elom

You'll fit right in! welcome.

[quote name='The_D' post='399249' date='Feb 3 2009, 06:44 PM']Jeezo!

Sorry to derail mate but you could stick it on ebay if thats how they are selling. Unless that was the seller bumping the price up.[/quote]

That ebay link was for a Thunder 3, this is for a Thunder 2 which would go for less. Confusingly the Thunder 3 was previously called Thunder 2, when they introduced this model they 'upped' it rather than call this one the Thunder one and a half!

I actually have the same model T2, also in Onyx - lovely bass.

Top tune and thanks for the tab. This is one of those "I'll know I'm okay when I can play..." tunes. I've been meaning to try it for ages and now I have no excuse. Been working on it for a couple of hours today and I can now play it! But slooowly...

Damn this is a fast tune - my poor old fingers. Had to slow it right down (can manage it at 85bpm - the original is 105 ). I'll get there in the end.

As others have posted this is a difficult time to start a business, but not impossible. To succeed you've got to have something that your competitors have not.

Can you compete with the Internet? Probably not. So immediately for new kit you have slashed your potential market before you start. People [i]say[/i] that they are happy to pay for good service but when it comes to parting with their wedge most of them don't.

The second hand market is basically gumtree and ebay - you may get the best prices but buying unseen is always a gamble.

I'd suggest that you concentrate on second hand gear and you might find that people will travel from farther afield if you've got interesting stock - not just squires and epiphones as someone said.

And be nice to your customers (even spotty kids who don't look like they've got a fiver) - that alone would set you apart from most music shops!

If you go for it then the best of luck. Make sure you have a business plan though, otherwise this just becomes a very expensive hobby.

[quote name='BassManKev' post='376553' date='Jan 11 2009, 12:42 AM']if anyone has a couple spare, it would be muchos appreciated [/quote]
PM me your address and I'll stick a couple in the post

I've been after some Grolsch washers for my strap for [i]ages[/i] but couldn't find any anywhere. None in the shops, the pubs - even emailed Grolsch to no avail. Then in a moment of clarity I thought about brewing shops.

I used [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/THE-HOME-BREW-SHOP"]these guys[/url] and got 10 washers for £2.99. I'd rather have just bought a couple of bottles of beer but hey ho. Thought I'd pass it on in case anyone else is on the look out.

elom

[quote name='Linus27' post='373162' date='Jan 7 2009, 03:43 PM']Is it Craig from Bros?[/quote]

Someone told me today that he is now Pink's manager. Funny old world.

Is it whoever played bass in Slade?

Even though I have a good rig for playing live I still tend to still use the little [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/peavey-max-126---new-product!!!/66691"]Peavey Max 126[/url] around the house when the rest of the family don't want to be disturbed. Decent sound, headphone socket, line in etc. - fine for your needs. Should be able to pick one up new for £50.

There are loads of good basses out there in the sub £200 bracket even new - many, many more if you go 2nd hand. The problem is that you really need to try a few before you know what suits you - does it sound ok, do you like how it looks and does it feel comfortable? Some might say it's all about the sound but in my opinion you need an instrument that you don't want to put down when you're starting!

Have a look in the for sale forum here and see if there is anything in your price range that is relatively close to you. Most people here are pretty sociable and wouldn't mind you going round to try it out.

You really don't need to spend a lot of cash to look and sound good, what you need to spend is time practising. Now if only I could practice what I preach!

Best of luck in your search and let us know how you get on,

elom

[quote name='chris_b' post='367191' date='Dec 31 2008, 04:07 PM']The [i]maybe[/i] means that you have 2 separate and independent decisions to make.... try to join the band now and [i]maybe[/i] go to Uni at a later date.
Uni may not materialise so don't say a word. Join the band and see where it takes you. Good luck.[/quote]

Absolutely. You will have many opportunities to study bass, you will have limited opportunities to join a big(ish) band. I think you'd regret it if you didn't go for it.

[quote name='katana_manatee' post='358614' date='Dec 19 2008, 10:31 AM']Never tried a Fender Katana actually... Never even knew they made one called that![/quote]

Nobody else does either. The Katana and the Performer are Fender's forgotten basses!

[quote name='The Funk' post='355074' date='Dec 15 2008, 02:49 PM']I did a test run of some 2009 Foolish Earthlings Calendars (all very tasteful, nothing too saucy ) to see how they look with a view to giving them away to anyone who wants one. I was wondering if you guys ever give away merch rather than selling it as a bit of a promotional tool. (And I was also wondering if anyone would like a free 2009 F E Calendar - PM me).[/quote]

As you say, this is a promotional tool for your business. Therefore you need to make sure that you know what the objective of giving them away would be and understand how you are going to measure the relative success of the exercise.

Sorry to sound so dull but if you're doing this to promote your band/brand then you need to look at it from a commercial prospective. If you're just doing it for a bit of fun that's great too, but different.

Hey Katana,

welcome to the forum.

Please tell me that you chose that name because you play a Fender Katana. The only Fenders worth playing are the pointy ones but these guys won believe me!

elom

Was in a shop this morning and the usual christmas songs were playing. Then they played [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=acrM-KoMHiI"]Christmas Wrapping [/url]by the Waitresses and I just had to stay there and listen to that bassline until the end.

Then they started playing Cliff so I had to leave.

Met these people at the South West Guitar Show. They seemed like a nice bunch plus they have the best name for a company ever!

[url="http://www.endlessknobbing.com/"]http://www.endlessknobbing.com/[/url]

I'd be up for it. Taunton would be ideal for me but if it's Bristol I'll still go. Perhaps the proper westcountry boys can co-ordinate some lift shares to make our trip to the North East a bit easier.

As for celeb attendees we could always ask Stuart Clayton - nice chap and Devon based.

This might be worth a look [url="http://www.icmp.uk.com/courses/bass.aspx"]http://www.icmp.uk.com/courses/bass.aspx[/url]

No personal experience but read good things

I got a Stuart Clayton (who he?) book for 1p

(It's actually very good Stuart! - teaches me all the basics that I should have learnt years ago - I know what the strings are called now...)

If you're after a kit can I suggest [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/layla_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm"]this from Thomann[/url]. And at £78 it's about half the price.

Perfectly ok P-Bass, plus you get to carve out the headstock which is a nice touch. I bought and made/assembled one about 18 months back and it was a useful experience. For someone like me who is fairly technically inept I was able to practice set-ups etc on this bass without worrying about causing any damage. I'm now comfortable setting a bass up but this kit was a useful stepping stone for me. It was my backup bass for about 12 months and was perfectly serviceable.

Recommended. (and yes, it does have an instruction manual with it!)

Great gig in my home village. A few f*** ups but we covered them up ok. I love it when people dance, makes me know I've done a good job!

Picked up a birthday booking too, so a good night.

Just spent the morning playing my old Westone Thunder II for the first time in a while.

If nobody here can help you might want to try asking at [url="http://forum.westoneguitars.net/"]http://forum.westoneguitars.net/[/url]

Mid Devon reporting in for the role call

[quote name='Bassassin' post='326770' date='Nov 11 2008, 02:20 PM']I do like these. I know the name but don't think I've ever encountered any before. Very interesting creatures - whereabouts were they from?

Jon.[/quote]

The company was originally from Maryland but folded in the 70s when the founder died. The name and rights have recently been bought and a new Micro-Fret company has started making the guitars again. There is more at [url="http://www.microfrets.com"]www.microfrets.com[/url] but no basses as yet - think I might drop them a line!

[quote name='yorick' post='325576' date='Nov 9 2008, 10:47 PM']The best way to clean your fret board is with a lint free cloth and lemon oil.[/quote]

What exactly is a lint free cloth please?

I have a friend (well an internet acquaintance) who is an enthusiastic guitar collector. I noticed an unusual bass in the background on one of his photos which he told me was a Micro-Fret. He sent me some photos (and gave his permission for me to post them here).

I don't know much about the company but these were made in the mid 60s and I just imagine them being used on the 'surf' music scene!

The green one is a Rendezvous and the others are Signatures. Enjoy!