SMART

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='114308' date='Jan 5 2008, 08:05 PM']PS - the sweetners sound fantastic. My guitars are sounding better than ever, especially my acoustic.[/quote] EBS Freak is absolutely on the button. After your instrument, strings and amplification (and a good back!), a Peterson tuner is the best investment in your music gear you can make for any instrument you own and Peterson's own sweetened tuning are simply brill!!. Just some thoughts... Ciao Ian

[quote name='99ster' post='113653' date='Jan 4 2008, 05:35 PM']Can I ask where you got yours from please Andy? I already have a DTR2000 in my rack - then I got a Peterson VS-1 for set-ups (2nd hand on eBay from Roger Sadowsky of all people!) - but it's so good that I'm VERY tempted to replace the Korg with a Strobrack.[/quote] Guys We only sell the best tuners available period and that's Peterson. Any pro tech worth his salt and wanting to be taken seriously won't turn up for the tour without a Peterson unit - it's the de facto standard in the pro realm simply because they are the most accurate tuners in the world and tuning is sometwhat fundamental to our 'fav' occupation of making sounds that hopefully the audience will appreciate! We're going to place another order on Peterson in the not too distant future so if anyone of you 'real and genuine' Basschaters are interested we could perhaps put together a special price and deal for you. Obviously, the more of you that join in the better the price we could offer you. Let's us know what you are looking (Peterson product) for asap. Just some thoughts.... Ciao Ian

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='111297' date='Dec 31 2007, 07:34 AM']When I read your post, I thought that you may appreciate this - [url="http://www.ricksuchow.com/music-group-204.html"]http://www.ricksuchow.com/music-group-204.html[/url][/quote] Many thanks EBS Freak, very thoughtful of you. Looks interesting, I'll have a real good gander later on... Love Macca's grooves! Ciao Ian

Just been 'a clearing and re-organising the loft this evening and grabbed an old CD I haven't played for years (was in a 70s frame of mind...had the 'Best of the Sweet' on before...'Hellraiser' 'twas the very first single [showing my age now!] I ever did buy, followed by 'Gonna Make you A Star' by David Essex [produced by none than Jeff Wayne of 'War Of The Worlds' fame, you can hear his distinctive synth sound pre-TWOTW], then a groovy number called 'Jive Talkin' by them Bee Gees pre-'Saturday Night Fever', then I fell for the theme from 'Van Der Valk' called 'Eye Level' [you young 'uns won't know what I'm rambling on about!] and that was the beginning of a very large TV and film sound track collection...). Getting back to the point of this new topic, the CD I grabbed was Wings 'Greatest Hits' and along came 'Silly Love Song' with a really great bass riff. Any of you out there tried it? It's great Macca bass playing! Just some thoughts. Ciao Ian

[quote name='Jonny Walker' post='111068' date='Dec 30 2007, 06:30 PM']I voted thumb as i really like the overall shape and feel of them[/quote] I second ( or whatever the count is currently on this shape!) that as it's one of the most original (not a Spector copy - I remember talking to Stuart Specter himself about how that nice Mr Wilfer 'borrowed' [at first for a long, long time without paying any royalties] the shape for the Streamer at a NAMM show...) shapes for a bass since....It almost seems to be the wood it's made from if you know what I mean (or not!). I remember Martin Sims put a load of his LEDs in a Thumb thru-neck (nice!) and when he let it go to generate some spondulies we were both sad to see it no more. BTW - Martin also fitted his LEDs in the signature Thumb for a certain Mr Bruce. The Thumb bass from Warwick - a cool instrument. Just some thoughts... Ciao Ian

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='108412' date='Dec 23 2007, 05:56 AM']Erm, wasn't it Stuart Zender? Mark Ronson was on guitar, for sure. I figured some BBC Anorak meassured the decal and decided that it constituted advertising, compelling Mr. Zender to cover the "F" logo with unsightly black Gaffer tape. I note Mr. Ronson's Gibson remained unmolested. That, or it's a Squier Or some P copy that isn't licensed! Perhaps the bottom of his headstock will fall off if he untapes it?[/quote] Yep, it was Stuart Zender with the Fender logo covered by black tape on the headstock but I don't believe it was to stop advertising for Fender. Jools Holland did the same thing to his Yamaha piano when Yamaha were being unbelievably dense at endorsing him earlier in his career. It's almost like a protest to the A&R guys who are sometimes a bit slow on the uptake on endorsement opportunities and actually not being in touch with the scene. Ciao Ian

[quote name='ARGH' post='106666' date='Dec 19 2007, 07:34 PM']Im about to commit a cardinal sin in my ears/eyes... I love Tech 21..,who I am very Happy with...but I want to see what the Germans have to offer.... Any recommendations,or anyone local to Yorkshire,that I could try one?[/quote] I'm afraid you'll have to travel down to the SimS Custom Shop in Bethersden near Ashford Kent where we have a Soul Top and Take Five 4 x 10" always available for players to try out. You will never be disappointed with the superb quality of sound and tone that a Glock will give day in day out. You'll be smitten once you plug in and play...with a big grin of 'yer face! Ciao Ian

[quote name='neepheid' post='104385' date='Dec 14 2007, 04:50 PM']I have been trying to get my hands on a black Badass V for a project for a while now, was waiting for about a month for stock from one place in the states, they finally gave up waiting for stock and warned me that they had no idea when new stock would arrive. Cool enough, got my refund and toddled across the wibbly wobbly web to WD (UK) and ordered one there. Got a call today saying they only had them left in gold (yuck!) but would try to get one from WD (USA) and told me that Badass (I presume he meant Leo Quan) were stopping making bridges! I raised an eyebrow at that one. Anyone heard anything similar, or is it a case of chinese whispers (probably on my part)?[/quote] Hey Guys I'm talking to Modulus this evening who fit zillions of Badass II bridges to our Flea 4s so I'll be able to check this out and get a bona fide answer for you. Ciao Ian

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='97960' date='Dec 3 2007, 09:52 AM']Well, if Ashdown's example is followed it won't make any difference to the quality or reliability of the products then [/quote] Ashdown are to applauded then and so have learnt from the mistakes made at Trace and others and ...quite rightly keep thing lean, mean and tight. We follow the same line for our business as does our good friends at the SimS Custom Shop. The bills have to be paid and the biz pushed forwards...plus we luv bass and want to be around for the longer term!! Just some thoughts. Ciao Ian

[quote name='Tee' post='97939' date='Dec 3 2007, 09:15 AM']Everyone is going this way these days.[/quote] It's a real shame but the pressures of globalisation and the high costs of manufacturing in the USA are to blame in the main. I take my hat off to any UK manufacturer still able to make some if not all of their products in the UK but when faced with the same pressures as say in this case Ampeg the same story will unfortunately roll on. This may be a good time to illustrate why the search for ever cheaper products by UK musicians can only go so far when so much is still expected: For Mr A bass amplification builder in the UK he has to make a gross profit of bewteen 40-50% on his sales to distributors outside the UK more if selling to a dealer in the UK (say 50-60%) to cover his costs for labour, sales and marketing and any other distribution costs and hopefully at the end of the year if the business plan has gone say, well according to plan, a small net profit to boot. To make less will lead to financial oblivion however good the product is. Now all the time customers want to pay less and less which is reinforced and promoted by internet shops that look to make no more than 0-10% on most lines, the poor old manufacturer comes under increasing pressure and his long-term viability to stay in biz. We all get a bit than more disappointed when many manufacturers don't turn up at bass days or shows but the expense of supporting these show is becoming less and less attractive (unless there is s clear demonstration of an affect on sales from such events which is usually impossible to measure) simply because it is from the margins under pressure as mentioned above from which these things are funded. So there has to be a financial justification. We all (myself included) want to get value money and a great price be it for a bass or amplification but when the balance of paying a reasonable sum for whatever piece of equipment we are after affects the financial life and expectancy of a great product line or brand perhaps we need to step back... As old Oscar Wilde once said: 'A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing' Oh, don't forget the funding on new product development and R&D, these have to paid for from the same margin. Just some thoughts. Ciao Ian

Technique with any instrument (and I was a drummer before...bit like Mr King really!) will always improve any musicians ability to make a greater and better contribution whether it's R&B, disco, (yes, think Bernard Edwards the master!), funk, rock, jazz and the list of genres goes on...not forgetting the space in between (isn't that a great track from Roxy Musics 'Avalon'??) as important a part of any technique in the groove and...the music Talking about space as well as technique and musicality, listen to Randy Hope Taylor and Julian Crampton as part of Incognito. A great demonstration of all the necessary parts of the whole that make interesting and enjoyable bass playing in both supportive and more prominent roles. (Philosopy time!) At the end of he day it's all about that great thing called music which is so diverse and open to being challenged and changed and experimented with whether it's as a solo artist or as part of a band. And if it's good enough then people will come and listen or else you need to decide it ain't working. Flash bass technique is great at shows and 'Bass Days' around the world but as with any technique whether it's a Motown groove or a Mark King Level 42, technique should always be a contributing part of the music and not the reverse. For example, Pino Paladinos opening bars for 'Don't Look Down' by Go West, he could not have pulled (no pun intended!) that superb 80s pop intro off without technique but it was part of the music at that point of the song. The rest of Pinos ability we all know so well. But at the end of the day its' all about the music that people will want to hear? Just some thoughts! Ciao Ian

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='83729' date='Nov 4 2007, 10:36 PM']Anyone see McFly tonight on the dance show. Nice LED job on the bass boys Ray but mysteriously no lights at all on the Ashdown stack behing him [/quote] Probably SimS again!! Ciao Ian

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='83163' date='Nov 3 2007, 03:28 PM']I've been massively drawn in by [url="http://www.warmoth.com/"]Warmoth's Website [/url]recently and have been having massive GAS for buying main components such as the body and neck (routed and painted by Warmoth themselves) then completing the project over here in the UK. I was goign to get a J bass body and neck then buying hardware seperately and asking Shuker to asemble and then set-up the bass for me, prehaps getitng me some decent pups while i'm at it. Can anyone share anything about Warmoth components, good OR bad? Is this the best route to go if there isn't quite enough money to get a full custom bass but when u want something more than bog-standard fender? I'm suprised there's not a Warmoth topic already, if there is (I did search the relevant forums but didn't find anything) then I'm sorry and this can be deleted. I think a wee li'l' bank of information about Warmoth's products would be very useful for BCers so please TYPE AWAY!! Thanx a lot, Ben.[/quote] Warmoth have a superb reputation in the industry and you get what you pay for. I was seriously considering them for a Strat project using the best quality components as a non-Fender custom shop instrument. The only other alternative that I would suggest is the SimS Custom Shop as they can now produce not only bodies to order but also necks as they have CNC routing capability in-house plus you can discuss with them want you want and get some good honest very experienced advice and they're in the UK. They are that good as they are now often first-call for some big names in the industry for prototype manufacture prior to scale-up for full-blown production. Hope that helps! Ciao! Ian

I'm thinking that an ideal mic would need to have a very, very close pickup pattern in order to pick up as little backline as possibe. But it would also need to be able to cope with his voice and screams, both of which are pretty powerful. Does anyone have any suggestions please? Thanks, Steve. [/quote] Steve, the comments on Audix mics is spot on, I've used the OM-4 in the past but the OM-5 is even better and they are buit like tanks! The only other brand I would trust and recommend you look at seriously is Sennheiser, again borne from experience in using their mics for percussion and vocals they are superb. Look at the Evolution 800 and 900 series of vocal mics. Sennheiser was also the mic system of choice for the vast majority of acts at the recent 'Live Earth' concerts in particularly the Foo Fighters with Dave Grohl using the Sennheiser MD 431-II, surely a good recommendation for the problems you are looking to solve. Just some ideas! Hope that helps! Ciao Ian

[quote name='Bigwan' post='74265' date='Oct 14 2007, 06:35 PM']Don't drink the water rocked! The bass seemed to be cranked. Very punchy sound. He seems to have cast off his Modulus basses though - didn't recognise what he was playing... Looked vaguely like an Esh but I don't think so.[/quote] Checked with the A&R guy at Modulus and Stefan has not forsaken his Modulus basses, he's having a spell with some US Hill Custom basses which have some similarities to the ESH headstock. He has other basses in his armoury such as some Warwicks. The situation with the Hills is much the same as the recent outings that Flea had for a short while (like trying an another pair of comfortable shoes just for a change) with his vintage Fender until a close friend commented on how bad his bass sound and tone was after a full-on Chili gig wherefrom he promptly got on the phone to Modulus and they shipped him his current sunburst finish Flea bass and the rest is truly cool !!!! Stefan will be back wielding his Modulus instruments soon... BTW - we originally imported ESH but dropped them after a shipment of 10-12 instruments that either were not the instrument specs we ordered or had quality issues that ESH failed to address when brought to their attention. Shame really because when they were good they were really good and something different and the only standard bass to come with SimS Custom L.E.D.s Ciao Ian

[quote name='sshorepunk' post='77224' date='Oct 21 2007, 10:28 AM']Thanks for the info Ian Thats pretty much what I'm seeing, higher prices than the actual weight would suggest as it is based on the volumetric weight! I just wanted to check, before going ahead Thx Tony[/quote] Hi Tony Thanks for that. Just contact me if you need any further advice. Ciao Ian

[quote name='sshorepunk' post='77122' date='Oct 20 2007, 07:47 PM']I'm talking $1500 to $2000 basses, one guy got quoted $370 of Fed Ex and $400 off of UPS, USPS owouldn't carry it, just over size in the gig bag, at least thats what they told him! Just wanted to know what services poeple are using from these companies T[/quote] If I may give some advice borne of over 20 years in the export/import biz: You get what you pay for with delivery services from a small items like a pickup or stomp pedal all the way up to an expensive bass guitar. When we ship our product from Highlander (acoustic and dobro pickups) we elect to use US airmail. Whilts this can take a week and a bit to arrive for this size and value item its the most cost effective as a hefty carriage charge would wipe out any profit margin. Shipping via air is not just dependent on the weight of the product to be shipped but also its volume and if it goes over a certain volume then a higher weight than the actual weight is levied. So a bass in a hard case maybe only 11-12 kgs but its volumetric weight maybe work out to be 17-18 kgs which you will be charged for. If you've spent your hard earnt money on a dream bass and get it shipped on the cheap beware! You really need to use a service that will get your bass over in the quickest period of time so it remains in the carrier system the least time possible thus reducing (in theory I might add!) the exposure to risk that it is dropped or falls off a conveyor or... We use FedEX International Priority because it's the fastest and most economical way of shipping our instruments from Modulus and the Turner workshop balancing all the important factors such as risk, value and service. Generally (depending on the flights used and time of week shipped) we receive our basses from Modulus in 2-3 working days from date of despatch. For the UK we will only use a 24 hour service and always advise against shipping on Fridays to avoid expensive instruments hanging around a courier hub all weekend. So it's advisable to consider this also when buying from a supplier here too. But this will cost more so you have to balance the risk factor versus your financial and emotional outlay. I've had many a customer who have got a deal in the US only to cheap skate on carriage and omit insurance to their chagrin! Insurance - always, always make sure that a valuable purchase carries this and get written proof from the supplier in the US otherwise when the damaged item reaches these shores who do you think will have to foot the bill? We carry an annual policy that covers all our shipments by both air and sea and final UK deliveries. Don't chance your arm in this respect. USPS as with the Royal Mail has a limit on the size of boxes it will handle so then the only other alternative is a courier service such as UPS, FedEx or DHL. So a guitar or bass won't be handled by them. The price you mention of $370 (£185) to $400 (£200) from UPS is the right sort of price to be looking at caused by the volumetric weight factor for shipping via air. We absorb this cost into our final selling prices including the import duty (3-4%) and the dreaded VAT at 17.5%. I advise strongly against people working the 'less than it really cost me invoice scam'. It's really not worth the risk and serious problems you'll have to deal with if you are rumbled!! US and UK Customs can check more than you think! The general rule in the end is look further than your nose when a 'great' deal is being offered and make sure you select the best and most secure way of receiving your new instrument or accessory. If it's cheap then it will follow that the level of quality of service will match. On top of the 'deal' from the USA the extra costs of importing a high quality instrument can be 25-30% extra and the dealer in the US rarely will know (or be interested) or inform you about that especially when UPS phone you to ask for a cheque or payment card details to cover import duty and VAT. Ship cheap at your peril!! And...do your homework and in most cases you''l be smiling! Ciao Ian

Who wants to just get on and use a computer without being half a techie? I expect most people do and so what ever the view is of Apple they make products that work and superbly. Isn't that what consumers want? Computers and music players that are a delight to own and use and do great creative things as easily as possible plus they look and function superbly as well. What's wrong with that and why's is it so wrong to get excited about it? If people want a computer they can control and mould to their will and being then a PC will do nicely. We all have choices as we all do with our basses and amplifiers and strings and pickups and preamps and cables and...and so with our choice of computer that's all and so far I have after working in the computer industry with hardware and software have found the so-called stereotypes about Apple and the competition (sorry if it hurt!) so actually true! Anyhow, it was all meant in a light-hearted fun manner and its' always good for the heart and digestion not to take ourselves too seriously... Ubuntu - thats a good name and perhaps a good solution to using a PC? Ciao Ian

[quote name='bnt' post='76823' date='Oct 20 2007, 12:51 AM']I don't see anything special, to be honest. To me, Macs cost far too much for what they do, and I will never forgive them for the DRM they pushed on "Pod People" who didn't know any better. My next PC purchase will probably be one of the [url="http://eeepc.asus.com/en/"]ASUS Eee PCs[/url], a laptop weighing less than 2lb with a flash HDD, running Linux as standard, and a price tag around £200. Something I can chuck in a rucksack and take everywhere. [/quote] It seems that PC users have an inane desire to kick against innovation and ease of use in computing and prefer to suffer the multitude of tortures that PCs can wreak on mere mortals! Mmm...I've used PC's and Macs for business use and I have to say if it's all about getting on and using a computer (and actually making it fun and enjoyable) without any of the hassles that PCs bestow upon their unwary users (like driver and hardware conflicts, crashing (need I go on...?) then from experience the reality is that Macs simply allow you to just get on with things (they do what they say they can do on the box straight out of the box), don't crash or freeze, don't have the problems with virus' and trojans and.. that are pandemic to the PC world and they are not that expensive compared to similar performance spec'ed PC counter parts (that's well and trull a myth now...maybe 20 years ago but not in 2007). I've taken my 14" iBook with me all over the world over the past 2 years and never once suffered a WiFi or Ethernet connection to a hotel Internet connection whilst I have had numerous colleagues with their PC laptops having to fiddle around with Windows to make it all work. But then PC fans seem to have an in-built desire to meet the time consuming frustrations of owning and running a PC and fiddle. OS X = solid, reliable, crash-free, ease of use operating system. Mac software + ease of use and productivity and wait for it...fun!! DRM - don't forget that it was the record companies who forced Mr Jobs to use DRM with iTunes but hey common sense is now beginning to break through in the record industry at last (when over 90 per cent of their CD's were DRM free anyway and so can be ripped at anytime!!) in allowing what Apple wanted in the first place DRM free music. Most people using iTunes on Mac or PC have the vast majority of their music ripped from their own CD collections. They want the best music experience in use and quality of sound so there really is only one choice - iTunes!! Apple is all about ease of use to do the things we all want to achieve with the incredible benefits that modern computer offer us all. Just pay a visit to the Apple ads to see just why these machines are not just cool to look at but they really are the coolest and most intelligent way to compute! Well, that's my Mac view of the day! Ciao Ian [url="http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/"]http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/[/url]

[quote name='OldGit' post='61523' date='Sep 17 2007, 09:50 AM']Martin Sims is ahead of you there [url="http://www.simscustom.com/html/custom_lasers.htm"]http://www.simscustom.com/html/custom_lasers.htm[/url][/quote] Yes, indeed! A certain Mr Vai had Martin install a laser in the headstock of one of his signature Ibanez guitars which he sweeps across the audience. These are the same low powered lasers used in laser presentation pointers so they won't harm anyone with such use. Certainly not the same as a famous Mr Goldfinger used on 007! He also wears the finger lasers whilst playing a zillion notes on his SimS equipped LED neck and fingerboard. Martin used AHEAD aluminium drum sticks and converted them to house both a laser and self-contained battery power supply. He also developed a special switch on the end of each stick that was both easy, robust and reliable to use. I remember some years ago now that when some of the final prototypes were ready he got the drummer and percussionist touring with Alexander O'Neal to road test them. Both (espcially the drummer) were particularly hard on sticks so this would be a great opportunity to see how the SimS Custom Laser drum sticks fared. They did so superbly. In the middle of the set while Alexander went off stage to change for the rest of the show both his drummer and percussionist would show case their talent in drumming with each other with the lights lowered and copious amount of stage smoke which really showed off the laser drum sticks superbly. I contacted AHEAD in the USA to discuss this exciting development of their excellent drum sticks on behalf of SimS but the guy at the other end just did not get either the concept or commercial side of this fun piece of kit. Another nuckle-head in the MI industry and an opportunity missed for him!! Anyhow, if you r game for it give Martin a call. He' not just the LED man but also the LASER man to boot!! Ciao Ian "Mr Bond...I assure you all all bass guitars in the future will benefit from zis cutting edge technology!"