Shambo

It's cheaper than buying a bass

I'd just take the neck, sell it as new with a quick explanation of why the nut isn't cut, and use the proceeds to recuperate the cost of the Status replacement. Then it's finished with.

Well, they sent me some (not great) photo's and it looks like a new big al, and what looks like a EBMM shipping carton, propped up against a luthiers bench in a workshop. I've no reason at this point to be suspicious. Vigier/HTD where at some point in the recent past a Musicman distributer in France. I'm sorely tempted.

I have Big Al as a saved search and was initially excited when this appeared a couple of months ago. If I remember correcly, the advert said they had ten to start with. There are no photo's of the actual instrument, just some stock ones and a picture of a case. I keep checking back to see if someone has bought one and left positive feedback, but to no avail. What do people think? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Music-Man-USA-BIG-AL-4-strings-bass-SSS-Black-Maple-Brand-NEW-NEUVE/283379424179?hash=item41fabadbb3:g:zQQAAOSwPYRcPe1v:rk:1:pf:0

I popped into my local PMT store in Bristol this afternoon, purely for a bit of a browse. As I wandered into the bass room I noticed that none of the instruments had prices on them. They all said to ask at the till for the best price. They're a very friendly bunch in there and, when I was asked if I wanted to try anything, I said no thanks, then remarked about the lack of prices. This was the cue for a long one sided speech to everyone within earshot about the volatility of guitar prices at the moment, making it practically impossible to keep the pricing on the tags up to date. I'll be honest and say now that I almost immediately started to glaze over, but I picked up something about Amazon complaints, accusations of price fixing, PMT working in cahoots with other large music retailers, bricks & mortar overheads and non-commital distributors . The guy was obviously a little wound up about the whole situation and unfortunately I wasn't the most empathetic person he could have picked to listen to him vent. I had at first just assumed the lack of prices was a sales ploy to get a potential customer to engage with the salesman, but after hearing the guys empassioned description of the situation, it got me to wondering (only a little admittedly) about the troubles music retailers might be having in these uncertain times. As I slowly meandered towards the exit, I noticed none of the skinny stringers had prices either. No prices on any guitars in PMT. Is this the new normal?

Sketch Up.

I got halfway through and had to turn it off. Story of my Bros life.

I use a Hercules GS525B with an additional four holders to bring it up to a nine rack, which is fine so long as your putting thin electric guitars & basses in there and your careful taking them in and out. I say 'using' but at the moment its folded away because I missed looking at my guitars face on. I gave away three tripod stands when I bought the multi rack, trying to save on space, but ended up buying another so I can have one bass on full display to catch my eye and tempt me to grab it. I'd offer to sell it to you but I know, not long after letting it go, I'd be wanting another one for some reason in the future.

I've had to do a bit of research about these things over the last few years, and obviously a lot of variables come in to play, but I don't think it's necessarily doomed, more rather changing in to something different. People will still want to congregate somewhere, it's in our nature, and that place may well be in the void left on the high street. Food, drink and especially entertainment will always be a big draw, regardless of what some people say about kids these days not wanting to congregate in the pub at a weekend to watch middle aged men rock out. The merits and pitfalls of digital media has been discussed numerous times on this forum. These days you just don't need to browse a physical shelf for a ripe desk lamp or particularly succulent foreign holiday. Showrooms for goods may replace stores, and when you've made a judicious choice for the perfect shade of green for your new pantaloons, you mightn't have to wait for it to be delivered from some foreign sweatshop either. Light industrial processes could be making a comeback on the high street! Butcher, baker and the proverbial candlestick maker. Just in time deliveries (probably by drone) of materials mean large warehouses full of cloth or wood or anything don't need to be bolted on to the back of a workspace. You might arrange an appointment to watch robots lovingly hand craft your new bycycle/washing machine/whatever, right before your very eyes, and it doesn't need to be done on an industrial estate on the edge of town. More and more people will find themselves shopping for a particular design or designer. I've made it all sound a bit rosey I know, and my sympathies are with the retail workers who are caught up in this horrible situation.

I got a ticket in the post today for their gig in Bristol early January. They're doing a short UK tour.

It's been a tough call for me to name my best purchase. I went a bit mad and bought six basses this year. I've done my bit to keep the Basschat marketplace moving. My just about best purchase was a Fender Japan '75 Jazz RI, but it was a close run thing with the American Pro Precision which I also picked up here from the classifieds. Not being a fan of the Mexican 70's version, the rosewood/pearloid block combo is rare (harder to find than the maple version), and to find that married to a black body (as opposed to 3TSB) was very unusual. To find it with a matching black headstock takes it into hens teeth territory. It's almost a ringer for my first decent bass, which I had to sell over twenty years ago, and it feels very familiar in my hands. The icing on the cake was the throaty Hepcat '62 pickups that came with it. I treated it to a nice Ki0gon S/P loom and some TI Jazz flats. Lovely. The worst purchase was a Hercules multi-guitar stand. I correctly assumed that I needed to save on space, and it does that job superbly, but what I didn't realise was that only one edge of my collection would be on display. I mean, I did realise but, I didn't know how much I'd miss looking at my instruments face on! I bought one tripod stand, (to replace the three that I gave away when I bought the Hercules), and rotate the bass it holds as and when I feel like. I mean, you can only play one bass at a time, right? The multi stand now sits redundant, propped up next to my desk and taking up yet more space. Stupid.

I usually make DV247 my first call for flats. Better still if you can buy a couple of things and get to the £99 threshold for free shipping. https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Thomastik-5-Bass-Strings-JF-345-43-136-Nickel-Flat-Wound/art-BAS0005811-000

Echo and the Bunnymen - Killing Moon Scrub that, I thought you were asking for an 80's song for acoustic guitar. I could imagine Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence being sung by a choir.

There's lots of upfront bass playing to admire in Cake's album Fashion Nugget. A perennial favourite around chez Shambo. It does contain the occasional, tastefully positioned F-bomb.

It was an interesting read and not entirely surprising. When the story broke I thought that this might be a case of there being no such thing as bad publicity. The thought must have crossed Mr Threatin's mind that, whilst planning his triumphant european tour, the non-existence of any actual fans might bring a media spotlight upon his fraudulant behaviour. To dismiss it all as the expensive, vanity induced delusion of a loser seems a little naive. He has now generated the publicity he craved and, if he plays his cards right (either keeping up the pretence or coming completely clean), could use this episode as a springboard to an actual career in media manipulation. A bit like professional gobshight Katie Hopkins or those 'Go Compare' adverts that people hate so much, they talk about them online and down the pub... and that's the job done. I'm reluctant to say he'll have a career in music, because I've never heard any of his, and it doesn't look like the sort of thing I'd be interested in anyway.

Sorry, you've lost me.

How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb? Three. One to change the bulb and two to mutter "I can do it better than that".

One of my absolute favourite bass players

Your asking price +£100

A glowing endorsement from me for walplayer Pete. Excellent communication, rapid dispatch and bomb proof packaging. It's exactly what you expect from a Basschat deal. Many thanks Pete!