W1_Pro

The first proper amp I ever bought- in 1985- was an AH150 with a GP11 preamp (I assume a markV, but I'm not sure) which I used with a Trace elliott eight by ten box. It was utterly phenomenal. I foolishly sold it in about 1992 (broke, seemed like a good idea at the time etc etc) and I have spent the entire time since trying to come anywhere close to the sound of it. I would second what others have said about these amps. They are/were amazing. Only sorry I flogged mine....

[quote name='Jimelliottbassist' post='831196' date='May 8 2010, 07:46 AM']Hi am thinking of using in ear monitoring and need some advice regarding what brands people have had experience with and the best to buy it from? Cheers Jim[/quote] Hello Jim, One crucial point to bear in mind whatever you go for MAKE SURE they are on UK channel 38. The current free 'public' channel UK 69 is being sold off by the government as part of an Europe-wide bandwidth realignment. As to brands, we've had Sennheiser Evo 2 in our hire stock for a couple of years, they are popular and reliable. Sennheisers newest system Evo3 is the updated, current model. The new Shure system, the PSM 900, is awesome, as is most Shure wireless kit, and we're planning to buy that when our Senneheisers are made obsolete by the bandwidth changes at the end of 2012. If you're looking for something cheaper I believe that MiPro do a system- I've not used the IEM's but their radio mics, for the money, are very good. The other part of the IEM equation- which you may or may not be aware of- is what to use at the headphone end. Each brand comes with generic headphones, which are really just a variant on iPod headphones. If you want to do it properly you'll need to have moulds made of your ears and then you get into a whole world of -gruesomely expensive- dual and triple driver earphones. Shure are again very good for stuff like this, or if you really fancy going for it, try Ultimate Ears. You may find some older Shure systems the PSM 200/600/700 secondhand. All fine, but beware of looming bandwidth issues per above. One last point. IEM's take a bit of getting used to and they don't suit everyone. It might be a good idea to rent/ borrow a system before you buy- about £40 per day from us or pretty much any decent PA company- to see if you like. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any q's and best of luck Stuart

Hello Everyone, I'm thinking of buying an acoustic bass for at home type use. Budget between £150-£300. Anyone got any recommendations? Thanks in advance! Best recommendations Stuart

[quote name='Bassassin' post='761742' date='Mar 2 2010, 01:03 PM']Beautiful job bringing that back to health - I had one of these in 1981 (my first serious bass) and it was gorgeous. Don't think I really appreciated it at the time & wish I still had it. Great restoration work from Mr Parker there, impressed by his technique for rectifying the truss problem, and the ebony fillet in the back of the neck - I'd love to see clearer pics of that. Just one little detail though - this needs gold speed knobs, surely! Jon.[/quote] Aha, my very thoughts. The gold speed knobs are en route. I'll post some pics when they come through Best S

[quote name='BigRedX' post='761726' date='Mar 2 2010, 12:37 PM']That's some nice looking work! Do you mind if I ask how much it cost? PM me if you don't want to make the details public. I have the 8-string version of this bass that is in need of some major TLC and Mr Parker looks like the man to approach for this.[/quote] Hello Big Red, Graham charged a very reasonable £400 all in which included a set of d' Addarios's. Pretty fair for all that work I think?

Hello everyone, I recently bought I rather knackered example of a Washburn B20 bass. It's been restored beautifully- and at very reasonable cost- by my mate Graham Parker a Lewisham luthier of unimpeachable reputation. Please have a look at Grahams blog of the build-plenty of pictures- and let me know what you think. The bass now plays and sounds fantastic. I'm very pleased with it, I've had a thing about these particular ugly ducklings for about 20 years! Best S [url="http://grahamparkerluthier.com/2010/01/29/bass-guitar-repairs-london-vintage-washburn-b-20-bass/"]http://grahamparkerluthier.com/2010/01/29/...burn-b-20-bass/[/url]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='696455' date='Dec 30 2009, 04:41 PM']Greetings, The main difference is in the neck profile - the SBs have a very nearly parallel string spacing between nut & bridge, whereas the SBRs have a noticeable taper (not as much as a Fender, but quite noticeable) The easy way to spot the difference is that the SBRs have a rather fetching elliptical "eye" position inlay, whereas the SBs have plain dots. I'm not aware of any differences in construction & finish - they're all quarter-sawn maple/walnut laminated necks & ash bodies covered in nigh-on indestructible 2-pack Poly. The story I've heard is that the SBRs were devised as a "hybrid" (somewhere around 1984?) based on the assumption that Western hands are bigger than Asian ones. Personally I prefer the original SB profile - definite "try before you buy" as it's a bit of a jolt. Pics of the 700 if you would sir! They're quite scarce. Pete.[/quote] Thanks for this Pete, I shall bear this in mind, I'm looking for a fretted SB to go with the fretless, so I'll see if I can find and SBR to have a go on before I commit folding to the project. I'm away for a couple of weeks, but I'll post some pics of the SB when I return. It's a lovely bass, but I've always felt that the pickup is/was a bit lacking. Stuart

[quote name='bassatnight' post='696170' date='Dec 30 2009, 10:55 AM']As an owner of several SB's in the past all I can say is that the SB series is of a higher quality particularly the 1000 series which is a very good instrument and I will always have one in my collection I just think the SBr's are a newer series with perhaps better quality electronics but poorer finishes.[/quote] Thanks Bassatnight, I have an SB also- a 700 fretless bought new in errr...1984 I'm sorry to say...first decent Bass I ever owned- so were the SB-R's a later series then? Sort of late eighties ish?

Hello folks, I've noticed a few SBR 60's and 80's up for sale- I wondered wht the difference was between them and the SB basses. Can anyone enlighten me? Many thanks Stuart

[quote name='steve-soar' post='497276' date='May 25 2009, 01:58 PM']That's a lovely bass, so, are you going to keep it natural? I quite like all the crazing, makes it look older and sexy, bit like Helen Mirrem. [/quote] LOL Yes definitly keep it natural, it's such a nice piece of wood. I think if you saw the whole thing.. the crazing does it no favours.. none of the luthiers/refinishers above have responded to mails, so I'm still in the same boat...I would'nt mind paying Sims prices if they'd do the back of the neck and the headstock...ho hum..

[quote name='steve-soar' post='495978' date='May 23 2009, 12:26 PM']I've never used Simms but I have done refinishing before for a living when I worked at KGB Music. Have you got any pics of the bass?[/quote] Here are a couple of pics showing the worst of it....

They are a great bass. Underrated as are most Gibson basses for some reason..never understood this... I'll let you know about the Jack Cassidy case...I really can't face a flightcase...a bit OTT for my very occaisional gigging needs.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='495978' date='May 23 2009, 12:26 PM']I've never used Simms but I have done refinishing before for a living when I worked at KGB Music. Have you got any pics of the bass?[/quote] Not to hand, but I'll get some and post them SteveBest Stuart

Another option. This guy looks promising also. Many thanks Stuart