molan

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1424087192' post='2692358'] Perhaps it could be said that X-Factor, The Voice, the TV talent shows are a new culture. Not one that I particularly approve of myself, but they are widely watched and perhaps have hoovered up a proportion of consumers who otherwise might have been screaming at The Beatles. [/quote] Reality/Celebrity endorsed music must be the biggest sub-culture for a long time. There are hordes of people out there who only ever buy music from people who have appeared on these TV shows. Their concerts sell out in minutes and they can be huge exports into other 'territories' as well. It may not be very 'sub' but it's definitely a big cultural movement.

My first ever bass was a 79 Musicmaster. Bought brand new from the Soho Soundhouse in Leicester Square. Kept it for many years and, foolishly, sold it to buy a synth

I use a Compulator on my board but I actually think the Diamond is a better, more 'organic', sounding unit. My choice of the Compulator is simply because I know James Demeter quite well and think he's a really nice bloke (and an amazing engineer) so wanted to support him a little by using one of his pedals

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1423944977' post='2690790'] Diamond Bass Compressor. Not the cheapest but an excellent unit. I don't think there's any UK stockists yet - Thomann have them. [/quote] We've been selling them in the UK for quite a while now

I met him a few times at Billy's, pre-Blitz era, when I was friends with George O'Dowd and Peter Robinson (later to become 'Boy' and Marilyn). He wasn't that strange then and seemed a decent bloke. Always had great clothes though! A lot of the original clubbers from that era said he was bit 'fake' but I always assume they were just jealous that he achieved some fame and they just remained strangely dressed nightclubbers

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1423682505' post='2687950'] I remember reading somewhere that the new German Pro Series are actually being assembled in different factories throughout Germany, rather than in Markneukirchin, is this what you mean? [/quote] All I think we can say at the moment is that there isn't any far-eastern manufacture involved. My understanding is that there's enough of the manufacture undertaken in Germany to have a 'made in Germany' tag as approved under EU regulations for both marketing and export.

The information in this thread about the Pro series isn't technically correct. I'm not sure if it's 'allowed' to be released yet though. I'll try and find out and update things if it's approved Prices are available as well (and have been for some time) but again it may be that Warwick are not releasing them to the public yet. I'll try and find this out as well.

We had one on demo in the store for a while. Worked pretty well and brought the combo up to a nice hight for control access but also for on-stage monitoring The horn on the cab has an attenuator so you can dial that out or down a bit if the pair of horns is too bright for you.

Unless you really must have a new one is be tempted to look for a good quality used one. MM values plummet like crazy from new and you should be able to save at least 40%!

We've sold a few of these and they seem to be well liked by their owners (I've certainly not seen one up for sale used anywhere which is usually a good sign). Lots of power if you are happy to run bridged into a 4 ohm load. Into a pair of 'regular' 8 ohm cabs they put out about 325w per channel. Not sure if we'll be getting any more in though. We've discontinued Carvin basses and strings now following a change in their company structure and looks like we'll only hold minimal stocks of the smaller BX700's in the future

I've seen them live in New Orleans a couple of times and, if anything, they're even better in a sweaty club live setting than on their recorded output

If you want something classy that will add colour without overpowering your core bass tone then the Lehle Boost pedals are really nice. Really, really well made and have a very high quality sound.

I see the poor creditors of the original version of DV247 are getting just 37p in the £ for the amount owed

Our stand is full now In instruments there will be Roger Sadowsky with some new Metros and NYC basses (depending on what we sell between now and then!) and Douglas Mullen from Eve with a special custom build plus maybe some more. For amps we'll be featuring Phil Jones Bass with a range of new gear - big advantage here is that all of the PJB amps have headphone sockets for quiet practice We've also now got Hermann Gerlach from Harvest Leather over from Germany. He makes some of the very best leather gig bags and straps in the world and they are used by lots of top pro players. He's also another bass player and has some good friends on the pro circuit so watch out for some these visiting us over the weekend!

I've had these on one of my basses and really like them as well. Designed by Dave Boonshoft at Aguilar to be as close as possible to the ones in his original '64 P.

[quote name='Bassjon' timestamp='1422895355' post='2678011'] ^ Good to know, I'm starting to despair at the lack of info on the official website. If I buy a bass there do you think I can ask to have it shipped to me so I don't have to take it on the train with me? Anyone know if that's a possibility? [/quote] Some people will happily do this. We've shipped things and also taken deposits on things for payment at a later date. My guess is that it'll effect the sales price if you're after a mega-bargain. A few retailers / manufacturers will knock a bit extra off towards the end of the show because they don't want to drag things home with them.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1422732480' post='2676297'] Well, I mentioned mine not fitting well, but that was in my dingwall. Ironically in my fenders it is perfect. I measured it after he said with a vernier, it is exactly what it should be. Even if it wasn't, and it was true, I think it is a very unprofessional way of conducting yourself when you are a rep for a company, as whatever the truth, it reflects badly on your company. And his rant on what a stupid idea the mute was was even worse as that is the reason I bought one, so for all his 'noone wanted this / you can mute by unplugging / waste of time', so he was calling me stupid. The only thing I don't like about the planet waves lead is that it tangles easily. [/quote] Spooky - there's actually a live thread about Planet Waves cables causing jack socket problems! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254671-planet-waves-compression-spring-cable-has-loosened-my-socket/page__fromsearch__1 As far as I know the current range is all sorted now though May still be some old stock out there still.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1422725873' post='2676158'] I was chatting to a fender rep while the owner had gone off to take a call, and said that I liked the leads that they did, with the microfibre covering, and it got less tangled up than my rubbery planet waves lead. He then proceeded to tell me that the planet waves cables were no good as the plugs they used were too small as they had metric plugs rather than imperial, so they always fell out, and noone ever wanted a mute switch on their cable anyway so it was silly. In fact he went on about it so much my he really put me off buying their products! [/quote] I can't remember which series it was but there was actually a range of Planet Waves cables that were notorious for falling out really easily. Pretty sure it was the same range that had an option of the built in mute option that regularly failed and rendered the lead unusable. I first heard of this from a guitar repair man who said he'd had a lot of instruments in for replacement jack sockets because the leads kept falling out - when he tried them with a 'regular' lead he thought they were ok and he realised it was a lead problem not the jack socket. Although he also discovered that the loose lead had damaged some jack sockets as well because it jiggled around a bit and made the problem even worse

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1422721983' post='2676062'] To be honest I don't think anything he said was far fetched. I'm sure the average music shop will sell more four than five string basses, and they also probably sell more Fender shaped guitars and basses than more interesting shapes like the bongo or thunderbird. His offer is pretty typical of what you could expect for a non p/x deal. As far as bands not liking the look of a bass the guy really isn't talking crap, Ive certainly heard of bass players being asked to play something more image appropriate for the band, not all are willing but it's cropped up on here and talk bass before. Maybe the guy just didnt come across well to you but I don't think anything he said was bull*&%$. [/quote] I must admit that I agree with a lot of what you're saying here. We find that there's no huge difference between 4's and 5's across all sales but there certainly is with certain brands. EG Fender 5's will always be slower to move than a Sadowsky. Bongos are definitely harder to sell than many other body shapes and can take an age to shift. Doesn't matter how they sound, the look just makes some people visibly wince when they see one hanging on a wall. Musicman prices in general have taken a bit of tumble and they depreciate like crazy from new (way worse than Fender). A lot of places sell a new one at over £1,600 but I've seen very good used ones go for as little as £650 (I bought a black one personally for that price). We'd put one up for sale in the shop at about £800, maybe £50 more for a 5 string. However if it hung around for a while it would be more like £750 for a 5. That would give a PX value of £550 - £600. After accounting for VAT and card fees there's not a huge margin in this sort of sale for a retailer. Being told by a band, producer or TV director to change a bass because it doesn't look right is still surprisingly common. I've even known people to be asked to get a different colour bass - White and Black are still very popular for 'TV' basses.

[quote name='largo' timestamp='1422700316' post='2675729'] With the prospect of getting more Euro's for the pound should I be looking at buying my next piece of gear from a European company rather than UK? 1000 EUR was about £850 last year, this year it's closer to £750. I don't mind supporting my local music shop, but if they don't have (or can't get) what I'm after then what does matter which online store I buy from. Times are tight, so I'd rather have £100 in my pocket. I'd be interested to see what others think. [/quote] Need to watch pricing trends carefully - the prices on one major European made brand being sold by a very large European online retailer have quietly risen over the last two weeks. Some products actually rose above UK main dealer prices last week. . .

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1422701744' post='2675750'] but I guess your 5000e Ritter might have just got £200 cheaper in the last 4 weeks.... [/quote] 14 month build time - 'the value of your investments could go up or down'. . .

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1422536660' post='2673785'] I just point blank refused to play Alright Now Its the height of naff. [/quote] I missed a band meeting recently and the buggers grid to slip this in the set while I wasn't looking. I also point blank refused to play it.