Musicman20

[quote name='Kirky' timestamp='1490377242' post='3264772'] The Cribs are a great band and the Jarman brothers write and record some really good songs and put on awesome shows. They do a huge amount the promo and band admin themselves and are very approachable, decent, down to earth guys. I can't think of anyone more worthy of a sig bass. [/quote] Agreed.

In the end less people will buy the product, because we are all becoming conscious of being ripped off.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1490229705' post='3263509'] I own more USA Stingrays than any other type of bass, but I have played many others types including Sub's and 34's. I can tell you that I have not found one non-USA Stingray that is a patch on the real thing. The build quality and options on a USA are far superior to anything achieved on a non-USA. I fear we will run around in circles regarding the sound which is subjective, but I would argue the same on that count. Case in point, this arrived yesterday.... It's a USA Stingray 4HS 'Starry Night' SLO with MHS. I'm fairly particular about my basses as some here will attest to. I would not hesitate one second to send it back if it didn't meet my expectations. Hand on heart, I can't think of a single way that this bass could be improved. [/quote] Oh my! That is surely one of their finest limited runs?!?! I love the HS configuration. Why they aren't more popular i'll never know. It's the exact same Stingray tone plus 4 other great tones including the neck pickup alone which has a very woody and hollow traditional tone which you would not expect from Musicman.

Hmm, quite forward thinking....could be quite cool!

I've tried a fair few of the more budgets versions of a Stingray I found they were not that close to the real thing. There is something in the aesthetics, feel and overall 'quality' that I do not think matches a real Stingray. I would not buy a budget model new. I would buy a real Stingray second hand or see if a new one can be had as a deal. The £ and price hikes really push them away from normal players now, which is crazy, but it is happening with a lot of manufacturers. Luckily I got my Musicman fix way before all of this, and I love the high quality and feel/tone they all have. I would buy another 6 string guitar from them if the UK prices hadn't jumped up so much. Most of the time, you really do get what you pay for.

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1489950295' post='3261043'] I hadn't really considered the Magellan. A mate of mine had one of the Gens Benz heads a while ago (I don't remember which model) but I always felt that it had an unpleasant bump in the mids that was difficult to dial out without radically eq'ing the amp. But he played it through Mark Bass cabs which seem to have a reputation for a low mid bump, so maybe it was the cabs, or maybe the amp and cab just didn't work well together? Dunno. But it had initially put me off the Magellan. And for the record, I like to have the mids present in my tone [size=4] [/size] However, the Magellan has got rave reviews all round so I'm happy to try it and see what I think. A few people have said that it can get that warm, vintage tone that I like, similar to the Tone Hammer. And it looks to be a lot more versatile than the TH too. The specs and features are broadly similar to the Subway but the Mag' is £200 cheaper. Tempting.... Do you have one, or have you ever played through one? I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. [/quote] Unfortunately not, I just love the Genz gear and have two amps and a cab by them so if I needed to, personally I'd try a Genzler 😊

Another example of 'dealers' causing pricing issues. In 2017 we don't need 'dealers'.

[quote name='Bridgehouse' timestamp='1489752720' post='3259453'] Bass Direct have the EICH and a tonehammer in, and a D800 - you can compare and contrast and choose your favourite flavour. As an extra thought, if you find the EICH or D800 does a better job, you could always pick up the tonehammer pedal to get that sound when you need it. Less of a one trick pony then..? [/quote] Good call! A clean amp with the TH pedal! Plus then you have the TH pedal for recording or gigs where you can just turn up with a high end DI.....OR, use the pedal with backlines that are supplied and get the TH tone.

The Tecamp cabinets, particularly the one you have, are/is really good. I would stick with that cabinet! I sold mine to help with moving house but I regret it. In the end I picked up a Genz NX212T which isn't so far off so I'm happy. Agreed that an Eich amp would be a great match.

The TH350 prices are all over the price, but are around £420-450.

If Gibson actually just stepped up to QC as good as Musicman and PRS, they'd sell a lot more instruments anyway. I've recently played a lot more guitar and I am astonished at some of the guitar forum posts about poor workmanship on £2k Les Pauls. I want a nice classic tone of a Les Paul but I am not risking buying one.

If I was in the market for a new amp, I would choose the Genzler Magellan - £675.

I imagine, from a business and cynical point of view, the TH350 stock in the UK is pre-price rise/pre £ slump. The TH500 isn't. That price difference is insane. I also think £829 for an amp that has been around for a good few years is incredibly high. It is basically Mesa Boogie tier of pricing. If I were you, I'd look at another brand. Aguilar make amazing gear but the prices shot up way before the £ slump, and the £ slump has made it even more expensive. The TH500 used to be around £600 not that long ago. Whilst not related to the TH500 as it wasn't around, The Bass Merchant used to order Aguilar in directly and the pricing was much fairer. Another example of a bizarre business structure of having 'middlepeople' who essentially act as dealers, storing the product....sometimes helping with problems (often, it's just easier to get hold of the company directly, e.g. like Genz Benz).

I'm pretty certain a lot of nitro checking happens with the environment it is kept in. If you take an instrument out of a very hot house into a cold venue and do this repeatedly without letting the instrument warm up a little, chances are it will start to check. I have a few nitro instruments and now I understand nitro, I am less worried (although I would still be a little gutted if it were proper damage) if the paint reacts a little. It's almost like 'oh well, it's nitro.....it'll react at some point.'

Nice instruments but not £408 nice. That's way too pricey.

Bass is definitely a different world, even when it comes to just reviewing a cab or pedal. It needs a bass player to have that knowledge of why we need totally different things to guitar.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1489069636' post='3254145'] However from some of the sycophantic nonsense you'd think he was the first person in the history of music to sit down and perform a song on acoustic guitar that he'd written himself. [/quote] That's exactly how I feel. When I see documentaries on someone, for instance, Kurt Cobain or the Beatles, writing their own songs from a young age, and not needing a team of corporate writers behind him, it makes me wonder what the fuss is about. 1000s of musicians write their own music and play it on their own. It is braver, I agree, but someone like Jake Bugg, (especially earlier on), is far far better, much better guitarist, etc. I find that ES has basically no catchy guitar parts...at all. Just the same old stuff. Best of luck to him though....if I could be in his shoes I would be.

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1489073083' post='3254183'] I bought a cab from them a month or so back and got some "loyalty points". Anybody know what, if anything, you can do with these? I gave up looking around on their site for info. [/quote] Yep - if you buy again you can take the money off of the next order. Works out pretty good if you buy something expensive or during the time they have 2x/3x loyalty points. Considering GAK used to dominate adverts etc, and I'd never heard of Andertons, (say 7-8 years back or more), Andertons really are at a level that most other stores need to compete with. E.g., loyalty points, genuinely good service, good shop, excellent online reviews, etc. GAK are way behind even with just their website.

I think they've started to use Lee #2 now, from their guitar department, who is actually mainly a bass player first and foremost. Danish Pete is an exceptional player.

I don't know why, but I just cannot listen to Ed at all, not any of it. Something really grates me about it. I've got no problem with pop music, but I just don't like his songs at all. I must have poor taste as everyone else seems to praise him.

Yeah I think it will take time, but I much prefer a nice chat about basses (although I spend a lot more time looking at guitar gear nowadays) than just very fast slap/obvious funk then nothing. They seemed to corner the YouTube market on guitar gear without even realising it...and now they, and 'That Pedal Show', are my two most watched channels. I'm hoping they continue with more bass videos. Nathan is a great player and seems to be relaxing more on camera. The only thing I've been disappointed with is the recent 'Sound Like' for Johnny Marr/The Smiths...which kinda made a point that a lot of their videos can be metal/heavy/detuned themed when it comes to some of the musicians (who are, lets face it, pretty damn great). They seemed to struggle to nail Johnny's sound and for the first time didn't seem that into it. Johnny is a fantastic player, doesn't shred/solo, yet his work is unique and can be difficult to play, as they seemed to demonstrate!

The Roadworn version is probably lighter...they usually are.

Hi all Noticed Andertons have been ramping up their bass content on YouTube, but they've confirmed they are going to expand their bass department significantly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puJ-gXGpak

As you are a bassist as well, I think you will enjoy the Source Audio pedals. Whilst you might have to shell out £150, the Kingmaker fuzz is awesome. Firstly, if GAK actually send you a new one (they should as they aren't in stock at the mo), go here: [url="https://www.gak.co.uk/en/source-audio-kingmaker-fuzz/110943"]https://www.gak.co.u...ker-fuzz/110943[/url] £130. Secondly, this pedal allows you to use ANY of Source Audio's current 'One Series' boost/overdrive/distortion/fuzz engines, even two at once, all in one pedal. It takes a while to realise just how much this offers. The pedal has 3 stock presets, all fuzz, all GREAT fuzz, but if you use the Source Audio app, or their incoming Desktop editor, you can essentially change the 3 presets to whatever you want from their catalogue, and there is a lot of choice. This would give you a LOT of excellent tones and it also gives you great bass engines as well... Oh, and whilst I haven't tried it, I'm 99% certain you can run TWO of them together, so a boost/overdrive, etc, at once, through one pedal. I've got one and I'm super impressed. They've even made a 'Klon' engine, (just FYI, it is a guitar/boost pedal that now costs about £600-1000) and it is super impressive. They are like TC's toneprints but, IMO, massively advanced. Do not worry that it is digital....the fuzz tones sound very analog and organic.

A Sterling sound with a thicker/more substantial neck.....hmmm....I'm not sure what options they have for that. If you liked 5 strings you could get a Stingray 5 with the Sterling pickups....(ceramic)....certain eras cover this.