Machines

Saturday's gig, all good.

Saturday night at a pub in Staffordshire, upstairs dedicated to live music. We'd sold 75 tickets in advance so that was decent. Tight stage but big enough, took the full rig and needed it as monitor sound was devoid of any bottom end through DI so needed something to flap my trousers. Note the wall near to my headstock, managed to whack my headstock off it and detune the A string just before I needed it, had to just go silent for a couple of bars and quickly sort 🙄.

Quick demo as promised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvQrR1rUDVs

Or to summarise, Dingwall.

Newly acquired matching Aqua NG3, with optional white pg. Gigged it Saturday and it was 👌. The D-Roc is taking a slight back seat, but they're different enough that having both is totally reasonable and i'm sure they'll rotate evenly. (Orange NG2 sold to pay for this)

I'm a long time Ashdown amp fan, but these basses don't make sense to me - I just can't see their USP. I'm very likely not the target market, however.

It's about out the only place left where you might get a real bargain as the staff there generally don't research things that well and collection only means a smaller market. This is especially anything produced pre-internet they can't easily find a price for. Exceptions to this are obvious well known brands (Fender etc) where their prices can be a little optimistic, but they always get discounted eventually.

In time, yes. It'd be like a pyramid scheme for basses. EDIT: If anyone is up for that let me know it sounds like a blast.

But have you bought something from the profit of a guitar you haven't even bought yet ? That's the next level.

I feel like the bass equivalent of a someone that saves wounded animals from death, heals them and releases them back into the wild.

Christmas shopping in a local market town this week I popped into the Cash Converters. Ended up leaving with not one, but two basses 🤣. Both were well priced and desperately looked like they needed some saving, struck a deal and within 6 hours both instruments are now 100% and setup like a dream (Ibanez RS900 and Yamaha BB425X). The Ibanez was definitely just to faff with it for a bit and then move on (I think I have someone lined up already !) but the BB might get some use, don't need it but it was cheap enough to not feel guilty about it (unlike the 2 Dingwalls cough cough)

I'd already seen it on cc website before this post, also grabbed the Yamaha BB425X they had.

I grabbed this as it was only 20 min away from me and looked like a fun project for a few days. Needed a full stripdown, clean and setup and strings, but i've got it singing now. Interestingly I found this exact bass was in the US a couple of years ago, I've messaged the previous owner to try and find out how it got here but they haven't logged into talkbass for a while. The tuners were unusable when I got it (no movement then massive jumps), but they were just overtightened, I stripped them down and reattached, they're fine now. Is it heavy ? Yes, but not quite Peavey T-40 territory. It's a solid instrument and the single pickup with 2 band EQ gets a very close Musicman vibe, albeit a little different due to a lack of humbucker. Very usable though, I'll try and stick a demo up.

I've had 70+ basses in 20 years, and the 'hunt' for something exciting or rare is part of the fun for me, especially if I get it for a bargain price. That said, I have a fixed number I can accommodate at once, and as time has passed by I've narrowed them down to what works for me and there's now only 1 of 6 i'd not care if it moved on. I hope I will calm down in 2023 as 2022 has seen 13 basses come through the door 🙄.

RBX has been around in a few different forms. That's a late 90s model most likely, they revamped it in the 2000s to be more like this, of which I still have mine from 2004 (defretted and refinished in that time though).

In my opinion - under £700. They used to go for well under £500 but EVERYTHING is more expensive than it was. Rising prices of new gear definitely push up 2nd hand, e.g new USA Stingrays used to be about £1500 new circa 2016, now it's at least £2000 (with 2nd hand going from about £900 to £1200+)

I am likely to have changed gear 1-5 times between making the list and turning up 🙄.

All things you read on the internet are subjective experiences.

I tried the Ashdown Meters and had this issue, totally unusable for playing an instrument for me. I also had the issue wired, which I can only assume is down to processing and applying of an EQ.

For some people they are tools to pay their bills also.

It is sensible nearer the time we make a list of 'stuff we're taking' to try and avoid everyone turning up with P basses. Something you want to try out ? Ask nicely if anyone has something like it. The idea for me in the past was a chance to try rarer equipment in one spot that no shop would give you the opportunity for, as well as talk utter tripe for several hours.