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Gareth Hughes

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Everything posted by Gareth Hughes

  1. Bought a Fender scratchplate from OHM - posted promptly and well packed. All good Nick.
  2. My standard practice, and it's only failed me maybe twice out in about 100 flights, is to take the bass in a gigbag to the check in desk. Shimmy it along with the bottom of the bass resting on your foot. More often than not they don't notice you have the case there unless they really go out of their way to look around the desk. If that works then when you've got your boarding card just turn around, always blocking your bass with your body. Stall for time, putting your passport away, etc - in which time the next happy traveler has now taken your space and is distracting the check in staff. Procede to the gate!!! BUT - if they do see it at check in and insist you put it in the hold all is still not lost. First you comply, but then insist that you carry it to the foot of the plane so that someone can put it on by hand, also checking that you can get the bass again at the foot of the plane when you disembark. I never had anyone argue that point with me so off I took to the waiting lounge. Here's the masterpiece tho - when you go to board the plane you just keep on walking like it's your birthright to take basses on to planes. Do not stop unless someone stops you and asks for the bass. If that happens and all is finally lost, insist that your bass is out into the hold by hand on top of the other luggage. At this stage, most of the luggage will have already been packed. Like I said, this only happened to me twice and both times I got the bass as soon as I stepped of the plane. It helps to start mentioning what's going on to the flight attendants so they can radio ahead to the ground staff and make sure your bass does not go with the rest of the luggage to the terminal. The only fly in the ointment is if your case gets tagged at check in and someone at the boarding gate spots the tag and insists you put the bass in the hold. But before that happens, ask yourself - just how visible is that tag once your coat is hanging over it?
  3. You mean like this kind of thing? [url="http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_kw=bridge&_kw=grub&_kw=screws"]http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_kw=bridge&a...&_kw=screws[/url] Oh, and hello and welcome to the forum.
  4. Kolstein Heritage strings have a low tension for a steel string - and excellent customer service to boot.
  5. Cheers lads, much appreciated. Was just gigging with the guy who owns it and he's more than gutted, as you'd imagine.
  6. Yup, that's the same one. Not nice at all.
  7. (excuse the double post, just noticed this section) Hey Folks - A good friend of mine (for a drummer anyway) had a Fender Japanese 70's Reissue Precision stolen from his flat near Botanic Avenue in Belfast last night, along with a laptop. The serial number is P086861 and it says 'Crafted In Japan' under that. I originally bought the bass from OldGit here last year and sold it on a few months ago. Thanks to OldGit's great selling practice there's still some photos online of the bass at [url="http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578005432LUqQcS"]http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578005432LUqQcS[/url] and [url="http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/57...LUqQcS?start=12"]http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/57...LUqQcS?start=12[/url] If any of you Nordies happen to see the bass for sale anywhere or here of something like it knocking around can you please let me know and I'll pass on the relevant info. Or if you'd rather deal directly with Gerry, my poor drummer friend, then I'll pass his details to you. Thanks, Gareth [attachment=74922:Picture_1.png][attachment=74923:Picture_2.png]
  8. Hey Folks - A good friend of mine (for a drummer anyway) had a Fender Japanese 70's Reissue Precision stolen from his flat near Botanic Avenue in Belfast last night, along with a laptop. The serial number is P086861 and it says 'Crafted In Japan' under that. I originally bought the bass from OldGit here last year and sold it on a few months ago. Thanks to OldGit's great selling practice there's still some photos online of the bass at [url="http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578005432LUqQcS"]http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578005432LUqQcS[/url] and [url="http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578005432LUqQcS?start=12"]http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/57...LUqQcS?start=12[/url] If any of you Nordies happen to see the bass for sale anywhere or here of something like it knocking around can you please let me know and I'll pass on the relevant info. Or if you'd rather deal directly with Gerry, my poor drummer friend, then I'll pass his details to you. Thanks, Gareth [attachment=74920:Picture_1.png][attachment=74921:Picture_2.png]
  9. The pickup is centered where the D-G string side of a Precision pickup is, or possibly in the middle of a split Precision pickup, can't quite remember which. I'll measure it in the morning. From memory the string spacing is 18mm, tho it can be moved. It's this bridge here: [url="http://www.abm-mueller.com/index2ccbb.html?bassbridges.html"]http://www.abm-mueller.com/index2ccbb.html?bassbridges.html[/url] I'll do some recordings tomorrow too. What's your Jazz like?
  10. Thanks for that - nicely detailed. Fair play having the patience to work this out.
  11. [quote name='Bilbo' post='1161923' date='Mar 14 2011, 03:49 PM']I have a gig under my own name next month and I have chosen to put in a trio of bass, drums and tenor sax. No harmony instrument. Scary and there is a high risk that I will fall on my arse but I just feel like I have played it too safe for too long and I wanted to know what it felt like to stick my neck out. Have booked two great sidemen who are willing to try this so am happy with that end of things and I will be debuting a few of my own pieces but, either way, I need this for my soul! A lower action may help...[/quote] Fair play Bilbo - that's quite an undertaking there. I'm seriously impressed, and inspired. Have you any recordings of this group yet, rehearsals, etc? I'd love to hear how this works out. Maybe record the gig?
  12. I lasted about ten seconds. And now I need a nap.
  13. Folks - up for trade/sale is my Ernie McMillen 6 String Carl Thompson Tribute. The bass is a two piece alder body with a rosewood cap and a hand rubbed oil finish, based on many of the classic Carl Thompson scroll bass designs. The extended horn makes this bass balance perfectly and also puts the lower fretting positions at a more comfortable position. The neck is maple with an ebony fingerboard and bone nut and double truss rods and is 34" scale. The neck is shallow in depth, making it feel a lot more comfortable than you'd expect. The tuners are Gotoh (I think) and the bridge is by ABM. The pickup is by Aero, their K Series model, with an ebony (I think) cover. Controls are a single volume with a rosewood knob. The action is set really low so there's plenty of room to raise. (the black bit on the headstock is just foam to dampen string noise. I'm a geek like that) Ernie worked for Lowden Guitars for 15 years or so, building many of the Goodfellow basses that were made there in the early 90's. He currently works for Avalon Guitars, where he's just finished building a line of guitars for Zematis, retailing at $15,000. Basically, his attention to detail and woodworking are at a pretty high standard. I'm also selling the body that made up this bass originally. Long story short - I had this bass made in 1998 with the P-Bass shaped body - then about two years ago I fancied a change and asked Ernie to build me something a little more extravagant. So what that means now is that the neck and bridge could be swapped onto either body if that took your fancy. All you'd need to do is a little bit of wiring to get it up and running. The original body is a standard size Precision shape, with a little extra routing for high fret access. The body is walnut on the high string side and mahogany on the low string side and it has a one piece rosewood cap. Pickups are custom wound Kent Armstrong soapbars. This body is wired for standard Jazz wiring - Vol/Vol/Tone. The rosewood knob on other body came from this body, and I still have all three knobs to make up the set. All in the bass, as it is now, cost about £12-1300. I'd be happy to sell the Thompson Tribute for £700 plus shipping. I can ship the bass in a hardcase. I'd include the Precision body for an extra £200. I'm open for trades - preferably of the Fender Japanese Jazz bass variety, or an amp head. Or just suggest something (bass related please;) ). Here's some audio clips. The bass was recorded through a Joe Meek MQ3 with no compression and just a little bit of treble boost because the strings are about 6 months old. I have a new set of D'Addario strings to go with the bass but I thought I'd leave them for the new owner to install. [attachment=74924:6_string_Demo.mp3][attachment=74925:6_String_Chords.mp3] Cheers, Gareth [attachment=74846:Full_Side.jpg][attachment=74847:Upside_Down.jpg][attachment=74845:Long.jpg] [attachment=74848:Head.jpg][attachment=74849:Back_Close.jpg][attachment=74850:Back_Long.jpg] [attachment=74851:6_Pre_Front.jpg][attachment=74852:6_Pre_Back.jpg]
  14. Here's my stock reply for anyone seeking a good quality and affordable bass. I've been gigging mine 3-4 times a week this past few months and have several recordings lined up for it. It does all that it should, and so very much more for the price of it. [quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1067708' date='Dec 23 2010, 12:44 PM']....I would recommend you look into some of the basses available from Thomann. After playing a friends that was set-up professionally and played brilliantly, I replaced my €5000 bass from Ken Smith with one of these: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_22_02.htm[/url] The Ken Smith was fully carved, while the Thomann is a hybrid (carved top, laminated sides/back) and to be honest there isn't a lot in the difference. My main reason for downgrading was to get an instrument that would amplify better than the Smith would. The carved body was a crazy feedback machine. So I knew I would be sacrificing some acoustic qualities in getting a hybrid. I can honestly say that after playing the Smith for over a year, and getting to know it pretty well, that I would rather have the Thomann. The Thomann bass is made by the Hora company in Romania. Also, I was able to specify what set-up I wanted, so the bass arrived with the bridge set-up to my playing style. It also arrived with the soundpost still in place, so I was able to string it up as soon as I unpacked it and was playing in minutes. This saved the time and expense of going to my repair guy to get it setup. I've been playing this bass for almost a year now and have no problems with it at all. With the free shipping from Thomann and the trial period where you can return it if you don't like it, this might be a better option for you. Maybe check with them about the procedure to return it if you don't like it.[/quote]
  15. Thanks for that Bilbo - that's certainly some good food for thought in there. Onwards and upwards and back to the saw!!!
  16. I've had Acoustic Image heads and combos, the GK MB150 combo and a Euphonic Audio iAmp800 and VL208 cab. By far the happiest I've ever been in reproducing the acoustic tone of my bass to a useable volume live has been with a APTflex Electret pickup going through a GenzBenz Shuttle 3.0/T combo.
  17. That repair shouldn't cost too much. A little bit of hide glue and a night spent in the clamps. (Insert witty remarks now......)
  18. The Rabbath DVD is expensive for sure - but if you think of it as the cost of 2-3 lessons then it's really not that much, and you'll have much more than 2-3 lessons of material and insight to learn from.
  19. Bought tuners and a bridge from Clarky on Monday - arrived here on Wednesday. Top bloke, top service. All good.
  20. Is there anything unusual about the Bausch that prevents you from using the old faithfuls - like a Fishman BP100, an Underwood, a Realist, etc?
  21. Hey John - thanks for that. I don't know personally but I've a few vintage car mad mates who might. It doesn't have to be Nitro-Cellulose - I'm guessing that's the vintage part. Would there be anything else I could use?
  22. Bump. Anyone... anyone? .....Bueller?
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