So I just got back from the London Bass show..
 

and it was AWESOME!

There were many booths i enjoyed, such as markbass, elixir, spector, and status, and it was great to try so many basses.

I also saw performances from Yolanda Charles and Jaw Wobble, and masterclasses from Andy Irvine and Guy Pratt. Guy Pratt's class had me crying with laughter, and I learned a bunch from Andy Irvine.

Anyway, back to basses. I played a ritter, a fodera, a vintage, a pedulla, a hofner, a spector, a status and a kala. Of course there were many other basses, both there on behalf of the makers and distributors, including rob allen, skjold, MTD non-usa, Carvin, Music man, fender, G and L, MLP, and many others.

Out of everything I played/saw, Status owned the show. I had the chance to play a Paramatrix kingbass with a zebrano top, which was FANTASTIC. The action was superbly low, and the mix of the thin body and the headless design made it super comfortable. The preamp is complex, but a status booth worker explained it to me, and then it felt like I had every tone, ever (I'm only half kidding). The other thing that caused them to blow everyone else out of the water was the 14 30th anniversary series 2 basses that they brought. Each one had a different wood, and all had the neck-through graphite with bridge tuning. They were perfectly put together, and there will only be 14, ever, which makes me sad, as they were being sold for 5,995 each. So, I left without one, and there was already 2 sold by the end of today. so I doubt by the time I have 6000 quid (10 years from now :( ) they will be available.

So, all in all, for basses, status win.

Now on to amps/pedals.

I saw and heard many amps, such as ashdown, aguilar, markbass, fender, GK, TC, and more. I wasnt really paying too much attention to what i was hearing from the amps, but whenever I did listen, TC electronic and markbass sounded the best to me. I won't go into too much detail into amps, since this is the bass sub-forum, but those 2 companies were the best to my ears, with the markbass graphic EQ pedal being my favorite pedal.

If you are in london, i recommend that you come see this show! it is at the Olympia and you can buy tickets at the door (i think). I had so much fun playing all this gear and seeing some great performances!

Great info what's the number one bass in England?

To me, it has to be that status. But there was so much high end gear that everything was nice sounding!

Sounds good! :hyper: I wish I could go to Musikmesse one day. Unfortunatly, it's not for public :(

It is for public just one day though.. So you know.

Really? I send a email 2 years ago, regarding that, and they said it was only for people that worked for distribution centres, music stores and artists...

Saturday for consumers and musiclovers it says.

http://musik.messefrankfurt.com/fran...tbesucher.html

I also have been there but some years ago and do not own a shop or music store.. So...
:)

Cool! :hyper:

Attachment 321793Had a fantastic day hanging there today representing the fret-king and vintage basses. Thoroughly enjoyable experience. Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow. If anyone from the forum is coming, stop by and say hi. I'm the diminutive heavy metal hippie type dude. Attachment 321794

you were the guy at at the JHS booth? I was the kid who played that jaco-style fretless from vintage, and my teacher talked about the Italia basses. anyway, the whole show was super fun!

It was great to meet you sir. If you need to know anything more about the basses, just drop me a line. I don't work for em I just love em

You are wrong I'm afraid Mr Music and Brams. This is a two day show running over this weekend and it is not a trade show. It is mainly sponsored by the UK's Bass Guitarist magazine and is definitely aimed at the general public.

I had hoped to get along there to see some ACG basses in the flesh - I have two of their preamps and if they're anything to go by the basses themselves must be awesome. I also wanted to check out the Status stand and some of the masterclasses. Unfortunately some pressing family matters got in the way.

As to the "what is the top bass in the UK" question, it's difficult to say. If you mean by sales volume then I guess it has to be Fenders or their clones. We get pretty much all the same stuff that has worldwide distribution so very similar to the US I would think. If you're talking quality stuff that is made in the UK then we have some very talented small scale manufacturers (relative to the big F that is) such as Status and Overwater and a host of superb boutique makers such as Sei, ACG, Manson, Enfield, GB and some that I can't recall right now. We're not starved of quality basses.

Lest we forget...Wal!

England??? I hope you mean the UK :p

More than likely the same as yourselves, Fender P or Jazz.
But you guys and gals get a so much better deal on your basses. The price of new basses is shocking and if we could find a way round the import tax and the vat, we would be buying from US stores.

I've got a status empathy made in 99, and it's stunning. I've never heard or played any other bass quite like it, and I also own a ken smith, modulus, and a Kubicki. Just something very unique and amazing about the tone and playability. Very warm tone also. I plan on buying another status this yr.

Yeah...I'm sort of thinking about going for a fretless status neck replacement on my stingray but I'm so In love with the fretted neck and the smoothed down fretwork ....it's a tough call.

Yeah but they weren't talking about the UK bass show, not unless its known as Musikmesse ;-)

Fodera Monarch Deluxe with that amazing heel joint was the best bass I played. The Roscoe Signature Century getting the silver medal. War wicks were over priced and Fender stand very spartan...I liked their amps more than their few basses on display.

The best way I've found to get round the import tax is to buy British. Scottish, specifically. :)

My favourite pic from the show - a wall of Ritters!



With a couple of Foderas thrown in for good measure :)