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The London Bass Guitar Show 2014


Silvia Bluejay
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I had a great time on the Saturday, spent a lot of time at the Rikker stand, that olive top 5 string was gorgeous. However, waiting for more than 30 minutes for what can only be describes as the worst slapper in the world to f*** off was tedious. Seriously, this was like watching someone hitting a tree with a brick, their thumb moved with all the grace of an asphyxiating fish... It was all I could do not to say to the guy "it's an expensive bass, and glockenklang gear. Can you please F*** OFF?"

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Hey all,

I had a lovely weekend at the bass show - it's one of my favourite bass events in the year, largely because of the group of people it brings together. Getting to hear Lee Sklar would've been worth the cost of entry for the weekend on its own, such an inspiring man and bassist. Was also knocked out by Yolanda Charles and Rob Harris playing drummerless funk on the Elixir stand (who thought that at a bass show the funkiest guy in the room would turn out to be a guitar player? :) )

It was a real joy and a privilege to play, especially with Jon Thorne having agreed to join me (we got it recorded and it'll be coming out soon, as well as more gigs!) thanks so much to those of you who came to listen, and a MASSIVE apology for saying I'd come out and chat straight away afterwards and then disappearing for 45 minutes... I was grabbed back stage (not literally *grabbed*) and taken away for a photoshoot and an interview straight away... sorry if that meant we didn't get to chat. Hopefully it'll happen at a gig somewhere soon :)

My favourite things of the weekend: Lee Sklar, Yolanda, Shuffler, Mo Foster, Frank Bello, Twinscapes (Colin Edwin and Lorenzo Feliciati) and Chloe Treacher/Kat Bax doing a set of vox/2xbass/drums stuff on the Elixir stand. Lovely arrangements.

My only big complaint was the lack of women on the mainstage and masterclass program. Am pretty sure they won't make that mistake again...

I didn't spend that much time on the main show floor, though it was great to see more Americans coming over and backing up their own gear - the Aguilar guys are wonderful, as are Rob Elrick, Sheldon Dingwall, Darryl Anders from MXR (who is also an OUTSTANDING player) and the Fodera guys.

A big thank you to the organisers and the chaps from MSL/Markbass for their logistical help over the weekend - the backstage crew were fantastic - helpful, resourceful and smiley.

Was great to meet some of you from the forum too!

Steve
www.stevelawson.net

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Thanks for this lovely post, Steve. As I mention in my blog, I was at your show but was bombarded by a series of urgent texts and calls and had to leave almost immediately to avoid disturbing the rest of the audience. I'll try again next time you're in town :)

The blog is now published! [url="http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-dQ"]http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-dQ[/url]
I will obviously continue improving it, but this should be more or less what it looks like.
I have lost and/or I mix up in my mind the names of five of you who visited - your photos are numbered in the blog, would you please either reply here or PM me so I can add you to the blog? Apologies for that and thank you in advance - The notes I had taken on a scrap of paper on that Sunday got lost somewhere between Olympia and Chiswick... :rolleyes:

I'm preparing the album with the "extra" photos to publish on Flickr for those of you who aren't bored to death after reading my blog! :D

Thank you all for your patience so far!

Edited by bluejay
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Arghhh!! Don't say that, timmo!!! Damn... I'm gassing now! :gas: :gas: :gas:

Gareth from Hartke, is that you? It was lovely of you to rescue me on the Saturday :) I could have gone on an exhibitor pass from Bass Gear too, but I had bought my normal tickets back in August when we weren't sure if Basschat could be there, so I chose to use them anyway (reselling is prohibited, and the tix have each buyer's data in that QR code anyway).

It was an awesome weekend, and I loved every second of it :)

Edited by bluejay
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[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1394460655' post='2391536']
Thanks for this lovely post, Steve. As I mention in my blog, I was at your show but was bombarded by a series of urgent texts and calls and had to leave almost immediately to avoid disturbing the rest of the audience. I'll try again next time you're in town :)

The blog is now published! [url="http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-dQ"]http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-dQ[/url]
I will obviously continue improving it, but this should be more or less what it looks like.
I have lost and/or I mix up in my mind the names of five of you who visited - your photos are numbered in the blog, would you please either reply here or PM me so I can add you to the blog? Apologies for that and thank you in advance - The notes I had taken on a scrap of paper on that Sunday got lost somewhere between Olympia and Chiswick... :rolleyes:

I'm preparing the album with the "extra" photos to publish on Flickr for those of you who aren't bored to death after reading my blog! :D

Thank you all for your patience so far!
[/quote]

Hey Silvia - I am photo No.2!

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[quote name='HartkeUK' timestamp='1394473988' post='2391701']
Thank you[url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/21258-bluejay/"] bluejay[/url]. Next year give me a shout and I will see if I can sort passes for you so I don't have to sneak you in on somebody else's pass like we did this year.
[/quote]

Nice move by Hartke to arrange for free entry next year...I've no doubt this will lead to a "Life of Brian" moment where "I'm Bluejay...and so's my wife.." ( :laugh1:)( :laugh1:)( :laugh1:)

Edited by TheGreek
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Awesome job, Silvia. It was great to meet you too (I'm the bloke named Marcin on your pic) :) I have tried to chat you up last year at Warwick booth already, but the noise made it impossible back then :)

My impressions: the show felt smaller than last year, quieter too, believe me or not. My highlights: Shuffler's set. I follow those guys since the beginning, been to a few gigs, listen to the album often - great for commuting. Here's a few of my photos that I've taken on two different occasions.
[url="https://www.facebook.com/marcin.bass/media_set?set=a.10200887365324454.1073741826.1174473192&type=3"]https://www.facebook.com/marcin.bass/media_set?set=a.10200887365324454.1073741826.1174473192&type=3[/url]
Forgive the quality, my camera is older than me and doesn't even have a (working) lighmeter, and the films are mostly out of date too...
I only went to one masterclass, Lee Sklar's one. Brilliant. An opportunity to have a brief chat and a photo with him was great as well.
Like many other guys, I enjoyed Yolanda Charles' sets with Rob Harris. Those two musicians are both seriously groovy, and I love the communication between them.
When it comes to gear, I was very much looking forward to Anaconda Basses premiere. Andrew is a friend, I've been visiting him in his studio/workshop since he started, trying out most of the basses he made etc. The show was the first time I saw the J-type inspired basses, as well as 6-string fretted and fretless versions of his primary model Crusher. I am a Jazz Bass player, but the fretted 6 was my favourite, and although I was curious of the Js, I think the streamlined modern versatile beasts are what Andy is best at. I'll order one for sure.

What I pretty much ordered already, was a Maruszczyk bass. I've been watching their clips on youtube for a while now, just to listen to Adrian play. He's such a great bassist. Now, it was the first time I saw his basses in person and WOW. We got along quickly, as we're both Polish (even though I spent half of my life living between the UK and Swiss Alps, and Adrian is in Germany since 1981), we have mutual friends, share some views on the sound and construction of the bass. My first serious bass was made by the very same luthiers who make basses for Maruszczyk now; it's a small family company working since - I think - the 80s in Polish moutains. I was in love with the extremely light (less than 3.5kg or 7lbs) 5-string 24-fret jazz that the guys brought and that will most probably be the base for my custom bass, but with different woods/pickups etc. I'll have to talk to Adrian a few more times and maybe make a trip to try some more basses in a quieter atmosphere.
I enjoyed trying out stuff at Bass Gear, Bass Direct, Andy Baxter etc - there were moments when it was actually possible to get an idea of the sound and playability, and therefore to get a better idea of what I want in my future instruments. A big thank you to those sellers for bringing gear that's otherwise impossible to try. A Fodera is in my future too, and I wouldn't know that if it wasn't for this show.
I hope there will be another one next year, hopefully bigger and with headphones on most stands!

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The first set of "extra" photos is posted!
More shots of Basschatters:
[media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluejay_my_photos/sets/72157642269750404/show/with/13113722125/[/media]
(let's hope Flickr allows the slideshow).
The remaining extra photos are of the stands, and will follow as soon as they are ready :)

Edited by bluejay
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As I mentioned above, I contacted the LBGS organisers via Facebook to let them know our feelings about what could be done better. I have received a reply via personal message from BGM editor and fellow BCer Joel McIver, and he has authorised me to publish it here. It's all good news. :)

[quote]Hi Silvia! I've read all the LBGS posts with interest. Thanks to you and all the members for their feedback. I'll pass the info onto my colleagues at Blaze Publishing, with emphasis on the volume levels and stand placing for next year. I can't guarantee that they'll find workable solutions but at least the issues will be discussed. What I would like you to pass on to the forum is that the show was a bigger success than last year, with ticket sales 30 percent up on the 2013 event. We had fewer exhibitors because of the Birmingham event (without naming names, the clash of dates was absolutely not our fault and will not be allowed to happen again!) and obviously Jack Bruce dropped out at the last minute, so given those facts we're delighted with the way it went and the numbers who came to the show. Thanks for all your support! I can be contacted at [email protected] if anyone wants to raise points me with personally.
[/quote]

I'll dig out that other LBGS post in General Discussion and copy this there too, but ask that replies be posted to this thread.

Edited by bluejay
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I've now finally uploaded 40 extra photos of stands and GAS-inducing gear! :gas: :gas: :gas:
[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluejay_my_photos/sets/72157642582270085/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluejay_my_photos/sets/72157642582270085/[/url]
I've also added this link to the blog entry itself. :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

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