hiram.k.hackenbacker

Ooh! That Butterscotch P! Would need a fairly decent sized lottery win tho.

An ideal time to sign up for a free trial with Paramount +

I think I need one of them 😂

You're a braver man than I. I sold my Sklar Mk1 as I didn't get on with the pick-up placement, or more specifically, there wasn't three pickup's which would allow my playing position to be closer to the neck which is my preference. In every other area the Mk1 excelled, but as there was the option to have one with 3 pick-up's (i.e. a Mk2) I moved it on with the intention of replacing it. I never did get around to it.

£500 is its price. I think there is a bit of confusion here about fixed price items/bargains that are occasionally out there to be had. A better take on ‘true value’, whatever that is, is what it might go for at a professional musical instrument auction. That’s where the market at any given time would give a truer representation of it’s value.

Kylie I would go and see. Madonna - not a chance, not that I dislike her music, but I’d want to see a proper live show. Having said that, I’ve seen the ABBA holo show as well as the Zappa one and they were both fantastic. In both cases, I knew what I was going in to. Turning up to see a live musician faking it is not on my wish list.

Care to elaborate on Genesis material being other people’s?

The issue @MrSilentX and I had was beyond truss rod adjustment I'm afraid. The neck on mine was completely f***ed. Unhelpfully, this Flea model is also a 'neck off' job to adjust the truss rod.

Do you want Dolby with it? 😂🤣 Joking aside, as has been said already, the man is a class act. He even edited out the bit where Bowie says ‘very brilliant’ when he introduces TD.

I’ve been using the Microtubes 900 v2 since its release and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. I had the original 900 before it, which was also a good amp. I’m not sure swapping what you already have to the X900 is going to give you what you want though. I’d be interested to hear the results of a side by side if you could get it arranged.

They'll sell. Take a look at this. They're not priced this way 'not to sell'. https://www.genesimmonsaxe.com

I think to some it matters, but yes, there are also some that have enough disposable income and just geek out over the band enough to justify the purchase. I have quite a lot of signature basses, but I would be very unhappy if it was a bad instrument. In fact, I would get rid if it was a duff one.

I think a lot of that will have to do with Mr.Simmons. For Gibson to use his name to sell their product he will want to clear $XXXX per unit. He won't give a flying doodad what the final price is, as long as he clears his figure. He has been pre-selling the basses he will be playing at the final KISS gig in NYC and they were more expensive than these.

One of the only Simmons related basses that really does it for me (on looks alone as I've never played one) is @cetera's Feline Spector SB-1. That's a damn fine looking bass and sounds nice on the videos I've seen. I've never seen one for sale and don't suppose I ever will 🤷‍♂️.

I think bank transfers are generally quite safe, but I always only send a very small percentage of the total cost to the seller and ask them to confirm how much I’ve sent. This increases the confidence that we’ve both typed the account and sorting codes correctly and also allows me to save the details in my banking app so I can send the balance without having to type numbers in again. I’ve had one instance where money went to the wrong place (not my fault) it was quite difficult to get back. I have no wish to go through that again.

Ah yes, but then you would have the ‘I hate relics’ brigade to deal with 🤷‍♂️

I wonder if they actually believe their own hype? “Calling Dr. Love - Your New Bass Has Arrived Gibson Custom Shop is the pinnacle of craftsmanship, quality, and sound excellence. Each instrument celebrates Gibson's legacy through accuracy, authenticity, and attention to detail.”

Although I am a huge Kiss fan, I’m not so taken with Gibson basses. I’m pretty sure though that they wouldn’t have made them if they weren’t confident they would sell, in which case, that’s easy money. There are a lot of seriously minted Kiss fans out there as evidenced by all the Gene Simmons Vault series buyers. Most of these won’t see the light of day much, if at all, but that’s signature instrument collectors for you 🤷‍♂️

I don’t think I ever thought I would. I certainly had no designs on doing so. I guess we all wonder what it would be like, but that’s as far as it went for me.

No good buying the dearer pint at the local if they don't clean the pipes out occasionally.

How much are you playing that you need to worry about changing batteries? As mentioned already, carry a cheap battery tester and always unplug your bass when you’re not playing it. I also never leave the battery in the bass if that particular one is not being used for a while. This is part of the reason why I don’t wear my wireless pack on my strap so it forces me to unplug the bass when not being used. I’ve been caught out once with that when I did wear the pack on a strap and that’s not happening again.