bassbluestew

Really Kiwi, I wish you'd shown me where I could buy one for that price. I fear your love Uncle Ken could be colouring your normally excellent judgement . I fully appreciate you've bought / sold / owned many more Smiths than I, but having played "Hunt the Smith" recently I couldn't find one ( except with a very badly damaged neck which had been repaired ) for less than £2k, and god knows I looked long and hard for some time all over Europe and the US of A too. I stand by what I said, I think £2k is a VERY good price at the moment and if I needed another or could justify it to my significant other I'd be all over it. I'd be interested to hear more from the OP though. S

[quote]I think it depends on what you are prepared to pay, but I would have thought somewhere around the £2k mark..[/quote] Normally I would agree with the above to a certain extent, however, there are some mitigating conditions here. With that spec, it's a £4k plus bass new. These are pretty rare and don't come on the open market too often, especially the 5 string Elites. When they do come onto the open market they are normally snapped up pretty quickly. What you are prepared to pay might not cut the mustard and get you the bass. Also it will have 18v preamp and you'll notice it has the newer switches on the front. Do you have any idea how old the bass is ?? ( Remove the rear control plate and the date is there, beside Uncle Kens signature ) Mine is a 2005 model and doesn't have these. Isn't the neck and back of the bass just a thing of beauty?? And for me I much prefer the lighter maple bodies to the darker woods more often used. Do you know the person selling it, are they a particularly close friend. That may get you a better deal. If you get it for £2k, bite the guys hands off. And go buy a lettery ticket, its your lucky day. Oh and start working out. Those Smith cases whilst offering unrivalled protection, weigh about as much as a small Ukrainian village. We are talking full flightcase heavy here. Just daft. Mine lives very happily in Protec Contego gig bag. Its a great bass. Sorts out your GAS once and for all. If it's the type of bass you want, and you've played it, I would stretch as much as you were safely able to in order to secure it. Trust me, it WILL sell if it gets onto the open market. It's one of the few basses I have owned that I know I'd be able to sell for as much as I paid for it if I ever decided to / had to sell it. PM me if you need any further details. Oh and all these comments on price are assuming the bass is in very good condition with no major defects. Obviously any major defects like neck repairs are going to cripple the sale price and saleability of the bass, regardless of how well they have been done. Smith owners tend to be quite fastidious about condition. Also ask the seller if he still has the "case candy". Not a big deal, just nice for completeness. Stewart

I put a red tort one on my old Natural Ray 5 and it made it look really cool - much more old school and IMO nicer than the standard black it replaced. Unfortunately I cant remember where I got it but I'm sure I just googled and up it came. IIRC was more expensive than I thought it might be, but it looked the poodles plums so all was well !!! S

How are they for general use..............I'm looking to try new strings for my Smith, my previous faves ( Elixirs ) just don't seem quite right. Should add I am going to try some Smith strings as Uncle Ken says they are the bestest...well he would eh Just can't really decide which Smith strings to try. Should also further add that until fairly recently I was of the opinion that the older the string the better......but I have seen ) or heard ) the light !! S

Thanks Stewart, will let you know if I hear anything, but nothing yet. Stewart p.s. not all Glasgow bass players are called Stewart.............only the good looking ones !!

I use this cab.................with various heads, Ampeg B2RE, Trace, iAmp. Can get any sound I want with any of these heads, it's certainly got a lot of bottom end, but to say that's all it can do is in my experience just not true. I think it is a great cab. Sounds like there has already been some DIY repairs badly done to this cab, but could probably be fixed easily by someone who knows what they are doing. I'd persevere a little more, it's a great cab. S

Is this job taken ??? S

The Protec is a great bag, especially at Thomanns silly price. Remember guys like Alleva Copollo and Fodera are using them as standard with new basses. S

How do you like to Protec bag......I'm still loving mine I have to say. S

Jaco who ??? Personally, I prefer........................... I'll get my coat. S

I bought a load of the Kodak ones from Poundland ( a pack of 2 units for £1, so 50p each and no waiting for delivery ). Went nuts and bought 5 packs - I know,I'm just soooo extravagent. Haven't tried them yet, but they are the ones Kodak recommend for cameras, and a company as large as Kodak ain't gonna knowingly put their name on sh*t products are they ??? Will let you know. S

She Makes My Day - Robert Palmer Took a while to get it. Main issue was that I was hearing it wrong, I thought the bass lines was changing and couldn't work out what it was doing until I realised the bass note was actually staying the same and everything else was changing. Once I got my ears round that it was okdoky !! Was really pissed that the rest of the band didn't put in the same effort. S

I know, I'm 250 miles away, and I really want to go back when he gets his first delivery. Have you been to Phil's yet ?? I have never seen so many quality basses in one place. I have also never seen a bass at nearly £8k hanging on a wall either !! He has a load of Markbass stuff and the new Aggie gear will really add to his range. I'm thinking of an Aggie 500 ToneHammer, and two SL112's but I really want to try them out. Time to get selling my old gear I think. S

As I have said on other related threads, I have used an SKB bass safe with a gig bag inside on about 300 flights with RyanAir / EasyJet ( so not the best airlines, agents choice - not mine ) and never ever had a problem. IMHO its a steal, much lighter that a flightcase and easier to move. Added bonus is that you can use the gig bag on its own when you get to the other end !! S

Just a wee heads up for those like me looking for a new rig. The very excellent Phil Nixon at Bassgear.co.uk has just taken an Aguilar dealership. Top bloke, now extending his amp range to match his incredibla range of quality basses. Stewart p.s. No I am not in Phils employ, nor his long distance lover..........

I had a Milan V about 17/18 years back. It was blue. was a nice bass as I remember. I bought it new from Rainbow music in Edinburgh now long gone. Sorry can't remember what what I bought or sold it for, I think I paid about £1k and sold it for about £600 to fund a Ray 5. Nice basses though, extremely well made. S

Nice one matey, looks the poodles plums so it does. A modern day P bass perchance ?? Much happiness to you !! S

Only if it g'tees to make me as at least as 100th as good as Babbit and comes with a spare sponge Lots of love here for the Funk Bros........those gone and still with us. Standing in the Shadows should be required reading / viewing for all new bass players regardless of genre played. In fact when I win the Euro Lottery I am going to get lots of copies of the dvd and make sure every music shop in the UK gives one with every bass sold to a new bassist. So there !!! S

I just tried a markbass tube 800 and 410 ( rear Ported I think ) at Phil Nixons Bass Gear in Harrogate and was quite impressed. I have to say that bringing in the tube mix and either the Vlf or vle ( can't remember which ) really brought the thing to life. It was previously a bit sterile. However never was it boomy at all. That was in a showroom at reasonable volume too. I was actually quite impressed - and I could just lift the 410 with one hand - nice. S

[quote]I have only one now..... my Smith.[/quote] I'm with VoxPop here..........although technically I [b]do[/b] own an Ibanez Electro Acoustic but since that never leaves the house and therefore has never ever been gigged, and since it hasnt been out of its case in a year I don't think that counts. Beng bass gasless is a very weird thing to get used to, after so long scouring for sale boards to get my Smith, at the moment I'm a very happy bunny. S

Do your wallet a favour and look at the Protec Contego, Thomann are doing them stupid cheap. Don't worry about the quality, Fodera and Alleva Copollo are now using them as standard for their v. Expensive basses. My Smith loves it's Contego. You won't be disappointed. S

I did of course mean the Little Mark Tube 800, when you bring in the valve mix it just completely changed the whole characteristic of the the sound. I thought it sounded ok, then I found the valve mix knob and oh my goodness. Very nice. S