7string

I sold my db to get an ACG. My wife really liked the double bass and she's only just stopped making me feel bad about it

Congrats on a great bass Always liked Guitar Guitar as well.

Goes to show that good balance makes all the difference

Ah, the Sei 9 Really excited to see this at last. The owner's a good egg and I know he's having a lot of fun getting used to the 9. Mind you, he has got a Sei 8 fretless as well, so not a massive step in terms of string number. I think it's tuned B E A D G C F Bb Eb instead of from the low F# as with my 9. As ever, there's no rules on this kind of thing, just personal preference.

Any sign of a replacement, Eude

I've always liked this pic. I was trying to take some serious pics, but Luna was in the way. Came out pretty well

Cool picks Clarky! I thought you might like to see these that I've grabbed over the years. I never used to wear my glasses to a gig, so I was useless at catching picks for a few years! Clockwise: Billy Sheehan from a Steve Vai tour Marco Mendoza when he played with Thin Lizzy Jason Becker (bought this one on eBay) Kip Winger (solo gig) Phil Collen (Def Leppard gig) who uses metal picks. Difficult to photograph as it's etched, but you can just make out "Leppard" in the middle.

Looks superb. What are the controls on there. I bet you've had a great time becoming accustomed to the new bass.

A grand will definately buy you a heckuva bass. Just scan eBay and Gumtree and something will turn up. One lucky sod got a 6 string Sei for £750 !! My James Tyler bass (which is as rare as a set of gnashers on the proverbial domestic fowl) cost me a little over that. Take your time and there's no harm calling luthiers or specialist bass shops and getting idea of cost and stock. They'll also be able to give their opinions on what would suit your style.

Blimey, what a great bass day you'll be having. I bet the day seems to be going very slowly at the moment.

[quote name='petercullenbassist' post='533495' date='Jul 6 2009, 04:35 AM']cheers for that mate, beautifull bass an all man!!! Pete[/quote] Thanks Pete The thing about ERB's (Extended Range Basses) is that they're much easier to play than people think. Also, my ACG has a lower action than any of my other basses! Thought of another thing as well. Have a look at the forum at [url="http://www.extendedrangebassist.com"]www.extendedrangebassist.com[/url] That's where the big bass owners live!

[quote name='bobbass4k' post='534359' date='Jul 7 2009, 01:47 AM']I'm very very picky about my basses (2 pickups, no exposed poles, 24 frets, the list goes on.[/quote] No exposed poles! I thought I was the only one who can't stand the things For your budget, I'd suggest ACG as well. In addition to the bespoke stuff, Alan's also building another range of basses but with limited options. Have a look at [url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk"]www.acguitars.co.uk[/url] where you'll find all the info.

If you're ever in Glasgow, you can always pop in and have go on my Sei bass. I can understand the trepidation in ordering blind though. When I ordered mine, I knew that this might be the only chance (financially) I would have to one. It is a leap of faith, but then again you're in the hands of an incredibly skilled luthier. I saw my bass first when the woodwork was done and even then I could feel how special the bass was going to be. My avatar is an altered version of the photo that was taken when I saw my bass for the first time.

It's custom build only if you want something more than 7 strings I'm afraid. I have a 9 string made by AC Guitars. There are a fair number of ACG owners on here and a sub-forum in "Bass Affiliates". There's also a long review of my 9 in the "Bass Reviews" section. There's a link in my signature. Really cannot fault this instrument. The woods are great, it's excellently built, quality hardware, sounds superb and the balance is spot on. I thoroughly recommend ACG not only because the finished instrument are so cool, but also because Alan's communication is so good as well. AC Guitars website is at [url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk"]www.acguitars.co.uk[/url]

Been having a great read through this thread. I've had a bad day and this has cheered me up I'd like to just comment on one point. Stradavarii are, of course, considered the holy-grail of violins, but here's an interesting snippet from Wiki: [i]Above all, these instruments are famous for the quality of sound they produce. However, the many blind tests from 1817 to the present (as of 2000) have never found any difference in sound between Stradivarii and high-quality violins in comparable style of other makers and periods, nor has acoustic analysis. In a particularly famous test on a BBC Radio 3 program in 1977, the great violinists Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman and the violin expert and dealer Charles Beare tried to distinguish among the "Chaconne" Stradivarius, a 1739 Guarneri del Gesú, an 1846 Vuillaume, and a 1976 British violin played behind a screen by a professional soloist. The two violinists were allowed to play all the instruments first. None of the listeners identified more than two of the four instruments; two of the listeners identified the 20th-century violin as the Stradivarius.[/i] Taking this forward, does it mean then that Fodera's sound like any other bass?? It's really all a nonsense anyway. There isn't a 'perfect' bass just opinions on what the 'perfect' instrument is. If you love your Encore then that's fine, if you love your Fodera that's fine as well. I'm sure there players, like myself, who have basses which others would consider far from 'perfect', but who cares? Each to their own and respect is due to every bass player here, be they a beginner or pro. OK, I've stepped off the soapbox now

I find that the music I'm playing dictates whether I need a pick or not. I also use the same picks for bass as I do for guitar, which saves spending money on special picks There's only 1 rule about how you should play a bass. The rule is there are no rules.

[quote name='kingofthestuntmen' post='528262' date='Jun 29 2009, 11:45 PM']IIRC, Tony Clarkin from Magnum played Gordy Guitars in the late 80's/early 90's,[/quote] Yup he did and I think bassist, Wally Lowe, had a Gordy bass. I remember that Guitarist magazine ordered a custom Gordy guitar, the first custom build that I'd ever seen. Pretty sure it ran across 2 or 3 issues.

Yes, boutique basses are worth the money. Personally, I think a small part of the price gets you better hardware and raw materials. The bigger part of the increased cost is taken by the design and (most importantly) the time that is taken on each stage of the build. The time allows a greater attention to detail and the ability to redo a stage of the build if it's not 100%.

I found this wilst looking around Gumtree for something else. I thought it would be a great buy for someone! [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/93/40078693.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/93/40078693.html[/url]