molan

[quote name='Toasted' post='1024739' date='Nov 15 2010, 03:29 PM']Amazing amps, Barrie [/quote] As Steve said last night - everyone should own one of these at least once in their life

I met up with Steve last night to pick up a lovely looking Aguilar DB750 - unfortunately we got on so well that we nattered too long and I didn't get home in time to be able to try it out for fear of waking my ever suffering wife Great guy, super friendly and as very easy to deal with - buy, sell or trade with confidence where Steve is concerned!

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1024021' date='Nov 14 2010, 09:32 PM']"Fodera Yin Yang - what do people think aesthetically?, Base opinion purely on looks not price "[/quote] That's exactly what I was looking for - I wasn't actually planning to buy one when I started the thread and genuinely wanted to see what people thought of them. I've always been in two minds about them and totally expected a few people to hate the design / finish etc. Having started the thread & spent some time looking at them I decided that I really quite liked them & I know I'll appreciate the craftsmanship (as I do on all of the custom Foderas I've tried!). Then, hey presto, one popped up for sale in the USA, 6 months old never really been played, etc etc so I thought I'd take the plunge and give one a try, lol. Having tried out a fair few different basses over the last couple of years I know just how god the Monarch body shape is, as an actual 'players' bass anyway. Nothing I've tried has come that close to my old '86 for genuine playability (in my fumbling hands anyway!) and the newer ones have added some nice little touches that I like a lot as well. Hopefully the YY will be a nice addition - might not see a lot of gig use as that's reserved for the '86 but I'm looking forward to many an hour playing at home with it

I've definitely noticed the advantage in trading rather than buying and I pretty much always offer to accept something in PX so long as it's either something I'd like to try out or that I know I ought to be able to sell relatively easily. I think it probably helps that I'm happy to sell (and buy) to Europe, USA & Australia I've also offered 'credit' and let people pay in instalments. In some cases I've hung on to the bass or amp but in others I've let people have things to keep based on a decent deposit. Not once have I had the slightest problem with this & it's definitely helped me sell some things more easily. I've backed off from excessive bumping and trying 'too' hard to shift things recently and let a couple of basses disappear from the top listings because it's felt like the market is a bit deader than usual. Having said that in the past 2-3 days or so I've sold one amp, bought another, taken final payment on a bass, bought another & sold 5 pedals! I think my net gain on that lot is about £500 but, as Jack mentions above, I don't keep that close a track of every deal so I'm probably 'lying' to myself and have spent more money than I think I have, lol. Actually, come to think of it, I've closed a deal on a US Custom Fodera in the last week as well so I'm definitely way down as whole this month! Long live the BC barter economy that's what I say

So I've already commented on the Zon thread but just spotted this here as well - it really does look lovely. I must get back up to Harrogate to take a look at the others - that Legacy Standard looks seriously nice too!

[quote name='artisan' post='1023608' date='Nov 14 2010, 05:12 PM']ok so mine isn't as posh as the beautys posted on here but its the best i can afford & indeed the very best bass i've ever owned. bought just yesterday from Phil at Bass Gear & yes he has some very tasty gear in stock. Sonus "import" standard,me like a lot.[/quote] Looks pretty posh to me I haven't seen any of these in the flesh yet but they look just amazing in pictures and really good value for money given the quality tops they all seem to have. You must let us know how you get on with it once you've had it a few weeks

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1023052' date='Nov 14 2010, 12:48 AM']I like it a lot actually but then again, if you see my cow bass you'll understand why BUY IT!![/quote] I did Well - not this actual bass but one very similar - should be here in a week or two. . .

[quote name='silddx' post='1016344' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:44 PM']I'll be honest, apart from seeing my hero Scott playing bass to Zappa again, the whole experience left me cold. I thought it was all very competent, but I felt empty inside. Great to see Scott though, all I could do was see him, I couldn't hear him because the sound was so poor near the front. The Q&A on Sunday with Scott and Jeff was interesting, but woefully short at 1 hour.[/quote] Funnily enough the first thing I noticed about Scot T was how different his sound was. I was about half way back and on his side of the stage. If I remember rightly he was playing with a pick on the first song and it was really cutting through the mix. Didn't sound the same on the other numbers though, not sure if that was a change in his playing style for those or whether the sound man had turned him down! I agree about the 'competent but cold' summation - that's kinda how I felt (and explains why I just kept wishing it was FZ himself up there!).

So what did people think? I thought the Boosh were mildly amusing for about 5 minutes and then I could happily have lived without them! ZPZ was a lot more 'structured' than when I've seen them before - obviously helped by playing all of Apostrophe I quite enjoyed it & Dweezil is a fine guitarist but I seeing big Frank up on the video screen just made me wish it was him in person. I saw him live a couple of times and he brought so much presence to the stage that Dweezil doesn't really have. Enjoyed seeing Scott Thunes, looks totally different but moves exactly the same & still throws some cool shapes, lol. Surprisingly high 'twat' ratio in the audience near me. A fight nearly broke out at one point, lot of people really pissed wandering around & one git who was insistent on shouting out lines from the Apostrophe album just before they were actually sung live to show off how well he knew the album. Eventually someone gave him a good talking to to shut him up

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1011514' date='Nov 3 2010, 11:50 PM']right to the wire....GAS control at its best...the beast can be tamed...erm...for now maybe B?[/quote] My finger was hovering over the key for the last $50 with about 25 seconds to go and I was tantalisingly close to hitting the "finalise" bid button! The flamed eucalyptus Monarch arrived today though (which is destined for BassGear in Harrogate soon) and the final payment on the Yin Yang also cleared today so that really was enough Fodera love for one day

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1011506' date='Nov 3 2010, 11:39 PM']I did spot something on TB about a Fodera winging its way to you Barrie?[/quote] Ah, that one is something a bit different, lol. However there is a 6 month old Yin Yang, that's been played for less than an hour, with my name on it somewhere in California I thought about buying the Bona one as a replacement for my '86 Monarch but I prefer the Zebrano wood top on mine and I I've also really got into PJ pickup configuration since owning the '86 and Bona's has lateral humbucking J's. I was within $50 of the final sale price and the other bidder had obviously hit his max bid so I was literally about £35 away from owning it but I simply decided that, at least for today, enough was enough. . .

You have no idea how close to buying that bass I was tonight. . .

I have tickets too - going with a singer friend of mine. We've seen Dweezil a few times - to be honest I think the show is a bit up and down at times. Saw him about 3 years ago & he was brilliant and then the year after it all got a bit too self indulgent and I got a little bored half way through. Didn't go last time out but I heard it was a lot better again so here's hoping this will be a good 'un

Nice one el dooderini I've not seen Bass Musician before but am now also subscribed!

I had a look at that StewMac site - a veritable treasure trove of stuff there! One thing I thought was a bit expensive/not that important was the long straight edge they offer in the basic setup kit? It's $50 for a standard 18th long one!

Standard charges would be circa 20% so only about £28. However you might need a receipt to prove it's only worth that much. Without a receipt they will try to determine a retail value. Of course you could take a punt at strolling through customs and not declaring it but, if stopped, then you could get hit with a fine. I did a quick look for you and found a basic black Milestone up for sale at £119 new : [url="http://www.petercooksguitars.co.uk/catalog/peavey-milestone-black-bass-p-458.html"]http://www.petercooksguitars.co.uk/catalog...bass-p-458.html[/url] Using this as a base you might be able to claim you paid a fair bit less in Mexico

Thanks guys, I found this on another forum that was taken from an official claim: [i]"All goods (new and second hand) returned after being repaired from outside the European Community may be liable to Customs Duty and VAT even though you have paid customs charges on the initial import. If the exporter charges you for the repair, customs duty is calculated on the charge made for the repair, plus any inward freight and insurance charges made for the return of the repaired goods. When faulty goods are repaired free of charge under a guarantee or warranty, or because of manufacturing defect, you can claim total relief from import duty and VAT. You must provide evidence to support the claim for example a guarantee or warranty document advising that the repair was free of charge. Customs charges had been calculated on the declared value of US$350 and postage US$25. If you would like us to further investigate these charges would you please forward to this address the items indicated below:- · The ORIGINAL Red and White Customs Charge Label. (You may have to cut this off the box) · The ORIGINAL Customs declaration. (Which should be attached to the side of the parcel.) · Can you please confirm the value of the repair to the item including all shipping and postage costs i.e. an invoice/receipt. This should clearly detail all items contained in this parcel. If a nil cost can you please confirm this direct from the sender. · Some evidence of the re-exportation of the goods e.g. a certificate of posting completed and franked at the Post Office or an invoice from an alternative carrier. · Please confirm where and when the item was purchased. · Please provide a purchase receipt if no longer held confirm that you no longer have a purchase receipt."[/i]