Al Krow

15 Jan 12.30pm aaaaand I'm out again! This time my doing, and no going back. I wasn't looking for this and didn't know I even needed it till this morning (trouble with BC'ers who put stuff under your nose eh?). And when it also happened to be on in a Jan sale, I crumbled. Right back over to @PatrickJ's thread then. It was a good fortnight while it lasted, but perhaps touch and go. Just 50 weeks remaining for the rest of you to get through. Bon chance and bon voyage 😁

Do UPS owe you £51?

Is DV247 a "foreign" retailer though? If it is importing the goods from its German warehouse first that's it's call and it can deal with the paperwork internally. Very much the model that we are hoping Thomann will adopt in the near future.

I'd love for us to be able to influence Yamaha - but in practice how would we go about convincing Yamaha to do anything? I know that this particular thread has 100+ followers, but I'm guessing that is a tiny number in the scheme of things... "An official BB signature bass would be the shape of the 1000MA/3000MA in a red like the 300 or even metallic... wow... 🙂" And with a 5 string option too, please!

Sounds amazing! Yeah 20% VAT to add on to Thomann's net pricing, although overall the "gross" price should be pretty much what it was before. A lot of discussion on the general forum. Key impacts are: - when importing new goods from EU to UK, shouldn't have to pay any more overall i.e. still 20% VAT. HOWEVER if you need to return the goods to Thomann it could be a paperwork ball-ache to get the VAT element back. - buying used goods from EU sellers: UK buyers are going to have to pay 20% VAT on top for the first time which IS an actual additional cost and is going to make buying from EU sellers expensive. Same point the other way round with UK sales of used goods to EU buyers. This is going to have a chilling effect on cross border UK <--> EU sales of used gear, which is a real shame. On a happier note...I think we just passed 5000 replies on this thread!! Turning into the most popular BC bass topic of all time. Here's to Yamaha BBs 🥂👍

Your 435 did look excellent. I'm sensing it's kinda the direct successor to the 1025 in the same way that the P35 is to the 2025. It's as though they have deliberately sought to make each Yamaha bass in the new "Series 3" range that bit more affordable than the original price of their corresponding "Series 2" equivalents. So 2025 --> P35 No Series 2 equivalent to 735A 1025 --> 435 425 --> 235 I know I've bored everyone senseless with how good I think the 1025 is! But given my view of the connection between the 1025 and 435, I actually suggested to a mate of mine who was interested in my 735A to have a think about getting your 435 instead. Too late now, but glad it's gone to good home. So what's the dream Yamaha you're getting?

What make / style have you gone for to replace your BB PJs?

Oh I say!! Do they do a 5 string version?

Local purchases are good for the local economy and good for the environment. Trade is great for economic development globally. It's a tricky one. But I think once Covid passes, becoming carbon neutral is going to start ramping up in importance and carbon taxes will become an increasingly less subtle import duty. But at the end of the day, it will rely on having a local manufacturing base. Any reasons we can't make great basses in the UK in the middle market eg to compete with Yamaha and Ibanez? We have some brilliant high end luthiers, we also make great cabs, amps and pedals here. But even Chowney get their basses made in China.

Yeah agreed - Thomann have been just great with their customer service, dealing with returns etc. If I was someone who ever kept his glass half full, my guess would be that Thomann will not want to abandon the UK market, which I would guess is in the top two for music gear sales in Europe and will establish a UK sub to look after their UK customers. It's not the most complicated thing to do. It's not like other German retailers haven't made a major success of things over here.

So a serious bit of bi-amping then?!

One of the biggest negative impact on margins for retailers comes from returns. So if we end up only buying stuff from Thomann that we know for sure we really want rather than "trying before we commit" then, perversely, this could actually work out in Thomann's favour.

Yeah - and with pups the likelihood of damage in the post must be pretty low.

Maybe I just got lucky on this one, but the bit of bass gear that I've held onto the longest is actually an amp not a bass. I fell in love with it the instant I first played through it. It was housed originally in a PH212 combo and together weighed a staggering 80+ lbs! I managed to offload the cab in a trade for another cab which I then managed to shift to buyer in NI with a ridiculously large courier fee plus a few pedals that no one really should have wanted, except that surprisingly there were some on eBay that did. Anyway after considerable effort and wheeling & dealing I ended up with just the bit of kit I really wanted, the Mesa M6 amp and for a fraction of what they can go for new. And at 25 lbs it's literally staying put I bet I'm not unique on this and that there are a fair few valve amps and Trace Elliot heads that are still besting modern D class gear!

I'll still be getting wide Minatour straps from Thomann - likelihood of getting damaged in the post is small and I already know I like them! 😊

Gents - be great to see some pics of the kit you've mentioned!

So in summary: We have 20% extra VAT on used goods from the EU We have the risk of not recovering the 20% VAT (or red tape / hassle) on new goods if we are likely to want to return them from EU retailers. For me that means: - looking to buy used goods from UK musos and stores; - using Andertons, PMT, Gear4Music etc. (rather than Thomann) for new goods.

Lol!

Thanks very much Steve. I've just had a quick look at the HMRC website and that is a LOT of effort, particularly if the VAT is say £20 or less. Hmmm...looking like another BIG reason to go with UK retailers on new goods then if there is a chance the goods are damaged or turn out to be not what we want, unless Thomann are prepared to deal with VAT refund side of things on returns.

I've bought and sold a fair few basses over the past 5 years and find myself really happy with the shape and balance of my herd. I'm fortunate to have some lovely basses including a Ken Smith and a Yamaha BB NE2. However... I was taken aback recently when the penny dropped that the three basses I have owned the longest are actually my three least expensive ones! Here's a pic of my second oldest, a Yamaha BB1025, bought end of line from the Yamaha store in London for a very decent price, to get the ball rolling. It's seen off several other PJs and I suspect I'll never move this one on: Any of you got a similar story about your budget basses being the ones that have best weathered the test of time? And of course, it doesn't have to be just basses that can inspire loyalty! I bet there are some wonderful amps out there too that you've held on to 'cos they sounded great but didn't cost the earth?

Helix was launched. Hard to believe it will have been out 6 years in June this year.

That is a really good question! Calling @Steve Browning

June 11th 2015 was the date when...

So you doing much on your Stagg? Tbf mine stayed pretty pristine for a couple of years always intending to pick it up - which I finally started doing in earnest last year. And it's been a lot of fun. It now has the accolade of being the earliest purchased bass I've still got! Survival by "non use" 😁

Please see my post above re. the economic point: any country that shuts down touring musicians whether it's the UK or the EU are simply shooting themselves in the foot. Saving lives is quite rightly the focus and priority for everyone, but I have every expectation that sense will prevail on this issue (as it already seems to be doing here from Lardy's comment).