lowregisterhead

It turns out this quality control failure claim is utter nonsense. I just spoke to Headstock Distribution (who are also Ibanez UK on Facebook) and they were very helpful. They have no stock in the UK apart from samples at present, and they don't expect any shipments of sale stock until March/April. As I suspected, GAK were blowing smoke in an attempt to cover up the fact that they had no business offering the EHB basses for sale, as there are none to be had. It just seems a pointlessly reckless act to make such an unguarded statement bringing Ibanez's quality control into question in an email to a customer. The bottom line is I won't be buying from GAK again.

I love this site, but it has a habit of steering me into all sorts of trials and temptations that I would otherwise be happily oblivious to - like news of the new Ibanez headless! So predictably I get over-excited and, seeing GAK have them in stock, I throw caution to the wind and order one online on Sunday. A confirmation email with the delivery date of Tuesday the 2nd of February arrives that afternoon. Then on Monday afternoon I get an odd email from GAK, stating "...As you are aware, the item you ordered is not currently in stock". I was not aware of that, as on their website it said, in big green letters (and as of this morning, still says) 'IN STOCK'. (https://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-ehb1005ms-bass-workshop-black-flat/932682) So I phone them up and remonstrate with them regarding their email. They make helpful noises, put me on hold for nearly 10 minutes, then come back and cheerily report there was an error in the ordering process between them and Ibanez's UK distributor, who would be fulfilling the order, but the bass will definitely be on its way the following day, and will be delivered to me on Wednesday. Great, problem solved I think. However, when I get home shortly afterwards my missus tells me 'some guitar shop' had been on the phone. Using 1471, it turns out it was GAK. Quite how they have my home number and not my mobile is something of a mystery, but I bought a bass from then 5 or 6 years ago, so perhaps I'm still on their database. The call was received about 10 minutes after I had spoken to them, but it's now too late to ring them back, so they'll call again tomorrow, I assume. Then.... (drum roll) I notice an email timed a few minutes after they called the house. "I've just been trying to call you. Unfortunately the suppliers have said that the stock they have of this guitar has all failed quality control! They are sending them all back to the manufacturers and won't have new stock for a while. Sincere apologies for this inconvenience. Please let me know how you would like to proceed?" I have to say I'm not entirely convinced by this. Are ALL the new basses sub-standard? Or did they jump the gun and advertise them online before any have actually landed on these shores and are now furiously back-pedalling? I don't know. If I can find a number for Ibanez's distributors, I might ring them up and ask what's going on. Suffice to say I replied to GAK's email, telling them I thought their excuse was utterly bizarre and to cancel my order and refund me. Andertons website says they'll have them by the end of the month, and they're just down the road from me, so I think I'll hold on and try one first! It's a tough job being an early adopter, but someone's got to do it...

Same line-up, same tour at Aberdeen Capitol Theatre. Same result! Van Halen were jaw dropping.

Nice tone, nice ink too!

That's interesting - are they just re-badged Hipshots made for G&L? I would have thought the name 'Ultralite' is patented...

You'd think so. Could be it's because the Y key is thicker and solid, so overall they're pretty much the same weight. It's always astonished me that any maker can produce a bass with a serious degree of neck dive. I've got another 5 that isn't bad, but could be better, so I'm taking a punt on a set with the 'mini clover' ears, which are quite a bit lighter that the standard Ultralites. They take several weeks to come from the States, so we'll see. My only concern is the dinky heads might look a bit weird!

Interesting, but why were only 4 ever made? My concern would be if you remove half of the body mass, the neck dive will probably be spectacular!

Blimey. Weird, beautiful and absolutely bonkers all at the same time! Serious singing skills.

I know what you mean - that line-up can never be recreated, so there's a good argument against further tinkering. I'm under no illusions that I may be deeply disappointed, but I thought I'd go and see Percy play some bonkers bass before we both expire!

Brand X are still on the planet, admittedly in a different form, but Percy's still with them. The band are based in the States now, but they're playing a gig at Trading Boundaries in Uckfield, E. Sussex on the 2nd of May. You going?

Forgive me for being pedantic, but I am a bit of a pedant, so I'm gonna. Shouldn't it be "All that glisters..." ?? 😉

Nice idea, but you could spend a few hundred on the preamp, pickup and hardware - if in fact you can buy 'proper' MM hardware anywhere. May as well buy a complete one!

A cubit, three leagues and two chandeliers?? That can't be right! 🤣

Yup, you're right, I'm over-thinking it! But perhaps I should have checked the specs on the licensed tuners, and actually weighed one of mine before I ordered the USAs. You live and you learn. Well, you live, anyway. 😉

I was watching "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee" last night (a fairly mindless way to waste 20 minutes, watching Jerry Seinfeld and his buddies back-slapping each other - the real stars are the wonderful classic cars he drives in each episode) and he met the actor Christoph Waltz in a hardware store. Being Austrian, he was quite rightly appalled that you can't buy a tape measure in the US in anything but inches. Heathens.

What can I say? The Americans refuse to go metric...

Got myself a lovely new Lakland 55-02 just after Christmas. It sits well on a strap, with no neck dive to speak of, but I thought I'd treat myself and upgrade the tuners from the Hipshot licensed ones they come fitted with to USA Ultralites, as Hipshot's website states that I would save as much as 0.06oz per tuner in weight! (Here's a link to the page which then links to specs and weights, for anyone who's interested - https://hipshot.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020825572-What-s-the-difference-between-Licensed-and-USA-Ultralite-tuning-machines- ) The licensed tuners are perfectly good, but I persuaded myself the higher tolerances and superior materials of the USA tuners would also be worth a splurge, as well as the miniscule overall weight saving. The ones I chose are HB6C (clover head and 1/2" post). Imagine my astonishment when they arrived, I weighed them both, and the USA version was actually 0.05oz HEAVIER than the licensed version. They are actually bang on their stated weight as per the Hipshot spec sheets (1.95oz), but it turns out that at 1.9oz, the licensed tuners I have are 0.11oz underweight, going by their published specs. Now, you could say I shouldn't really be hugely peeved about the weight gain, I mean, spread across all 5 tuners, what's a quarter of a gram between friends? (No drugs references, please 😎) But is it really worth the £120 I just paid for supposed superior engineering? A minor fly in the ointment is the fact the bushes on the licensed tuners are 16mm diameter, but the holes in the headstock are 17.5mm. The bushes on the USA tuners are 17.5mm, so they're a snug fit. It begs the question why the hole is slightly too big for the tuners Lakland fit as standard in the first place, and also why the weight specs on the Hipshot website for the licensed tuners appear to be inaccurate. I even emailed Lakland to see if Hipshot made a special version for them, but they said they use these the HB6 - https://hipshotproducts.com/collections/bass-tuning/products/hb6-1-2-ultralite-licensed-bass-tuning-machine I'm tempted to put the old tuners back in, and stick the USAs up for sale to try and recoup some of my outlay. But let's be honest - does any of this really matter, or am I over-thinking it a tad?!? 😆