bobpalt

I hope I have got the facts right, although I have a feeling that the passage of time may have "amended" some of the finer details, but a few years ago, I traded in a superb Manson "E" bass that Hugh had made for me, which had inlaid sharks up the fingerboard and had been quite personal to me. Adrian at Mansons was not sure that the bass would sell quickly, due to its uniqueness I guess, but apparently, a guy in the shop was watching as we did the deal, and as soon as I walked out, he bought it! He was delighted with the bass, and took it across the arcade to a cafe, where he either phoned his mate or met him there, I'm not sure. He opened the case to take the bass out to show him, whereupon it fell out onto the concrete floor and snapped the headstock off! He must have been gutted. Anyway, he took it straight back to Mansons for what must have been an expensive repair (the bass was well over £2,000 new), so does this qualify as the quickest ever "trade in/resale/oh bugger" damage? Apologies if I have any of the facts wrong, but thats what I was told happened!

Jimmy closed shop in January. I think the cost and work involved got too much for him. Its a shame, as he was a wonderful guy to buy basses from. I think I bought 4 from him altogether, and a nicer chap you could not find.

The chap who is selling is a BassChatter, and a really nice guy. And the colour is a lot deeper blue/green than it looks! I know, I have just sold one that is exactly the same, and in the flesh, its a beauty (and plays, like all Zons, superbly).

[quote name='minty fresh death' post='128411' date='Jan 26 2008, 07:58 PM']I think they charge over the top for them, a good EB-0 for example is worth about £600 imho. Gibson basses have gotta have a natural finish in my book, but your white eb-3 is really nice [/quote] I imported a new natural SG Supreme (identical to the flamed maple one pictured) a few weeks back, with the intention of using it as my spare bass when gigging, but I cant really get on with the sound. Its so different from my main gigging tool (a Pedula Rapture) that I couldnt swap mid gig without drastic knob twiddlling. I know, I didnt think it through properly. I actually paid £600 for it, including shipping and import taxes, so its yours if you want it for the same price! The only thing I have done to it is fit straplocks. Its absolutely pristine, only played for 15 mins, and I know this post will probably get moved to the "for sale" section, but this thread made me think of selling it to a more appreciative 'chatter than me. Bob

[quote name='Machines' post='106448' date='Dec 19 2007, 12:50 PM']Don't think much of your maths.. 920 it is.[/quote] Ah, thats because I was on page 3 when I posted (D'OH!).

Sorry, forgot 3 new Gibsons! = 395

+17 = 392

[quote name='Machines' post='84139' date='Nov 5 2007, 06:38 PM']Gas for me: Fox bass custom 5 string thingy Skjold '92 (I think) Nordstrand Jazz OLP MM32[/quote] That Skjold bass is mine! Its been for sale for a few weeks on the forum, but I've had absolutely no interest in her. I lent her to Mark from BassDirect to use on his stand at the show, and try to sell if possible. Still waiting to hear if he had any nibbles! She is a beauty, far too good for me to use in my covers band, where things get damaged quite frequently. Cheers, Bob

My biggest disappointment by far was a gorgeous Status Kingbass Artist that I bought second hand from a brilliant bassist who is now, sadly, no longer with us. It had blue leds, light up dolphins on the neck, wonderful colour, sounded great, everything. However, the first night I gigged with it, after about an hour I got awful cramp in my left shoulder, and ended up in agony for the rest of the night. The second time I used it, the same thing happened again, and I realized that the small body was hanging (and I tried every possible permutation of strap length, strap button, etc to stop it, to no avail) so far over to my left, that it was effectively making the neck a couple of inches longer, so I was having to stretch too far for the low notes. I tried e mailing Status a couple of times, not complaining, but asking if they were aware of the problem, and would it be possible for them to build me a brand new, similar bass which would hang better. I liked the instrument so much that I intended to sell mine, and buy a new one which I could comfortably play. However, they didnt reply, so as they werent interested, I took my custom elsewhere. Maybe I am a peculiar shape, but the Kingbass for me was pretty much unplayable. I now gig with a selection of Pedullas and Zons, which are really the bees knees!

The best short scale bass I have ever played, by a huge margin, is my Birdsong Cortobass. Its a 31 1/2" scale handmade (in Texas) passive, with a small body as well as neck, and fits into a Strat sized hardcase. The tone is superb! No one can believe it comes from such a diminutive bass. Weight is less than 7lbs for my poplar bodied example. The buying experience is something else! Scott Beckwith and his wife run the tiny company, and they have had the most unbelievable reviews on Harmony Central (which is why I took a bit of a gamble and bought mine). Their customer service is extraordinary, making the whole experience a pleasure. I cant praise the company or the bass highly enough, and I see a few more are now starting to make it to the UK. Try: www.birdsongguitars.com

Looks like there is to be a happy ending to my problem, and Trace Elliot are doing the decent thing. Whilst they wouldnt agree to swapping the 715X and 2x10 cab for a seperate head, 1x15 and 2x10 cabs, they have agreed to build me a one off, 2x10 715 combo, and swap the 2x10 cab I have for a 1x15. This should be a brilliant solution, allowing the 2x10s to sit on top of the physically deeper 1x15 cab. I did use my current set up at a gig last night, with the 2x10 on the floor, and it really didn't sound right at all, especially on a wobbly stage. Thanks to the designer, Paul, at Trace Elliot for all his help, but of course, it should never have happened in the first place!

[quote name='steve-soar' post='30400' date='Jul 11 2007, 07:29 PM']Hi Bob, I think if you are genuinely not happy you should change them both for seperate amp, 1x15" and 2x10" and see if Trace will not charge you for the extra cost as a good will gesture. Worth a try.[/quote] Good idea! I might well try that and see how I go, thanks.

I know that most cabs tend to be deeper than combos from the same manufacturer, but the thing that peeved me was that the Trace brochure clearly showed that it was possible to stack the cab on top of the combo, which would have made for a lovely, compact stack, but you can't! I thought because it was described as a compact cab, it was, in some way smaller than a normal 2 x 10?

I bought a Trace Elliot 715x combo a few weeks ago, and it really is a super amp. However, I soon realized that to use it to its full potential, I needed to buy another cabinet, and after checking through their sales literature, chose the compact 2 x 10 cab, the 1028H. This is clearly shown stood on top of the 715x amp in the brochure. The cab arrived the day before a gig, so I didnt really check it over, but all seemed well enough. On stage, I went to set up the combo and cab, and to the amusement of my fellow band members, found that the 2 x 10 cab was much deeper than the combo, and despite our best efforts to balance it on top, two of the feet overlapped at the back and it ended up pointing towards the ceiling! The obvious solution was to put the 2 x 10 cab on the floor, and place the narrower combo with the 1 x 15" speaker on top. Physically, this worked fine, but I ended up with all of the percussive higher frequencies being lost at floor level on the stage, and me being blasted by the fifteen inch speaker at ear level. Not good. I advised Peavey/Trace Elliot of the problem, and they seemed genuinely surprised. I was told, very pleasantly and politely, that I was the first person to spot this problem with non-matching sizes, and the picture in the brochure hadnt actually been taken with the cab on top of the combo, otherwise the problem would have been spotted, but had been produced by Photoshop merging two images! I was then referred to Paul, the designer, who again was very helpful, and suggested bringing the combo over to Corby (a three or four hour drive each way) and he would take the amp section out and refix it in a 2 x 10 cabinet, and then presumably change my cab for a 15" version. I hope I understood what he meant! The other solution was to unscrew two of the feet at the rear of the cab, and screw them in further forward, so at least the cab would balance on top of the combo. This I have done, and it now sits on top ok, although there is a substantial overhang at the back, which to be honest looks really naff. If anyone leans on the back, it could well topple over. Although Trace/Peavey have been very responsive, I feel that I really need to draw other bass players to the error in the brochure, which also clearly says that pretty much any combination of cab, amp and combo is possible, which clearly is not the case. The new brochure when it comes out will be amended, but in the meantime, any ideas on what I should do? It looks like I have equipment from2 different product ranges, when I actually went to a lot of trouble and expense to get the best physical and sonic match as I could.

Best of luck to you Mark, with your new venture. As the owner of 2 Skjold basses, one of which is actually shown on Marks web site (the spalted Exotic 4 string), I can only say that anyone trying one will be blown away! They are light, immaculately crafted, perfectly balanced, and sound wicked. I dont think ordering one would be in any way a gamble, as satisfaction is guaranteed! The prices are also reasonable for what is a totally hand made bass to the highest standards. Just have a look.................[attachment=1082:Skjold1.jpg]