Kiwi

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1488119277' post='3245975'] Until last September, I worked for a subcontractor deeply embedded within a global-Chinese telecom business. While you want to come across on a forum as understanding and politically correct, sadly I can't on this matter. I found the environment not unlike being beamed onto a Borg cube; a hive mindset where you really only have two choices when working with them; their way or not your way. Pleasant enough to your face (or if you're lucky enough to engage with one of them alone, away from the nest), I found them wholly untrustworthy in business and despite assurances during meetings, they would deny everything and do the opposite of what they'd agreed to do. I won't go into their toilet habits or the constant hawking up and flobbing into plant pots. Oh, sorry. I did. [/quote] LOL, yeah as a culture they are generally not as empathic as the English - particularly the men and particularly in the rural areas have a very difference understanding of privacy and body functions. Everyone I know who has visited China comes back with a nasty food story and a nasty toilet story, too. While you don't mention whether you're referring to colleagues or clients, I've encountered exactly the same attitudes as you. Culturally what the group you belong to think of you is more important to your Chinese peers than what your skills or experience are - a big difference to western culture. What you witnessed was politics at the interpersonal level taking precedent over everything else and because you weren't part of the group, what you thought or said didn't carry as much weight - regardless of whether you were right or not. Everyone in business (who is at least working) has an angle they're playing and for some, gamesmanship (seeing what they can get away with) is actually a hobby. You may have also heard of the term 'guang xi'. To some in the west, its a euphemism for bribery and corruption but really it's about relationship management - doing favours for each other to build respect, trust and influence. Group think is strong here and people will even do things that compromise the quality of an outcome if it helps them all feel better about each other (a bit like an incompetent local government middle manager). While I was working here 15 years ago as a consultant - we basically had to assume clients would act in bad faith and prepare in advance, like withholding the documents and drawings until our invoice was paid in full. Once they knew we had outmaneuvered them, butter wouldn't melt in their collective mouths. I also had a situation last year that cause me to lose a significant sum of money after the concerns I'd repeatedly raised about the general manager of a business I'd invested in were dismissed. I was told I didn't know how things were done in China. Unfortunately late last year the company went about as close to bankruptcy as its possible to get without collapsing specifically because of the concerns I'd raised. Suffice to say I was incandescent with rage and pointed out that while I didn't have a detailed knowledge of Chinese business culture, things go wrong exactly the same way all over the world when there is inadequate risk management and autocratic leadership with delusions of grandeur. The problem with knowledge in this situation wasn't my lack of it but their unwillingness to address the issues and by the time they did address the issues it was too late. I still have a share in the company, my stake has gone up from 10% to 50% and the business has been pivoted into a different sector. The value of the company is still near zero though. You may have also heard of the term 'guang xi'. To some in the west, its a euphemism for bribery and corruption but really it's about relationship management - doing favours for each other to build respect, trust and influence within a group. But often without good leadership or management, the groups will either wander off target or they will work in their own interests rather than the agreed goals. It sounds like you had a first hand experience of guang xi. If I was to have provided advice in this situation, I would have suggested bribery - cakes, donuts, gifts from the UK, anything they might welcome that would build your influence. Either that or get yourself some Chinese support from a high place within the company. Where bribery fails, power prevails. I found it just makes me appreciate the honest, trusthworthy types even more than in the UK.

The one I built...I find myself reaching for it without thinking. Has almost exactly the tone I have looked for, feels right and is pretty versatile. I would tweak the body shape a little but apart from that it's the best bass I've ever played.

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1487771409' post='3242655'] The very one! I take it you're still not on the same continent as each other? [/quote] That would be correct...goodness knows how I'm going to get it over here unless as hand luggage during my next UK visit. I'm very keen to hear how it compares to my old V8 and Boogie Bass 400+

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1460913502' post='3029754'] Well, gave the Hexavalve its first outing last night and it sounded fantastic. Now just to explain, this is my first 'all valve' amp (never even played through one before) so this was a bit of an event for me. It really did have a lovely thick, rich sound. I can now understand what people mean about the difference (and how difficult it is to put into words). I've still got to have a proper play with the EQ to tweak it a little but suffice to say, I'm a very happy bunny [/quote] Nice. I have one too now but have yet to try it out...!

I'm not going to give a model recommendation mainly because there are a lot of good 5 strings out there for very reasonable money and I have about three favourites including one I built. My first 5 string was a Status Groove 5. Great bass but the offset body shape wasn't supportive where I needed it. After that I jumped to a Modulus Quantum, then A Smith BSR5GN and then onto a Spector. Whatever your preference, play one before you buy it and make sure the B string has the same attack as the other strings. I think the key to a good 5 string is a rigid neck so avoid anything with a one piece neck if you can. That doesn't mean all one piece necks are rubbish but the chances of getting a rubbish one are definitely higher for those on a limited budget, especially with dead spots and wonky fingerboards. Yamaha are pretty reliable if you avoid the cheapest models and you might like to consider Status or one of those Overwater by Tanglewood models too. Korean made Tobias Toby Pro basses are fantastic value second hand and only an electronics upgrade from a pro spec instrument.

I love the look of these basses but could never get on with how so much wenge makes the bass feel dead in my hands. Came so close to owning one on a number of occasions. Nice score though - hope you enjoy it.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1486924215' post='3235585'] I believe Ebay being predominately traders and more private sellers on Gumtree was a deliberate business decision by Ebay, as they own Gumtree as well and wanted to seperate them that way. [/quote] This would be my perception too and my wife makes our living these days off Ebay exclusively. Gumtree is a load more hassle to shop from though if you're looking for something rare or unusual.

Looks quite nice. I did have doubts about the all maple construction, could make a semi acoustic bass sound a bit weedy. But the Fender Starcaster bass has a lot of maple in it too and it sounds pretty sweet. Wish they'd make a 5 though.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1486929671' post='3235679'] I think it's easy to get 'crystal clear' confused with 'toppy'. The BF BB cabinets (for example) only reproduce what you put in to them, like a top quality PA. (Quite the opposite from coloured bass cabinets... [/quote] By contrast, I think the Big Baby is coloured. It's a subtle colouring but there's an upper midrange bulge and I thought it lacked clarity at least compared to the cabs I use. My cabs are coloured too but like a pair of headphones - a peak in the deep lows and crystaline but not brittle highs.

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1486839956' post='3234961'] Hi bakerster135. Thanks for your response. Yes, now that you mention it, I [i]do[/i] recall the 'Funkmaster' set. Do you reckon he is still using these then, or has perhaps moved on to something else since? [/quote] Status Hotwires these days.

It's almost certainly a dry solder joint. I've had the same thing happen in other bits of kit.

I suspect that the colouring of the Eden may have had an influence. They're a little scooped in the mids like SWR but not to the same degree. Technically they fantastically versatile amps, stereo, biamp, bridges mono, it can do almost anything apart from 16 ohm cabs. They fatten up brittle sounding basses nicely too.

I like every 5 string I own for slightly different reasons but they all sound great and have their individual strengths and weaknesses. The Spector is very growly but the pickups need to be swapped out with some that have a slightly more vintage sounding high end and it has a slight s curve in the neck which is being sorted out at the moment. The Status is a fantastic bass, huge keyboard like presence in the mix and the string spacing is perfect. I wish it had more flexible eq for the mids and lows though. The Pedulla is one of the best fretlesses on the market (on a par with Wal and Godin) but again I wish it had more flexible eq for the mids and lows. Finally the bass I built is the best sounding of all four, very articulate in the mids and lows, nice clean highs and very versatile. But I would like to tweak the outline of the body shape a little bit for neck clearance and balance.

I love mine after 6 months of use. But I agree with the points about the parameter knob - maybe they couldn't find one that was indented and offered the momentary switch functionality too. I think the comments about staying similar to Deep Impact are pretty fair and I was a little surprised by the footprint given the size of the PCB. BTW if anyone has a box for one that they don't want any more, I would be very grateful for it. Mine got destroyed and thrown out by our domestic "help".

I took on responsibility for raising her son and moved to another country where I don't speak the language and can't join a band.

Upright bass - never realised how much you had to fight it to get a good sound. Tried a NS Design CR5 and it was still no better. Shame really because that CR5 made a phenomenally powerful sound.

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1485075606' post='3220835'] Lots of people live in small apartments with no storage space, thin walls and have neighbors really close by. Those people tend to live in big cities where they have to use public transport to get to gigs and carry everything by hand, and many of those gigs are in tiny venues where loudness and power are not much of an issue as sound quality. As long as they sound good, they should do well with these. [/quote] As one of those people, I still used a car. While my Shuttle 6 fitted in the gig bag pocket there was no [i]way[/i] I was going to cart a cab 15min to the nearest tube station and carry a laden trolley up flights of 10 steps or more. If venues provided cabs that would be good but they frequently don't and I did two shared billings in two years and at one of those I was expected to provide the kit without no advance warning. (And the c*** who used my amp played it redlined through their first song until I came on stage and turned it down for him with a glare).

It's called the Elf, prepare to be underwhelmed though - only 200w into 4 ohms. [url="http://www.traceelliot.com/#elf"]http://www.traceelliot.com/#elf[/url] SMX preamp in a pedal with eq preshape, tuner and drive. [url="http://www.traceelliot.com/#transit-b"]http://www.traceelliot.com/#transit-b[/url] No sign of effects loops in either yet...doh.

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1484559685' post='3216242'] I'm now renouncing GAS. it's a destructive force that never satisfies, just fuels itself. A dangerous addiction. [/quote] Good luck! For most people, it's a journey of discovery for the gear that makes the sound that's in their head. For a small minority it can be about owning stuff to prevent others from having it. If you haven't found your sound, you may relapse. In the meantime make a nuisance of yourself in music shops trying gear out and when the time is right make a plan to spend once and spend right. Investigate every detail of the gear you think might fit the bill for that sound but don't commit.

Mesa Boogie Bass 400+ and an efficient cab like a Barefaced 215 would be phenomenal. The Ray is snarly and muscular with a bass 400. Failing that, one of the Warwick heads because they're coloured for Warwick basses which are in the same ballpark tonally as a Ray. If you value mids, avoid Eden and SWR. They're better suited to bright sounding basses like those with graphite necks or all maple through body neck construction.