Kiwi

I've got a candle making kit here consisting of 2 pairs of molds - one spherical and one column shaped 1 and a bit bags of basic wax probably enough for 4-5 candles a small amount of opaquing additive a small amount of oriental spice fragrance an opened pack of white colouring Probably about 35 quids worth of kit there.

I bought it in anticipation of needing another but moved flats before I had a chance to use it. Looks a bit like this: [attachment=14960:Charcoal_BBQ.jpg] but in different colours

I just discovered a horde of hotel toiletries collected while I was staying in a 4 star hotel in China. They consist of the following in 30ml bottles: 6x shampoo 9x bath foam 5x body lotion so thats 20 bottles together. I did have more but found them handy for sleep overs. Well, not really the body lotion. Honest.

[quote name='Josh' post='304489' date='Oct 11 2008, 05:46 PM']If your Pentabuzz sounds anything like Jeff Schmidt's then it is the best fretless sound I've ever heard, so clear and so much mwwwwwahhhh it's almost criminal. And you've got the perfect amp as well so it probally sounds even better.[/quote] Funnily enough I haven't actually had a chance to try the Pentabuzz with the Shuttle yet as I've loaned the bass to a fellow basschatter for the last few months. However hopefully it will be coming back home next week when I visit Mr Shuker so I'll be able to give it a blast after then. I think the wedge shaped GK combo I used to use made it easy to generate that feedback effect because I could stand directly in the cone of projection radiating out from the speaker.

I nearly creamed myself when I saw the back of that instrument. I don't think I've seen such a gorgeous piece of wood in a long time. You got a fantastic deal there too.

Hehe, the Pentabuzz and Smith 5 fretless are both very different instruments so its probably not fair to compare them to one another. Playing the Pentabuzz is a magical, almost surreal experience at performance volumes when the feedback effect starts up. The bass literally feels alive, like its playing itself, and the most dreamy sound comes out of it. But I can't use it for every song. Sometimes I've needed a more polite and warmer sounding instrument and the Smith 5 does the job nicely but the Pentabuzz still plays like butter. I can get the action almost as low as Ped's Vigier. I only needed matching fretted and fretless instruments for my last band which split up 18 months ago, so I don't really play the Smith 5 fretless that much any more.

Well if I don't get a permenant job before Christmas or I do get a permanent job but have to relocate overseas then I'm going to be facing a sell off of one kind or another just to reduce the storage or shipping costs and maybe raise some cash. If the Shuker headless 6 works out, the Smiths would be relatively easy to replace so I'd consider selling both and the Spector for the right price, perhaps also the Pentabuzz and the V8 too but the Alembic, Celinders and Stingray would be staying as workhorse instruments. Not sure about the Cutlasses yet, I keep vascillating over them whenever I think about options. In fact the whole prospect is a bit of a knee trembler to be honest. EDIT: The 5 string headless project is still going although progress is a little slower than I was hoping. So I wouldn't end up necessarily without 5 string fretted and fretless instruments in the medium term...

I wonder if its anything to do with market saturation and being too fashionable for too long? Thats a cracker of a bargain though!

Purely in terms of mid range punch, the EMG DC soapbars are very growly. However they can also sound a little sterile in the treble and upper mids too, so I wouldn't recommend putting them on basses that sound quite brittle or bright. There's something to be said for Delano pickups, I've yet to meet anyone with a bad word to say about them. Very clean, sweet, punchy and warm but a lot of the results you achieve will depend on the bass. The pickups are ideally like ears, ideally they shouldn't colour the instrument. A word of caution though, if you use different pickups then be aware that they may have different outputs and so when you switch between them you may have to adjust gain levels on your amp to compensate. If you install a u-retro by John East, the eq comes with input buffers that can be individually adjusted for gain. So it would be possible for you to have an active EMG DC soapbar in the bridge and a Bartolini soapbar in the neck positions and maintain consistent levels when you switch between them.

I guess its all a question of taste. I've gigged both and felt the Spector was definitely drier sounding and easier to hear in the mix. The Smiths are very refined and a little chocolatier by comparison. They're also superb recording instruments and great in a small group but I've always had to contend with the scooped sound they have while playing in a larger band (and particularly battling against percussion) so the Spector's slightly more aggressive sound does punch through the mix a little better. I don't really need a lot of low end for our gigs because we play a lot of small venues and the boom can be overwhelming on stage. Having said that, the soundman does keep asking me to turn up when I play the Spector. He usually expects to be hit in the chest by the warmth of the Smiths when I play through the PA...

Well the funny thing is Josh that with the u-retro installed I can get a pretty good fascimile of a Smith bass IF I dial a lot of the mids out using the mid-sweep control. Same levels of growl in both instruments to my ears but the Smith 5 still sounds fuller though. No question in my mind that the Spector Euro, if you can get one for a reasonable price, is better value for a gigging instrument with everything else being equal. The Smith has slightly better build quality than the Spector Euro and the Smiths do have a very distinctive tone which is why I got them.

[quote name='BossHog' post='304326' date='Oct 11 2008, 10:31 AM']Sorry, Been grafting away from home this week so wasn't really in a position to check the listing a lot. Smith basses, beautiful things! However the sale was intended to raise dosh for another purchase so thank you for your kind comments and interest. I've decided to hang on to the Fodera.[/quote] thats cool matey, I was just playin' Serious about the swap though if you ever change your mind...

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='304399' date='Oct 11 2008, 02:07 PM']Wow! Counting down the days, eh? Best of luck with that one! Rich.[/quote] Cheers Rich, counting down the days but not holding my breath. I told Jon I needed the bass for a TV appearance!

Yeah, its not bad for a spalted top, this Spector has a much less scooped sound than the Smiths, it could be a serious contender for replacement as in someways its easier to hear on stage and just as growly. Adding the u-retro was a good thing too - the mids are nice and controllable. However the body does feel cramped on my rather generous frame and my Shuker is supposed to be finished by next weekend...

Update - haven't put shots of the Shuttle and EBS rig in here yet: Spector Euro 6 with a customised U-retro preamp or the Unibass

Given you're in first, I'll send you the Level 42, Police and Python vid. Carlos is in there for the Peter Jackson films if he wants them but I haven't heard any confirmation from him yet. Re: neck wood, both wenge and maple are good, I have both in my custom shuker. The balance between them depends on how much attack you would like in the upper reaches of the fingerboard. I really like the attack of maple in the upper end but wanted some of the wenge low-mid growl, so the proportions of maple and wenge in the headless shuker is in favour of maple.

I'd agree that a dead straight neck is ok, however if the frets aren't completely level then you'll end up getting fret buzz. What concerns me is the lack of an effective truss rod. If the neck is dead straight, that would suggest its resisting the string tension quite effectively. So the question in my mind is whether the truss rod has been over-tightened? The neck shim is a good idea too, the neck angle could be adjusted to bring the strings closer to the neck at the heel end. I personally love the microtilt feature on my stingray but once set its no problem to forget.

Definitely have a word with a luthier if you have very specific requirements, I suspect you might get change out of £1500 quid for that basic spec too. For me the compromise has always been in favour of tone. I own a couple of basses that I don't get around that easily on but if you have decent finger strength (and I play usually with a light touch) then you can take the instrument by the proverbial scruff of the neck and play it a little more assertively than usual to get the tone needed. But whether you can be arsed doing that is obviously up to you.

[quote name='overwater#1' post='304216' date='Oct 10 2008, 10:53 PM']Ahh, damn! I keep meaning to order a copy of the Level 42 @ Wembley... I have half of it on a dodgy old casette my Dad recorded probably 20 years ago which sounds terrible!! Would like to see the rest one day.. Il order it from Amazon I wouldn't mind the Python's though..... Cheers, Best wishes Steve.... Oh and.. Im picking up some of that Spalted Beech this weekend I think!! [/quote] Well Matt, the Level 42 vid isn't taken if you want it. I'll chuck in the Police and Python vid in for nothing too if you like. It would be great to see some pics of that beech if/when you have the time too!

[i]"Here is the deal. One years gross will get you the brand name, patterns to 70 basses, the website wishbass.com. my customer files and a course in how to make instruments my way. I think one person could make about 200 basses a year, you see what they sell for. I make a little over a hundred a year, myself. This would be a great opportunity for a mechanically inclined person who has a real desire to work for themselves."[/i] We could all chip in and buy the company together. We need someone who is 'mechanically minded' though. I can bash things with a hammer if that helps...?

Could you clarify what the problem you're dealing with here? Is the action too high? The neck too bowed? Or the neck at the wrong angle to the body?

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='201985' date='May 19 2008, 10:44 AM']How about Seasick Steve?[/quote] I heard him for the first time tonight. OMG he's awesome. Seriously. There's a purity to his playing and a total lack of pretention. That, and I can't believe how good he can make a 3 string guitar sound.

well if Smith basses aren't his taste t'aint my problem...

I was in the Met Bar on Park Lane once and saw him on the pull. I thought he looked a bit creepy.

No but tell you what, I'll throw in Bad Taste for nothing. Special deal, one time only for you, because I like yer 'tache and I can't say fairer than that.