Clarky

OP amended accordingly

Our Spoombung will be along in a while and disagree. He loves this design. I think, however, he is in a minority of one (or very close)

This is from a 1952 recording of Perdido. Listened to it this morning on a cheapo Duke Ellington 'Greatest hits' compilation and was particularly struck by the bass playing on this track. I've not heard of Wendell Marshall but I understand he was related to the great Jimmy Blanton. Really good propulsive double bass playing, not unlike Paul Chambers in some ways http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVJuLa0VpU

I also use a SNark clip-on, very easy and responsive. And cheap which is nice

[quote name='reds42' timestamp='1365848238' post='2045135'] My old beastie. Pre-Ernie Ball with the bridge string dampers and stuff. Lovely bass.[attachment=132349:MusicMan.jpg] [/quote] Now that is super nice. My fave Stingray colour combination and PEB too. Lucky fellow!

Hopefully all you DB-playing BCers will chip in with recommended luthiers across the UK (and further) so that this thread becomes an easy-to-consult list should anyone on BC need work doing on their DB or EUB

He would file down the unused nut slots (as it improves the tone), add a "possibly Gibson" humbucker and slap a coat of bee oil on it (thought - wonder if he is responsible for the devastating decline in the world bee population?)

[u][b]South London (Clapham): Laurence Dixon[/b][/u] Laurence did some great work on my Kolstein bass and is a talented luthier (he made the Ray Brown DB replica for Ronny Scotts) as well as a very amiable guy. He is hard to track down though as he doesn't have a website and I had to find his details circuitously. So in case anyone in London needs his skills (especially now that Malcolm Healey is semi-retrired and moved out of the M25 - see below), here are his contact details: Laurence Dixon 78 Rectory Grove Clapham Old Town London SW4 0ED Tel 07947 377520 [u][b]Surrey (Boxhill): Malcolm Healey[/b][/u] Malcolm is (I believe) more attuned to making his own instruments these day, having semi-retired, but will still do repair/setup jobs etc Website with contact details: http://www.healeyviolins.co.uk/contact.php

agreed, I will start the ball rolling

Funk off

Only just spotted this (apologies if this has already been posted about) but it appears to be Jon Shuker's official retailer as well as retailer of other high end gear (eg Low End basses) http://www.bassbarn.co.uk/epages/es140349.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es140349/Categories

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1365200027' post='2036801'] Never heard of him before but that was really good! How can he chat and play at the same time!? Gonna have to get me one! [/quote] I cannot underemphasise how much this clip fills me with enthusiasm when I am losing interest in playing bass. Such a lovely, infectiously charming and accomplished bass player

Yep, I do indeed have one on my old German flat back and it's a very neat solution. Plus Roger (aka Bassace) is one of BC's true gentlemen so this ones highly recommended by me

The only major currency that has weakened against sterling in the past year is the Yen. So Japanese instruments should be coming down in price quite appreciably. MIJ or CIJ Fenders should be opening up a big gap in terms of affordability vs US made. Also Japanese manufacturers such as Ibanez should be getting cheaper.

Not SE London but would South London be close enough? If you can get to Clapham, Laurence Dixon is excellent, details here http://basschat.co.uk/topic/194067-contact-details-for-excellent-london-based-db-luthier-laurence-dixon/page__p__1899529__hl__laurence%20dixon__fromsearch__1#entry1899529

Marc bought a Takamine B10 bass from me. All went very smoothly. Good communications, prompt payment and Marc is now the happy owner of a beautiful instrument. Recommended

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1364683150' post='2029712'] It's all down to ability and a healthy dollop of luck. [/quote] It also depends what type of music you are wanting to play - clearly playing complex jazz or prog rock (for example) is going to require more work and technical ability than pumping out 16th root notes a la Ramones. What I will say is there is no substitute for playing with other musicians. All the bedroom practice in the world will not take you half as far as developing empathy with a bunch of like-minded musicians. My advice is to find other people as soon as poss and you will get better much quicker than you think and much quicker than playing on your own

[quote name='Emanew' timestamp='1364587941' post='2028652'] Hi Clarky Beautiful white lady ! We create a white twin duet. Have you a larger pict ? [/quote] hiya - here is my only other pic, its not much better! [attachment=131366:P1040190.JPG]