Misdee

One persons upgrade is someone else's act of vandalism. As with everything, you pay your money and take your choice. What I will say is that there are some people, quite a lot of people, who have a very child-like compulsion to tinker with valuable precision-made items of various kinds, be it cameras, watches or musical equipment such as guitars and amps ect. A big part of the reason why they have bought it is so they can play at fixing or improving it. Even if they have some awareness they are out of their depth, sooner or later the temptation to start pissing about with whatever it is overwhelms them. Whether you want to be the next recipient of these goods is a judgement call.

Never mind Metallica et al, what about getting Status Quo on the bill ? Let's face it, When it comes to farewell tours they are the best in the business. Call the whole shindig "This Time We Really, Really Mean It! ...(Probably)."

I saw him on that first Blizzard of Oz tour, too. It was a great gig. I saw him and Sharon after the show at the backstage door and he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, like they wear in American prisons. He looked dazed, even back then. (Especially back then.) That's putting it diplomatically.

I saw Sabbath back in their heyday and it was something special. That's the way I would like to remember them. I actually found Phil Collins struggling on the Genesis farewell tour quite upsetting to watch. I really don't want to witness Ozzy suffering the same way. I'm sorry to say it but this extravaganza looks like it has every chance of being absolutely dreadful. Such events always end up being less than the sum of their parts. To me it's a sad ending for one of the most important bands in the history of rock music. Legends are best left intact, for everyone's sake. As soon as see phrases like "Fred Durst" and "supergroup" banded about my alarm bells start ringing. It's going to be exactly the kind of cringeworthy modern rockfest you would hope it wouldn't be. Americans with tattoos wearing board shorts shouting a lot. However much they might pay homage, all those bands are a million miles away from what Black Sabbath were in their prime. Sabbath had an originality, subtlety and finesse that's beyond their would-be disciples' grasp. The truth is that Black Sabbath was over a long time ago. They already belong to history. At their best they were an awesome prospect. No one can take that away from them, except themselves. If they want a last farewell I suppose it's up to them, but I really wish they wouldn't.

Some of my favourite memories of the 1980's are of going to The Bass Centre at Wapping. It was the best shop ever, and I know I will never again recapture that degree of excitement about buying basses. ( Or more accurately, looking at basses I wanted to buy but could not necessarily afford yet.) The first time I went in early '87 it was actually quite upsetting to see so many amazing basses that until then I had only seen in magazines and on tv. It was the first time I had ever seen an Alembic in the flesh, and I remember they had just gotten the first Pedulla and Tobias basses in the U.K. They had so much interesting stuff, it was truly something to behold. Wal, Status,Vigier, Jaydee, Carl Thompson, you name it. Warwick basses had just come out and they the full range in stock, including one-off custom jobs. Always loads of top-notch used gear,too. And then the next time I went in the shop a few weeks later just about everything had been sold and replaced with more equally amazing gear. The turnover of basses was rapid; if you saw something you wanted in the shop it was now or never because someone else would most likely snap it up if you hesitated. I missed out on at least two basses that way. I was lucky enough to go to all the various branches over the years, Manchester, Birmingham, L.A ect. All great, and the staff were really decent too.

The new updated Euro Doug Wimbish bass unveiled at NAMM looks pretty tasty. Custom '80's reissue EMG pickups with unique placement, Legacy preamp same as the CST, skinny neck ect.

Naim amps and Linn speakers, my favourite combination from the golden age of British hifi.

I very much like your taste in audio equipment!

I remember buying the Led Zeppelin remasters box set when it came out in 1994. I then spent thousands upgrading my hifi equipment in a vain attempt to make albums like In Through The Out Door sound good. I don't even know why I bothered. There's only two good tracks on it, and the mix is so odd that a better hifi only makes that more apparent. What I really needed to recreate the excitement I had from music when that album was first released was a girl from school, bottle of cider, 10 Embassy Regal and a Sanyo music centre, just like back in those days. These Super Deluxe reissues are very much aimed at middle-aged men (like me). Offering these packages is way of making tangible people's memories, and all the powerful feelings that go along with them. Oscar Wilde once said that music is the art form which is nearest to tears and memories, and he wasn't wrong. Record companies and artists are acutely aware of that phenomena and are quite happy to milk it for all it's worth. The unreleased/ bonus tracks ect are just a means of justification, for both the vendor and the consumer. The deluxe packaging is giving you something to do besides listen to the music, and that's important because, in all likelihood, you've already heard that music a lot. Some of these deluxe reissue packages do look fascinating, I can't deny. The 50th Anniversary Larks Tongues In Aspic reissue is sumptuous, and I've been obsessed with that album for a very long time. But that attraction is tempered by the knowledge that I would probably soon be bored by it. I've already got enough Larks Tongues In Aspic, I don't need a book to go with it.

I had a (very) long chat with Nick back in the 1990's when he phoned me about a bass I had for sale. He was a smashing bloke with a passion anything to do with playing the bass. A genuine enthusiast. Our paths crossed a few times on the internet in subsequent years and, just like everyone else has said, he was a lovely man who enjoyed sharing his passion for music with other people. I'm shocked and saddened he is gone. May God rest his soul and grant him eternal peace.

Regarding whether Alembic.basses are worth the money, whilst I don't want to set off the usual Basschat "is any bass really worth more than £7.50 and a bag of pork scratchings?" debate yet again, what I will say is that Alembics have something unique to offer in terms of sound. Most other high end basses, even equally expensive ones, don't. You're talking about elite level instruments with their own design philosophy, built by proper craftsmen. That isn't going to come cheap. No one needs an Alembic. You buy one because you want one, and because you can.

It's a bit spooky isn't it?

I think the O.P has been a bit naive, rather than petulant or unreasonable. Anytime you ask a shop for part-ex, expect a derisory offer. As many others have expressed, shops are in business to make a profit, not to offer folks an easy and convenient way of getting rid of unwanted equipment. They only want your castoffs for silly money, otherwise it's just not worth their while. I wouldn't even contemplate a p/x deal with a shop. If you've got decent quality items to offer a private sale is the only way to g, otherwise you'll be left sucking lemons. The good news is there will always be a market for a legacy brand like Rickenbacker. Be patient and sell it yourself for market value. It's so much easier nowadays with the internet ect than when you had to put a small ad in a magazine or local paper. Count your blessings and move on.

What Wal and Alembic have in common is that they both have a very distinctive signature sound that is inimitable. Nothing else sounds like an Alembic, and the same with a Wal. Youve either got one or you haven't. (I haven't, but I definitely deserve one, or indeed both.)

I used to call into Allbang and Strummit back in the late '80s and early'90s and there was usually a big bloke with a beard cajoling me to buy whatever gear I was trying out. Nice chap though, and a very nice shop. £600 for an Alembic Series 1?!! That was a ridiculously low price even for 1991. I would have bitten his hand off!

I know it's a longshot, but did that bass belong to Pete Agnew from Nazareth, by any chance?

Thanks for the info Sean, that's good to know. In my experience, if a bass is easy to set up to begin with then it bodes well for how enjoyable it's going to be in the longer term. Top quality basses usually require very little adjustments to make them play well, generally speaking.

Sounds like they changed the neck profile in 2012 when they relaunched the range loaded with Custom Shop pickups. I've got a 2009 American Standard P with a B width nut and the neck profile front-to-back is fairly slender and very comfortable for someone like me who dislikes big fat chunky necks. It's very reminiscent of a nice early '70's P bass neck. I really enjoy that bass.

There's something very special about Alembic basses. They've got a history and pedigree no other custom bass builder can match. Alembic have always been a bit more expensive than most other custom bass makers. Unfortunately nowadays they are proportionately much more expensive than they've ever been. Even allowing for inflation, by any metric you use to measure it, Alembic basses have become even more costly than they used to be. The terrible exchange rate for the pound against the dollar doesn't help either. It's a shame, but it would be even more of a shame if Alembic had ceased trading, like so many other bass builders have. That's the alternative. It's testament to the prestige of Alembic basses that they are still in such demand. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the instruments Bass Direct have on order are sold before they actually arrive in the UK. Kudos to them for adding Alembic to their roster. I'm really glad there's a UK dealer again.

Had me fooled, that's all I can say.

Wow, he totally nails that! Looks like he might be reading from a transcription, which makes it all the more impressive.

That's interesting, because Max Bennett's bass playing, particularly his tone, diminishes my enjoyment of Joni's earlier albums. It's not just Max Bennett though, the whole ensemble of musicians on Court and Spark and Hissing Of Summer Lawns don't do her songs justice, to my taste anyway. I know most people will disagree, but I just don't like the sound of her band during that era. They're stellar players, but it just doesn't sound good to me.

I've always thought Jaco's work with Joni was some of his very best. His bass parts aren't just lyrical, they're pictorial; he's illustrating Joni's words with his bass playing. It's beautiful to hear, and only Jaco could do that. I bought this album in the early 1980s and quite literally wore it out. It was the first time I had really heard Jaco and it was a revelation. I've listened to it so much over the years that I can't really listen to it anymore, but it's a truly magnificent record that has great memories for me.

That's a true classic in the most sought -after colour. Great find.

Well, first let me start by saying that I really enjoy playing flatwounds on some basses. I've got a P Bass, Jazz Bass and a Stingray all strung with Thomastiks, (although I am thinking about trying some La Bella Low Tension Flats on the P Bass). The Thomastiks are easy to play(maybe a bit too easy) with a very supple and articulate sound compared to a lot of other flatwounds. I totally agree with Mike, however, about roundwound strings being much easier to get a sound with a wider and richer harmonic spectrum. There's a reason why bass players switched to roundwound strings in the first place. It's a trade-off, and you can't be all things to all men, ect. As someone who grew up in the roundwound era, it's been a revelation how much fun it can be to experiment with the different sound and dynamics you get from flatwounds. I never really thought about how many of the bass tones I want to emulate when I'm playing along with records were actually created with flats. I actually feel quite subversive for enjoying it so much. For so long flats were shunned by any self-respecting trendy bass player, myself included. I still am primarily a roundwound player, it's just that in private I sometimes experiment with flatwounds. If I'm learning some Robbie Shakespeare bass lines, for example, then flats on a Jazz Bass are perfect. Having less sustain ect actually makes the music easier to play. The downside of the change in trends is that nowadays flats on a P Bass has become a kind of default setting for bass players who want to be savvy musos. It's an easy choice for people without much originality or imagination of their own. Since Pino switched to flats round the turn of the millennium everyone else has followed suit, and makes out like it was their own idea. Reverence for retro has become the new orthodoxy. Old fashioned has become synonymous with good taste and sound judgement. That's quite depressing me. It'd be better if more players looked further afield for inspiration and explored doing their own thing.