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ZilchWoolham

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Posts posted by ZilchWoolham

  1. 21 hours ago, Skinnyman said:

    I think the reality is that they use the international language of the Internet - which is of course, American. We shouldn’t delude ourselves that foreign bands who choose not to sing in their own language are singing in English English. They’re singing in the language of good ol’ Uncle Sam.

    And while we're thinking clearly, let's not forget that the majority of successful UK artists/bands do the same, and have done for a very long time. 

  2. I recently got a small tomato knife shipped to me in a box about the size of that in the OP. No 2kg out of date catalogue, though. 

    6 hours ago, fleabag said:

    Apart from all the planet choking packing above, one thing that irked me was when the caring uk Gov made all shops charge 5p for a plastic bag, for the hard of thinking, who often dont take their own. Barely anyone would care at forking out 5p. If they'd made that price £1, maybe it would have made a much bigger difference.

    It's not a mental challenge to take reusable bags. If an idiot like me , who's been using the same bags for 7 or 8 years can manage it, anyone can

    Just the other day I stuck a note on the inside of my front door that says "BRING A BAG" because I always manage to forget it. 

  3. 16 hours ago, jonno1981 said:

    Replacing a saddle falls into a standard acoustic setup for most luthiers. It’s a cost  of up to £50-60 inc parts although I imagine this varies due to complications/ region etc. 

    Ive found that trying to discuss setup issues with any seller really difficult when trying to ascertain the playability of an instrument. It’s all so subjective down to the players expectations and playing style. I’ve never bought anything described as playing well that didn’t arrive requiring some amount of tweaking that would fall into the broad category of a setup. Depending on how much you paid for it this might be one you have to swallow up. I think I would in the circumstances unless it requires any more serious tech work. 

    Id see it as a minor investment into the potential enjoyment of owning the guitar. A luthier might well be able to make it play better than it ever did for any of its previous owners! 

     

    16 hours ago, KiOgon said:

    Buying a nearly 50 year old Martin is never going to be hassle free, suck it up, go to a decent luthier, new saddle and a decent setup, you'll have yourself a superb guitar!

    Yes, I'm thinking along these lines, too. My concern is that the luthier might inform me of a more substantial problem, i.e. the guitar needing a neck reset, or the soundboard not being level (it doesn't seem like it from just looking at it, though). In that case it might be better to see if I can return it. Hopefully that won't be the case, though. I'll take it to a luthier and he'll probably be able to tell what work has to be done, before he does it.

    Thanks!

  4. I posted this over at Guitarchat, but since it isn't very densely populated at the moment, I thought I'd take the liberty to post it here as well. 

    Recently I bought a used/vintage Martin (over 46 years old but not quite vintage by Martin standards) on eBay. This particular model is braced for, and to be strung with, either nylon or silk and steel strings (or compound strings as they're called in the old catalogues) and I noticed from the images in the listing that the owner, as most people do, had it strung up with bronze strings. I notified him of this, in as friendly a manner as possible, in a message and asked if he had noticed any bowing or damage as a result of the higher tension strings. He told me he hadn't and that he played it down-tuned with a nice low action. Finding the price reasonable I bought the guitar. 

    The listing had not included any close-up images of the bridge, and I, rather foolishly had not asked for any. When it arrived and I strung it up with silk and steel strings, I immediately noticed some issues. The strings had really dug into the bridge quite hard, leaving noticeable wear and small cracks by the bridge pins. More importantly, the saddle has at some point been sanded down and is basically flush with the bridge. This probably wasn't an issue with bronze strings, but with the silk and steel strings it was actually made for back in 1972, there is significant buzzing coming, not from the frets, but from the strings hitting the bridge as the saddle isn't giving them enough height. In standard tuning, it's mostly noticeable when hitting the strings forcefully, but it's unplayable in, for example, DADGAD. 

    So, what is the best course of action at this point? It's clear that I need to have a new saddle fitted and slotted, and while a bone saddle isn't expensive, it's something I need a luthier to do for me, as I have neither confidence nor competence nor tools to do it myself. (I also have a fear that doing so will raise the action to an uncomfortable level, but it should be said that I haven't noticed any bowing in the neck or soundboard, with my untrained eyes anyways.) Should I let this go or is it reasonable to request some sort of compensation from the seller? 

    Cheers!

  5. 6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

    Punk - the theory behind it was that anyone could do it (though in reality it wasn`t quite as easy as that) so they should if they wanted to.

    The Sex Pistols' gig at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall made musicians out of virtually every other member of the audience, some of them quite significant indeed. I respect the Sex Pistols for the bands they helped get started much more than for their own music. In particular I'd like to thank them for giving me Buzzcocks! 

  6. On 2018-04-14 at 00:46, alyctes said:

    Ignorance and laziness and a desire to sound authoritative.  Doesn't know what the informed actually look for, can't be arsed to find out, but still wants to sound as if he knows what he's talking about, because that will mean his price must be realistic.

    I think you've hit the nail on the head here. It has to be said, though, that this plan backfires as soon as someone who's actually a bit knowledgeable sees the ad. Maybe they're hoping that those who know better will ignore it, and some poor sod who doesn't will grab it for the listed price. 

    It's been relisted now, a bit less expensive but still far too much for a private seller to ask. 

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-1969-Precision-Bass/173288974665?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D51004%26meid%3D50b2bfe83f15410ea9ea74e60a2067a0%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D173288974665%26itm%3D173288974665&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A25ef4a8a-4bab-11e8-9c54-74dbd1806369|parentrq%3A116f78ec1630ac3d4eb37eb3fff68ad8|iid%3A1

    Does anyone know if all the grime that's accumulated near the buckle rash (if that's what it is) would come off with a thorough polishing? 

  7. Part of it is down to the mix, too. If you listen at the very end, you can hear some of the high frequencies which are lost when he's playing along to the track. Honestly, I don't think it's very effected at all. It's also worth keeping in mind that the video is 240p and that the audio is quite compressed, which might actually add to the thickness of it. I've found that, ironically, worse audio quality can sometimes benefit bass! This is all from my subjective standpoint, of course, and has to do with the fact that I'm not terribly infatuated with hi-fi bass tones with very detailed top end. 

    A while ago I had my headphones plugged in directly to my PC, as opposed to my usual interface. Some room ambience effect was enabled in the audio drivers, and it made everything sound terrible, EXCEPT for isolated, DI bass tracks, which sounded thick and filthy. Then I plugged my headphones back into my interface, and all of a sudden I could hear... everything. Blecch! 

  8. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-1969-Precision-Bass/173257356999?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D51004%26meid%3D6d577973468b461fb486bbf424df2c44%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D13%26sd%3D173257356999%26itm%3D173257356999&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A0db6cbd0-3f5a-11e8-a32e-74dbd1809c8c|parentrq%3Ac0b759f21620ab6b34bec899fff9aee5|iid%3A1

    Yes, the "Buy it now" price is about 2k north of what really good, original 1969 Precisions go for, but what really annoys me about this listing is this line:

    "If you are truly interested in vintage Fender bass guitars then you will know the specification. If not the internet will inform you."

    What specification is he talking about, exactly? Are we, through a genuine interest, expected to know the precise weight of any given P Bass? If he were "truly interested in vintage Fender bass guitars" then surely he would also know that not all necks from one particular year have the same exact dimensions?  I can't for the life of me understand the inclination to be rude, arrogant or passive-aggressive when selling any instrument, let alone one that is copiously overpriced. 

    "Any Questions please don’t hesitate to ask." 

    Well, how could I not hesitate? Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I've seen so many ads worded in a similar manner, and I've developed something of an aversion to them. Most of all, I find myself asking: What's the bloody point?

    • Like 1
  9. On their website it's listed at 20k. The extra 3k on eBay I assume is because of seller fees. I don't know the average value of an early 50's P, but the shop does seem a bit pricey in general. To be fair, though, they do accept offers. 

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