spinynorman

I've now had experience of one acoustic gig with the Kala. I thought I was going to need some kind of eq pedal or preamp, but in the end I just turned down the bass a bit on the amp and it was fine. It drew interest from a couple of people, one a bass player, surprised that something so small could put out such a big sound, but most didn't seem to notice. I switched back to conventional bass guitar for the second half, as there were some heavier tunes that I didn't think would work so well with the Kala strings, but in the first half I felt very comfortable with it. I don't feel particularly offended if anyone thinks it's a gimic. I also have an Epi JC semi hollow, which doesn't really have any rational justification either. Most of my bass choices have been from curiosity. Some stick, some don't. I think the Kala will stick.

[quote name='Freddy Le Cragg' timestamp='1378229965' post='2197434'] Some of the forums I frequent have a live Java chatroom. Its a great way to get to know other posters etc. In fact, I met my wife in one dedicated to Dr Who! Any chance of getting one on here? [/quote] Why, are you looking for another wife?

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1377703389' post='2190580'] My gripe is the lack of honesty on the reviews on Youtube. I love those by Ed Friedland - "The Bass Whisperer" He's about the best reviewer on there IMHO. They're clear and not over the top. They seem honest, but when you think about it; when have you heard him say, "this bass isn't for me, the neck's too thick", or "damn this thing's like lead" ? I'm not asking for reviews to slag stuff off ruthlessly, some critical points would be interesting. [/quote] I doubt if it's a lack of honesty. The level of manufacturer that's going to send Ed Friedland a bass to review is going to make sure it's set up right and the fret ends aren't sharp. Even if he did get one in bad shape, the first thing he would have to do is go back to the press dept and ask if that was really their normal standard, and they'd send him a good one. After that, anything else he could criticise would be subjective and, on Youtube, would probably get angry comments from people who own that bass and think it's wonderful. And anyway, what doesn't suit Ed might suit you or me fine. I happen to like wider necks. The best you can hope for in a review is an accurate description and impression of it, and maybe that helps you make your own judgement.

What we need is a mass blindfold test. Blindfold the players and the audience. Give the players a selection of Fender and Squier P or J from various factories, plus some cheap clones and some boutique ones. See who can tell the difference.

I've got tickets for their NIA gig in October.

Clever clogs

Someone ought to be able to recognise it from a static picture, which is on the Beeb website. One or two highly scripted Ls to start? I can't embed it, go to the site and pick slide 4. [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/galleries/p01d76m3"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...leries/p01d76m3[/url]

A lot of sellers on eBay won't ship to Italy. I don't know why, I've sold to Italy and Spain with no problems.

My Planet Waves leads are marked at one end that's supposed to be plugged into the amp. That I really don't understand.

I've never understood how Fender get away with charging more for instruments made in America. Amongst country music players in the mid-west US there might be some patriotic appeal, but otherwise the only reason they'd be better is if Fender deliberately make the Mexican ones worse.

You can't really compare a low start auction on eBay with Basschat, where you have to set a price. A low start auction will usually sell, though maybe not for what the seller expected. There's lots of basses on eBay with high starting bids or BINs that don't sell, and even if the price is a reasonable valuation, there's less chance of it selling.

There's people who rate them on last bass outpost. A dutch guy posting as basvarken on there is an agent, could make the shipping easier.

Played it a bit at band rehearsal last night. Straight into the amp it distorts very quickly, but I've got a Big Muff and used that as an EQ/DI, with the sustain turned right down, and that was better. No problems with tuning, but I think it had a while to stretch in the shop. Rest of the band think it's cool. Weekend after next there's an acoustic gig, so that'll be the test.

[quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1376415351' post='2173662'] thats silly cheap for the quality of the instrument. my vester argus cost me £350 brand new (i think it should have been £450 but i got a deal because of a tiny unnoticable natural wood blemish) and easily compares to basses in the £600-700 price range in terms of quality although i looked at the trade catalogue at the time and it was one of the highest spec models ill never sell it though :^) [/quote] I wasn't happy, as I thought it was easily worth the £125 it cost me after shipping, but it seems there's no resale value in the brand. A Maniac, similar to mine, but with PJ pickups, just sold on eBay.com for $91. Some of the Fender copies they did weren't so hot, and I think that rubbed off on the rest. Maybe the later ones can get a bit more, but its a much better bet to buy, so long as you don't pay a lot, rather than sell. Last post on [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/unusual-vester-photos-429324/"]this Talkbass thread[/url] confirms my opinion of the string spacing. Unless you like really tight string spacing, that's going to put people off. There used to be a good Vester fan site maintained by a Dutch guy, which has gone now. (He used my photos without asking, not that I minded.) You can still see it on the [url="http://web.archive.org/web/20101201053112/http://vesterfansite.nl/page10.php?view=thumbnailList&category=14"]Wayback Machine[/url]. And for anyone that's not already bored to death, a catalogue scan.

I had this model - it's the catchily named OPR1335EQ. I thought it was very well made and potentially an excellent bass, except that the neck was very thin at the nut and terribly cramped for a 5er. It didn't help that it was my first 5-string, but I still think it was too narrow. Watch out on the price - I paid £100 for mine, but when I came to sell it a few months later couldn't get more than £80. That was a few years ago, but I doubt if they'll have appreciated since then. Edit to add that its active, with generic Korean electronics, which worked well. Pictures, as it did happen.

I've got a Cambridge amp from Richer, but it doesn't have phono input for a turntable, so watch out for that. I've also got a pair of KLH speakers I bought in ~1974, which are still going strong, and a rather nice Arcam CD player, bought used off eBay.

There's definitely a "feel" about the strings on my new Ubass. I don't think I'd call it sticky, just a bit more grab than I'm used to. The white colour of the Thunderguts puts me off.

I saw the one that's been for sale on here, looked it up on Youtube and found the clips of Bakithi Kumalo and James Hill doing "Billie Jean", and that sold it to me. Then I found a good deal on a brand new mahogany one, so I bought that. I'm not in a uke band, though, we've just been doing more "acoustic"** rock gigs in very small venues and I didn't get on at all with the acoustic bass I had. I haven't had a chance to try it with the band yet, but it's great to pick up unplugged for a noodle. I've seen recommendations to use a preamp with it - does anyone have any suggestions for that? I've got a Behringer MIC100, but there's no eq on that. Also, I've seen mixed reviews of the Thunderguts strings - sticky feel, too bright? Any thoughts on those, before I lay out £25? ** the quotes because our acoustic gigs seem to involve as much, or even more electronics than the normal ones.

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1375186646' post='2157769'] Someone a few months back posted a link to a website that allowed you to slow or speed up youtube videos just by using a link. Anyone know what site it was or one like it? Thanks [/quote] Was it this? http://www.youtubeslow.com/