Manwithvan

I visited London Guitar Studio recently and played an Alhambra entry level electro-classical which was pretty good. Definitely worth a visit. I ended up buying a used Raimundo from eBay for about the same price. It was in perfect condition, and is a step up from a Yamaha I bought used for £50. As with all guitars, I think Yamaha are good at all price points. One bit of advice I was given is that poor technique can be amplified by a top quality instrument!

I agree pretty much with all the positive comments on the A2S.

BUT - I miss having a tone control in passive mode.

On 05/12/2024 at 22:03, Marc S said:

Sorry I missed your 10th anniversary on BC, and by a couple of weeks too....

 

But I just had to say "hi". My last vehicle was also a Mazda Bongo, which I replaced with a Berlingo - well, actually it's the Peugeot iteration (Partner). So happy 10th anniversary, from someone with a coincidence or two thrown in 😀

Woohoo let’s start a new thread! I drive the Partner while working at Royal Mail, so life hasn’t too much variety. I wanted a Berlingo because I thought we could kip in the back at a pinch. Quite an uncomfortable pinch, it turned out!

I just noticed it's a significant anniversary for me. The original van (Mazda Bongo) was scrapped earlier this year, but as I have replaced it with a Berlingo I see no need to change my username.

I couldn't think where else to put this, so I'll just say to all new arrivals.

You've come to the right place.

Interesting coincidence - I was playing a gig with Mark Griffiths the weekend before last. We had a friend in common who died recently. I didn't know of his involvement with Sue Ryder, but will pass on Shazeroo's comments on the tone.

4 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

The graphic in that article is a bit misleading as they use a different scale for the Safisfied and dissatified sides.

Eg. The royal mails Bar for satisfied (47%) is the same length as  its "Disatisfied" bar (27%).

Yeah, that's a bit shocking.

I work for Royal Mail mainly on parcels, so I'm an interested party. I'd say that the higher the expectations a courier puts on the packaging, the better. We get asked to handle all kinds of shit packaging. Paper envelopes, bin bags, heavy stuff loose in boxes, overstuffed bags that come apart. It's not surprising when these packages fail.

I'd also say that 9 out of 10 of my colleagues are trying their best. But, like with politicians, bankers, policeman, the few that are either shit or malevolent cause a lot of damage, and are very difficult to get rid of.

No surprises here, but it might reinforce what you suspected

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/post/deliveries-and-charges/best-and-worst-parcel-firms-for-customer-service-satisfaction-revealed/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best and worst parcel firms for customer service satisfaction revealed&utm_content=Best and worst parcel firms for customer service satisfaction revealed+CID_00cf36b07798a35451ec40d7debd0005&utm_source=updates&utm_term=news centre

Well done, Clarky. Glad to be able to make a small contribution.

10 hours ago, Munurmunuh said:

This is just curiosity: which flats, how old, and what balance between the P and J pickups?

La Bella DTBs, not new but little used. For God Only Knows, Never My Love - all P, for We Are Family and I Feel Love - all J.

Thanks to everyone who replied to any question. I have  far too much 'experience' of deciding on a 'sound' for a gig, then finding out it doesn't work at all in a live setting.

I like the idea of a nasal farty overdrive, but I could cause some havoc with that!

I may become a convert to flats, that'd be ironic at age 65.

I have a wedding gig coming up very soon. We're all mates of the groom: most play in a big band together, but I'm not the regular bass player. The set includes All Night Long, We Are Family, Let's Dance, Never My Love, God Only Knows, Move On Up, I Feel Love (gulp!).

I've always said I hated flats, but am having to eat my words. I've tried foam damping on rounds, but only flats will do, even if the bass is a lowly Ibanez TMB30.

My problem with flats has always been getting the sound to cut through. Any advice on EQ'ing for the performance? I can take a EQ pedal. The band includes brass, woodwind, strings, about 20 of us. The groom's on guitar, and as he usually plays the French horn, there's another unknown factor!

(I wondered if this question should be in a technique section, but I did a search and all the related posts were in this forum)

On 14/02/2024 at 00:24, gyrus said:

PM sent

And replied

1 hour ago, Kuba Bartczak said:

What is the year of production?

The serial number starts with K, so 2004?

10 minutes ago, TOMAS said:

Where are you based mate ?

I'm in central Bristol

A set of Labella Deep Talkin Bass flatwounds are attached to this short scale bass.

I got it from a guitarist who thought he's get into bass during lockdown. He said he switched out the pots and put new strings on it before deciding he didn't like bass much.

The strings are a joy to play, but the sound of flats is not for me. The guitar is unmarked as far as I can see.

The odd one out in the BB range, the 1500A is a JJ 'super jazz' which features noiseless stacked single coils.

It is 9V active-only, with a tone switch with two non-standard options (typically mid scoop and mid boost) which can be preset from the circuit board to define mid frequency and gain. Controls are Volume, Blend, Tone preset, Treble boost, Bass boost.

Long scale, weight 4.2kg

23 hours ago, Vin Venal said:

What strings have you got on this?

I believe they are D'addario Medium Scale rounds 45-100.

17 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I don't think that I've ever seen a 5er though. Are they available?

I've never seen a 5er either, and I've done a lot of looking.

I have seen an old video of Nathan East playing an MB-40, which was a 5er and long scale I believe. It was his 'signature' bass before the NE2. Same headstock though!

It’s black on the back, blue quilted top.

On 06/08/2023 at 20:19, AndyTravis said:

Damn. Would love another - had one about 10 years ago.

 

wallet says no, unfortunately 

And I’ve got a 1500A ready for sale soon…..

On 05/08/2023 at 05:13, juice said:

Great bass - shame your not a bit closer for collection.

I have a hard case for posting.. but I'm in Northamptonshire quite regularly - not so far?

On 05/08/2023 at 11:20, warwickhunt said:

Is the switch not an active/passive switch?

The switch kicks in an active boost circuit, but sound is still governed by the single tone knob.

This is a small-bodied 32" scale bass,  made in Japan. The body is rather distressed, but everything works. The Mk 2 is distinguished by the fine-adjustable bridge, absent on the Mk 1 and 3. The bridge fine tuning controls work well, and are easy to set. The neck and string spacing is narrow at the nut end, but the neck itself is quite deep.

Despite the massive bridge, the weight is 3.4kg. Controls are VVT, the tone switch pulls out for single coils so there is a wide range of tones. In humbucker mode the sound is massive for such a small bass.

The headstock design is 'unusual' and for some reason was never seen again on Yamaha guitars!

There's still a lot of these Motions about, but not many with this bridge.

Price drop to £950.

These basses were made in low numbers around 2000-2002, this one is 2001, number 106.

34" scale, VVT controls, and a boost switch which adds bass and some top end.

Very nicely made with a one piece maple neck of the finest and straightest grain I've ever seen, but there is some fading to the top colour, visible in the picture shot from the head. I'll supply more detailed pics to interested parties.

A low action is easy to achieve. Weight is 4kg. There are a few dents to the finish, but no cracks.

Black Tolex OHSC with key.

My future is with 30" scale, hence this and other sales.

Thanks for all the contributions, and enthusiasm for the project. I don't make great claims for our output, but I'm always amazed what we can achieve, considering all the effort in transcribing, arranging and practicing that goes into most bands. We are called Moon Street Associates and I've only recorded us for post-mortems. Our promo image shows us (or some people a bit younger than us) arguing about who's gonna play the toy drum. However someone did some video of our last gig, or we wouldn't have got the festival spot.

Sad to report I seem to have lost the argument about the stage, unless the organiser digs his heels in. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking I'll go with paddy109 (we'll be letting the organiser down, or at least causing them problems).

Hi JoeEvans, we're in Bristol and the festival is question is at Priston. I'll DM you just in case you'd like to be involved.