My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal

[el murdoque]

I can imagine a customs officer jamming with your stuff between two stacks of boxes right now, he won't let it go

Can someone from Germany order a cool bass pedal from the UK, please ?

Just to make sure that guy gets a new pedal to play with and eventually releases mine!

 

[el murdoque]

Okay, here's what happened:
The pedal was released by customs, but it was not.
The central place where such things arrive in Germany took hold of it, inspected it, put it aside, inspected it some more at a later time, put it aside, inspected it even more at an even later time and put it aside again.
Then the supervisor came in and yelled a bit because that parcel is still there.
So they figured that they can't figure, and sent it on to the customs office closest to me, which is about half an hour by car. That office received it and drafted a letter. The typewriter ribbon ran dry, so they were forced to use one of these computers people are crazy about these days. No idea what all the rage is about with those clunky machines, what's wrong with a good old typewriter? Nonetheless, they sent the letter out and it arrived with me today. I am to present myself in the aforementioned office and help them figure out what to do with the parcel. I'll head over there tomorrow morning to see what's what.

 

[tidbits]

Incredible.

But at least they contacted you. When packages have been held up for me in the past they just linger in limbo until I have to send an email inquiring about what's happened to my package. I never get a reply, but usually within a week of me sending that email it suddenly moves halfway across the country in a matter of hours and it's suddenly in a local distribution center.

 

[projectapollo]

When I've ordered from Thomann in Germany, they send it DHL and it arrives at my door in the USA in 48 hours. I'm always amazed by that.

 

[el murdoque]

I don't really understand how customs work in that instance. Apparently, Origin had to pay on their end to take possession of the parcel in the first place, and I guess I'll have to pay again to get it back - all for the repair of a pedal that was taxed properly when it entered the country in the first place.

 

[projectapollo]

I don't really understand how customs work in that instance. Apparently, Origin had to pay on their end to take possession of the parcel in the first place, and I guess I'll have to pay again to get it back - all for the repair of a pedal that was taxed properly when it entered the country in the first place.

Yes, paying all those fees for a repair seems like an unintended consequence? It's definitely making me think about buying US made stuff so I can get it repaired more simply. The idea of sending my CIOKS to Denmark scares me.

 

[el murdoque]

Yes, paying all those fees for a repair seems like an unintended consequence? It's definitely making me think about buying US made stuff so I can get it repaired more simply. The idea of sending my CIOKS to Denmark scares me.

Don't worry - you'd probably have to send it to Poland.

I don't know how the warranty system works in the US, but here in Germany, the issue would have been solved by Thomann had I been the original buyer - or at least been able to provide the invoice. Origin was able to track the serial number to Thomann, but I bought the pedal second hand, so Thomann told me they can't help me without the invoice, which I did not have. Origin then stepped in and offered to look at it, but told me I'd have to ship it to them and take care of any tax upon return. That's still better than a broken pedal, so I went with that - and again, props to Origin for providing customer service where they would not have to.

Had I bought this pedal from Thomann, I would have contacted them with the issue, they would have sent me a shipping label, I'd have returned it to them and they'd have dealt with all that, returning the pedal to me free of charge once that was done.

 

[el murdoque]

Okay. That was unexpected, but I actually had a pleasant experience with customs today.
The guy did listen to the story, of how a pedal that's technically my property already, and has been all the time, finds itself in a parcel from a non-EU country addressed to myself.
He then told me that the problem is that I sent off a worthless pedal (because broken) and when Origin repaired it, the pedal gained worth and that this is something that needs to be taxed. Then he went off to talk to someone else.
Now there could have been a good portion of altruism in the people, or it could have been that it might be a nightmare to calculate what the pedal was worth beforehand and what it is worth now and how worth much it gained through the repair - I cannot tell and assume a mix of both - but the guy came out of the office, handed me a form to place my signature on and the DCX bass was mine again, without any further payment.


I took it home and played it. It's still a great pedal and I still really enjoy it.

Furthermore, I decided to do some more plots:

This is all knobs at noon and the party-trick-switch in the FLAT position, just switching from EQ to OD.
While in EQ, it is more or less perfectly flat, the curve in OD seems to favor mids, and then drop off, starting around 3k.

Next, I wanted to look at the LF and HF knobs.
I recorded the pedal in EQ and OD mode, with the gain at noon and the volume in a fixed position, sweeping through the LF and HF knobs.

 

[OldShark]

He then told me that the problem is that I sent off a worthless pedal (because broken) and when Origin repaired it, the pedal gained worth and that this is something that needs to be taxed.

In a way, I get that reasoning, possibly because as a German native, I might be too used to lots of bureaucracy...
By the same logic you should be allowed to reclaim the already payed tax when sending the parcel back to UK, because it apparently had lost its value after entering Germany. Where's the value-subtracted tax when you need it?

 

[el murdoque]

In a way, I get that reasoning, possibly because as a German native, I might be too used to lots of bureaucracy...
By the same logic you should be allowed to reclaim the already payed tax when sending the parcel back to UK, because it apparently had lost its value after entering Germany. Where's the value-subtracted tax when you need it?

Exactly. Looking at it with a small scope, I sent out useless junk and received a working pedal.
But broaden the view a bit, and I bought a pedal in working order, paying full tax on that in the first place.

I'm just happy I got it back after all this waiting.

 

[CamJazzBass]

Exactly. Looking at it with a small scope, I sent out useless junk and received a working pedal.
But broaden the view a bit, and I bought a pedal in working order, paying full tax on that in the first place.

I'm just happy I got it back after all this waiting.

So, lets say I was where you are and sent a bass to another country and it got tricked out with a new preamp, pickups, bridge, etc., I would have to pay like a capital gains tax when it came back to me?

 

[el murdoque]

So, lets say I was where you are and sent a bass to another country and it got tricked out with a new preamp, pickups, bridge, etc., I would have to pay like a capital gains tax when it came back to me?

The short answer would be yes, as long as you send it to a non-EU country.

The slightly longer answer would be yes, but prepare to meticulously document everything that happens to the instrument and provide a stack of paperwork, because the alternative would be that you pay 19% VAT plus 4,5% for importing a guitar on the full current worth of the bass in question.

 

[el murdoque]

I just had a happy little accident.
The C string on my Bassline Buster 6 developed a buzz for no apparent reason. I thought a fret had come loose, but it buzzed from frets 5-12, the neck was straight and all the other strings were perfectly fine. Then the string developed a chorus-like sound and after asking someone, I was told that it's probably the string. I don't have a spare set of LaBella DTF lying around and those C strings are really hard to get as a spare - the last one I needed, I had to order from LaBella directly, paying more shipping than the string was worth. Well, in order to troubleshoot I took the offending string off and put on the only used flatwound C string I could find: A Thomastik Infeld. Now I would say the TI strings are wet spaghetti where the LaBella stings are bridge cables when you look at stiffness alone, but for some reason, the set of LaBella B-G with the TI C works a lot better than expected. All strings have been played long enough to properly mellow down and settle in, so the tonal difference is not as big as one would imagine. The LaBella was a.029 and the TI is a .033.
This might become a permanent solution, if my OCD can live with one string having red silks while the rest is black.

 

[dedpool1052]

This might become a permanent solution, if my OCD can live with one string having red silks while the rest is black.

Sharpie time.

 

[GrowlerBox]

I just had a happy little accident.
The C string on my Bassline Buster 6 developed a buzz for no apparent reason. I thought a fret had come loose, but it buzzed from frets 5-12, the neck was straight and all the other strings were perfectly fine. Then the string developed a chorus-like sound and after asking someone, I was told that it's probably the string. I don't have a spare set of LaBella DTF lying around and those C strings are really hard to get as a spare - the last one I needed, I had to order from LaBella directly, paying more shipping than the string was worth. Well, in order to troubleshoot I took the offending string off and put on the only used flatwound C string I could find: A Thomastik Infeld. Now I would say the TI strings are wet spaghetti where the LaBella stings are bridge cables when you look at stiffness alone, but for some reason, the set of LaBella B-G with the TI C works a lot better than expected. All strings have been played long enough to properly mellow down and settle in, so the tonal difference is not as big as one would imagine. The LaBella was a.029 and the TI is a .033.
This might become a permanent solution, if my OCD can live with one string having red silks while the rest is black.

Mixing strings is completely normal, and perhaps even an indicator that you’ve "arrived" in double bass land. I’m contemplating going down that rabbit hole again and celebrating my newly repaired DB with some new strings, costing more than most boutique pedals. Except a Mantle .

 

[tidbits]

That’s a can of worms I haven’t opened yet bc I haven’t found a good source for singles/mixed sets yet. I want to go up a weight on my D/G strings while keeping my E/A where they are.

Complicated by the fact that it’s a short scale bass, so options are already limited. I’ll probably get a neck with a reverse headstock eventually so I can use full length strings and open up the choices

 

[dedpool1052]

That’s a can of worms I haven’t opened yet bc I haven’t found a good source for singles/mixed sets yet. I want to go up a weight on my D/G strings while keeping my E/A where they are.

Complicated by the fact that it’s a short scale bass, so options are already limited. I’ll probably get a neck with a reverse headstock eventually so I can use full length strings and open up the choices

What kind of bass and headstock?
There's a good chance you can just experiment (and get away with) full scale strings.

 

[tidbits]

I probably can with just the D/G strings.

It’s a warmoth build, and I have the option to do string through body, which I was also considering for the D/G to see if it would help the sustain.

It’s wearing GHS balanced nickels right now, and everything is strung through bridge.

EDIT: pictures

 

[el murdoque]

Mixing strings is completely normal, and perhaps even an indicator that you’ve "arrived" in double bass land. I’m contemplating going down that rabbit hole again and celebrating my newly repaired DB with some new strings, costing more than most boutique pedals. Except a Mantle .

Yeah. Every time I shop for strings, I marvel at the cost of flats for a six - then think about double bass strings and don't feel so bad after all.

 

[el murdoque]

On a whim, I just bought a pedal that should have made it to the Bender a long time ago. Something hand made in the US.
It has a Gain AND a Drive knob.