PatrickJ

Apologies for posting a new topic; I'm sure this has been discussed before but I couldn't find anything relevant when I used the search function. Just got in from rehearsal and my ears are ringing. I wore ear plugs all night, some I picked up from Amazon, but clearly they didn't do their job. Not sure if it's a fit issue or if they are just not very effective ; either way I need to invest in better ones. In the near future I'd like to get a set of custom fitted plugs, for now I just want a decent set for some protection. What do you guys use?

I reckon you wouldn't be short of work shipping all the basschat marketplace transactions.. growing market too, what with guitarchat coming on line!

After reading the many gripes against courier companies and watching those truely awful videos I'm left wondering if it is possible to insure a delivery through a 3rd party organisation or do you have to use the courier's insurance? Short of ordering hand made items and picking them up directly from the luthier / engineer it seems like a game of roulette having it sent with any of current crop of couriers!

I would suggest that unless you need an income from gigging then I would go where your heart is! I've yet to visit York but I'd imagine it is a reasonable size and I'm sure there will be opportunities there - I've been to Leeds a few times with work and its always struck me as just another city with all the associated hustle and bustle.

I went ahead and ordered a Blade Bravo case from ebay - just shy of £45 with the minimal discount I got through the best offers. It looks bulky but reviews were good the big front pockets looked useful for my needs. I also looked into the Fusion bags - I liked the Fuse On concept, but for a full set up you're looking at almost £250 for gig bag and accessories bag. I shall check out the photography backpacks as a cheap alternative - that is a great idea!!

How are you finding your gigbag - I'm also looking for a gig bag - I Have few manufacturers bags that came with the guitars I've bought but they are of varying quality. I'm going to store them and have one decent quality bag with good pocket space. Ideally one I could slip a class D amp head into. I thought gruv gear gigblade looked good but perhaps short on pocket space. I just need to get it in and out of the car, I won't be carrying it much so heft and bulk less of a concern that protection and storage.

I'm on the verge of quitting from a band because it is becoming so difficult to organzise rehearsal time. It's now a struggle to find even a single date in a month - I'm usually quite flexible but I feel I'm having to make endless comprises to fit into the schedules of others. It's a casual band, I get that but it doesn't feel like it's any sort of priority for some of the others, I've suggested numerous times that we pick a regular rehearsal slot and reorganise if we need to but no one other than the band leader and me want to commit to that so it's endless rounds of doodles to find something. I should have quit after our last gig in July - i guess I'm avoiding a difficult conversation. However, I have set up a second band who are much more committed; Mondays work for us all and so every other Monday is our rehearsal sechedule . Good luck finding a group of people, I know it's not easy especially when your in the 30s/40s.

Snarky Puppy I'm definitely late to the game with these guys but I've been working through their albums during my commutes this week One of my favourites

Social Media, and Twitter especially, is definitely the best way to escalate your complaint. If you are nof an active user already it might be worth signing up just for this issue. Most of these organisations have customer service teams that are low paid and understaffed. They become so used to dealing with these issues that they are desensitised by it and your individual case isn't important to them, just another unhappy customer in a day full of them. Social Media however makes things very public. Most organisations are quite nervous about the potential reputational damage negative tweets can cause and so they have dedicated staff monitoring the feeds and responding to issues. The company I work for have a social media team - any negative customer comments that are posted are immediately passed on to the management team to be addressed. I can't say UPS is the same but I don't think you have anything to lose by trying it. It's worked for me, last month I was having a problem with a music store that I ordered a pedal through. I'd phone them up and never get promised call backs, I emailed them with no response and I even raised a dispute via PayPal that went unanswered. After a few days of frustration I wrote them a negative review on Google - within hours they had responded and I suddenly received a flurry of communication from them. Good luck, I hope you get your parcel soon!!

What is the one you are keeping?

Thanks La Bam - I'm very interested in this head. As I previously stated I wouldn't necessarily look at Modelling amps but some of the features make a lot of sense to me. I'm struggling to find much information or many decent use reviews on line - unfortunately no where near me has one to try or even just look at.

I like that birds eye maple neck... I have thus updated my design - that configurator tool is not good for those who suffer chronic GAS like I do!!

Ha, I went for something very similar ...

Get creating and get those GAS juices flowing.... http://configurator.sandberg-guitars.de/

Any thoughts on the Markbass EVO1 - I just came across this one after seeing one in the for sale section. I don't I nornally tend to favour modelling gear but the dual amp system and being able to switch between and Little Mark to a grindy SVT type sound is interesting - I play with two bands, one more rock orientated so I could see me using this feature if they sound good. Any experience, do the models sound good 3 band eq looked like a bit of a minus though - 4 seems to be norm these days

This is encouraging to read as I purchased my first Sandberg from Bassdirect a few weeks ago. I hope nothing goes wrong with it but should something go awry it's comforting to know they've got your back!!

I've only been playing 4 years so I'm quite embarrassed by this list, mostly by the number of effects pedals that I have gone through! The Amps, and to some extent the guitars have been a result of starting to jam with bands, then gigging. A bit of trial and error in regards to what was easily transportable, loud enough and what comfortably fits into a tiny stage space!! Bold items are those currently owned: Basses Ibanez Gio GSR180 - Black Fender Jazz Black Top - Black Lakland 44-01 Deluxe - Spalted Maple Warwick Corvette V GPS Standard Mayones Jabba 5 - Trans Black Burst Fender MiM Deluxe Active Precision Special - 3 Tone Sunburst Sandberg California II VT4 - 3 Tone Sunburst Amps & Cabs Eden EC-10 Combo Fender Rumble 100 Combo (for sale) GK MB500 Markbass LMIII 500 (on order) Hartke HyDrive 112 GK CX410 (for sale) BareFaced Super Compact (for sale) Pedals & Effects Zoom B3 Zoom MS70CDR Tech21 Fly Rig One Control Sonic Silver Peg GK Plex Mesa Subway DI MXR Bass Compressor TC Spectracomp EHX Bass Big Muff Frederick Effects Green Russian Big Muff Frederick Effects ICBM 78 Mooer Fog 3Leaf Audio You're Doing Boss ODB-3 Amp tweaker Bass Tight Drive Darkglass Vintage Microtubes Darkglass B3K Catalinbread SFT Way Huge Pork & Pickle MXR Bass Chorus Boss CEB-3 Providence Amandine Bass Chorus Boss BF-3 Mooer Bass Sweeper MXR Bass Envelope Filter MXR Bass Octave Deluxe EHX Micro POG Boss TU-3 Korg Pitch black Mini TC Polytune 2 Noir Boss LS-2 X 2 Misc PedalTrain Metro 20 board T Rex Tone Trunk board PedalTrain Volto Power System (+ spare battery) T Rex Fuel Tank Classic T Rex Fuel Tank Junior Singular Sound Beat Buddy Steinberg UR242 Audio Interface