lowregisterhead

Fair point. There may also be an issue with CITES if Boris does manage to pull the drawbridge up on the 31st. You could need a manufacturer's certificate to import it because of the rosewood. If anyone wants this, they'd better buy it now!

I've had three custom builds over the last 15 years or so, and I've moved them all on for various reasons. They rarely turn out quite as you might expect. That's not to say they've been disasters, far from it, but I'm not sure the dream bass is really attainable, perhaps only a good compromise at best. To compound the problem, a few bass makers I've had dealings with have had rather rigid ideas of what a bass should be like, right down to the type of strings you should use. Some appear to only be willing to entertain making an instrument the way they think it should be, as opposed to the way you might happen to want it! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a luthier, so I'm very much up for taking advice on what may or may not work, but I've found it can be a bit of a tussle to get what you want sometimes. The fact I no longer have any of the customs I had made may indicate that some of my ideas were flawed, or my expectations were unrealistic, of course. My fourth custom bass arrives later this week! If anyone's interested, I'll let you know how it turns out...

Likewise. I keep a list of all the basses I've owned over the 40+ years I've been playing (and there's been a good few - well over 100 at the last count) which I'm still adding to. I tend to have a pool of 5-6 basses at any one time, a couple of which I've had for a while, and probably wouldn't sell. Occasionally I make a modest profit, but I usually lose a little bit when I move them on. I just view it as the cost of having the pleasure of owning and experiencing some wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) instruments for a while. Like CamdenRob, I know what I like, but that doesn't stop me trying new things. Some people drink, some gamble, some chase women, so where's the harm?? :-)

I just bought a beautiful Status bass from Chris. The communications with him were prompt and very friendly, and the bass arrived incredibly quickly, very well packaged for the journey. Buy or sell with confidence. Thanks Chris!

1. Knowing full well the scale length and string spacing that suits me, yet still spending eye-watering amounts impulse-buying glittery baubles of basses that are nowhere near those specifications. 2. Knowing a bass is niche, bizarre, impractical and unsellable except at a massive loss, but buying it anyway because I convince myself it's 'rare'. 3. Using basses bought under 1. and 2. for a single rehearsal or one set at a gig, then never playing them again.

You're quite right, Dood. I discovered I had run out of the 'ear ease' gel for my ACS IEMs just as I was loading up to head off for a string of dates during the summer. In desperation, I grabbed a dispenser of, err, 'intimate lubricant' from the bedside cabinet. It works a treat, and my ears don't even get stiff! Sadly, not much apart from my joints does at my age... 😞

That is very cool. Must be an early one as the maker only started in 1991, according to his website. The 'Africa' range looks quite different now, so perhaps Status weren't flattered by the rather obvious S2 influences! The Ibanez JEM-type grip makes it even more striking, IMO.That's a lot of bass for the money. GLWTS.

The ear canal and surrounding tissues can shrink/change shape over time, all part of the ageing process, unfortunately! If you've got 6 years out of them, I would have thought that's pretty good going. I had some ER15s that lasted about the same length of time before they started exhibiting similar symptoms. They also seemed to harden slightly over time, so when the ear canal changes shape when you sing or even open your mouth (well, mine do, anyway) they were less flexible and gaps tended to open up. Maybe time for a new pair.

Hmm. Only one out of three for me last night, then...

Just returned from the show. I found it disappointing on a number of levels. Firstly, poor acoustics due to the cavernous roof. The venue is quite bright and airy, but really not suited to a music show. The stands seemed to be dominated by the bigger manufacturers, and there was nothing that really floated my boat, but I accept that I don't really have what might be called 'mainstream' tastes! I don't know what it costs to have a stand at a show like this, but a bit more variety and a few more oddities would have been nice. Perhaps the smaller makers can't justify the outlay if it doesn't guarantee increased sales. Despite being combined with the g**tar show, it actually felt smaller than previous years, but that could perhaps be due in part to the scale of the venue. It would have been nice to see more home-grown, niche manufacturers. In past years, you could pretty much be certain to come across a good number of the unusual, different or interesting. This time, it seemed like it was just all the usual suspects, nothing that really stopped me in my tracks. I did have a nice cuppa and a slice of chocolate cake, but I was still in and out in less that an hour. It also didn't seem that busy. The organisers are certainly going to have to do better to get me to go again next year.

What a fantastic description!!

Still for sale...

Victor bought a bass from me, and the transaction was very smooth. It was a pleasure to do business with him - prompt payment, and concise, friendly communication. Thanks, and enjoy the bass!

Graham bought my Thunderfunk bass head. As is often the way, we met in a lay-by near Winchester, and no doubt the other drivers parked there were wondering what kind of dodgy deal was being done! We met before a few years back when he bought one of my basses, so it was very nice to renew our acquaintance. Sorry for being late, and thanks for your patience!

Just bought a rather lovely Parker Fly 5 string from Colin. We had a great chat, and he was a pleasure to meet and do business with. Thanks!