Leaderboard

Mine arrived last weekend, with a Nordy Mute. I'm 6'4 and have a preference for large bodied wide neck basses, but plugging this in is pretty inspiring. The push button tone controls and pickup selector switches are a lot of fun, and for a super light passive shortscale bass, the 'series' mode is like adding a sub speaker

And so, as a post-script. P and his delightful wife arrived last weekend to pick up the Guitar Bouzouki. And I think he would be happy in me saying he loves it For me, that is a great pleasure and relief in equal measure! P was able to bring his standard Irish Bouzouki for me to have a look at and listen to and that was fascinating. We both agreed that the Guitar Bouzouki has a much richer sound (which would be hoped and expected) and a strummed chord just goes on, beating sub-harmonics all the way, for a long, long time. The neck between the two instruments was quite different, part designed and fully expected and part more of a surprise. P had requested it to be wider and shallower than his original which will always change the curves and feel, but the thing I noticed straightaway was that the 'V' on the original felt distinctly V shaped to the hand further up the fretboard than my build. It doesn't really show on the profile drawings but it does give it a different feel further up the board. Not necessarily a bad feel, but certainly a different feel. Changing that, if P's conclusion was that he wanted that tweaking, is actually a very easy fix and the sort of thing that can be done on a 'while you wait' basis. And there's a crazy coincidence (that I won't go into detail on) that might mean that finding a convenient time to do that would not be too much of problem. But, that said, even at first play, this is P showing how a Guitar Bouzouki should be played. Glorious! And particularly glorious through headphones

Just found this posted on Reddit, a bit harsh maybe....

STOP EVERYTHING..! NOW..! PLEASE..! Get this working with any old duff cassette FIRST, before even considering playing one of the four-track tapes. If it's going to 'eat' tapes, better that it be a duff one..! OK, it doesn't have to be a duff tape, just not one of the precious ones. An ornery stereo tape will do, just to get the transport sorted. Only play your 'good' tapes once it's sorted.

Having had repeated warnings from Mark at Classic & Cool Guitars about the unreliability of post during Covid, it actually touched down safely inside of 24hrs of sending payment. Immaculate, light, and cool as. Strung with quality flatwounds (unsure of brand but they feel great) it has that classic woody thump when played finger style and with a pick it reminded me of that 60s tone on Scott Walker records. The head won't be with me until next week but this was a sure fire hit!

Just wanted to share... I've had this idea in my head of fronting a three piece guitar bass and drums. I love my 80s covers but my band is a bit wary and is straying towards more Dakota, Sex on Fire and some other stuff that makes me cringe but drunk punters enjoy... That's fine, it's got its place. But I'm getting a bit bored of the set and I've noticed my playing is getting so sloppy, so I want a new challenge. I advertised on Thursday night for a guitarist and a drummer. Set out that I want to form a three piece to play covers and work up some originals, stick to 80s style songs but put on a harder edge, and gave three song examples so they know I don't mean Kylie and Rick Astley: Message in a Bottle, Dancing in the Dark, Just Died in Your Arms Tonight. Just three off a long list I've drawn up. I've had two quality guitarists answer, no drummers. Very different guitar styles. Guitar one: rock guitarist. Has sent me clips of playing in big function bands with multiple singers doing very professional disco hits. Other clips of him in a rock three piece where he's doing lead vocals which are OK, as good as most cover band vocalists and I've seen far worse, better than me also I'd say. This could be good: I know how to play with guitarists of his style and my vocal is not the strongest outside of my comfort zone (which isn't very big!) so sharing it out could be good to get a decent range of songs in. Lives a little bit further away from my preferred practice places but not insurmountable. Guitar two: echoey, lush sound scape type stuff. He gets it about filling the sonic space in a three piece. He's keen, he likes the 80s ideas, he lives nearer me, he's also left handed which could be an interesting gimmick or at least allow us to swap instruments every now and then if we feel the need (I've seen him play bass too). I've suggested to meet with each, see if we get on, play some songs together and then each of us has the chance to either say no thanks or go ahead. Hoping one of them works out and we can then record some two guitars and vocals stuff and get it out there to snag a good drummer. There's potential for two very different sounding bands though, with very different strengths. Will be interesting! Two bands isn't an option sadly... I'm still in my existing covers band, have a dep slot with a very similar covers band and two other ad hoc deps that could come in at any time once all is up and running again.

It works out quite well really as by Christmas I'll have a shortage of cash to match the shortage of basses 😫

There are a few or many more BCr,s who love this (Genre?) of music, me being one of them. When Bluey does other projects you know they are going to be good.. Francis Hylton on da bass.

I spoke to Adrian two Days ago and he told me from about 15 Weeks. I am g.a.sed right now by something like this...

Big Reverend fan. Let me introduce the family - Mercalli 4, Decison P and the Sentinel. Bought the first from Andertons, the other two from Merchant City. Richard at MCM is fantastic. Although I still have my USA jazz, it hasn't been out of its case or gigged in the two years since I got my first Rev. The blend knob is a great design and simplicity to use at a gig. I got the Sentinel just before the lockdown and have played it every day since. Just plays and sounds so good. A really first class shortie. Having playing over 100 gigs with these 3 basses I don't quite get the toy analogy particularly with the Merc and Decision which feel substantial to me but we all perceive things differently. If you fancy something a little bit different, are really well made and great after sales (in my experience) then Reverend are definitely worth serious consideration.

At least the AA and RAC will be busy then lol

Happy new to me bass day! Due to hit the doorstep at 4pm today. (Im literally beside myself with excitement. which is a good thing because if it was just me there would be no work done. The fact ther is two of me today, is making things a little easier) Gonna be playing some sweet no latency squelchy Moog synths with this badboy by sundown! *edit* for those not in the know, this bass is capable of outputting midi data to controll actual synths. this is not audio to midi conversion but the notes are triggered by a clever system that tracks our playing through the fretts themselves.

Yup

Have you got a link to the yamaha p bass for sale on here? Ta

I would agree with that description, that the Mercalli is more rounded. I have found the Decision pickups are higher output and played with a pick, the bass can do throaty/aggressive really well. It delivers a big, full sound. It did take some experimenting with the blend knob and my amp settings to find the tone I wanted. A little goes a long way with those pickups and the controls on the Mesa Subway head (I recently upgraded to the D800+). The control configuration on both basses is exactly the same. With the Mercalli, I tend to favour the blend knob slightly forward, towards the neck pickup. It just seems to give it a clear but weighty thump than either pickup soloed. Like a Precision but with a little more bite if that makes sense. The bridge pickup almost sounds like the equivalent on a J bass to me. I tend not to solo it, although for poppier songs in our set, I would roll the blend slightly towards the bridge, just a little more definition. Dead easy to dial in your tone. In short, if I had to pick I would choose the Merc over the Decision. Not only does it look cool (it's described as metallic copper fire and isn't as orange as the photos would suggest), it is very easy to get a tone that I'm happy with and sounds better through IEMs. Again this is just my experience, but I have found that I spend more time tweaking my IEM settings with the Decision, but once I get it, I don't touch a dial for the rest of the night. The Merc is also slightly lighter. The Sentinel is another matter entirely. Now, if only they made a short scale Mercalli!

I use my ms-60b on most of my boards. A great space saver, it is also so versatile. By spending a while programming in patches then allocating letters to them in set list order no reason not to gig with it. However I tend to use mine either as an always on (HPF, compressor, drive) or as a standalone for whatever I need on a particular board. I love mine so much I'm building a small board entirely made from ms-60b 's.

Wal video

Yup I know exactly what you mean. Maybe reversing the bridge pickup would have less plink. I think I’ve seen BC Rich do that. But this is what my buddy wants. Maybe he likes plink! Is that even a word 😆

Hello! Just wanted to share you all the brand new single from my band Pickpocket called How 'Bout It? Rhythm section recorded live, I used my trusty F Bass into a Demeter 201 and an Avalon U5. Watch it here: Stream it on your preferred platform here: LISTEN/DOWNLOAD And pay what you want on bandcamp here: Bandcamp If you dig it, please spread the good news Thanks!

There is a Gretsch in the photo?

Couple of weeks ago, doing some remote recording to be stitched together for virtual band

If you are price sensitive i wonder why you are considering new? There's a Barefaced 210 in the ads here for £400 which is more than your budget but a lot of speaker for your money and other bargains to be had and that is just here. This person has a couple of TC cabs to sell, you'll need to read the ad but it looks like he may split the bundle if you take one of the cabs

Exactly (and top maths BTW). But I also agree with drTStingray in the fact that I love my Gibson Thunderbird and even though I know it may not be true value for money, I find it utterly sublime and would never trade it for an epi + cash. I still want an old Smoothie more than anything, but needs must and 115 quid is hilarious money for a whole bass, regardless of quality. I can't wait to see if it is any good.

It's the same in the bicycle trade too. I work for an importer/distributor and products that are usually about a 3 month lead time are being quoted at 9/10 months now. One of our popular bikes that now retails between £5500 and £8500 is totally sold out until next August. And we ordered 30% more than we sold last year... madness! We did 8 months worth of business in a 3 week period earlier this year. The warehouse is the size of 8 football pitches and it was almost empty at one point. With everyone being stuck at home for the summer musical instruments, home recording gear, home office equipment and bikes went mad. Limited factory capacity due to shutdowns and more recent problems getting things shipped gives you the perfect storm.

Mine's probably 200 times better to me!! But mine has also been discontinued since 2016 - in fact the whole Classic and Old Smoothie ranges are discontinued so you can't get one unless someone deigns to sell their's - not mine btw! OP I hope you enjoy your Stingray Classic 5 style bass 😏 Sounds a good price. I have something similar.

My white Jack Casady

Round here? Throw a stick!

I'm pretty sure more pb50's would sell in Surf Green than Fiesta Red, Dakota Red although not strictly 50s would look better. 😉

Oh dear I’m not even going to edit it. It shall remain, as a memorial to my idiocy.

On the basis of that, I'm going to have to put off watching the video until I'm off the work computer. 😁

I must have missed the OC-4

You should wear a mask if going out Dave

Taxpayers money is being squandered and there is no tender procedure and no accountability. Not to mention how many of these firms make huge contributions to a certain political party, quid pro quo?

Loose drive belt?

That came about purely by accident 🙂 A German YT fella (Corey ?) was reviewing loads of HBs and approached Thomann about a poll for colours. Poll went on a Harley Benton FB group. It was just guitars getting votes until a lefty Canadian (Nerkoids) suggested a lefty Surf Green PB-50, 2 changes for the price of one 😀 The pair of us posted on every bass forum we could think of asking folk to join the FB group and vote for Nerkoids 😁 Much to the disgust of guitar players wanting yet another colour of SC-450, Nerkoids suggestion came 3rd 👍 Shame Thomann reneged on the colour and went with red.

NBD - industrial radio MidiBass!!