lemmywinks

Recently been taking a monitor mix from the desk and having a bit of vocal and keys in my QSC instead of just using it as a bass rig - sounds great and makes sense using it like a traditional monitor, also we don't have to take a separate floor monitor any more. Drummer is on in ears now so the stage volume is back to being quiet(ish), makes a world of difference and everything is crystal clear. 100% would not go back to using an amp.

IIRC one sold last year for well over £300, think it was around £360 but not 100%.

One of these is back, the one with the weird maple wedge between the lower wing and the centre block: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hutchins-5-String-Bass-Guitar-with-Hard-Case-rare-and-unique/173966499767?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190212142712%26meid%3D920f90f65bd74de9977c3b8a25207747%26pid%3D100037%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D223587765291%26itm%3D173966499767%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100037.m2107 £199 inc hard case, don't hate this as much as I did last year, if it was £100 and within 5 minutes walk from my front door I'd go and have a look.

The Blake cases were clearance stock, think the company went bust a while ago and they were auctioned off with a fair few finding their way onto eBay. Once they're gone I think that's it for new ones. The next cheapest alternative would probably be a Gator Transit at £55: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Gator-GT-BASS-TAN-Transit-Series-Bass-Guitar-Bag-Tan/2AFJ?origin=product-ads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk7OP3MHG4wIVFODtCh0TYQX7EAQYAyABEgKXM_D_BwE Nice cases, not as sturdy as the Blake (I have both the Blake and the Gator Pro Go X which is basically the Transit) but more sensibly proportioned if you have a regular style bass and definitely lighter/easier to carry.

I have an Ozark acoustic bass, bought around 1998/1999 off a college friend for about £100 - this is in the days before cheap acoustic basses and they started at £350. Been everywhere with me from uni to spending an entire Summer living in a tent in Devon. Got defretted and fitted with black nylons a few years ago and it sounds better than ever IMO, not the greatest acoustic bass but always puts a smile on my face.

Spotted this as it's local to me so crops up on my 5 mile bass search, noticed the junker neck but not the Schaller bridge. There was a black Westone on my local FB (all original) for £35 not so long ago, don't need any more basses though so left it for someone else.

A pal of mine drunk bid on and won a military vehicle which was in London, he lives on the Isle of Wight... Ended up having to get the ferry over and try to drive it back, broke down 3 times before Southampton. Still he now owns a weird little armoured military vehicle for some reason so there's always that...

Slash used a custom builder's guitar for that album - either a Max or a Derrig, not sure which and not sure those are the correct spellings either but AFAIK he owned Les Pauls from both builders. Apparently his real Gibson wouldn't stay in tune for studio work (presumably because it was Gibson quality through and through) and when you see old live pics of Slash from that era he's essentially using what would now be considered a masterbuilt guitar, like when you order one from Fender and it's ghost built by some master luthier who's well known in the industry but not to the general public. I think the first actual Gibson he used regularly was the amber quilt thingy so the GnR Les Paul association (and the re-emergence of the brand in general) is founded on copies built to a standard Gibson couldn't be relied upon to produce. Hopefully they'll publicise this extensively alongside their newfound stance on copies.

Been using the Gator Pro Go which has been fantastic and realistically priced: https://www.thomann.de/gb/gator_g_pg_bass_guitar_bag.htm

I've been ordering from China for years, in fact I just ordered a new phone last night from Banggood! With AliExpress it depends on the seller - I ordered a £140+ item from the official GPD store on there and when it arrived with a small fault they paid return shipping and gave me a full refund, similarly with Banggood I've had refunds and been allowed to keep incorrect items etc. In fact I'd recommend Banggood purely because their live chat is very good, much better than a lot of UK firms in fact, my last two phones and my daughter's tablet have all come from there. DHGate are a reseller like Banggood, Fasttech, Gearbest etc so you should have no problems and can pay with PayPal, AliExpress is basically the Chinese eBay so it depends on who you're buying from.

The licensed Ultralites are genuinely great, I had them on a Cort B5 and they were absolutely rock solid and very smooth. One screw hole though so on a Sire you'd have exposed holes, with the Schallers you have to drill 2 new holes per tuner IIRC as two existing ones line up, the old ones are covered by the base plate though so once they're installed everything looks fine. You'll need the 11/16" nuts for Ultralites btw, they only seem to be available in 1/2" (13mm) or 3/8" (10mm) on Bass Direct, or just use some tape! I kept all the original parts as modded budget basses tend to be hard to sell for their composite value. Don't envisage selling it any time soon but you never know.

Schaller BML 17.5mm 5 string set I picked up on here last year for £40 all in which was too good to miss really. In fact I remembered them as £50 so you can knock a tenner of the overall spend on upgrades I mentioned above! Don't know if they're reversible or not as these were the 4+1 configuration so if you need a 5 string set that might be something to consider.. They're great tuners and are superbly engineered but you may find some licensed Hipshot Ultralites a good option to save a little weight.

I've put a bit of money into mine (about £190 for Schaller tuners, Gotoh bridge, Nordstrand pups and metal knobs), it's my main gigging bass though and is still cheaper than most at £490 total spend - everything except the bridge and some of the knobs were used. If you're not bothered about through-body stringing then there are much cheaper options for replacement bridges.

Is that the Alien Ant Farm guy's bass? I seem to remember him trying to flog the masterbuilt one a while ago.

That looks absolutely stunning Andy, superb work.

Seen those floating about on AliExpress for years, weird he chose those as they don't suit the bass at all and there's much better ones on there for not much money. Have a look at something like this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/84mm-Metal-Electric-Bass-Bridge-Fixed-for-4-String-Bass-Guitar-Parts-Accessories/32888000438.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.3a616adewKvrwi&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_7_10065_10130_10068_10547_319_317_10548_10696_10192_10190_453_10084_454_10083_10618_10307_10820_10301_10821_10303_537_536_10059_10884_10887_321_322_10103,searchweb201603_52,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=30a103b8-9b0c-47a2-b5b9-a2a6853e8a7d-0&algo_pvid=30a103b8-9b0c-47a2-b5b9-a2a6853e8a7d

Depends what parts are on it, if it's got lots of expensive components and is going to be a few hundred then I'd part it out. If it's just a nice looking cheapy then it would probably sell better as is. Oh and put some pics up!!!

Mine is probably around 12lb, compact body but very heavy (it does have a load of ebony on it though). Never been a problem and sits nicely on a strap, just wish it had one more string!

Audition them again, maybe with more time the first guy will sound miles better and it will also give a chance to the second guy to show if he's going to communicate and not be a total PITA. We auditioned new singers a few years ago, first audition was very close between two of the girls so so we asked them both back and the second time it was an easy choice. Also don't deal with all the communication this time, leave it to one of the other members who were enamoured with the PITA guy. You might find they change their mind when they're the ones trying to organise someone who is so blasé with other people's time and schedules. Recruiting a band member who CBA to reply to messages is setting yourself up for a headache.

Yeah I also need a long gigbag as I use a Sire which has a poky beak of a headstock! Weirdly the guitar versions of these Gators are never on offer, our guitarist still uses cheap learner bags (his best one by far is a Mex Fender gigbag I got him from a charity shop!) so I always have a casual look to check. If anyone sees any I'd be grateful if you could tag me on here so I can send him a link, will save me having to baby his guitars when loading them into the van.

Not sure you need to go any higher than £100 for anything other than aesthetics or brand bragging rights. I have the full fat Gator Pro Go (think they call it the ultimate now) which is all I could ever need in a gigbag and they're £99, superb bags and rock solid with high end appointments (solid metal clips for strap connections, integrated rain cover etc). I'll be honest I think the Mono stuff looks a bit tacky, like the puffer jackets everyone wore when I was at school:

I think up to £70/£75 is fair for these as there seems to be a bit of a gap in the semi-rigid gigbag market at that price range, I can remember when Protec Contegos were about £70 but everything seems to be £100+ now. Thomann do one at a decent price (a Mono Sleeve "tribute") but it looks a bit cheap compared to the Gator: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_voyager_e_bass.htm Incidentally their next model up (they do a few fancy gigbags now) looks interesting for £100, has a removable storage thingy: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_safecase_80_e_bass_bag.htm

Not seen one of these before, looks cool: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Super-Headless-Bass/113711446317?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20190212102350%26meid%3D345fb08a3dd94258a74fda267294fdd4%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D192540922755%26itm%3D113711446317&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985

I thought the Chasers were only partly made overseas and were finished in the UK? They were £900 new IIRC and were still high end basses, cheaper but not cheap. Either way the eBay bass is far too cheap, whoever got that is extremely fortunate.