T-Bay

37 minutes ago, essexbasscat said:

Frankly amazed an instrument of this complexity of construction hasn't gone at this price, what do others think it's worth ? 

I buy and sell a few and generally if they are an unknown name (but not Gear4music or similar) then I ask around £200 and usually accept £150+. I generally buy WITH ISSUES at £50-100 and then do a bit of work, so I think yours is a genuine bargain, especially as it’s Vietnamese not Chinese. As I said above, I have had hands on one and they are a step up from generic Chinese. It has to be worth £125 all day long but I guess Basschat is a narrow market for such things.

And there are sax forums but they are obscenely snobby and I only use them for Yamaha or better, something like yours will just get abuse. It may be worth giving the guy at The sax shack a shout, until recently he had a physical shop in Stoke but is only online now. He is a top bloke and genuine music lover, starter saxs like yours always sell well. I have sold a few through him and his reputation means that even after commission I have got more than I would have though a private sale.

Very very sad news 😢

25 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Never seen Guns 'n' Roses then?

Been lucky obviously 🤣🤣 Was one where I may have been happier if it had been 7 minutes to be fair.

1 hour ago, TimR said:

 

In 40 years of playing and watching bands I've never played in or seen a pub band play for 3 hours. 

27 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

I am completely lost now.

 

The vast majority of gigs are 2x45mins or 2x45 plus 60mins.

 

Just because that's not what you do, doesn't make the above not true. At no point did I say that no one has ever played gigs that are different lengths. 🤣

 

And I am the one accused of being black and white? 🙄

 

I really do not have time to put "in my experience", "the average", "is approximately" and "this is obviously not always the case", on very post I write. It's really down to the reader to use some common sense.

 

Even @Dad3353 seems to be unable to recognise that having more than one singer will obviously enable you to extend set lengths and most bands have one singer. 

 

Whether you should is another matter.

 

Agree a set length with whoever is going to pay you and then agree a price. Adjust set length and price accordingly until you come to an agreement. Time is money...

 

I'm not playing 3 hours for £80. Sorry. 

2 hours ago, TimR said:

 

In 40 years of playing and watching bands I've never played in or seen a pub band play for 3 hours. 

You are lost because you choose to be, the second post is the one I was referring to and had quoted and you responded to that quote. But we both know that………..

1 minute ago, TimR said:

Indeed. Those things are happing all the time I just happen not to have witnessed any of them. 

So not really worth posting was it? We could all post things we have never seen at a gig but doesn’t prove anything other than what we have seen. For example I have never seen a gig that lasted 7 minutes but I can imagine there may well have been one somewhere at some point.

Just now, neepheid said:

 

It's all I've ever known!  Seeing as I seem to be in the minority here, I can't deny I'm a little jealous of the extra free time and earlier finishes that some of you enjoy!

We would do close to 2 1/2 hours for weddings and I was always utterly knackered by the end and that was with a 15 minute loo break. Usual was 2x 1 hour sets with a quick break. Mostly we were limited by stuff we felt was good enough to do live, except for,one pub where we knew the landlord and used to do the gig as almost a rehearsal live for new stuff to see how it went down. Used to regularly do rehearsals for 5-6 hours but you aren’t on it all the time so not as bad. If the band is really giving it some you don’t notice how long they have been on, if people above are looking at their watches it says a lot about how good the band is.

Just now, TimR said:

 

In 40 years of playing and watching bands I've never played in or seen a pub band play for 3 hours. 

That only proves your experience. I have never won the lottery, nor been mauled by a tiger, but it doesn’t mean those things don’t happen.

2 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I merely quoted Tim because he made an assumption about what I do and I was correcting that.  The rest of it was general exasperation at the finger wagging and "you're doing it wrong" tone that was starting to develop, not at Tim specifically.

If it works for you mate, keep going and it obviously is. I am in awe of a three hour set myself, I was always knackered after a couple of hours but our lead guitarist/ singer has gone pro and is regularly doing 2-3 hour acoustic solo sets now. Amazes me how he does it.

3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I am playing in pubs.  Will everyone please stop projecting their own experiences onto everyone like there's an effing rule book about this or something?

Tim likes to have a definite break down of black and white numbers/ things that work for him and keep him happy and many of us confused. Don’t stress it, took me a while to work it out. I don’t think he means offence by it.

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

 

That particular  example cited in the article above was not among the Amazon practices, but of a poultry processing firm. Not to say that Amazon are good to work for (that turnover rate is from the US, not the UK...), but folk that take up their salaries are free to quit, if the job does not suit them. I find it somewhat disingenuous to extrapolate from there what defines anyone as a 'good person'; their own conscience does that for them, and is their own concern. 

That article was from a well known outlet which is why I selected it, but the practice mentioned occurs at Amazon, and sadly other large warehousing places as well. Lots of well documented cases and hundreds of links e.g. https://www.quora.com/Do-Amazon-warehouse-employees-really-have-to-pee-in-bottles

But it’s not just limited to that, it’s the dehumanising effects of many of their working practices that have no place in the 21st century. Most people are aware that they ‘aren’t good’ but choose to ignore that as they wish to keep getting stuff cheap. Morals and principles don’t always come cheap.

53 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

whatever we think Amazon have got it nailed, I've got several friends who swear by amazon Prime's very efficient next day delivery, their bad treatment of staff, like Wetherspoons, is overplayed, by the 'they must be Bastards because they make so much money' brigade.

As far as the tax evasion is concerned that's the Governments fault, no company pays more tax than they've got too

Overplayed? Hmm, there is a awful lot of evidence to suggest otherwise.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/04/amazon-chews-through-the-average-worker-in-eight-months-they-need-a-union

Just one example, not sure how any company that admits workers wear nappies as they are not allowed toilet breaks could claim that being a bad employer is ‘overplayed’. What I do think happens is that people who don’t care about others dismiss the problems so they can continue to buy from them without affecting their belief they are a ‘good person’.

12 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Just wondering if anyone who has objections to buying from Amazon has done anything about it? 

Maybe advocated for policy changes, by contacting local representatives and expressing concerns about corporate tax avoidance and worker treatment?

Or supported campaigns and petitions, and maybe donated to or volunteer with organizations like Tax Justice UK or Fair Tax Foundation that work to promote fair taxation and corporate accountability?

I have done a few things including supporting a workers demo at a local depot, I have also petitioned my workplace and got them to take Amazon off the approved supplier list and then contacted Amazon to let them know that has happened. At a yearly spend of around £80,000 it was never going to make them cry but if enough people do the same it could have an effect. I also attempted to get my local MP involved in their tax avoidance but as he was more interested in groping interns it didn’t get very far. There are also local groups around the country trying to get local authorities to move away from using Amazon and I been involved in one of those.

It seems small things but they can make a difference, there is a long history of companies making ‘ethical’ changes that were based on consumer pressures. I guess the difference is that the world has never seen anything as big as Amazon and so far they are happy to do a big FU or make tiny gestures.

For me it started when they conned a charity I volunteered at out of £2k when dodgy goods were supplied through the marketplace. When you have seen disabled kids washing cars to raise a few quid and then see it stolen it gives you a reason to get involved. From that I found out how dodgy they were across all their business dealings. Thankfully a brilliant UK company StanelCo heard about what happened and helped the charity out.

We allow all members to veto any song they hate. With so many songs, why would play stuff some of the band hate? There are very few on the list and it’s never been abused.

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

If I didn't buy from Amazon, I'd buy very little, as there are very few outlets for many items locally available to me. I also buy from other web outlets, such as Thomann for music stuff, PB Modelisme for modelling materials, Berlin Packaging for glass jam jars, and many more. My only criteria would be to not knowingly give my custom to any Israeli company. Of course, I also shop locally, as a preference. 

Lots of other mail order places out there, and most bricks and mortar specialist shops will do mail order as well. I am the same as you regarding Israeli companies as well, Amazon stock Israeli goods and support businesses in occupied territories and supplies defence contracts. 
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/12/google-amazon-workers-condemn-project-nimbus-israeli-military-contract

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/5/12/how-us-big-tech-supports-israels-ai-powered-genocide-and-apartheid#:~:text=Perhaps the most well-known,Israeli government and defence establishment.

I never buy from Amazon as they are a dodgy company in terms of how they pay tax and treat their employees. But also, I want to have independent shops where the people know what they are talking about and where customers are important to them. The only time I will ever buy from Amazon is if they get exclusive rights to life saving medication one of my family needs, otherwise they can FRO.

On 27/06/2024 at 10:57, Woodinblack said:

Placebo last night in southampton. Absolutely great gig, best I have seen them. The venue had surprisingly good sound considering it was outside in guildhall square in Southampton which was all fenced off. It was remarkably warm, the hottest day of the year so far and obviously on a lot of stone it was warm, but by 8 the sun had gone around so there was shade from the high buildings.

There was a 5 minute break due to a fight at the front where they stopped the show to rant at them until they left (not sure what security were doing), but the rest was good, new stuff and old hits, ending with running up that hill.

Oh and the best bit, it was another no phone gig, I love those. Still had some people using them, wasnt absolute like tool was, but most people respected  it.

They are probably the most consistent band I have ever seen, never had a bad night. They are always absolutely on it start to finish. Good to hear the no,phone thing as well as that can kill a gig.

6 months ago I could have done this but sadly my Mum passed away so don’t go back anymore. Not sure of anyone else that side of Derby but have met up with a couple of people from the A38 corridor on here. Sadly I can’t remember their names.

18 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

I'll look up their touring schedule for France, to give me time to close all the doors and windows. 

I’m not quite what it is, but some small thing is hinting to me you aren’t much of a fan……… 😁

10 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I just saw an article from GB News about Idles set. They're not fans, who'd have thought it? Absolute fury about the anti monarchy chant (even though GB News hate Charles) and the dinghy and ceasefire displeased them greatly. I get the impression Idles my not be upset about this review.

The writer seems to think politics in music is a new phenomenon (it goes back at least 100 years) and exclusively liberals (Ted Nuget, Kid Rock & Jason Aldean are liberals?)

I would imagine they would count that review from GoeBells news would be a badge of honour.

Weirdly the one I regret the most is the worst one I have had - but also the first. I can’t even remember the make but bought it second hand for £30 and played it continuously for 6 months before selling it and buying an Aria which I still have. Would,like the first one back even though it sounded terrible and had an action you could park under.

On 02/07/2024 at 09:09, neepheid said:

The new Sire Z7 has stainless frets according to the specs.  5 string is £569 at Andertons.  It's not out until August though, so couldn't tell you about weight etc.

Another vote for Sire. I have a Sire Guitar and very impressed with the build quality. Not looked at the 5 string basses but the 4 string ones look good.

Quite unusual here in the U.K. These are Vietnamese made, not the usual Chinese of cheaper horns. Intonation is reputed to be good and the oneI refurbed for someone was spot on. Bargain for someone to dip their toe in and they blow nice and easy so great for a beginner. Much better than the Gear 4 Music generic type. GLWTS

I am happy to make an offer unless the ad says no offers. But of the price is good anyway I won’t bother. Quite often there may be a difference between my valuation and the sellers, if I think it’s worth more then great I am getting a bargain, if it’s less then I don’t see any harm in making a polite offer (no stupid offers obviously).

Any sometimes you need to speak to someone to know it’s exactly what you need/ wheat you expect. I remember offering someone a pedal I had bought off here for exactly what it owed me, I got a snotty reply saying they wanted one at this price with a link to the ad I had bought it from, what they hadn’t checked though was that it had had an intermittent fault that had cost be £20 to get fixed. The original seller who sold it to me had been honest and I had factored in the repair cost but someone else hadn’t bothered to read the ad and put 2 and 2 together to make 5.

Apart from that all my dealings on here have been perfect with 100% honest and reliable sellers. It’s always my first place to look for stuff.

If it works and gets you playing it’s brilliant! Great idea.

Ah man, I know a charity that I am sure would love it but again distance is the problem. Lovely gesture though, hopefully will inspire some new kid to take up the drums.