2018 Stingray is great and maybe I can buy one if I save up.

I was watched an old Open University maths programme the other day and I came up with "Allan Solomon and The New Integration" I may have to form a band just to use that name

Heel transition starting to get there...

Give it a few days and come back to it, then it will seem like someone else has done all the guitar tracks for you!

Neck carve is almost there. This is the excellent bit of the build because, like on @eude 's 6-stringer, you get to be able to play plenty of air-guitar! I get the basic shape using the profile templates taken from the future owner's favourite playing bass, but then go very much by feel. Still a bit of tweaking, but the basic shape is almost there: Certainly it's close enough for me to be able to feel my way into the heel carve. Here, there's still lots more carving to do to get to a smooth transition as you approach the body and good access to the top frets but the basic shape is starting to emerge: The carving is starting to create some really nice grain patterns too I won't have time to finish the carve today, but should be within maybe a couple of days. In the meantime, I'm doing a bit of experimenting with some offcuts of the top wood with different combinations of final coatings, including an interesting variation of the Osmo range - 1101...a very much thinner version of their 'gloss' that might actually come out as an alternative to using their thicker 3032 Satin Polyx. A helpful tip from Gillett Guitars Andy

The quality of EBMM is right up there. But, considering I bought a brand new untouched from the dealer Musicman Stingray HH guitar (not bass) for around £1150 about 6 months ago, and they are now £2400+ (although they do now have a lovely roasted neck) I really struggle with new pricing, and that applies to Fender. and Gibson! Bongos are now £1000+ more than a few years ago. They are excellent premium instruments, no doubt about it.

I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating. I paid just over £2k for my Helix and RCF745. My previous big bass rig which was mostly bought second hand over 10 years ago cost me more, and while it looks impressive on stage the Helix RCF combination is far more versatile. One thing did occur to me recently; a lot of the gigs I play are supports to well-established goth/post punk bands where the headliner will have brought an Ampeg stack or similar. I set up my RCF in wedge mode just in front, and still looks as though I'm using a big impressive bass rig while sounding infinitely better!

I used to get this in an old band, usually "just play twelve bar blues" yeah thanks but when you're just blaring out a solo I don't know where you're going next to support it. Or it would be the farking Status Quo medley. I know it's only three chords but which three... Oh you're now in a new song, great. It's demoralising and not a constructive use of time if you're not bringing everyone along. Maybe you suggest that either you jam around a structure so everyone can competently join in, and solo, or you don't bother with unstructured jams. It may be the height of guitar-god look how great I am wankery but if they can't explain the structure they're just bluffing. If they're not willing to then they're not good band band mates. Maybe you need to say words to the effect "I can't support your self indulgent ego build exercise without the most basic instruction so you can either look like a tit with a full band behind you or look like a selfish tit who excludes their bandmates, your choice"

I think I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never own this classic rig. I am jealous beyond belief!

I had one of those and one of the giveaways was the screw pattern on the control backplate. It's different to the MIJ ones. The one we are talking about does not have MIJ stamped on it but looks like it is one. SGC Nanyo is an absolute minefield to negotiate.

My fab four joining the fistful fiver fun...

Buy a bass in London, when you get down there, do the gig and take it back for a refund the next day. Tell the shop you don't like the colour or it's got too many/too few strings..

Trace Elliot were at one point in the 1980s THE best bass amp around. They were used up and down the country by a ton of bass players (who could afford them) and compared to what was available at the time, were light years ahead the competition. They had a unique, full, quality sound which was perfect for finger and pick styles but excelled in slap & pull style. You could see these amps being used by so many different music styles, from Reggae to metal, funk to pop. They were expensive at the time, but you really did get what you paid for. The one you have pictured in the Mk V series GP11 AH500 which was one of the best around at the time (early 80s). I had one, along with 4x10 and 1x15 fane speaker loaded cabs. The sound was absolutely immense and super loud, to the point where it really could get uncomfortable for drummer and guitarist. I used it with a 62 Fender Precision, 76 Fender Jazz bass and a Yamaha BB1100s fretless. The sound was amazing and as I said, it really was hard to get a bad sound out of the rig. Sound engineers loved them for their hand DI out at the back and the handy feature of a noise gate was the icing on the cake. I've used Trace gear in various guises for most of my bass playing career, in fact I remember the Series 6 being demo'd at the British Music Fair in 1986 I'm that old! The weight of them was what put me off, as there were lighter cabs around. The quality that went into them was revolutionary at the time, with the graphic, pre-shaping and sheer volume - not to mention the green and black colour scheme set off by the UV light just looked great on a dark stage. I used a small 100watt GP7 1x15 combo throughout the 1990s along with a Status 6 string and loved the sound. I finally gave up the ghost on Trace after using one of their Series 6 2x10 combo valve hybrid amps and the weight just being too much for me. Still love the sound of Trace gear and always feel nostalgic when I see the Series 5 and 6 amps. Can't believe the second-hand prices nowadays compared to what they used to be. Oh, by the way, they used to be manufactured in a place called Witham in Essex which I visited on more than one occasion for a service on these amps. They were superb there, with first class customer service too.

all want is for people to stop bringing politics into every thread

I had the AH350 many moons ago. Great heads - powerful, unburstable, reliable, heavy. If you can live with the weight, they are still great amps. TE's design brief was to mate a good quality pre' with proper eq to a PA power amp output stage. They were originally built in the wilds of rural Essex (I took mine to the factory for a service/repair and they did it on the spot whilst I went to the local pub for lunch). They were a bit of a revelation in their day compared to what else was available and that uv front light looked cool.

And it's pretty much finished... @eude is probably going to change the electrics so we opted to just put the old electrics back in. The jack is actually fine, but both pots are shot. I'll order some replacements anyway to fit while the finish is hardening. But, other than the final tweaks on the setup and a final buff up in a few days time, its finished. I've obviously gone heavy on the tru-oil because it's ended up at 8 3/4 lbs rather than the 8 1/2 I was projecting but it sits BEAUTIFULLY on the strap. Even my slippy cheap nylon strap - it rests level and will sit and stay at almost any angle you care to play. It actually feels lighter on the strap than it actually is, presumably for the same reason. The fretboard is just polished - progressive from around 2000 grit paper to 12000 micro-web. The figuring shows up great in real life. I'll probably take a few more fancier shots when the lighting is right, but here it is in the meantime:

I keep trying to start an INXS tribute band named Stranglew4nk, some right weirdos come to audition

I was looking for one of them for an age, ended up going a different direction with a will lee sig rather than a Roscoe beck sig (both players I’ve never heard) it looks awesome - you have some lovely basses walshy

Watch the wattson the cabs

Ain't it always the way..! Never mind, one has to do as one would when falling from one's horse: get straight back in the saddle and gallop on. I've a few choice words of wisdom and encouragement for you, which may help... 'It's the first forty years that are the worst, after which things sometimes tend to get slightly better.' There you go, done and dusted..! Good luck with the next gig.

Took the words right out of my mouth!

One fretted, one fretless. I'm not that extravagant.

Of course, if a load of drunk Puerto Ricans and Cubans walk into the pub, they will love it...

All i want for christmas is the cancellation of brexit. That would be the best christmas present.

I had the same experience and agree it's very frustrating, however....... It's a learnable skill, what has been working for me is loads of ear training and working on audiation. It's sounds stupid (and obvious) now when I think about it and it took me years to figure out that playing any instrument well enough to improvise comes from being musical within. I now believe that to make the most of your practice you should spend at least as much time working on your musicianship as working bass in hand. Just learning your intervals can pay huge dividends, if you know them well you'll keep up enough in a jam. Get comfortable with singing and sing everything, scales, bass lines, melodies everything!

I don’t really understand why anyone would compromise on strings - they are integral tone, feel and quality on any bass. Given the longevity of flatwounds it seems a false economy to not get the set that does the job for you. We spend so much on basses and amps, and I’ve spent more on cables and wireless systems than I ever have on strings....

I once received a text from a number not in my contacts it read... Have put up the tent, despite the rain and found a slave.

I know it isn’t a band name but I still think Ten Benson’s album Satan Kidney Pie is possibly the best album name ever.

I had a band called Not the Hoople once. We did two gigs. We were not a Mott the Hoople tribute, it was a silly joke name because one of the local bars had tribute acts with really lazy names that may as well have been "not Queen" and so on. We were an acoustic duo. We did have a Mott the Hoople fan arrive who thanked us at half time before leaving saying "it's good but not what I was expecting". To be fair, it wasn't even good.