molan

There's a new Starbass Pro due out fairly soon. Principally made in Germany and wih German components but lower priced than the 'crafted' in Germany range.

Look for a used one, they pop up all the time Make sure it's 8ohms though. The 4ohm can is a great standalone unit but it won't work with the combo and will damage the amp. Most of the ones you see out there are 8 ohm though.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1422440568' post='2672561'] They should hire Bobby Vega..he can do it all. But the fact is... you go to any bass shop and the guy playing the bass will be showing off his best chops... and slapping 90% of the time. [/quote] It's actually quite rare for us to get major slapping going on in the shop. Maybe just because we have an older customer base than a high street store.

I really like them but another brand to try before you buy. I've played one that was completely lifeless and bland and another with a, very slight, fretboard issue. I think these are real exceptions though, every other one I've tried has been uniformly excellent

The big, big advantage of the matching MarkBass 210 cab is that the combo is stackable on top of the cab and it's really solid. There's also an option to tilt the combo upwards on top of the cab so you've got the speakers not only raised but pointing up at you like a monitor

This article doesn't talk about the key but it's a fascinating insight into the recording of the original. Also a great excuse for your keys player to use when he says that Stevie's clavinet part is impossible to play properly live http://homerecording.about.com/od/mixingyourmusic/a/mixing_superstition.htm

I've been listening to his show for years but I think it's lost its way a bit recently. Producer changed a while ago and I don't think it's really recovered since he went. Still one of the best shows on radio and I listen virtually every week but, for me, the better Solar radio shows have more variety and interest these days.

Of suppliers we deal with I've spoken to two fairly recently about importing brazilian rosewood from the USA to the UK. Both said it was potentially possible but paperwork trail was very important and the more details about provenance the better. One basically said it was too complicated since about 2012 and that they had experienced instruments being seized and inspected (although they were cleared ok). Based on this they wouldn't export to the UK unless it was a really exceptional circumstance. The other said they would be happy to export. However these woods were likely to be expensive and would almost certainly stay in the US. Certainly there was nothing readily available for 2015. We also heard that there was a knock-on effect for high grades of Honduran rosewood (sometimes offered as an alternative to Brazilian) and that prices had risen and supply was limited now. These regulations can also effect Abalone. Some suppliers have to get export certificates for instruments with abalone inlays. So long as the paperwork is all in order it's much easier to obtain export licences but without these then they are liable to seizure. There's a nasty little clause in th seizure regs as well that say there's potentially no recompense and good will not be returned to the supplier if found to be contravening regulations. Edit - I've also been asked to verify that there wasn't any Brazilian rosewood or mahogany on a bass that I shipped privately to the US. This was just from my local FedEx depot. I'd specified 'guitar' as the package contents and when the guy came to collect he asked what woods it was made of and had a short list of woods that couldn't be exported. I had to sign to say that there weren't any. He didn't ask to inspect at all but said there was a possibility of US customs opening the package to check. I'd say this was about 18 months to 2 years ago.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1422126260' post='2669050'] Are the kits on your website? I had a look and I couldn't find anything. (I might have looked in the wrong place). Not that I'm likely to buy anything as up-market as a Carvin kit. But I'm curious to know what sort of high quality kits are around. [/quote] Each kit is actually made to order and there are stacks of options so it's near impossible to provide accurate prices without going through a detailed spec sheet. Most people use the Carvin site to build a spec sheet and then we'll price it up and/or make recommendations (with help from the pro builders at Carvin). We've never really pushed these as a major sales area because general demand for kit basses isn't huge. Feels like we need to set up a dedicated page for kits and self build parts.

We sell kits from Carvin and/or individual parts. I've seen some assembled kits and there is a quite difference between even kit basses from the same manufacturer and their fully finished instruments. The kit built instruments aren't desperately bad but the general quality of final fit and finish isn't up to the same standard as the professionally built ones. Of course the kit builders get a lot of satisfaction from self-builds and they save a fair bit of money but I think even they would admit the finished item doesn't have the same quality of a factory instrument.

Unsurprisingly Jim has been working on this for a while and, from what I understand, put in some real effort to get it finished for NAMM. We weren't allowed to say anything until it made an official debut at NAMM but, coming from Jim, you just know it's going to be good. I'm not sure he's ever made a 'bad' product. A few things have launched and fallen by the wayside, generally due to cost implications that would make them too expensive to continue with, but he seems to have set a good price on this and will have researched the market to make sure it's competitive. With a 'list' of $1,299 that would equate to about £1,050 in the UK after all shipping and duties are taken into account.

He pops into our shop from time to time - always such a nice bloke!

I had he premium service for free for quite a long time, initially through work and then via a Vodafone data pack but I couldn't see the advantage of the premium service over the regular free one so when my data pack lapsed I cancelled the premium service. The recommended listening on Spotify always annoyed me as well. It was often hopeless and not remotely representative of something I'd like. I listen to a lot of Internet radio stations instead these days because I like the variety and get loads of suggestions for new releases that I simply wouldn't hear about any other way. A lot of my favourite programmes are available on podcasts so I can listen whenever I feel like it. Quite a few are virtually ad-free (often sponsored rather than carrying conventional ads) and the DJ's have total control over their playlists as well

I've seen some damage caused to fretboards and necks where they've been caught by a wedding, or other, ring. If you're not worried about the odd little knock then I'd keep the ring on but if you like to keep your instruments in pristine condition then I'd definitely think about taking it off whilst playing.

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1421759522' post='2664600'] Where are these places? All I see is smaller venues closing down (played the Buffalo Bar at the end of last year - one of the last gigs that'll ever happen there). Hammersmith Palais - demolished, Marquee - closed, Astoria demolished, Coronet - due for closure. I'm just glad plaes like Corsica are still going. [/quote] I used to visit the Astoria for funk and soul gigs mostly and most of these have now moved to Indigo2 which, despite being further away for me, is an infinitely better venue to actually hear and see bands. In fact it's really developed this particular market and there's loads more of this genre of bands playing the UK now. Under The Bridge is another relatively new venue (at least it is for me). Also much nicer than some of the older dives I used to frequent.

Nice review Ant - great to hear from someone who has an original to compare with. We had a lot of fun with the ones we had in the shop but they went very quickly. Some more arriving soon so hopefully we'll hang on to them for a bit longer and get a decent chance to run through all the options with a variety of amps and basses

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1421756620' post='2664558'] Jinx! No comebacks [/quote]

I agree totally with the sentiment about all the modern towers. Some are really dull and the whole globalisation of identikit buildings and retail outlets resulting in a loss of identity is sad to see. I don't know what the plans are for Denmark Street so can't comment on whether they will re-locate or take up space in a new development (the latter probably too expensive). I'll miss the 'idea' and history of Denmark Street but, as a regular visitor (literally every weekday for many years) it lost its charm for me many years ago and became something of a parody of itself and I certainly won't miss that at all. Also agree about the Marquee. The Wardour Street location was like a 2nd home for me for many years for all its faults. I also liked the Astoria (but always wondered what would happen if there was ever a fire because the exits were awful!). However some of the newer venues that have popped up are often better in terms of sound, access, viewing angles etc. etc Unfortunately they've lost the charm and history but can be better places to visit. The biggest problem for me is the re-location away from the centre of town making them harder to get to. Hopefully the new Shoreditch shop is an example of people moving to a new location and reinventing things to keep them fresh and interesting, without losing the core focus, so let's hope we see more of these springing up

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1421748319' post='2664452'] Have you seen the development behind Denmark St.? Awful orange and green towers, is that the kind of thing you want for London regardless of what you actually think of the shops there? [/quote] I watched those towers being built from my office window (just behind Denmark Street) and thought the colours were temporary for a while. I don't like the external design but the interior is amazing in places. I've had quite a few meetings there and the roof garden canteen area is particularly nice. It's the UK HQ of Google and just the sort of thing that's good for central London. They could easily have gone for a, much cheaper, location but it feels like a good thing to me to bring a young vibrant business into the centre of the city. Having worked on the edge of Denmark Street for a long time I'll miss the history of the area if it goes but, as a customer, my experiences both with customer service and instruments have been invariably poor. I'm sure there have been/ still are some good guys there but I've only ever experienced arrogant, uncaring service from virtually every shop I've visited (Wunjos being the lone exception) so I definitely won't miss that

[quote name='Bassjon' timestamp='1421663396' post='2663626'] They must be. Its a bit unfair these slow announcements. I've bought my Saturday ticket but would rather see Stu Hamm who has just appeared for the Sunday. Poo. I was thinking the same thing. Why are there no guys from contemporary bands? I'd be really interested to hear from the likes of Chris Batten (Enter Shikari) to hear how he holds down that low end in a band that jumps between hardcore and EDM. Or Billy Gould from Faith No More y'know? [/quote] We've been talking about trying to get a Zon Billy Gould Signature bass over just for LBGS but timing may be tight

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1421697789' post='2664120'] Interesting to see the number of people saying there is no point in spending high on a bass and not gigging it. I would have thought purchasing instruments for use in the studio rather than on stage would be quite common? [/quote] This is a really good point. I'm surprised that we rarely get people,at our shop buying basses and saying they are to record with rather than for gigging. Obviously we get a lot of customers who record regularly but they generally seem to record with whatever their main gigging basses are. We do get a lot players who aren't gigging at all though but play purely for their own pleasure (and some of these guys are seriously good players!). I hadn't referred to these earlier because I guess I was only thinking about players that owned high end basses and were out gigging.