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goblin

⭐Supporting Member⭐
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Everything posted by goblin

  1. It looks nice... but why post it on my thread?
  2. Looks stunning that Kev! I was lucky enough to see this one the first time they created it, and also post refinish / pre rebuild as mine's recently been in for a service (it may look really pretty, but I work it damn hard!). Photos really do not do this bass justice, as I think any crazyburl bass. I've had someone tell me mine looks like it's faded in the past... it definitely hasn't faded, and like I said, it's worked hard since she landed with me in March so I see a lot of it! So, some thoughts on the Alpher now it's settled in? Well, the bass still leaves me speechless. Even as my daily driver, I've had moments of "Oh I should maybe take the Jazz to this gig because I don't want to risk marking it" and such... But I just can't bring myself to not take it out. The only time I left it at home was when I was playing at Glasto this year - given that I was staying the entire weekend, I didn't fancy leaving it unattended in a camper van for a good while, and the Jazz came back covered in suncream, so no damage done there! I need to give a shout out to the guys who make it, Chris and Al. They REALLY know their stuff and the attention to detail is on another level. You could talk for hours with them about finishes, construction, electronics and come away with something new, and all this is applied to the basses too. The customer service is just as high as well. I had an issue with two of my Aguilar pickup covers splitting. Mentioned it in passing to Chris, and before I knew it, he'd got two new ones ordered and got the bass in ASAP. I asked him to put some new strings (which I provided) on it, and came away with no charge for the setup. Can't fault that! Build process, whilst being built I was kept very well informed with progress, and lots of pics too. It's always great to see it being crafted and pieced together, as you can really see what goes into it. So, yes, they're expensive... but as a working pro who's had all sorts, is it worth it? Absolutely!
  3. As they say, turnover is vanity, profit is sanity! The problem I'm seeing with it being seen as a good way to get experience blah blah blah... I've done a music degree, I've been gigging for a living for around 6 years now... not once have I ever thought "damn, I wish I'd done that gig for the exposure". I just can't see how anyone in the right mind would see this as beneficial for their career. That, and they're saying professional standard etc. I've found that people fresh out of college generally speaking aren't of a professional standard. Hard truth, but that's only the start. It's like passing your driving test. Yeah, you can do this, that and the other. It's only when you're out in the real world doing it, you then develop properly.
  4. When I'm on ears (which is most of the time), I send a DI from the amp head (post EQ) to the engineer, sometimes the cab gets a mic as well. And then I get full control of my mix via iPad (Allen & Heath) for the most part, or when on festival gigs there's normally a monitor engineer to take care of me. As for whether I have the cab or not, depends on how much space we've got on stage. I'm used to big stages, but sometimes we get a small one and it can be overkill. The key is decent in ears I find. I use Ultimate Ears UE11 and they've been incredible, though there are loads of equally good and possibly better ones out there too, just depends what you want to spend really. PA placement determines if I have the cab on me or not, as I do like the feeling of the vibrations. If the PA stacks are on stage, I'm quite happy to just go with in ears. I'm pretty close normally as I go far stage right, but that also means my cab and laptop (runs bass synth sounds) can be to my right in the wings should I desire such as bigger stages, or when we're in venues and there's inhouse PA which don't give as much back through the stage. When I'm not using the cab, the engineer's drive rack is usually next to where my cab goes, so I still take the amp head and laptop, and sit it on top of that. Works well! As for haptic monitoring, I'm yet to find one I like. I've tried the Porter and Davies platform, and throne too, and it just doesn't feel very real to me.
  5. If you break your 1+2+3+4+ up again (think half and half again), so it's 1ee +a 2ee +a 3ee +a 4ee +a, your first note comes on the ee of the 1, the fill goes over two bars, and then everything comes back in on the nose of the 1 third bar. Never failed me or tripped a drummer up yet
  6. Last stencilling I had to do, I used some good quality card and cut out with a scalpel. I used just a generic white spray paint from Halfords straight onto the Peli with no issues. The trick is a few light coats and gradually build it. I didn't get any runs, and when I was done with the case and wanted to sell it on, some all purpose cleaner, nailbrush and jet washer got it off easily enough.
  7. After much deliberation, I've decided to put my Warwick Corvette Standard Fretless up for sale. It's a 1999 model, the last of of the ones before the quality took a dive for a while! The body is Bubinga (and a very nice piece of it at that), with a Wenge neck and Ebony fretboard. Electronics wise, around 8 - 9 years ago, I had a John East 3 band preamp fitted which completely transformed the bass for the better. I've owned it since 2007, and it's been very well looked after since, but just hasn't been used enough to justify keeping, as I have another fretless which suits my needs more (5 strings). Condition wise, it's very, very good for it's age with only a couple of minor dings and a bit of wear on the writing on the pickups. I've photographed the dings, which on the bass, you'd have to know they were there to see them. Fingerboard wear is to an absolute minimum as Ebony is a hard wood anyway, but it's also been strung with flatwounds throughout my ownership. Price wise, I'm looking for £700. No trades on this one, cash is king (or BACS / PayPal family and friends). If anyone has any reservations, feel free to see my feedback in my signature. I'm also willing to post the bass at buyer's expense, but please note that I won't ship if the postage isn't signed for, or insured to the value of the bass. Pictures to follow (basically when Flickr starts working again)
  8. I love it, still getting my head around sweepable mids as I'm a bit of a dinosaur in that area. But it's incredible, in both feel and construction. The sound is something else too.
  9. It's all a matter of opinion I guess... I know which one I prefer
  10. Well, after around a year since placing the order, I got the go ahead that my brand new custom Alpher Mako Elite 5 is finished, and last Monday, I went and picked it up. I'll just let you look at the photos first... Alpher Mako Elite 5 by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Alpher Mako Elite 5 by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Alpher Mako Elite 5 by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Alpher Mako Elite 5 by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr An absolute beauty. I'll take you through things! The body is a highly figured, single piece of maple, with a 'crazyburl' top, which for those who don't know, is basically a burl which has been impregnated with dyes, and stabilised with resin. The neck and control cavity plate is roasted birdseye maple. The electronics are Aguilar's super single pickups, three of them. There's one at the neck, and then two together to make a humbucker. These can be configured at the flick of a switch to be series, single or parallel, and then blended in with the neck pickup, giving a wide range of available tones before you even look at the preamp! The preamp itself is pretty simple, an Aguilar OBP-3, so three band with sweepable mids. Here's a quick video from the day I collected of how she sounds!
  11. I’m selling my trusty workhorse of the last two years - my Fender Jazz Elite 5, in Tobacco Sunburst. I purchased it new March 2017 from Guitar Guitar in Newcastle and it’s been worked, but very well looked after since. I think I’ve used it’s original hard shell case once, and then it’s been on top of my wardrobe since as I always use Hiscox, or Harvest gig bags. The body is Ash (the solid finish ones are Alder as it’s cheaper and it’s covered), maple neck and the finish is Tobacco Sunburst, which is a much harder colour to get hold of. This was one of two left in the UK for sale at the time I got it! I’ve put Dunlop strap locks on which went on when new, I’ll leave these on it! Only reason for sale is the Alpher will be my main bass, and I know this won’t be getting anywhere near as much use now, so I may as well downgrade for what will effectively be my spare bass! Condition wise, I'm giving it a solid 9.5/10, theres a very faint mark on the neck which isn't in the way of playing, and I've no idea how it even happened to be honest. It'll probably rub out with some light abrasive! As you'd expect, a little bit of faint marks from belt buckles, though the majority of the time it hasn't been played with a belt on, so this is absolutely minimal! Again, some very light marking on the scratch guard. Last time it was setup, everything from the frets to the electronics were checked, cleaned and such. Even under the pickguard, everything is as good as it gets. The bass is effectively like new in that sense. I’m not really looking for trades. If I was, the only thing I’d be interested in is an Aguilar DB or SL112 with cash my way, or another Jazz 5 / P Deluxe 5 of sorts, again with cash my way! PM me for for any more details! Looking for £1300 Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr Untitled by Dave Butterworth, on Flickr
  12. Exactly, you can't rush perfection! I spoke to Chris earlier as he was asking me about cases, and he said it should be going for final setup this week... so not long at all!
  13. Yeah they're very busy, my Mako Elite 5 custom is constructed now, and now needs to settle and have it's final setup... it's been 12 months so far, but when you order it's made very clear that there's a wait. I have absolutely no issue with this though and can't wait for its arrival
  14. I've never thought of using my luggage scales... Bugger! I always set the bathroom scales to KG, weight myself... then weigh myself again holding what ever it is I want to weigh, then a quick bit of subtraction sorts it!
  15. I just use Dunelm velcro, super super strong stuff!
  16. Ahhh that can only be Noel Best heckle I've done to my own singer on stage was "We've had a request... and sorry, he's going to continue performing!"
  17. Godda love these hard to access gigs with difficult load ins. I've got one coming up at The Boisdale in Canary Wharf, and they're put on the paperwork to avoid coming in on the car and bring public transport. I reckon I can do that, double Harvest on my back with some bits in the pockets, PedalTrain Jnr fits in my travel cabin case, plus clothes, ancillaries and such, and the 'board has a proper DI on it, so I'll just DI to PA and get a return to IEM!
  18. I'm sure I marked this as sold... Long gone I'm afraid guys!
  19. Had mine done yesterday morning, the guy doesn't normally do same day turnaround, but made an exception for me, I had it done whilst I chilled out in his workshop. I reckon I was there for two hours, so work done? Strings off, check / clean / polish frets, clean up the 'board, pick guard off, clean up underneath and check electronics, clean up with switch cleaner, check all the nuts are sufficiently tightened up on the machine heads and the pots, strip and clean the bridge. Had to whip the neck off to adjust the relief on it, checked / adjusted pickup balance, restring (I supplied the strings), set it up according to my playing technique and preference, disappeared for a cig whilst I gave it a good play to check I was happy. To be honest, it plays better than it ever has before, a lot more care and attention was put into the job than I could imagine... and it cost me £50. Money well spent? Totally.
  20. I misread it, I looked at it as if you were charging £15 for 3 - 4 hours work. Still, that's massively cheap! I know studio work is different but my hourly rate is three times that! You've still got to price accordingly, it's the whole not just providing the services, but everything that goes into it. When I consider the time it's taken to perfect my craft (so forever as you're always learning), cost of resources and such, £10 an hour really doesn't cut it for my time. It's just my opinion though, and we'll probably just end up agreeing to disagree on it. And I'm not at all suggesting that you don't do a job properly because of your rate, I don't know you at the end of the day and like you're so keen to point out, your work is praised by other BCers, so I've no reason to assume that you do a poor job. I'm just saying that it's surprisingly cheap for the service you say you provide.
  21. It's down to what people are willing to pay then. I get my main gig bass setup twice a year at a rate around £50 (possibly more, to be honest I can't remember), and I provide the strings. I don't feel short changed or ripped off. My gear and playing earns me my living, and it has to be right. They get worked hard, I work hard and ultimately I can't be arsed to do it myself. I know how, but it's easier to drop it off with my tech. I'm happy to pay that price, and considering you've said it takes 3 - 4 hours, that works out less than £5 an hour average, which is less than minimum wage. Technicians have livings to earn as well. As far as I'm concerned, if someone feels the services are worth it, then they'll pay the fee. I know I'm not the cheapest session musician around (be it for live and studio), but guess what? I get repeat calls and earn a good living from it. Why? Because whilst I may not be the cheapest, I certainly do the job properly!
  22. Pretty much this! Also knowing what you want, if you can tell a tech what you want, a good tech will be able to deliver too. I'm fortunate where my tech has seen / studied my playing, and we were talking in general and he went "Yeah that's the thing about your playing, because you've got etc etc touch and you're a fairly etc etc player" - so luckily, he knows what I like and it makes it easier for me to relay back to him what I want.
  23. Strength - I have no real ego Weakness - I have no real ego
  24. That, and well... I can't be bothered to do it myself. I know my way around me gear, for any professional it's imperative that you should, but when I'm out playing 2 and a half hours plus 4 nights a week, I can't really be bothered to do it myself on my time off, and would rather a professional who knows their craft do it for me to exacting standards 🤷🏻‍♂️
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