molan

Just organised a sale with James which went incredibly smoothly and with lots of friendly nattering along the way.

He transferred payment to me ahead of schedule and kept in touch all along the way to let me know when things were happening and that the amp I sold had arrived safe and sound

Definitely someone I'd recommend at any time!

There's also an element of 'made in the Far East therefore of lower value'.

Having met a lot of customers in the shop I've heard this sentiment many times. There are a lot of Brits who have a basic view that anything made in the east has been built to lower quality standards and with ultra-cheap labour.

Doesn't really matter which country either although there is a vague hierarchy with Japan at the top and China at the bottom.

I'd say most of our customers couldn't say where Ibanez are made so they don't benefit from any Japanese connection.

A lot of European countries value far eastern manufacture a lot higher, especially Japan, and will pay higher relative prices. I don't know enough about Ibanez values in EU to say whether they sell for more there or not.

Overall I think their value comes from this perception of generally lower quality combined with a lack of clear brand values and positioning.

As a side point - Too many guitar manufacturers forget the importance of brand building. There are a lot of 'everyday' players out there who don't understand or value the benefits of a really well made instrument or stuff like expensive woods and electronics etc. They are just buying into the brand that has tangible values to them - Fender being the most obvious example of course.

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1482245332' post='3198799']


God I wish I had a bass that nice in my house let alone sat in the attic Nice bass though and I completely understand the MusicMan GAS, I have had two and I need to go back to one ASAP.
[/quote]

It's not alone, there's about 15-20 others keeping it company, lol

A few are mine and others are in storage.

I should add that the loft is carpeted, insulated and has low level heating

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1482259585' post='3199041']
I had the 15" combo version - it was truly awesome albeit somewhat arkward to move..

I only sold it as I managed to get my Trace V4 back but if that hadn't have happened then I'd still have it. Don't be put off by the ~100w rating as I'm sure through those 2x10s you'll blow the windows out! Mine could find the limits of it's internal speaker although it was way too loud in any normal situation by then..

Probably the second best Trace I've owned - and I've owned lot's of 'em! - only trumped by my V4
[/quote]

I had one of these. My main gigging amp for a while but then moved on to an SWR SM400 which I absolutely loved. Still one of my favourite ever amps.

I like the Twin Valve but struggled to get a tone from it that I really liked. Bit of a pig to move around - I fitted some castors but it wasn't an ideal shape / balance and always felt like it was about to topple over, lol

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1482250890' post='3198887']


I would agree. Though I have had a Metro for about seven years now and have only started using the 'vintage tone control' knob this week!
[/quote]

It's my most commonly used control on my NYC, lol

I use it in active mode to make broad adjustments to my tone. Wide open for modern stuff and rolled back for older songs.

I was at my amp tech recently and he was working on a Trace head.

He showed me the quality of components and design - all very basic and he wasn't impressed.

I think his comment was something like a "catastrophic failure waiting to happen"!

To be fair, he's a real perfectionist and it takes a lot to impress him, lol

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1482246002' post='3198817']

Its like one of those jive bunny albums where there is a common beat going all the way through only this time its just the same 3 chords.
[/quote]

Isn't that simply the history of all blues recordings

Just heard a track from the album on the radio. It really stood out and was a breath of fresh air after yet another dull 5 minutes of Joe Bonnamassa

[quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1482187615' post='3198381']
For me I would say Billy Sheehan, undoubtedly a fantastic technical player but after trying (and I mean really trying!) to get into his music I just dont get it sometimes. Its either a little restrained or completely overkill. But hey I'm a huge fan of Geddy so guess this is all opinion.
[/quote]

I'm the complete reverse, lol

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1482185627' post='3198349']
Mark King (*flinches at coming onslaught...*)

Clearly an incredibly talented musician, but all that rapid percussive stuff doesn't do a thing for me.
[/quote]

Completely agree. Whenever I see him playing this is what I hear:

https://youtu.be/VElv-wrqWIA

Sadowsky have had a clever 'vintage tone control' for quite a while. Works in both active and passive modes.

Available as a complete bolt in fitting or just as controls and wires

I think I have one lurking in the loft. I'll have a hint later

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1482227413' post='3198550']


As ever Barrie is bang on right.
I set my basses up like Sheehan does, there's always a little bit of buzz.
When I (embarrassingly inevitably) move one on courtesy of the next shiny toy, I always set them back up to Fender spec.
Even though that is really only considered a starting point.

Always difficult for a shop BUT a little play before putting them on the wall might highlight any work and help sales.

Not for box shifters though.
[/quote]

We always play everything - that's part of the fun of the job, lol

Had a few horror stories but, luckily, not too many.

No specific brand particularly bad. Had a couple of earlier Mex Fenders with nasty fretting but US always good.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1482232047' post='3198602']

But if you felt the customer was a serious prospect would you not have accommodated them and given the set-up a quick tweak to their satisfaction? I never bough a bass from you guys, but Phil was very obliging when I bought an amp there.
[/quote]

Absolutely. I often changed the setup on a bass for a customer.

The problem is/was that a lot of customers neither ask nor comment on the action in the store. They pick something up, try it, don't like it and walk away (and some then complain about the action on a bass forum, lol).

Of course - this may not have been the case in the OP's example. Some basses do arrive with awful setups and need a bit of work.

Some come in just perfect though. The brand that always got me was Sadowsky Metro - most of them would arrive from Tokyo in about 2 days and have a near perfect setup. Many of them were in tune too!

[quote name='Burrito' timestamp='1482228932' post='3198567']
Fender make mass produced products and they usually aren't set up well in the shops. A quick professional set up usually transforms any instrument. Also worth noting that new woods shift around so occasionally a new instrument takes time to settle down.
[/quote]

Time of year makes a huge difference too. Most retailers don't have the money (certainly in today's financial climate) to keep overnight temperatures reasonably close to daytime when the store is open.

Changes in temperature and humidity can make a lot of difference to a guitar's action.

We first discovered this when we moved location to a store with warm air heating - it played havoc with setup and tuning in the main display room.

In general we'd go over the entire stock every spring and autumn to try and get things nicely set up but some things still moved around a fair bit.

I remember a dual trussrod Alembic that was an absolute bitch to get just right and it always moved around with temp and humidity changes!

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1482220135' post='3198482']
When it comes to poor set up that really is the shop's responsibility. It amazes me that the one thing a bricks and mortar shop has over the likes of Thomann is that they can ensure every instrument from a beginner's cheapie, through to a custom shop Fender are absolutely perfect ( and still they don't)!!
[/quote]

It depends on what your idea of perfect is.

I first discovered this when I set up a Fodera with a super low action. To me it was perfect, so easily playable that I could almost glide around the board with the lightest touch.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a review here on BC from a player saying he couldn't understand what the fuss was about with Foderas.

He'd tried it and found it unplayable - buzzy, clangy and not able to get a decent tone because of this.

There is a middle ground set up to a set of Fender specifications for a bass. I've used that as a general start point but found that a lot of younger players say it's too high and complain about the action.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1482189527' post='3198406']


I think it's less about deriding people who are good at what they do, and more about some people's suspicion of anything that's perceived as being unauthentic or insincere.
[/quote]

Wouldn't that mean that no-one can play the blues any more?

Definitely one of my least favourite Alembics (although I prefer it to the Epic).

Neither of them balance brilliantly and they don't really feel like 'proper' Alembic basses to me.

If they didn't have the name on the headstock I'm not sure they'd fetch the kind of values they've risen up to now.

Having said this, I realise I'm comparing them to other Alembic instruments costing near twice the price so the comparison is a bit unfair.

Could be a good starter bass as an introduction to the brand but could leave you with major GAS for one of the more expensive ones, lol

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1482187084' post='3198371']


But they've already made billions...its hideous.
[/quote]

I never understand this point of view. It seems a very British thing to hate success and deride those people that are really very good at what they do.

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1482140947' post='3197866']
they've put out an album that will simply sell to the millions and make more millions....hugely dissapointing.
[/quote]

Wish I could be so dissapointing 😉

Their support team are good and very helpful - lucky really as, unfortunately, they get a lot of faults

I've not seen one fail completely but every single one we've had in the store has had to have some work done on it. Usually just cracked and/or crackly knobs and we did get one with the send/return issue as well.

I gave it a quick listen in the car and thought it was ok and rather liked Mick's voice.

Will try and give it another go on decent speakers today if I get time

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1482094372' post='3197631']
I'm intrigued by these, but they're quite rare!
[/quote]

I've never seen a used one for sale!

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1482021892' post='3197083']
This looks like a Fodera Monarch New Standard model? It's very similar anyway.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/280669-fodera-monarch-new-standard-4-strings-sold/
[/quote]

The limited run new standards were effectively the same as the Monarch custom bolt ons. The only real difference is that the customs were/are made to order for a specific customer or dealer whereas the new standards were batch built to sell as 'stock'

I've owned both and can't tell the difference between them. This isn't to detract from the custom bolt ons of course. They are great basses and simply a bolt on variation as opposed to more common dovetail or neck through models.

How about Smoke on the Water?