AlanJ Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Hi all I just thought I’d share some of my very recent experience with Rattle and Drum in Derby. I recently bought a nice G&L L2000 (USA) from them, and I am enjoying it very much so far – it plays beautifully, and has a fabulous sound. Well, a lot of fabulous sounds actually, with its wide range on tone-varying switches and pots. Anyway, I’ll maybe write a full review another time, back to Rattle and Drum... In the first week of using my new bass, I noticed that there was a bit of noise from the jack socket when knocking the lead, so called the shop, and they said to bring it in. I figured I’d take my other two basses in for a bit of work too, as they both had crackly pots. During the week, I called the shop a couple of times, to see how things were progressing. The first time I spoke to the chap doing the repairs, and he said that the other two basses were done and all was fine – they’d only cost a £10 each as no parts had been necessary. Now he was just waiting for a replacement jack socket to be delivered for the G&L. The second call was quite funny. I spoke to a different chap this time, and the conversation went something like this: [i]<me>[/i] Hi, I’m calling to see how things are going with my bass guitars, which are in for some repairs [i]<shop chap>[/i] Hi, I’ll just go and find out for you ... [pause] [i]<stranger>[/i] YO! [i]<me>[/i] Hello? [i]<stranger>[/i] YO! [i]<me>[/i] Hello?! [i]<stranger>[/i] Oh, sorry, were you on hold? [i]<me>[/i] Yes. [i]<stranger>[/i] Oh, sorry about that, let me just ... [i]<shop chap>[/i] Hi, sorry about that, I just picked up the phone as someone else ... and ... uh, I’ve had a look and we’ve done some reorganising of the back room so that your instruments don’t get damaged because ... uh ... we look after people’s things ... and ... uh ... the guy who does our repairs isn’t in today, and what needed doing to the basses? [i]<me>[/i] Well I was told a couple of days ago that two of them were done already, and that he was just waiting for a jack socket to be delivered so he could do the third [i]<shop chap>[/i] Ah, well we’ve definitely not had a jack socket delivered, because it would have come in the post and it would have been in a jiffy bag and I would have seen it, so it’s definitely not here yet. But you’re best speaking to the repair guy, and he’s back in on Friday. [i]<me>[/i] Right, ok, I’ll call back tomorrow. [i]<shop chap>[/i] Well, he won’t be back in till Friday [i]<me>[/i] Tomorrow is Friday. [i]<shop chap>[/i] Is it?! [i]<me>[/i] You don’t know what day it is. Right. Is there anyone else I can talk to? [i]<shop chap>[/i] Well, uh, ok, but they won’t know any more than I do, but ok I’ll go and find someone... [pause] [i]<shop chap #2>[/i] Hi, can I help? [i]<me>[/i] Yes, sorry, the last chap didn’t know what day it was. Anyway, I was just wondering what stage things were at with my basses that are in for repair. [i]<shop chap #2>[/i] Which basses are those? [i]<me>[/i] The L2000 I bought last week, a Status 6-string, and an Ibanez 5... [i]<shop chap #2>[/i] Oh yes, I remember you – and we were waiting for a jack socket weren’t we? Well it’s not come in yet, but we’re still waiting. It’s definitely not in yet. It’s been ordered though, I know that. In fact, I can see the invoice on the desk in front of me ... which means that it’s been delivered. We’ve got the jack socket, that’s definitely arrived, but I’m not sure whether it’s been fitted yet... Anyway, in the end I spoke to the repair chap the next day, and picked my basses up the day after. I got charged £50 for the 3 basses. This seemed a little more than I was anticipating, but I stuck to my cultural stereotype and didn’t make a fuss. And to be fair, the basses were all well repaired, and I was mostly just pleased to have them all back with clean pots, and a new jack socket of course. I don’t have any point to this little tale, I just thought that phone conversation was funny. Ho hum, back to Monday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 "You dont know what day it is" ROFL - priceless, what a c**k! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Haha, classic Derby! They're nice guys, a bit dippy sometimes though. £50 sounds fair for a jack socket replacement and cleaning up the pots on a couple of other basses to me. Last time I had a repair done, the guy quoted me £40 an hour just in labour (not at R&D I should add). I'm not a regular there though, I've just bought a few bits and bobs whilst passing through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJ Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1337608016' post='1662648'] Haha, classic Derby! [/quote] Yeah, made me laugh [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1337608016' post='1662648'] ...£50 sounds fair... [/quote] Yeah, wasn't meaning to complain really, I just didn't know how much it would cost beforehand, so thought I'd include it so that anyone else reading would have a bit of an idea what this type of work costs. I've bought a couple of basses, an amp, and various other odds and ends from them, and always been happy enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I've bought a lot of stuff off them over the years. I've always found them obliging, knowledgeable and they always seem to have a massive stock for a small town in the doldrums. But, following my own personal experience, I don't take stuff there to be repaired or set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethfriend Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 sounds about right. They are a decent bunch in there though to be fair, considering buying my next bass from there, for a real world shop I have found them to compete reasonably well with web prices on new stuff compared to many shops. No experience of their repair tech though as anything I can't do myself goes to a luthier in Leicester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='garethfriend' timestamp='1337624719' post='1663046'] sounds about right. They are a decent bunch in there though to be fair, considering buying my next bass from there, for a real world shop I have found them to compete reasonably well with web prices on new stuff compared to many shops. No experience of their repair tech though as anything I can't do myself goes to a[b] luthier in Leicester[/b]. [/quote] Hey Gareth is that [url="http://www.leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/index.html"]http://www.leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/index.html[/url] out at Thringstone? I've found them to be a top quality outfit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJ Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='garethfriend' timestamp='1337624719' post='1663046'] They are a decent bunch in there though to be fair [/quote] Absolutely, couldn't agree more I've noticed another thread or two on these here forums about music shops making a fuss about people trying instruments out etc. That's something I've certainly not found with R&D - they've always been very willing to let me have a go with any of the kit, and even leave me in peace while I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='AlanJ' timestamp='1337630706' post='1663234'] Absolutely, couldn't agree more I've noticed another thread or two on these here forums about music shops making a fuss about people trying instruments out etc. That's something I've certainly not found with R&D - they've always been very willing to let me have a go with any of the kit, and even leave me in peace while I do. [/quote] Yes, that's true. I've found that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethfriend Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1337625058' post='1663053'] Hey Gareth is that [url="http://www.leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/index.html"]http://www.leicester...o.uk/index.html[/url] out at Thringstone? I've found them to be a top quality outfit. [/quote] That's the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 [quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1337625058' post='1663053'] Hey Gareth is that [url="http://www.leicestershire-luthier.co.uk/index.html"]http://www.leicester...o.uk/index.html[/url] out at Thringstone? I've found them to be a top quality outfit. [/quote] Be VERY careful about going to him. He seems like a good luthier but I took a Thumb BO5 to him once and he took more than one liberty with it. All he was meant to do was to fix a warp in the neck, he did a great job of that, I wasn't impressed when I looked the bass over and realised he'd damaged the nut (he'd broken the tabs off the just-a-nut) and neglected to tell me. He also told me after that he'd drilled holes in the nut/neck to help the nut stay in position (not at all needed and drilling holes in my bass without my permission pissed me off to say the least) and he'd done various other things too, most of which I forget now. He also fed me a load of crap about cracks in the grain on the body and neck and started quoting me prices for that, I don't him not to do anything with that as I couldn't afford it and I thought it was just the grains met at the joint anyway. Regardless he went ahead and did that against my instruction (though he didn't charge for it). He did a wonderful job with the neck but I'd never use someone who thinks it's ok to drill holes in an instrument worth thousands of pounds without even letting me know, never mind asking permission. He said he did about £200 woth of work and "only" charged for £100, I had to bite my lip to stop pointing out that I should be charging him for irreversably and intentionally damaging an expensive instrument. In fairness, he did offer to replace the nut at his own expense, but he'd already had the bass a fair bit longer than he'd originally told me and after he'd already messed with it in ways I didn't want him to, I was worried he might get itchy fingers and end up cutting off the horn to improve the weight or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Wow Thom, that doesn't sound good at all. I've been happy so far with what he's done with my admitedly bog-standard Fenders. Food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkpegasus4001 Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I've not been in there for a few years, that say's a lot I guess...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattpbass Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Hi Guys I'm Shop Chap #2 in the first post of this thread, I'm Matt, one of the owners of Rattle & Drum, and a fellow bass player. Always interesting to hear people's view of us. Obviously we don't come across that brilliantly in this instance, which of course is disappointing to you the customer, and to me, a business owner. Like all businesses, our main issue internally is usually communication related - Andy our repair guy had done all the things we were supposed to do, it's just that the rest of us didn't have the information to hand. This is something we are very conscious of and are working hard to try to address. The slightly confused nature of the conversations is probably just us spinning our wheels and being on the back foot because we don't have the information to hand. Not much I can say about this other than we are real people too, and sometimes we don't get it right. I can assure you everyone who works at Rattle & Drum cares about doing a good job, and is upset if we let someone down. It's encouraging to read that in general those of you who've been in think we're doing alright! It's not an easy industry to be in at the moment and we know the only way shops like us will exist in future is by providing a good level of service along with a great range and competitive prices too! We're trying to do that now, and we are always working on doing it better. Anyway, I hope the above shows that if nothing else we take criticism seriously and we care about doing a good job. While I'm here, I'd be very interested in you guys' thoughts on amps - Ashdown is our main amp brand right now, along with a few other bits and bobs. If we were to add a second brand in depth what would you like to see? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethfriend Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 [quote name='Rattle&Drum' timestamp='1337808709' post='1665940'] While I'm here, I'd be very interested in you guys' thoughts on amps - Ashdown is our main amp brand right now, along with a few other bits and bobs. If we were to add a second brand in depth what would you like to see? [/quote] Last time I was looking at amps I was really interested in Hartke stuff but couldn't find anyone even a remotely sensible drive away with anything other than the budget combos in stock. I heard a while ago you were due to start stocking ampeg stuff, what happened there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattpbass Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Ampeg is the one we are most likely to go for, the main thing delaying it has been space, too much gear in the shop! Hartke is definitely another one we are considering though. Would be great to be able to go for both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I spoke to you guys a while ago (Thom from James Warner Prophecies) and you were talking about getting GKs in stock, that'd still be good, they're great amps and could use a bit of a profile raise. There's a lot of good amps out there for all budgets, it's not very inspiring to see Ashdowns (which I'm personally not a fan of) in every shop. As Gareth pointed out, Hartke are a good one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattpbass Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 GK is another one we are looking at, we get the odd bit through second hand and I've always found them to be well built and great sounding amps. If I have any criticism of them it's that it's that they're one of the few amp ranges where you can look at the controls and not have a clue what half of them do! There are lots of reasons why Ashdown are so prevalent, and much of it stems from being a British based company. They give a great deal of support to dealers and their customer service to the end user has also been exemplary whenever we've called on them (which is not often considering the amount we sell). I also think their range is sensible - the reality is that the vast majority of the bass amps that get sold are at the lower end of things (hoho) and they do this well. Personally I've used the ABM stuff for the past 10years and really like it, but I like a warm old school sound, I can see if you want something more modern and precise they might not float your boat, so the new brand needs to compliment that rather than compete, and I think both GK and Hartke would do that. What's the general consensus on Ampeg these days? Anyone tried the portaflex stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 If you want mate, I'll pop along sometime with my two heads and I can explain the controls. The RB and MB ranges are the most popular so they'll be relevant for most of the amps. I understand Ashdown's popularity, they're decent amps for the price (I've even recommended them myself in the past despite not liking them) and as you say, they do lots of budget amps and their CS is good. I'm just not a fan and with them being everywhere, I doubt people would travel to Derby for them like they might for rarer amps like GK and Hartke if they were in stock. Whenever I suggest GKs to people their biggest problem is finding somewhere to try them, somewhere right in the middle of the country that's 15 minutes from the M1 could be handy for a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megallica Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Welcome to the boards Matt - nice to have a shop owner taking customer comments onboard regarding stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethfriend Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1337858799' post='1666443'] Whenever I suggest GKs to people their biggest problem is finding somewhere to try them [/quote] yeah, that's another brand I was looking at but wrote off for that very reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lizard Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Good to see so many Derby heads on here! I often go to Rattle and Drum for my basses / bits, good shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattpbass Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1337858799' post='1666443'] If you want mate, I'll pop along sometime with my two heads and I can explain the controls. The RB and MB ranges are the most popular so they'll be relevant for most of the amps. I understand Ashdown's popularity, they're decent amps for the price (I've even recommended them myself in the past despite not liking them) and as you say, they do lots of budget amps and their CS is good. I'm just not a fan and with them being everywhere, I doubt people would travel to Derby for them like they might for rarer amps like GK and Hartke if they were in stock. Whenever I suggest GKs to people their biggest problem is finding somewhere to try them, somewhere right in the middle of the country that's 15 minutes from the M1 could be handy for a lot of people. [/quote] I might well take you up on that at some point, cheers for the offer! Do you know who the distributor is for GK in the UK? Off the top of my head I don't think it's anyone we deal with at the moment. Thanks for the welcomes guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Polar Audio in West Sussex. http://www.polaraudio.co.uk/ Welcome, Matt! I hope you'll both enjoy and be able to exchange thoughts with bassists here. Great start! best, bert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 [quote name='Rattle&Drum' timestamp='1337870921' post='1666762'] I might well take you up on that at some point, cheers for the offer! Do you know who the distributor is for GK in the UK? Off the top of my head I don't think it's anyone we deal with at the moment. Thanks for the welcomes guys! [/quote] Cool, just chuck me a message on here if you want to sort something out. As Bert said, it's Polar Audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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