Kiwi

Put a Koch in it? Koch also designed and manufactured the Sadowsky amps.

[quote name='dutchwife' post='41176' date='Aug 4 2007, 08:42 AM']Hey CK, after 10 minutes careful deliberation I've come to the conclusion that I'm a crap photographer[/quote] Oh dear. I fear there will be much weeping, gnashing of hair and pulling of teeth... ...erm, or something like that.

[quote name='jwbassman' post='43087' date='Aug 8 2007, 10:41 PM']EDIT - Just read the guidelines and the way I undersatnd it, the rules are there to stop 'manufacturers' posting about every build they undertake, as a BC member who is having a bass built my guess is you're more than welcome to post the progress of your particular build so I think you'll be fine [/quote] Indeed this is the case, unless by special arrangement with Ped.

There's nothing wrong with the site. This kind of issue should be taken up with the mods or admin first BEFORE being plastered over the forum, not after.

[quote name='carlosfandango' post='43054' date='Aug 8 2007, 09:13 PM']cons; you can't use your own amp as the change overs are so quick... ...and I'm not overly impressed by the markbass combos...[/quote] I don't like them much either, but its infinitely preferable to the POS they had until I broke it.

Bloody hell, that Purple Rain one is gone from Youtube already! In 9 hours... ...The rest of them apart from the opening night encore and Play That Funky Music have gone while I've typed this post!

Some Youtube clips of last night's performance at last! Purple Rain: Guitar Solo during Play That Funky Music:

I've played the Bedford, its one of my favourite small venues. Decent beer and food, the staff are pleasant enough and there's usually a good atmosphere. We're not playing enough originals at the moment for us to go back.

[quote name='Sibob' post='42847' date='Aug 8 2007, 12:23 PM']No Rhonda Smith? Si[/quote] No, unfortunately not, and no Candy Dulfer on sax either at the aftershow party. Some guy called Theo was on bass but he kept a really low profile. I was a little disappointed by that but the drummer made up for it, she was awesome and millisecond perfect. Some blurb off the 3121 site showing last nights gig was out of the ordinary if nothing else: [i]Where 2 begin? Where 2 begin? Whew, whatta nite! Let’s c… ruffled shirts, solo piano set, solo guitar set… new songs in the setlist. Wow. The night began with none other than Grupo Fanstasma straight outta Texas. Have we mentioned how funky their guitar player is? If u get the chance 2 read this b4 the aftershow begins, betta run n’ get u a spot at Indigo2! Grupo finishes a funkytight Latin set. Up comes Prince thru stage elevator amidst smoke and cheers. Prince, decked out in black with white ruffled shirt, breaks in2 “Little Red Corvette” on the much-loved Hohner. He treats the crowd 2 a scintillating acoustic-style set 2 open the show — “Raspberry Beret,” then what’s that? “Eye Could Never Take the Place of Ur Man”! Did he really just play that? Next came “Alphabet Street.” The crowd sang along, ready 2 drive 2 Tennessee, but he took us 2 Manchester. Folx went nuts. “Sometimes it Snows in April” followed, featuring Renato Neto, and then the band joined in on “Cream.” This was gonna b a HOT night, we were feeling it already! 2nite during the “Musicology” dance party, a funky white boy managed 2 surprise us all with some vox on “Play That Funky Music.” Chants of “Freaks on This Side” were heard thruout the danceparty… o yeah, it was like that! Dancing went straight on thru 2 “Eye Feel 4 U” and “Controversy,” during which Prince told the crowd, “London, can’t nobody mess with my band!” Tell it, Prince! After Mike and Renato bring the groove down 2 a slow simmer, we c something cookin’ over on the stage’s curl, in the dark. Prince arrives from beneath the stage and sits down 2 the keyboard, treating us all 2 a solo piano set. The riffs played during “Somewhere Here on Earth” were nothing short of amazing. (Has he been listening 2 Renato, or Renato listening 2 him? Hmm…) We’ve never heard the song done this way b4, and can’t even think of words 2 describe how intense it was. Then came “Diamonds & Pearls,” “The Beautiful Ones,” “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” and another tru surprise — “Condition of the Heart.” The playing was impeccable and the emotion poured in2 these songs was enough 2 melt even the burly house security staff. How does he do it? After “Do Me, Baby,” the band joined in on “Eye Wanna B Ur Lover” and funked thru “If Eye Was Ur Girlfriend,” “Black Sweat,” “Kiss” and “Purple Rain.” With his guitar needing some more time in the spotlight 2nite, Prince & band came back out and played “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Take Me With U” and “Guitar.” 4 the 2nd encore, Grupo’s horns and percussionists joined in 4 a rousing rendition of “Get On The Boat.” Prince blew kisses 2 the crowd b4 leaving. At times the cheering afterwards was so intense we’d thought he’d returned 4 a third encore, but not so 2nite. AFTERSHOW: Indigoroupo, could it possibly get any funkier? Whew! Grupo Fantasma kicked thangs up a notch at the Indigo2 and the heat never let up all night. The crowd arrived HONGRY 4 the platters of funk served up by Grupo and the NPG. Early in2 Grupo’s set, Prince struts out in white suit and hot pink shirt, hand in hand with Marva Collins. They break it down on vox with the hook from Lyn Collins’ classic “Think (about it)”. Soul Vaccination got so funky Prince had 2 jump in on Cora’s drums 4 a bit, then Cora took over and played in unison with Grupo’s drummer. That vaccination drew some sick keys outta Prince on Superstition, Tell Me Something Good and Higher Ground. He switched back 2 guitar on Thankufalletinme Bemiceelf Agin 4 a note-bending battle with Renato. During a Billy Cobham tune, Cora beat some rhythms outta the drums they ain’t neva played b4… it was 3funky. Indigo2 is just getting started… every night has been completely different than the previous. We don’t what’s 2 come but we SURE know WE AIN’T GON’ MISS IT! [/i]

Follow up: Went to the first of my two concerts last night and then the aftershow party. The concert was awesome - I can't believe they managed to sustain that level of energy for two hours straight. Here are some clips on Youtube from earlier performances (I didn't take these, so watch them while the Purple One's lawyers are still facing in the other direction). The visual on this next one is a bit crap but the sound will give you an idea of how hard they were driving the performance. and one of the stage during the eoncore of the opening night I was lucky with the seats - same level as the stage, only they were at the rear (looking at the round bit of the symbol). We were a little concerned in case all the performance was thrown out the front but in the end it didn't matter too much as Prince faced his band (and us) for many of the songs. The aftershow party was even better than the concert. Imagine being a couple of metres away instead of a hundred! According to some of the other fans there, we got lucky with the aftershow party too because Prince played a couple of sets. Apparently in previous aftershow parties, he did one song and then buggered off leaving his support act to supply the rest of the music for the remaining 2 hours. However last night they ripped funky jams through a load of 70's classics like Billy Cobham's Zarathustra, Stevie Wonder's Superstition/Higher Ground and Sly and Family Stone's Thankufalletinme Bemiceelf. When he first came on you could barely make out the stage for people with camera phones!! Prince sat in on drums to start with, switched to keys (for the Stevie tracks) and (of course) guitar all of which were played perfectly - what a talent! His band leadership and timing in calling the changes through the songs was impeccable. The brass section in the latin band support act made a couple of mistimed cues but it didn't detract from the overall performance. The Indigo venue was well managed as well. I got home at 4am this morning - it was in every sense of the word an unforgettable and inspirational night and the best thing is... ...I get to do it all over again the same time next week!

maybe we could run a competition to encourage people to try it out?

I like the idea of bumper stickers, we had those for BW and they worked well. Ped used them for taping his volvo together.

Hi Rich welcome to the forums

[quote name='cai!' post='42225' date='Aug 6 2007, 11:02 PM']im not really starting out but i am a teenager:) im 16 ive been playing about a year now i reckon :S ive got a squire vintage jazz which i love a six string harley benton an at the moment i cant take my hands off it (i can now do sweep picking on it with my thumb, watch out adam nitti ) an the first, my ibanez gsr200 which currently is being sanded down to be painted back with purple stain [/quote] And the photos?

About time we had a porn thread for those who are starting out Post away!

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='42141' date='Aug 6 2007, 07:52 PM']Call me cynical, but there are just TOO many variables in there for me to confidently order something I haven't already played...[/quote] This is an excellent point, and a lesson I learned from when I commissioned a custom jazz that sounded... ...well, gutless. I never bothered with custom again because of the percieved risks and am now only reconsidering again because I've tried a number of the makers other basses for myself. Going custom requires a leap of faith thats for sure. Therein perhaps is where the value lies if someone really wants to take advantage of a luthiers skills. Question is whether the luthier can deliver or not.

[quote name='Alpha-Dave' post='41929' date='Aug 6 2007, 01:01 PM']Still no one has mentioned my other point: will this make second hand Seis more expensive? I think it may for the fancy-wood 4/5 strings but I suspect it's remain steady for the basic jazzes, and odd-ball instruments (headless, 6+ strings, buck-eye burl etc.) will always have either a high or low value depending on desirability.[/quote] Sei basses don't seem to hold their secondhand value any better than any other UK luthier from what I can see - apart from Wal perhaps. I think that's as much as desirability and (as mentioned earlier) perception of value as anything else. [quote name='therealting' post='41759' date='Aug 6 2007, 12:57 AM']Well, if you assume a typical £2500 profit per instrument, and multiply that by 20 instruments, that's £50,000 per year. 30 instruments makes it £75,000. Again, not a bad wage, but not as high as the typical earnings of the top achievers in most other fields / industries.[/quote] Don't forget that this income is supplemented by sales of instruments in the shop and also from repair work.

I was reminded of a mellower version of Skin... ...maybe its just the shaved head.

Some MTD's can be exceptionally light. There are some very light sadowskies that I've tried also, not to mention Status Stealths/Electros and semi hollow Moduus Quantums if that's your thing. Also you could consider a custom bass with chambering in the body perhaps?

[quote name='OldGit' post='41239' date='Aug 4 2007, 12:14 PM']Started Midnight Hour intro with a big fat C chord instead of a big fat F chord last night .. My band gave me a bad time over the mics about converting to a 5 string at my advanced age .. As I pointed out to them (also on mic), I'd counted the notes I'd played at the gig up to that point and there were 5764 correct ones. I play ONE wrong note and they give me hell ... The audience were well into our humour by then and were rolling about laughing with us ...[/quote] LMAO! Inspirational!

Warwick gradually pushed up the prices of their popular ranges over the years - if you can, check out the cost of a thumb in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. I'd put money on them outstripping the rate of inflation by a significant amount over a 10 year period. What its about at the end of the day is PERCIEVED value and the influence of [i]branding[/i] on a consumers purchase decision. Its not about margins on top of costs.

[quote name='therealting' post='41549' date='Aug 5 2007, 12:20 PM']May I also point out that someone like Martin (a WORLD class luthier) probably spends many many hours working on a bass. Once you subtract the overheads and materials costs, and then divide the remainder of the price by the number of hours he spends building, he probably doesn't get a much money per hour. Probably less than an average Joe gigging bassist.[/quote] He's spent a shedload on expanding the shop and I have no reason to believe that he isn't otherwise doing very nicely for himself at the moment. [quote name='kjb' post='41555' date='Aug 5 2007, 12:23 PM']It's about 100 hours or so per instrument.[/quote] So the cost of materials and parts is likely to be somewhere between £500 and £700 perhaps? Take that away from the cost of the bass and you'll be left with the labour. Divide that by 100 and you'll have an approximate hourly rate. In the construction industry the general rule of thumb is you charge double your costs. For the sake of interest, any Sei owners care to stick some numbers in that and see what works out? [quote name='kjb' post='41551' date='Aug 5 2007, 12:21 PM']He did tell me last year how many he makes a year, I think it was 20 or 30, I can't really remember.[/quote] Then multiply the figure by 20 or 30