Kiwi

Any lag? What about battery life?

Love Gene's playing so much. He's all about feel.

I stand corrected!

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1426538515' post='2719145'] Very interesting connecting the dots here. I always wondered how our local guitar hero ( Milwaukee WI ) Daryl Strummer got that gig with Phil Collins? [/quote] Alphonso Johnson recommended him to replace Steve Hackett. Steve Hackett was focussing on his sick daughter and being given a lot of grief by the others at the time over his lack of committment to the band.

Its a bit hit and miss, if the truth be told. No piece of wood is exactly the same and there's no way of knowing what the instrument will really sound like until its built. Plus how its built will change the response of the instrument as well. However, some companies have managed to achieve remarkable consistency in their instruments - Wal, Celinder, Musicman and Dingwall to name but four. They tend to use a fairly simple approach to construction and the same woods. Dingwall and Musicman aim for a specific weight for their bodies and necks. Alembic and Status produce very consistent instruments as well but their construction is more complex and doesn't always rely on wood. Having said all that, its still possible for an experienced luthier to get within a reasonable ballpark of a particular result. But they need to have a lot of experience using the woods they've selected to know how the qualities they percieve in sawn lumber translate into a finished instrument. Ironically luthiers who use a very wide variety of woods often don't have enough experience in using each species to deliver a specific outcome. So they'll be able to make you a great bass but whether it delivers what you want to hear is another thing.

Something like this would be magic for a fretless but I wouldn't want to be holding it all the time. Super strong electromagnets and current is needed for bass strings due to their heavier mass. Maybe neo magnets might make a difference...? I know of someone who had a Sustainiac installed into his custom Shuker bass and it worked but he later had it removed.

I've got a tickly cough that I haven't been able to shake.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1431105497' post='2767895'] I suspect that personal taste will come in to play when it comes to that decision! My personal tastes had me very impressed with the Nathan East BBNE2 model. [/quote] I agree. I'm not sure its worth the £2400 or so being asked by retailers (especially considering they sell for £1400 in Japan) but its a very good bass none the less. Some of the version 1 (through necked) TRB5 basses are very good, particularly if you like wide string spacing. But they rarely come up for sale these days.

Deep Impact repairs aren't supported by Akai any more and their distribution is all over the place - which distributor looks after which Akai product depends on when it was made. These guys were close to me but very expensive - something like £60 an hour in labour. http://www.londontuberambles.co.uk/cyberwave/index.htm Or there are these guys http://www.synthrepairservices.com/repairs/ Depending on what the problem is with your pedal, a competent amp repair man might be able to at least identify the issue. Thats how I eventually got my power socket issues sorted.

I'd be depressed as hell on a desert island so my music would be uplifting. Song 1: Lark Ascending - Ralph Vaughn Williams Song 2: Fanfare for the Common Man - Aaron Copeland Song 3: Thunderstruck - AC/DC Song 4: Happy - Pharrell Williams Song 5: Ain't Nobody - Chaka Khan Song 6: Good Times - Chic Song 7: Flying in a Blue Dream - Joe Satriani Song 8: Mr Blue Sky - ELO Book: SAS Survival Guide Luxury: Laptop full of ripped movies and e-Books with solar powered charger and satellite internet connection. (gh) Seriously though...a machete.

Happy with mine although I don't play them very often these days.

Rivera-era built/designed go for about US$600-800 in the states. Here it's a bit higher (probably the same number in £) as they're not as common. The Rivera amps aren't perfect (the speakers are often upgraded) but it was a golden age for Fender amps. Let me know if you change your mind about buying it.