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Some of you may have seen my Alembic Spyder bass in the sale section. I had listed it on Reverb, the Alembic forum and eventually on eBay as well, where it received a few enquiries, most of which were from outside the UK. I didn't really want to ship it anywhere, firstly because of the value (I would have gone out of my way to a UK buyer personally to ensure no loss or damage) and secondly because the bass in its case weighed over 40lbs, not to mention that I didn't have anything large enough to put the whole thing in. Mid-January, I received another message from someone who was interested in buying the bass....but he lived in the USA. After some messaging back and forth, temporarily suspending my worries about it getting lost and/or damaged, I agreed to look into it thinking that the cost of shipping this behemoth would most likely rule out any further interest from my prospective buyer. Here are the quotes from UPS: I must admit, the quotes weren't as high as I thought they were going to be given the size, weight and value. I sent them over to the buyer, let's calls him B, and he was happy to pay if I was prepared to get it organised. I have to admit to sitting there thinking about it for a while, but I figured if it managed to arrive in this country in one piece, why not the other way around? Now I've shipped a few basses in my time, internationally too, but this is the most expensive and heaviest one by far and over the furthest distance. I think my previous record was Kazakhstan (don't ask). First I had to make a custom box. Fortunately my neighbours had bought a large piece of furniture which came wrapped in cardboard, so I saved the bin men a job and stashed it away in my garage. It took me and my son over an hour to pack the bass, make one cardboard box, wrap that in bubble wrap and then make another box to go around that. I think we did a pretty good job. After B had decided which shipping method he wanted (UPS Express Saver) and paid for everything in full, I then booked the shipping online. I've never used UPS before, but I found their online system to be very intuitive - a heck of a lot easier than some basses I've sent via DHL etc. Even better was the fact that the earliest collection date was the day after I booked it. Very efficient. It turns out that up to this point i.e. UPS taking the not inconsiderable sum of several hundred pounds from us, this was by far the easiest and trouble free part of the story. My collection slot was between 12 midday and 5pm on Thursday 3rd February. We live in a close. It's easy enough to get into. Tesco and Sainsbury's seem to have no bother with home deliveries. About 10am on the Thursday I happened to see a UPS van at the end on the close. It turned in, turned around and left again without coming anywhere near the house. Odd thinks I, but you can guess what is coming. It gets to 5 pm and I've been in all day. No-one has come near the house at all. It gets to 5.15 (see what I did there?) and I decide to ring UPS. Getting through to UPS isn't the easiest thing I've ever done. Ringing the main number doesn't give an option to speak with a human. You have to wait to get through a whole cycle of the options and then say 'Customer Service Representative' and it attempts to connect you. I spoke with someone who said the driver called and there was no reply at the address. Unable to contain my disbelief, I let a 'well that's bo11ocks' slip out before I knew I had said it. The female American voice didn't seem to register what I had said, but got the gist that I wasn't happy and arranged for the local UPS depot to ring me back. I put the phone down thinking I'll be ringing them back sometime tomorrow, when much to my surprise my mobile rang about half an hour later - and it was UPS! I explained that I had been in all day and that the lady I had spoke to initially said the driver called with no reply. This second lady couldn't apologise more if she tried. She said 'I don't know why he didn't get to you, but I can see he didn't' (presumably though tracking). I'm not sure why the first person I spoke to couldn't see that, but never mind. She arranged for a driver who was just ending his shift to divert to me on his way back from Southend to make the collection. I thank her and we end the call. A UPS driver, a very nice man, calls 30 minutes later and collects the bass. I message B to say it's on it's way. B is happy. The following morning my mobile rings. The conversation starts thusly: Man: You booked a shipping through UPS Me: Sorry, who is this? Man: UPS Exports Dept. You booked a shipment to err.....Dallas Me: Yes Man: What's it made of? Me: Wood and strings mainly Man: Is this as a business or a one off? Me: A one-off. I've never used UPS before Man: Has it got any Rosewood in it? Me: No Man: Oh, that should be OK then. As long as it hasn't got any Rosewood in it Me: I can send you the full manufacturers spec which I just happen to have in front of me, along with the original build certificate from them if that helps? I then read him the full spec of the bass including materials Man: That would great He gives me his e-mail address Me: Is there anything else there we should be worried about? Man: No. That sounds fine to me Call ends. The UPS system is set up to notify of any changes or updates to your shipment. It works well. I was informed it had been held prior to export and that UPS man had then cleared it and off it went. The bass was scheduled to be delivered on Monday 7th February. I could see from tracking that it made it over the Atlantic. B can see this too as I signed him up for e-mail updates as well. I continue to receive updates and I notice one that says 'your package has been held by a 'Government Agency' as there is no Harmonisation Code on the package invoice. I'm not surprised there isn't because firstly I wasn't asked for one and secondly I don't know what that is anyway. I contact the UPS Export Man (I have his e-mail address and his mobile number so he can't ignore me) and ask him what is going on. UPS Export Man, who works for one of the largest international shipping organisations in the world, says he can't access any of the USA UPS systems or speak to the UPS people in the USA!! Well, one things for sure, I'm not ringing them from here! I explain about the missing code. He is no help. Fortunately, B is switched on and gets on the phone to UPS over there. Eventually he manages to speak with someone who finds out the bass is being held in Kentucky - which is not close to Dallas - roughly 15 hours away. They require him to give his Social Security number for reasons that we've never got to the bottom of. Various phone calls, e-mails and enquiries are made by him. We look into the code and find a massive list online and agree one that fits electric guitar. They seem happy with this. It then appears there is a problem because the bass has Mother of Pearl inlays in the fretboard. I receive an e-mail from the Fish & Wildlife Analyst at the UPS Brokerage Office asking for the following information: "Please assist in providing a detailed invoice listing the scientific name (genus and species), source (wild, captive) and country of origin of the mother of pearl inlay included in this shipment." My heart sinks. I didn't have any of the answers to these questions. Fortunately, I knew someone who did. Mica at Alembic. I've had a few conversations with Mica in the past and she has always been super helpful. This time was no exception. She came back to me within 24 hours with the following: "Hello! I see you have run into the Fish and Wildlife Department and form 3-177. The mother of pearl we use is: Field 16a (Genus Species): Pinctada Maxima Field 16b (Common Name): Oyster Field 18a (Description): SPR Field 18b (Source): C Field 20 (Origin): PH This means the mother of pearl originated from a captive breeding program (pearl farm) in the Phillippines. SPR is the code for "shell product" Hopefully this is enough information to clear up the issues you are experiencing. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Best regards, Mica." I send this information off to UPS Brokerage and after another few calls by B, they seem to be happy. We receive e-mail updates that the bass has been cleared. We then receive e-mails saying the bass is being held pending payment of import taxes. Question: Does a bass that was made in the USA and is then exported become liable to duties if it comes back into the USA? Actual Answer: No. UPS Answer: Yes. There was no getting around this. The charge had to be paid or they weren't going to deliver it. End of. B got his credit card out and paid UPS over the phone having been advised that the correct answer is 'No' and that there is a process to challenge it and get the payment refunded. Everyone seems to be happy again and we are back on track for delivery, although he tracking shows it as 'on the way' (not to be confused with 'out for delivery' which is the next step after 'on the way') with no delivery time/date shown. B gets on the phone again. Tracking gets updated. By Friday the 11th, the shipment is now shown as 'out for delivery' by 7pm which is 1am Saturday in the UK. I'm not going to get any sleep until I know how this pans out, so I may as well stay up. We get to 6.55pm Dallas time and B sends me a message saying the van has just pulled up - then nothing.... I then get this message: "The UPS guy wouldn't give it to me because I paid the duties online, like I was supposed to. Tried to leave with the guitar. I grabbed at it and he then flew into a rage and thought I was trying to hit him. Had to write another check for $613 that I'm going to have to cancel. He said it doesn't matter if his little digital pad doesn't show it and then threw the box about just to be a Richard". This tale does have a fairytale ending though. B opened the box and the bass was it had left me and he couldn't be happier. Never say never again, but never again.

Saw this one at Russo Music, a local shop. Fender Custom Shop '60s Jazz Bass NOS Rosewood, Faded Shell PinkFender Custom Shop '60s Jazz Bass with AAA rosewood fingerboard, handwired single-coil pickups, and Fender Custom Shop New Old Stock finish treatment $4,300.00

I had some matt black vinyl that is suitable for wrapping... so I thought I'd have a go wrapping the pickup cover. It's not perfect, but it only took a few minutes and I learnt a few things in the process, so I'll do the same to the Artec and it'll look a bit better. But even my first attempt is passable (I think!)

Had a decent gig last night at the most excellent Percy's in Whitchurch, Shropshire... Well received, folks were dancing and there was a visitation by our very own @lurksalot, his brother and m8 Dave. Only one proper pink torpedo up, when the drummer started off what was meant to be our most complex song bass-wise as a double speed punkthing. Eventually muddles through, but don't think I've ever played so fast in my life! Anyway, here's one we didn't balls up too much, our opening number... TwoCanPlay Percys 12-2-22.mp4

Reminds me of this

Don’t start whipping up interest in rack mount pre’s you’ll let the secret out and the price will rise 🤣😂

Sadly the red comp stripe jap reissue is no longer with me.......

Never tire of sharing pics of my Thunder II. Cracking instrument. Had it since about '91.

Unless you've had a rack full of flashing lights and all looking very complex, then quite frankly you're not serious about being a bass player. I got rid of mine because I didn't understand any of it, all I was interested in was having lots of lights and lights flashing.

Nice wee bass. Had the pleasure of owning one sold on here a few year back.

There are 4 not on the couch. We’ll call this “main 4”…

Unable to resist a challenge. I can see what Beyma have done but from a bass players point of view they haven't done us many favours. Essentially this is a completely new speaker and is a bit more 'specialist' than the all rounder the SM212 was. Basically they have fitted a bigger magnet and a larger diameter voice coil. The coil is shorter in the 'new' speaker and the magnet gap bigger and that has reduced Xmax but the power handling, which is rated thermally because the bigger diameter coil can radiate more heat. However the SM212 can shift more air 453cm rather than 334cm (wshat happened to the mathematical notation) which means more of the power is available. This is both speakers in a 50l cab with the SM212 in blue. You can see the extra 50W power handling on the flat lines but around the port frequencies the SM212 is clearly a 'winner' You can how this affects the sound levels produced this is the maximum sound levels with 300W into both speakers. By using a bigger magnet the magnetic forces are greater in the WR12 Qts is much lower and BL is higher. This creates new gains for the new design but also some losses. The new speaker will operate happily in a smaller cab. for a classically flat response it only needs to be in a 30l cab. the SM212 needs a 100l cab. I've chosen to model them in a 50l cab to make a 'fair' comparison. All this extra magnetic force will damp the movement of the cone. As the cone moves the coil in a magnetic field it induces a current in the coil opposite to the current coming from the amp. The stronger the movement and the stronger the field the more this happens so low Qts speakers tend to roll off the bass. Lots of other things come into play but you can see this in the frequency response. Again I've modelled this in the same 50litre cab for comparison. the last graph I promise You can see that the SM212 in blue shows that the 50l cab is a bit small and the magenet a bit weaker so the bass is slightly underdamped and has a peak. For the new speaker the reverse is true and you get an over damped response and a slow roll off from 200Hz. The -3db point is 80 Hz and down to 50Hz the SM212 has more bass. This is reversed below 60hz and at 40hz you get 3db greater output from the new design. However that is at low power because of the higher maximum displacement shown in the second graph the actual maximum bass clearly favours the old SM212 So is the new speaker better? I would say that at the price (big magnets aren't cheap) I'd have gone for a longer coil and a lower Qts, though that has all sorts of knock on implications for the rest of the design. The old SM212 hit a real sweet spot offering still outstanding excursion, power handling, efficiency and other positive features. The new speaker is better suited to a smaller box, both speakers have well controlled cone break up in the higher frequencies but for me Beyma have missed the mark slightly and there are other options. At the price of the SM212 in the UK it was a great speaker.

It's cheap, it's an Encore and I don't 'need' it in the slightest, but it's money in a good charities coffers. Ah the reasons we find to justify a new bass. 😄 To be fair St. Lukes Hospice is a great charity in Plymouth and has really helped a few people I know so that genuinely sealed the deal. I'd seen this on eBay and liked the look of it, you know when something just has 'a look' that grabs you somehow. I had to go Plymouth today so decided to pick it up while in there. With a good clean up I think it'll be a little gem. Nice trans red with some nice grain (I can see a three/four piece body so don't think it's a photo job), aged pearl pickguard, nice grain on an amber neck, and it plays and sounds really quite well. Pots are a bit scratchy but if it cleans up nice and a good set up and fret dress gets it playing really nicely, it might even get treated to a upgraded PU and loom. Who doesn't need an extra P bass knocking around for £50? Oh yeah, included a strap and gigbag, both cheap but the bag will keep the dust off once clean. Does anyone have any idea on age? It looks like an older Encore but it could equally be a modern one with a vintage look. I've no idea on the history of Encores.

Pulled it apart today and gave it all a good clean and polish. It's definitely a more modern one but is surprisingly well built. Nice tidy routing and tight tolerances. Lovely snug neck pocket. I haven't shielded it, I'll see if it's noisy at all first. If it ain't broke... No clues as to age in here. Basic but tidy and no work needed. Magnets on underside of PU, so I assume they must be ceramic ones. Don't know if they are Wilkinson or not, but it doesn't matter. The good thing is they run on unleaded. 😁 Gave the body and pickguard a good clean and polish, and washed and scrubbed all the metalwork. The body would benefit from a wet flat, then polish, but as I've no idea how much lacquer is on it I'm not going to bother in case I break through. It's only a cheapy bit of fun and it's perfectly acceptable. Body's all built up and I'm about to tackle the neck. I've used cream felt strap pin washers to match the pickguard but black might be better, I'm not sure. Again, it doesn't really matter.

Well, next time I offer you £500 for a bass you really should consider the stress I’d save you… 🤣😂

I actually did have some issues returning mine but that was down to the courier/drop off points rather than Thomann. In fact Thomann ended up arranging for it to be collected from my workplace so they were really good in that respect too.

Embassy now gigged. I's a great fun bass to play live, ditched the compressor and enjoyed what comes from being able to really dig in to a humbucker.

Leaving aside playing ability, which to me is irrelevant, I see it then becomes an aspirational thing. Lucky me, I am comfortably placed financially and could buy myself any bass on the market. But do I want a Fodera? No I don't. If I won one in a competition I would sell it. I get pleasure from tinkering with cheaper basses rather than buying myself an expensive one. Same applies, for me, to clothes/cars/watches/cameras/jewellery/home elctronics etc etc. That is not to disparage anyone who wants or likes these things, just saying that they aren't for me and I don't aspire to owning such things. Horses for courses, YMMV etc

I find that even cheap, by instrument standards, basses are of a general high quality. Manufacturing processes mean necks are straight, intonation is spot on and electrics are reliable on mass produced instruments. Pickups are easy to change and come in any configuration you can think of so customising is easy. It might not look like a Chipendale table but a £300 bass with my choice of pickups and strings, set up perfectly by our local genius for £25, sounds and plays perfect for me. I doubt a custom built megga buck instrument would make me noticeably better. If you like a Fodera and have the cash then why not? I would prefer to spend it on hookers and Gin.

How much difference can there really be in a pair of single coil jazz pickups? The provenance and origins of which make the “USP” and marketing for a more expensive than normal set of pickups. Truth is Jaco would sound like Jaco whatever he played, very few others will. Would anyone else notice?

Davie is 20 odd year younger than me , about 7 ft tall , has ability miles beyond mine and makes a bloody good living playing bass at home. He annoys me too 🤣

That sounds like quite a stressful time, it’s a good job Mica at Alembic helped you with that information otherwise how would you know stuff like that, glad it worked out well for you in the end hiram 👍

It brings to mind...

Sonic blue Fender Player with black pearl pickguard - no longer mine:

Chipbuilding ～ (He swears he's) Elvis Costello

My first bass. Nearly 40 years old and still plays great, an awesome fretless which I'll never sell.

My Anaconda is 32"

This is my current selection…all good stuff. It’s great to have these different flavours, although once set up I have to admit it all just sounds like me 🤷🏻‍♂️

Just shows how valuable Tony Butler was to the band.