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Not a problem, as gig pay historically always tracks inflation anyway. Oh, wait...

After my recent less-than-satisfactory encounter with a swarm of bees (see Off Topic for details), combined with on-going back and joint issues, I have decided to adopt a new approach to dual-purpose stagewear.

He ordered a regular pepperoni, however when he got home he swapped out half of the meat for those little yellow cubes you find in urinals. Then he removed some of the slices and reinstalled them backwards, accidentally scraping the cheese off as his chisel slipped halfway through (they make quite effective pizza slicers) however this has been replaced with mustard. Still not happy at the original state of the pizza he upturned the box, picked the slices off the floor and reinstalled them in an old cat litter tray. It's actually still listed on eBay all these years later for the bargain price of £367 with £18.50 shipping.

Some years ago, for my job I had to analyse corporate banking data based on turnover. The results distribution was quite shocking. As you'd expect, there was a big spike in the number of small businesses with turnovers measured in up to a few £million. There was another spike at 'big' corporates with turnovers in excess of tens of £millions. There was almost nothing in between... You've got small local businesses, or big corps. What that tells you is the big corps buy out anyone that starts growing and has potential to bite into their market. The most obvious example, and one that is a cause of a lot of issues, is house builders. The big builders buy out all the medium sized companies and remove them from the market place. There are only a handful of companies building the vast majority of housing. You have some small local companies who build bespoke or very small developments. Legislation in this space is poor since what this is in reality is what is known as a 'complex monopoly' where a small number of companies control a section of the market. So companies that care tend to stay small, because if they grow beyond a certain size, the risk of failure increases dramatically as does the risk of big corp buying them out.

Started to accumulate some sigs and comments etc. A couple of BC members already captured.

I just dug out an old DAT my band at the time recorded live in our living room. On inputting to my DAW I discovered that once I'd lined a track up with beat gridlines almost all the tracks (apart from the 2 that had tempo changes) were still in time to within a few milliseconds. Great drummer, Matt was (and still is!). He's now working as the reference for the atomic clock.

They weren’t the first and won’t be the last to do this. It’s sadly the current state of the world. They are still (imo) fantastic cabs and worth the money if you can afford them. If you can’t afford them or don’t think they’re fantastic, the price rise doesn’t matter

The Reflux Duran Duran

No. If the current business model is working for them then they should stick with it. Wal have spent a long time creating what is a unique instrument with a combination of features not readily available elsewhere. And with no signs of the current demand for their instruments dropping off, it's an enviable place for a small business to be. Why on earth should they dilute this? IME Employing more people is one of the reasons why most small business fail, because the added expense and bureaucracy outweighs the advantages most of the time. And if they can sell their main product at it current price why make a budget version? Anything they do to reduce the price will almost certainly remove some of the special features that make a Wal a Wal. You don't have to wait 4+ years for a Wal. There are second hand Wals coming up for sale all the time. You might think the prices high, but they reflect the fact that you don't have to wait. You can pay and be a Wal owner the same day. I'm a big fan of another English luthier - Gus, whose instruments are also unique (but in a different way). When I first became aware of them in the mid 80s I was unemployed with no chance of being able to buy one. However over the next 15 years my circumstance changed and in 2000 I took delivery of my first Gus Guitar. I now own 3.

That could be said for any musical instrument brand that has survived any length of time. The companies are sold and people get old and retire or pass. Would you say fenders are not fenders or a musicman stingray isn’t a stingray, let’s look at Gibson or Spector. Things move in, they evolve but to say ‘they’re not actually really wal basses’…

This is going to be for all my random bass builds that don’t really need a dedicated build thread it will probably mostly be filled with when I think “Hmmmmm I wonder what that would look like?” So he’s the first one I’m going to call it a ‘51 SG! the body shape is more Jack Bruce sig than Gibson style It’s a scaffold board body with an old neck I had kicking about, the headstock is going to be matching the body with a kinda Warwick style shape with Black Hardware……..👍🏻

Just a quick update on this build.

I dont see the problem. He wants to survive and he isn't Mesa Boogie or Ampeg. Good for him. Everybody will be putting everything up, not just cabs. Everyone will have to suck it up. Anyway, they're a luxury. It isnt important in the great scheme of things.

Donald Where's your troosers Andy Stewart

It's all Biden's fault. 😫 Oh, right, you're in the UK. It's all Johnson's fault. 🙄

The Mallard Of John And Yoko Beatles

This is useful for planning: https://www.pedalplayground.com/

I acquired it through the Queen Fan Club back in 1997. The band had a warehouse clearout in 1995 just after Made In Heaven came out and it ended up at the Fan Club Offices. Two years later, it was still there and I offered to buy it.

I've definitely come across that myself but not always the case. I practice the set lists every day, (now retired so its easier to find time). If i have time i'll run thru full set but usually i run thru set #1 one day and then #2 the next. I have 2 bands running and if i'm gigging at weekend i focus more on that bands set for the weekend maybe the Wed-Fri i just do that bands sets. Even when i was working i would run thru half the songs every night after dinner. Dave

I don't know about you chaps and chapesses, but I find the band members that moan about others, that are the most critical of their bandmates, are usually the ones who invest the least time in practice and are the most prone to dropping major musical clangers on stage. I prefer do my hoir a day minimum, then turn up and keep my trap shut, let my fingers do the talking.

One of each and an imperial one.

Been wondering about these for a little while. There's a beauty on sale here in a natural finish, but I've always hankered after a green one tricked out with ashtrays. One came up suspiciously cheap on the 'bay so I nabbed it. It's actually very nice. I swapped the plate because a white plate just looks like a place holder while they wait for the tort to come back into stock! An old Harley Benton one I had lying around fitted after a little judicious shaving with a Stanley knife. Not too heavy, plays well, lovely neck...but...an annoying audible vibration noise which took me a while to diagnose. In the end it was a machine head very slightly loose. Sorted that and reassembled it. Beautiful now, sounds like a dream. It's easily as good as folks say. Even the headstock which I know puts some of you off (it did me) looks so much nicer in the flesh - although you'll have to take my word for that!

Part of the reason I became a lawyer was from visiting Talkbass when I was a struggling 22 year old musician and finding that nearly every bassist who had a massive collection tended to either be a lawyer or a doctor rather than a gigging musician. As it is I have now been qualified for nearly seven years and bought precisely one bass in that time. I’m definitely doing the stereotype a disservice but having kids and buying a fixer-upper house will do that…

A friend found this on someone else's FB page (who I don't know) with the heading "Coolest bass player ever!" She's not wrong... Move over Jean Jacques! (Though you can't see the reason I'm seated - a broken leg) It's at last week's Nice'n'sleazy punknska fest in Morecambe:

Beg Teal or Borrow - New Seekers

I seem to recall reading a summary from Mike Pedulla about his decision to expand his business in the 1990s, I believe, when he felt further away from being a luthier and more like a business manager. He subsequently scaled back his operation so that he could oversee every build and went back to making only a limited number of instruments. He retired and didn't sell the business, if I recall correctly. The market prices of Pedulla basses is strong and I'm sure Wal is in that camp. I have no problems with that. I have a Pedulla, but not a Wal.

Fear of the Duck - Iron Maiden

I think Misdee's comment probably explains why an "extra 2 contractors" wouldn't be an easy thing - you would be looking at building relationships and employing top level musical instrument makers on a decent wages... If you've got a business setup that works... then why take the risk? Bass guitars are cheap compared to a lot of orchestral instruments. Or even nice UK made hand built acoustic guitars are in that ballpark ... £6000 isn't even crazy at the top end of bass guitars. If the builder sees themselves as making a product for an open market then sure, maybe the high price and limits on supply would be an issue. If the builder sees themselves as a craftsperson making the best instrument they can, with proprietary parts, then as long as they have orders coming in they probably wouldn't see an issue with pricing them in a way that allows them to be profitable and sustainable and allows them to retire well at some point in the future. I'm fairly sure if Waller and Pete were really interested in making a massproduced and low price instrument then they could have gone down that route in their time if they had so wanted.

I met Pete many times and also Paul when having the 2 Wals I owned built. To put things in perspective my first was a Mark 1 custom (£979 plus I think £100 for the case) and a few years later a Mark 3 5 string on a special deal (Pete was a friend of a friend) for £1500. Pete was the nicest, most considerate and friendly guy (somewhat oddly he didn’t play bass I believe). Both basses were impeccably made and reasonably quick. Even today I believe the Mark 1 4 string to be an iconic bass. The original ethos was a high quality studio bass for working professionals - but 40-odd years later that’s not really a career for 95% of people who plays bass, so it seems fitting that Paul - who spent a good amount of time at Wal before Pete passed on - should continue the brand as a no expense spared iconic brand. I wouldn’t purchase one now as my tastes have changed over time but I have total respect for them (and the entrance to the premises is on my local biking route so I’m regularly reminded of them

A very good, fairly niche product made by a small company, I doubt they had any other option. I hope for them it doesn’t signify a slow down on orders.

For anyone what's interested, it was a loose connection in the jack - all sorted now (hopefully!)

Waller's business model is from about 30-40 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Whoever owns the IP and the company has the right to do with it as they see fit. Expansion comes with risk and we are in fairly uncertain times. If Paul Herman is running Wal for a profit and is living a healthy and happy life then he is not obliged to (a) reduce his prices or (b) expand his operations by taking financial risks which might not ultimately pan out for what is still a pretty niche product.

I ordered an EV PA "bundle" on Friday last week. It promised Monday6th delivery in the ad but when I had my order confirmation e-mail the date had changed to Tuesday 7th. That wasn't convenient for me so I changed it to Wednesday ( today)between 09.00 and 13.00hrs. It arrived at 11.30 am..... complete with Euro power leads! I telephoned them and a nice Guy, calling himself Matt ( I have no reason to doubt him), immediately apologised and promised to send two UK ones ,by courier, to arrive tomorrow. I offered to post the others back to them but he said not to bother. Excellent service, excellent communication and, a happy Raymondo so far.

Just for those that are interested my band Black Atlas I played Bloodstock last year and have just put up the set on YouTube.

Heartburn Hotel ～ Old Elvis again

IMO Wal are doing just what they need to do in order to maintain their brand. Pete Stevens passed the whole company over to Paul Herman (an ex Wal luthier), so they are very much genuine Wal basses.

Well, as far as I recall, in their heyday Wal had maybe four or five people working directly on the basses, by the 1990s one of whom was Paul Herman. I've played the new Paul Herman era basses and I suspect one reason they are so back ordered is because they are much better made nowadays. Back in the day Wals were a bit inconsistent when it came to some of the finer points of fit and finish compared with what folks expect from companies like Alembic or Fodera. In comparison the basses Paul is making now are absolutely meticulous and easily compare to the very best basses made anywhere. Before I get piled on by vintage Wal owners, let me just clarify that the older Wals were top quality basses but they sold at a much lower price point and were made in larger numbers. They were hand made basses, but I think the amount of hours spent making each one was probably less than now . The approach to making them in those days was a practical one, I think it would be fair to say. Paul Herman comes from a sightly different background in so much as he studied instrument making at the Guildhall and is much more methodical in his approach. You can really tell that when you compare the newer basses with the vintage ones. I wouldn't want Paul to compromise on the quality of his basses, but then again, I'm not desperate to buy one. A lot of folks are.

Yep, more of the same is the way to go.

My wife hasn't retired yet, so there is always a list of things for me to do…. Bass practice is never on her list!

Well I watched episodes 1 & 2 last night and enjoyed it. When viewed as a stylised drama based on real events, rather than a documentary, I think it works. Yes it's all a little theatrical and might not portray events as they actually occurred, but it's Danny Boyle's version of Steve Jones' version of events, and everyone in and around that band has a different version of events to suit their agender. I've seen Quadrophenia and The Kinks story at the theatre and see this in a similar theatrical kind of way. It's entertainment not education.

I've always liked the smoked lucite one. Wouldn't buy one, but...

Last Friday's gig, no complaints from me.