jackhammer Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Nothing really round my area, I took a drive up to andertons last week, but theyre bass room is quite small, is there any dedicated shops for bass players? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisthebass Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 The Gallery in Camden or Bass Gear in Twyford would probably be the nearest bass shops to you if you're driving, or commuting by train. I've yet to visit Bass Gear (am planning to do that in the next week or so). I've visited The Gallery a couple of times - has a lot of gear (it looks like it's shut, but just ring the buzzer to gain access). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 [url=http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Home.html]Bass Direct[/url] [url=http://www.thebassgallery.com/]The Gallery[/url] [url=http://www.bassgear.co.uk/]Bass Gear[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1335215113' post='1627536'] [url=http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Home.html]Bass Direct[/url] [url=http://www.thebassgallery.com/]The Gallery[/url] [url=http://www.bassgear.co.uk/]Bass Gear[/url] [/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 [u]And:[/u] [u][u][url="http://www.bassmerchant.com/"]http://www.bassmerchant.com/[/url][/u][/u] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Another +1 for Bass Direct, worth a trip all the way from Brighton, so you've no excuses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPH Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you have a pmt near you they are worth a visit. sell all instruments but have a great selection of basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Howard's Bass Place was the best. Everyone who has been there would attest to it. Good old Howard and Surly Pete behind the desk, always something interest in stock and playing something for as long as you liked was never an issue. It was a social venue as much as a shop and I met many great players there (Mark Palmer being one, fantastic playing). I remember going there with a mate from down South, and he was amazed by the place as they had nothing like that where he was from. I was at the height of an obsession with Stanley Clarke and he was madly into Jaco at the time. We just grabbed a couple of basses and ended up jamming for ages, trading licks and solos. He had this awesome phrasing going on, so I was countering with light, percussive Stan' style slap and pop and fast fingerstyle soloing with big intervallic gaps! Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Nothing doing 'round here. it's all guitars, guitars, guitars... "oh, we've got a bass somewhere, you can run it through this [i]stagg[/i] guitar amp". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobzilla Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Bass centre? I went there years ago when it was in a cavern outside Wapping tube station, and it seemed really nice and friendly. Then they got sold, and moved to back end of Liverpool Street, and I felt really self conscious round there. There was some Basstech kid in there playing Jaco tunes (Porttrait of Tracy if I remember right) and it just felt wrong. Anyone else have any thoughts on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 [quote name='Bobzilla' timestamp='1335357820' post='1629760'] Bass centre? I went there years ago when it was in a cavern outside Wapping tube station, and it seemed really nice and friendly. Then they got sold, and moved to back end of Liverpool Street, and I felt really self conscious round there. There was some Basstech kid in there playing Jaco tunes (Porttrait of Tracy if I remember right) and it just felt wrong. Anyone else have any thoughts on them? [/quote] They've been rubbish since they moved from Wapping, which is why they weren't included in my original post. Also IIRC they are an internet only business these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Another +1 for Bass Direct from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I used to work on Liverpool St. so would visit the Bass Centre the odd lunchtime. I bought a pedal on impulse, then discovered it was 40% cheaper from most other places (my own stupid fault). Once, I detected a condescending, almost sneering attutide when asking about appropriate cabs, purely because I had the gaul to want one which both sounded [i]and[/i] looked nice. I got my bass 'serviced' there once too (setup, fret dress etc) which seemed fine. It was £100 - no idea if that's good or bad, as I have no frame of reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobzilla Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1335358854' post='1629783'] I got my bass 'serviced' there once too (setup, fret dress etc) which seemed fine. It was £100 - no idea if that's good or bad, as I have no frame of reference. [/quote] Same here - a Fender P-Bass Lyte Deluxe. I went there because I presumed they knew what they were doing. When I got it back, it didn't quite feel as good as when I sent it in, but presumed that the set-up was good because they were a professional outfit with professional techs. I have now re-set it to something that feels right for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) I have to vote for BassGear - not least because I quite often cover the showroom if Phil isn't around (it's only 20 mins from my house). In fact I'll be 'minding the store' tomorrow Phil, the owner, tries to make people feel at home and is always on hand with tea and coffee and words of advice. I've known people spend 3-4 hours trying out basses and amps with nothing but encouragement from Phil to make sure they are really happy about any prospective purchase He's also enlisted the help of young bassist Vic Davies for a day or so a week and he's always full of enthusiasm too. As well as this he has a sponsorship type deal with Tom Kent who's just graduated from ACM and has been supported by supplying some great basses for him to use on live gigs, sessions and tours One of the things I really like is that most of the stock is only available from BassGear as Phil has exclusive deals with people like Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, Ritter etc. Plus he's always bringing in new stock like the range of Wood & Tronics bolt ons and I hear no less than 4 F Basses are heading over soon. It's great that there are always some of these in stock for people to actually play rather than listening to sound clips an reading about them on TalkBass I think it's good that he's able to set up masterclass sessions too. I know he's had Joe Zon with Michael Manring & Jens Ritter so far and has one coming up with Enrico Passini from Wood & Tronics with Alex Lofoco playing. These things take a lot of organising, not least because they all involve overseas suppliers. So, I will be in 'kid in a candy shop' mode again tomorrow if anyone fancies popping over Edited April 25, 2012 by molan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I love what Bass Direct are doing. Phil is a great guy and I wouldnt hesitate to recomend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 [quote name='geoffbassist' timestamp='1335370925' post='1630096'] I love what Bass Direct are doing. Phil is a great guy and I wouldnt hesitate to recomend them. [/quote] Getting a bit confused Geoff Bass Direct is Mark's business whilst BassGear is Phil's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platypus Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Just to echo Molan's comments above, I was over Reading way yesterday, with a bit of time on my hands and called into BassGear. It was great to meet Phil again, in a less manic environment than a bass show! He has some lovely basses in stock and plans to bring in quite a few more very soon. I opted to plug into an Aguilar rig - Tonehammer and 2 x SL112 cabs - Phil brought me a coffee and while he busied himself taking photo's of gear for the website, I tried out some excellent basses. I didn't buy anything yesterday, though have a feeling I'll be back soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Thudmaster May Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 [b]Got to be Mark Skitchley and Bass Direct![/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Try living in Cornwall , bugger all down here ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Have had excellent experiences with bass direct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) [quote name='molan' timestamp='1335386602' post='1630429'] Getting a bit confused Geoff Bass Direct is Mark's business whilst BassGear is Phil's [/quote] ....it seems I was pretty confused! :-) I ment Bassgear but I've heard great stuff about Bassdirect. Edited April 29, 2012 by geoffbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisthebass Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) [quote name='molan' timestamp='1335364014' post='1629900'] I have to vote for BassGear - not least because I quite often cover the showroom if Phil isn't around (it's only 20 mins from my house). In fact I'll be 'minding the store' tomorrow Phil, the owner, tries to make people feel at home and is always on hand with tea and coffee and words of advice. I've known people spend 3-4 hours trying out basses and amps with nothing but encouragement from Phil to make sure they are really happy about any prospective purchase He's also enlisted the help of young bassist Vic Davies for a day or so a week and he's always full of enthusiasm too. As well as this he has a sponsorship type deal with Tom Kent who's just graduated from ACM and has been supported by supplying some great basses for him to use on live gigs, sessions and tours One of the things I really like is that most of the stock is only available from BassGear as Phil has exclusive deals with people like Fodera, Alleva Coppolo, Ritter etc. Plus he's always bringing in new stock like the range of Wood & Tronics bolt ons and I hear no less than 4 F Basses are heading over soon. It's great that there are always some of these in stock for people to actually play rather than listening to sound clips an reading about them on TalkBass I think it's good that he's able to set up masterclass sessions too. I know he's had Joe Zon with Michael Manring & Jens Ritter so far and has one coming up with Enrico Passini from Wood & Tronics with Alex Lofoco playing. These things take a lot of organising, not least because they all involve overseas suppliers. So, I will be in 'kid in a candy shop' mode again tomorrow if anyone fancies popping over [/quote] Popped in there today - very nice shop indeed and met Vic - what a thoroughly nice bloke. And I bought an Aggie 500 TH . Edited April 30, 2012 by louisthebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Martin (and the other lads) @ The Bass Gallery in London and Mark @ Bass Direct in Warwick are the only guys I do business with. You won't find better gear or better customer service for a bass player in the UK IMHO. I live in Cardiff, but because my good experiences with both shops over the past several years I will travel to see them. I used to go to the Bass Centre in London when I was a working musician a while back, but they never seem to stock anything I like these days or much of anything at all. They have gone down hill quite a bit which is a real shame. It was an excellent shop once upon a time. In fact...are they still going? I have no idea?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Whilst I haven't ventured to Bass Gear or Bass Direct (both too far for browsing), I think that bass retail has gone steadily downhill since the closure of the (Wapping) Bass Centre. Now that place was something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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