T-Bay

I can't speak for any of those, but was surprised by a friends combo which was identical to mine except for a cheap replacement valve. The tone was awful compared to mine, he has since switched to an NOS one and it sounds much better. So I would say 100% that quality of valves does affect tone. How that relates to these products I can't say though.

I bought a TE combo and cab from Steve, absolute top bloke and I would have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone else. Thanks again Steve.

You are advocating mental/ physical abuse of people? It is never needed and is never productive, only the stupid would think otherwise.

No one needs bullying, it's a stupid way to go about things and very unproductive.

My first year at Uni was partly spoiled by the guy in the next room attempting to learn the entire Caster USM first album, it wouldn't have been so bad if I liked the album, still makes me shudder now if I hear it. He wasn't bad, just very very very very dedicated to his practice. I helped out a mate in the Battle of the bands (just moving kit and setting up) and we have a laugh about this guy. Unbeknown to us he was sat opposite and promptly went out with his band who played a couple of Carter USM tracks and one of their own - blatant rip off of USM as well. When he came back in he asked if we recognised the playing, luckily he was a top bloke with a great sense of humour who apologised profusely about the noise and bought us a pint, which was kind of him.

Great idea, I think you could market that concept.

Don't let age worry you, as long as they have been looked after they will go on for ages.

I started on a Stagg which was pretty horrible but got me going and gave me the bug to want to play more, the only thing I would say is that when I then picked up a better bass I couldn't believe how much better my playing was instantly. The Stagg hadn't been set up and the action was very high. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a bass that will play well though, if you know anyone who plays then getting them to give a potential purchase a once over is worth doing.

[quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1492509977' post='3280758'] I don't think the scenario you have described is the buying and selling for profit and no fault has been implied. That sounds like a very normal situation. Buy a 2nd hand instrument instrument, enjoy it (or not), then move it on... perhaps its gone up in value, hopefully it hasn't dropped. Speaking personally and for nobody else, I wouldn't want to purchase an instrument here from another member of the 'community', who [b][i]only [/i][/b]bought the instrument to move it on quickly for a profit... and not even with the good manners to try and flog it somewhere else. I think such behaviour is damaging to the forum. [/quote] You have summed up perfectly what I was trying to get at.

^^^^^ but with extra emphasis on the try before you buy. I am pretty new to this game and some stuff that the Internet claims is wonderful wasn't for me and some more budget stuff works for me. As an example I tried a Gibson thunderbird because I loved the look and sound, but the feel and position was something I knew I just wouldn't get on with long term. I have several basses but my 'go to' bass is an 80s Aria that is well worn and bought cheap, it just works for me. So try as many as you can and don't forget that they will sound a lot different through a £2k rig in a shop than a £20 second hand practice amp or similar.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1492505406' post='3280701'] Just bought one second-hand and it may sound stupid but I can't work out how to open the battery compartment. Have tried various combinations of pulling, pushing, sliding, etc but with no luck. Sadly, the user's manual doesn't go into that much detail. Could someone give me guidance? [/quote] Mine just has a little clip you move to one side and it pops up. It's at the opposite end to the jack.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1492469586' post='3280587'] are you talking about other forums or BC specifically? Because if it's here, I don't agree... everybody here has the same opportunity, there's no 'early disclosure' for select members or anything. It is frustrating when I've been after something fir a while, only to find I missed out by a few hours, but it is irrelevant whether the buyer is another regular member or somebody who is actively trading to make a profit: the person who gets there first has the advantage. If you want to improve your chances, then check often. I don't know, I never felt I had anybody else to blame despite my disappointment. I do prefer to sell to a regular member as well, but in the end, if I have a buyer, I have a buyer and what they do with their stuff is not my business. I did get annoyed once when I sold a guitar I had advertised on gumtree to a local guy. He came over, saying it was a present for his son, asked if I had any extras... he seemed nice and I loved the story he told me about his son wanting a guitar just like this one but not thinking he could afford it etc etc... I ended up bringing the price down a bit (it wasn't an expensive guitar, I went from £120 to £100) and added a gig bag, a nice strap, a decent cable... I had lots of spares. Within the week, it was back on gumtree at a higher price. Birthday present my arse... [/quote] No not specifically about BC at all, in my first post I pointed out that I have found it an issue on forums generally. If I was to be specific about one in particular it would be a motoring one I used for a long time. Three characters used to continually watch the classifieds and jump on any interesting/ cheap items and then relist them within a day at vastly inflated prices. Most members refused to buy off them in public, but when you need 'that' part to finish a restoration there is a lot of pressure to PM them if no one else has it. Someone else said that forums aren't 'utopias', I know that, but that doesn't mean we can't work together to make them as close as possible. My experience of BC has been 100% positive (I tend to nose around a forum for a while before I join so wouldn't be on here if I didn't like the atmosphere) and as such my comments should only be taken as general reference to previous experience and not specific to BC unless stated. Also in my experience forums are very much a sum of their members, good people make good forums and in the few months I have been on here I have had excellent advice from many members and have several people I now count as friends.

[quote name='GuyR' timestamp='1492464676' post='3280539'] m The genuine punter, as you describe them, needs to be a bit more on the ball when it comes to responding quickly when a well priced item is advertised. The dealers don't have advance warning. I agree that if you were to ask a buyer whether they intended to sell on, it would be dishonest not to respond truthfully, but you always have the recourse of leaving bad feedback. I wouldn't be interested in what a buyer were to do with a bass I sold them. It'd be boring if we all had the same opinion. On a related subject, about a year ago, a U.K. Ebayer was listing what was obviously a very nice early 60s sphagetti-logo precision as a 1970s one. It went for £1200 as I remember. The seller obviously ignored the many warnings he must surely have received from the bass-playing community that he had grossly underpriced his bass. [/quote] But the dealers make a living out of dealing so can have the sales sections of relevant forums on watching, whereas most of us mere mortals have to do inconvenient things like working which means we can't always be so 'on the ball', it as I said, it's up to the individual whatbthey wish to do, but to me I feel that the way a lot of dealers work on hobby forums undermines rather than supports those hobbies.

[quote name='GuyR' timestamp='1492460786' post='3280499'] I genuinely admire that you would only sell to a fellow enthusiast. Dealers make their living from buying and selling well. When I buy an instrument from a dealer or anyone else the single least relevant factor in the transaction is what the owner paid when they bought it. I don't begrudge anyone a living and I don't see their activities as haunting, stealing in or grabbing, they are just earning a crust. I have been to the last two gardiner houlgate auctions and bought very nice 1960s fenders both times. I outbid dealers but still paid a bit below retail. Like BC, it's an open market and when the price is attractive, you lose out if you hesitate. [/quote] I see where you are coming from but I have seen other forums where any decent parts are snapped up before the genuine punter gets a look in, it's usually cars to be honest so some parts are known to be almost impossible to find. I don't have a problem with people making a,living but do we need a level of people who only exist to make our hobbies more expensive? Personally the answer to me is no. If I choose to part exchange something in a shop I have no issue with that but if I want to sell to someone who will then make a profit out of someone else, I want to know that beforehand, not be conned into thinking it's a normal sale. After all, if the people doing this don't feel there is anything wrong with it, why are they not upfront when buying and allow the seller to decide? That's just my opinion, obviously people are free to buy and sell as they see fit, but to me I would rather sell to someone who needs/ wants an item even if I end up with less money as a result.

I completely appreciate that once it's someone's property then they can do what they choose BUT I still think it's poor when dealers/ chancers haunt the classifeds on forums of all sorts and steal in to grab anything at good prices before the community has a chance. I am perhaps old fashioned but I find that a bit low and have refused to sell to such people in the past as I would rather it go direct to an enthusiast.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1492458420' post='3280466'] I feel this way about Morris Men, but women Morris dancing I find ok. [/quote] Strangely I find that weirder than men with over large beards and unusual braces.

That is really kind, thanks again all.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1492440804' post='3280244'] And replied mate, apologies for missing the earlier message Chris [/quote] No problem and many thanks for the very kind offer, it will make a big difference to a guitar/ bass club at a school for kids with a wide range of disabilities. Kit is always hard to come by so a donation like this really does impact in a massive way.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1492439286' post='3280228'] Lost track of this, sorry folks, I know I received a PM but can't find it so please feel free to PM again and I'll get onto it Cheers Chris [/quote] I sent you a Pm about it so have resent it :-)