Acebassmusic

Most of the music shops up here have just the usual range of Fender, Ibanez, Musicman which don't really float my boat as they say. It does seem that the nearest place to me that has a range of basses is Bass Direct. I've checked out the websites for Guitar Guitar and the place in Manchester etc but very little jumps out at me 😥 Theres a few good luthiers up here eg ACG but its still a limited selection. I guess the 2 main places for me are the Gallery and Bass Direct, long may they both continue. Being up here I have had to buy most of my basses over the last 18 years over the internet without playing them first. A number have come from here on Basschat and I've always had good dealings with everyone. What a great place this is 👍 On the other side of things if I did live nearer a good bass shop I would be skint and divorced I think 😁

Didn't get to Bass Direct this morning as it's a 954 mile round trip! ….but by not going, it did save me a lot of money....lol I'm planning on going later in the year when I get down to Cambridge to see family...yeah!

Dear Mr / Mrs Myspace, I would like to apply for the senior position of IT Manager that has just become available. I am fully versed in the latest Spectrum and Commodore computing systems and have built my own Olivetti PC from parts. I believe that along with these skills and experience I have a novel concept to offer in the minimisation of business risk. I have named this philosophy and practical execution "Backup 101" and know that once I have explained the concept to you it will be embraced by yourselves with the possibility of selling it to other computer users. Best regards, Ivor Bacupavyoo

ACS Pro17's for me thank you. Wouldn't rehearse, gig or be in the audience without them.

I bought a Tama MS205 boom stand in 2000, have used it lot's and it still looks pretty new! They're not cheap at about £60 but worth it and long lasting. Tama MS205

It's historical as far as I know. Originally music was mainly composed on a Grand or Great staff (stave) with 21 lines which covered the majority of the range of the orchestra or keyboard instrument it was written for. When the individual bass and treble parts were written out there was a lot of extra unneeded stave lines. To simplify this someone decided to split the stave into smaller 5 line staves. The Great Staff I used to play in a brass band and depending on the instrument needed to know both treble and bass clef (oh so long ago, all forgotten now!). Then one day whilst I was on trombone the conductor handed out the music and it was in the tenor clef! Yep, sight reading a new clef resulted in me producing some interesting notes probably not envisaged by the composer! The Different Clefs

Thanks Robbie (would have been even better on my feedback link...lol ) Acebassmusic Feedback

Just sold a Mono strap to Robb. Easy to deal with and quick payment. Many thanks.

Ken Smith Double Ball End - Strings

Yes I did put pictures up on that site. Haven't been there for a long time. I sold the Calibass to a Pastor from Detroit in 2004. He was over in Scotland on holiday, saw my advert and bought it! I replaced it with a Ken Smith BSR 6 string.

Mines actually TWO that got away! Mid-nineties and my desire for a Wal had been ongoing for about 10 years by then. At that point I'd never seen one in the flesh but all the photos in the bass mags and video on the telly had fueled the lustfull GAS I was feeling. I was living in Huddersfield at the time and had graduated as a mature student (with family, mortgage etc) about 4 years earlier. I'd been playing a pre EB Musicman Sabre for the last 8 years which was not a hard task to put up with......but GAS persisted. After many hours overtime and saving what we had my wife said why don't you treat yourself to a new bass. Yes please! I'd been down to the Embassy in Mansfield before and lusted after all the delights they had adorning their walls. Maybe they might have something of interest..... I'd looked through their advert in Bassist which listed what they had and then called them on the Thursday to check their stock etc. During the conversation (I think it was Dave Shields) dropped the fact that they had a matching pair of fretted and fretless MK2 Wals. They were the other shop owner, John's personal basses that he had made with some elm facings from a tree in his garden. Both 5 string, gold fittings, great condition, hard cases, set up etc......I was feeling a bit excited but new there would be a catch. "He really wants to only sell them as a pair". "Darn it....ok, how much?"........"£1500"........"So that would be £3,000 for the pair then. Well out of my budget"........."No. £1,500 for them both!" At this point my mind starts working hyper speed as to which of the kids I should put up for auction to bridge the gap between the money I had (£1,100) and the £1,500 they were asking. I couldn't commit on buying the Wals as I knew I didn't have the money and wouldn't put it on the credit card. (Our credit card at that time was for emergencies only!). That Thursday night me and the wife talked about the basses and she said "I think this constitutes an emergency doesn't it?" Phew...the kids were safe! Now, with hindsight, what I did next was logical but maybe not smart! In the past I had always checked bases out in person before buying just to be sure they were OK etc. and so I thought it would be wise to do the same this time. Instead of pleading for a day off or calling in sick at work on the Friday I decided that I would go down first thing on the Saturday morning, check them out with a 99.999% certainty that I would bring them home with me! I mean what could possibly go wrong? They hadn't been advertised in the magazines, no internet lists of equipment for sale etc. The chances of someone visiting the shop in out of the way Mansfield, seeing those particular basses and buying them in the 8hrs the shop would be open on the Friday were miniscule....or so I thought. At this point you'll be ahead of me in the story. Saturday morning came around. Kids, wife, money and Musicman packed in the car and down to The EmBASSy for just after opening time. "I've come about the pair of Wals we spoke about"..... "Sorry, we sold them late yesterday afternoon." I didn't cry...honest, but my wife could see on my face I was gutted. She insisted that as we had all travelled down together I might as well continue to have a look around and see if there was anything else I liked. My mind was at this point a bit distracted as I was mentally kicking myself and half heartedly checking out their stock. One of the first they offered was a fretted and fretless pair of Sei headless 4 strings for £1,100. "Sei...nah thanks, never heard of them" My mind was obviously not functioning properly! I'd got it into my head that I was going home with a 5 string and it would be a Wal. Eventually after several hours of checking their stock I decided on a bass that was to be my main axe for the next 10 years a JD Calibas 5 string. If someone had shown me a picture beforehand I would have said it looked "Ok". In the flesh it was "Oooh". I guess looking back it was actually 4 that got away 2 Wals and 2 Sei! Here's the 2 Wals that got away W3648 and W3649 and my Calibas….

I've got the 17's and love them.....no more ringing ears. It might be worth persevering with the plugs for a little longer before changing the inserts. You say that at rehearsal you couldn't hear your bass at all....this is strange as the Pro17's are supposed to reduce ALL frequencies pretty evenly. If the band has a balanced sound, all you should experience with the plugs in is the same balance....only quieter!

Yip I'm in Aberdeen …..have a great tour

Hello from Aberdeen

ACS customs at 17db for me every time......and the answer is 3.... Kirk has a left ear, a right ear......and a final front ear (groan...sorry!)

You can use PA / studio gear via the effects loop on the VTRM with the 100% mix engaged. DBX, Drawmer, TC etc all do rack compressors. Some are better for bass than others...check out the many compressors on Ovnilab. I use a TC G-Major multi effects with built in compressor rack unit....works for me

Personally I would only regularly travel an hour to play with a band if I was really enjoying the music and the company. Once it stops being fun then the travel starts to become a chore.