retroman

Not bad cheers Matey, PM'd

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1322519910' post='1452163'] Lovely bass. I need to try a series 4 at some point. The pre-amp is meant to be pretty sweet. [/quote] Well Ped, if you're ever travelling near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, kettle's always on mate :-)

That Arpege look gorgeous in red :-)

This thread is now making me think about using the '76 at a gig this Friday!

Loved that V4 of yours Mik. Tone monster!

Never quite summoned up the balls to use my '76 Bicentennial Thunderbird IV live, but did recently want something that sounded old skool, ballsy, and fat for the studio.....The ol' 'bird didn't dissappoint. Maybe one day I'll play it at a gig, but have to be honest, I'm mostly worried about it getting pinched It's quite leight weight, and really easy to play, with a seriously skinny neck. Don't find the so called neck dive an issue, although the 76 is definately more weighty at the headstock end than the 09 I used to have. +1 for the Les Paul bass as well. My '91 flat top, with Bart's is great to play, and really thumps through. Good to see some positive comments about T'birds

Very nice indeedy Ped

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1322336603' post='1449655'] I've just bought a Ritter - for me it's worth every penny. Simple difference for me on some of the more expensive basses I've owned I that they allow me to play stuff I struggle to play on other basses. I love my three main basses - Ritter, Fodera & Alleva Coppolo. Each is quite different from the other but each gives me great pleasure every time I play them and, for me, that's what it's all about [/quote] Nicely put My Alembic Orion 5, and Vigier Arpege have made my move into the world of five string bass so easy, as they are a real joy to play. I can get the action on both seriously low, which is important to me, as I love playing chord melodies way into the dusty end. Both are very easy to get a great sound from straight away, with a minimum of fuss. Out of all the basses I own, these two inspire me to play more the most, so they're worth every penny to me. Another point for me is that these basses ooze quality, and attention to detail, as do basses from other high end manufacturers. I've been playing bass now for around 20 years, and have had the opportunity to try many different basses, and have found that even in the £1k-£2k price range there are a lot of basses that come up seriously lacking for me, or just have little niggles that leave me feeling uninspired. Quite recently I tried an AV 62 reissue Jazz, as I love the Jazz bass, and it was poor to say the least......Maybe I was just unlucky enough to pick up a bad one? I had gone there with the funds to buy as well, had it been "the one". I tried quite a few £2k plus basses when I eventually bought the Vigier, and I didn't find myself thinking "that's wrong with it, this is wrong with it" at all. It was a straight forward choice of which one I liked the most.

OOOH, that's lurvly

Merci Monsieur! 80 basses? Wow!! This Arpege has a lovely neck. The width, and profile is just right for me, and it makes it really easy to play. Can't help but keep picking it up to have a play on. Really, really happy with this one. Definately a keeper.

You still have a mighty, and fine collection of basses though Dave There's always GAS to spur you on, and find another though!

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1321804519' post='1443189'] I regularly go to shops and leave feeling a bit disappointed. Take Guitar Guitar Newcastle, for instance. They've got loads of basses, most middle of the road Fender and Lakland. I'd rarely bother playing a Fender and having tried some of their Lakland stock, I found that very bland too. The most fun I've had there was testing out amps with my old Kubicki, #1659! It's just down to what you're into, I suppose. I like high end, boutique stuff. Something thats a bit interesting. I'd much rather have one or two nice basses than a larger collection of less interesting instruments. I think the care the instrument has received also plays a part too. When I got my Zon from Retroman, he had set it up very well for me, and it was a pleasure getting a bass from someone with a real passion for them, as opposed to getting one 'off the rack' and thinking "yeah, I suppose this is good enough, I'll take it". Similarly, when I went to see Warwickhunt to get my Streamer, we chatted on for ages about the basses and that sort of thing. I think you can be quite inspired by someone elses passion for a bass, whereas going into a shop and looking at a rack of bland P and J clones can be fatiguing through their banality. I expect if I went to Bass Direct or something like that, that caters for tastes like mine, I'd leave thinking "what a great shop!". [/quote] Thanks Chris You've pretty squarely hit the nail on the head for me. I had a great afternoon when I bought the Marshall off a fellow BC'er, chatting about gear and stuff. Bass Direct is a great place - you would be like a kid in a sweet shop in there! Well worth the trip out

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1321731176' post='1442599'] Nothing to really worry about. All that's happened is that you have out-grown the rather limited choice most musical instrument shops have. [/quote] + another 1.... Very recently in the market for another 5 string, and thought I would give the fairly local places a go.......Complete waste of time, and wish I had saved the petrol. Walls full of top of the range Fender and Gibson guitars, then a few stagg, and bottom of the range Ibanez covered in dust, stuck in a gloomy corner was about the norm for the basses. The choices for bass string is not much better either to be honest. Thinking that I have completely out grown them to be honest, which is a shame, as I like to try and support local businesses, but I have also noticed that none of them have anyone working in there who plays bass. Even had one guy tell me that [b]ALL[/b] basses are supposed to play with a high action! Get the impression from some of them that if it isn't Fender/Gibson/Rotosound/Ernie Ball Slinky's, it doesn't exist. From now on, it's online for the strings, and Basschat market place, or a trip to Warwick for everything else But genuinely quite saddened by the situation. Even a big shop, that used to have a good bass selection has gone down hill in recent times

Looking good

Hmmm, loving that EB2