tvickey

There was also just a little bit of rust on some of the frets when I received the bass... a quick rub with some Gorgomyte cleaned the frets right up! I've not played this bass for a while... this revived thread is making me pull it out from its case!

I religiously wipe down the strings every time I play. I use FastFret for this, but the tin is a couple of years old now. I don't know how long this stuff lasts, perhaps I'm mostly just using the cloth that it came with and the FastFret 'essence' was used up long ago. For me, DR strings stay on for ~1 year of constant playing. About twice a year I'll put some lemon oil on the Fretboard and give it a good wipe. One of these instances happens with the annual change of strings. I purchased a used bass that was up in Scotland where the previous owner lived. When the bass arrived, there were a few rust spots on it. I used a bit of Gorgomyte to clean those off and they've not returned. Bronze frets can also get nicely polished with a bit of Gorgomyte too (did that on another used bass that I acquired).

Came across this bass on eBay... looks like some kind of Klingon weapon. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133948177345?hash=item1f2feefbc1:g:pEUAAOSwAaNhpAy8

I'm really glad to learn that you got your money back @bouvier

@bouvier, you might also be in the sociopathic rudeness waiting period. For me this was apparently 24 hours. FYI: I sent him my bank details for repayment three times. He already had the necessary details when he claimed that he didn't.

For the sake of completeness, I'll include the other Ben-isms here. I'm sure he's a really nice guy when you meet him in person, I guess the police will find out.

Yes, he's a wonderful person and I would take delight in being ripped off and verbally abused by him again (sarcasm). IF / when Ben refunds your money, it will come complete with his favorite word in the comment field.

Unfortunately Ben provided other reasons for needing to contact the police.

I tried to buy the pedal from him back in late April, and sent him a PM. At that time he replied asking me to use PayPal F&F to a hotmail email address. I explained that I didn't want to use F&F, at which point he left the conversation. Honestly, I've not had good experience with F&F since PayPal once held onto funds that I sent the singer of my band for a t-shirt (they kept it for ~2 weeks while doing 'checks'). The Darkglass pedal advert was 'revived' in August, with a new lower price, and I sent Ben a PM again. I thought bank transfer would be safe because he had such great feedback here on Basschat!

UPDATE: I did receive a refund of my £160 after the Basschat Admins intervened. Ben originally wanted me to pay by PayPal Friends&Family (which I was apprehensive about), but ultimately I paid Ben by bank transfer (I should have been equally apprehensive---it's the last time I do that without meeting the seller and having the item in-hand!). Still no proof that the Darkglass pedal was ever mailed (despite Ben saying that it will take 'weeks' for him to get reimbursed by the postal service for a 'lost' item). The barrage of insults and threats didn't stop until Ben was banned from Basschat. All I wanted was a pedal. Just crazy.

Unfortunately I had a very negative experience with Simonsbass (Ben) early this month, when I sent him £160 for a Darkglass B7k v2 pedal (which I never received). The thread with Ben went quiet shortly after payment, and he never confirmed that the pedal was shipped (unable to send me a receipt or tracking info). I noticed that Ben was unloading a large number of high-end basses simultaneously on Basschat, and I began to panic that I may have been scammed. When I insisted that Ben refund me, the insults and threats arrived (read the screen snapshots for yourself). Ben ripped me off. No proof that anything had ever been mailed. I was scammed. Please beware.

I pick up my bass, put on my headphones, press play on my computer, and rehearse 'with the guys' almost every day. That's helped keep my memory and skills sharp. In 2020 we had one rehearsal with everyone together... so far this year none!

Just to update this thread: Around mid-November of 2020, I ultimately settled on a very nice pair of ADAM Audio T5V 5" powered monitors that I picked up used from John Browne (guitarist of 'Monuments'). John had been using them as a pair of temporary stand-in monitors while ADAM was delayed in sending him something more top-of-the-line. The price was super reasonable, they sound absolutely fantastic, and were still under warranty. ADAM Audio even refunded me a small fraction of the purchase price when I presented them with the Reverb receipt (they offer an academic / student discount)! Oh, and I got to meet John Browne who doesn't live very far from me. Super nice guy!

24 digital channels... 24 bit at 96 kHz. Okay, I don't use all 24 channels for bass, but I do use about 6 of them: raw DI, Darkglass Alpha-Omega DI, post-eq amp DI, MD-421 on 4x10 cab, and 2 outputs from a Lewitt 640 Rex on a 1x15" cab. I have some options

Wow, what an awesome Status bass! I guess the lights are an absolute necessity on stage when the rest of the bass is black!

I'd just bring the usual setup, nothing fancy...

So... who needs two cans of Warwick bass wax, one partially used? 🤣🤣 I brought two cans over to the UK with me from France recently thinking I needed them. Indeed, I sent an email with the S/N to Warwick and they replied "no need to wax this one."

Thanks! Sounds great about your hardware change too. Thanks for your comment. I was not aware of the finish change on the Warwicks.... Well, this one got a nice coat of wax. Ha! Seemed to make it look better...

What's everyone else bringing to their first rehearsals of 2021?

On Thursday I will have my first rehearsal in nearly one year with the rest of the guys... I've decided on these two weapons of choice.