Chris2112

Ring the shop and get it taken off sale. They'll hold it until the police go and seize it and it can then be returned to you. I used to be on very good terms with the Cash Converters on my old beat. There were never any issues seizing stolen goods but they wouldn't return anything reported as stolen without my permission (I guess that was company policy). If it was bulky stuff I could arrange for the owner to collect it from them despite it technically being seized. They were always good with the CCTV of the dodgy gear being traded in, they could pull up their invoice and find the footage from the time on their record, and they'd always give a statement to ID the 'seller'. Despite their poor reputation they helped me to get thousands of pounds worth of nicked gear back to the rightful owners.

In fairness to Janek, he may be trying to make money through YouTube but his latest video, about a few items of gear that would be very useful to every bassist, is genuinely worth a watch and very interesting. If he is going to make more quality content, great! I've subscribed and I hope he can do well off his efforts.

It's a fair comment and it didn't start with Janek and Matt either. There is a trend in the bass world which has grown over the last few years with some builders where any Tom, Richard or Harry ordering a custom bass seems able to put their name on it and call it their signature bass. It's a little bit cringe to me, like they're buying the dream of being a big name without actually being so. I feel like there must be a distinction somewhere between genuine signature models and some guy just getting his name on it because he paid big bucks for it. Fodera were ahead of the game on this. They gave signature models to friends and local players. Remember the Lincoln Goines signature? He is a good player but I would never have heard of him were it not for his name being on the Fodera website. Again, I'm not saying that you have to be Geddy Lee before you get a signature bass but it has to have some authenticity, as in an actual demand for it.

Here's hoping you get the refund and can put this whole episode behind you. It seems with shipping you really do deal with the luck of the draw. I was on a bass-related Facebook group the other day seeing that a guy in California had taken delivery of a bass sent from the UK. This bass was an Explorer shape, making it even more likely to sustain damage due to it's slabby body, flat edged and pointed extremities. The instrument was sent in a measley sheet of bubble wrap and a weird assortment of small boxes which had been cut and taped to form a bizarre outer layer (which looked to have absolutely no rigidity at all). It was without a doubt one of the worst packing jobs I'd ever seen. Amazingly, the bass made it the whole way unscathed. It looked to me like it would have been in bits before it even left the UK. You can only cross your fingers and hope when a bass is being sent by post but bit of effort with some proper packaging does go a long way.

Yes, Pino has sold a number of basses through the Gallery and they too have sold for some high prices. The only remarkable one being a Status Series II fretless with a single pickup. John did say they'd also sold Pino's #2 Stingray fretless, which he had kept as a backup since the 80's. But yes, I found the prices quite crazy for those guys, but they evidently sold for a number the owners were happy with. For £15,000 I'd want a bass that could make me sound like Jeff Berlin, Alain Caron and Yoshihiro Naruse all at once 😂😂😂

That was John Edwards' personal bass, though.

Disappointing to hear of Matt Garrison going on like that. It is unusual that round about the time he was being critical of Janek was around the same sort of time as he pretty much disappeared from the bass scene. Before that he had seemed pretty busy and got some decent parts, and everyone was talking about the 'Matt Garrison' right hand technique. Perhaps he had some sort of an episode then, he's only 52 now so it effectively seems like he jacked in aged 40.

This sounds like a right shitshow. I'm surprised you haven't been put off the bass just by the grief it's caused so far.

Yes, we went over that going to the train station. Utterly bizarre.

It's not a bad deal but the Spoiler is a 'lower end' Alembic and like most Alembics, can be surprisingly heavy. Some people just don't get on with Alembics and their unique ergonomics. You do occasionally find the lower end Alembics changing hands for a lot less than the usual asking prices as they aren't in short supply. Worth giving it a shot though, I like them.

Yes, it's full of shite these days. Nothing newsworthy for years now. Having just returned to the area after a trip to Hemel Hempstead and and London last week, I still regard Newcastle as a bit of a dump but still a decent place, about as good as it gets the in the UK. I was glad to be back.

I've lived in Wylam for nearly fifteen years now. Who pays for that printed village newsletter that comes through the door? I've often wondered. Funny as I grew up in North Tyneside/Newcastle but had never heard of Wylam until I was about 18. Most of the people I work with think I live somewhere near the moon as they've never heard of it either.

I'd say that like most American Peavey basses, these are underrated, but that wouldn't be the case. Have a read anywhere on the internet and you'll quickly see that these are very highly regarded, high quality instruments. Rudy Sarzo may be a slightly obscure player, being always in work but hardly remarkable, but these basses have stood the test of time and garnered a good rep over the years.

In terms of flexibility I think a pickup just slightly forward of the bridge position (by maybe 1mm or so) would be best. If you want that 'amp in another room down the hallway' vibe you can either pluck nearer the neck or put a pillow in front of your amp. You can always soften/deaden the sound of a bass with just a bridge pickup but you can never get that great tone on a bass with just a neck pickup.

At Talkbass they called that sort of a mod a 'tweaker special'. I wonder if they still do or if they're still allowed.

Twice I've been stung with this sort of thing thing year. In the first instance I had ordered a PlayStation 5. The order was placed but no delivery ETA was given as one would be sent when they came back in stock. I I realised whilst away on holiday with my family that my PlayStation 5 was going to be delivered and I wouldn't be home to receive it. I used online form on the courier's website to request the delivery be cancelled and delayed by a couple of days so that the item would arrive when I was at home. I was told that this had been done but then received a delivery receipt, much to my surprise. I came home to find my brand new PlayStation 5 tucked away on my driveway. It had been out there for over 24 hours. Luckily it didn't rain and it didn't get wet. I still wasn't happy. Another occasion I had another expensive item delivered by Amazon. It didn't come when it was supposed to so I checked the website to find out that it had apparently been delivered. However, It said it had gone to another address. There was no name given and the signature was just a squiggle. Check with all my neighbours. None of them had it and they started to think that the item had probably been stolen or chucked away by the driver. However, later turned out that it has been stuffed in some bushes in my neighbor's garden.

I'm the same. In terms of looks and tone, the Bongo is the best bass EBMM make. It needs a headstock though. I mean, I know comments were pruned from another thread but come on, seriously? 🤣🤣🤣

I still see a lot of the shonky looking crap this guy is peddling over the net. I always remember this thread. That bridge, Jesus wept...

Where did you get that Dolphin though, that's what I want to know.

I do like how ramps help you fingers to 'float' over the strings. It's a simple concept that has quite a dramatic effect on playing. They'd be useful for some players who dig in a lot without meaning to and waste a lot of energy doing so. That and the last time I played a bass with a ramp fitted, the strings would hit it when slapping (it was matched to the pickups but just slightly taller). I've never felt the need to fit one myself.

Pretty much, yeah. I'll admit that I was quite surprised by the price. Moreso than that price (the highest I've seen for a Wal without say, a Live Aid connection), I really just wanted to get across how cool The Gallery is and what a sound dude John Chapman is. I didn't want to pick anything up for fear I'd end up buying it, but they have a Streamer Stage I and an NT Thumb in which were both very reasonably priced, I thought. On top of that, I do really need to get a Sei but I'm yet to start GAS'ing hard after getting my Basslab last year. So far I'm mainly thinking about getting another Basslab!

These look better as a headed bass. Like, a million times better.

Sell it/send it to me and I'll make sure it gets played 🤣

I don't know as I never weigh my basses (I don't have any back issues and I'm fit and healthy). It will be over 5kg though, maple is heavy.

The neck is just great. It's sizeable but very fast and smooth. I love a finished neck but the finish has to be very smooth otherwise they can start to feel a bit tackey. The Spector is great. I'm not usually too fussed about neck specs as I can get on with most things but the Spector is just great for me. Most people would say it's closer to a P than a J, and definitely on the fatter side as far as necks go.