Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[Squanch72]

Picked up the Epi Valve junior yesterday and came home to find puppies. Love the valve junior. Nice to have a tube in the power amp even if it is only a 5 watt amp.

 

[dukeorock]

Sounds awesome. Finally get to see the sealed 18" too.
Not going to risk the new Mesa?

Naw...played it a few nights ago and never dialed it for the upright stuff. Maybe at some point. I love my 6SL7 pre for electric a whole lot anyway

 

[Pelham Bleu]

Picked up the Epi Valve junior yesterday and came home to find puppies. Love the valve junior. Nice to have a tube in the power amp even if it is only a 5 watt amp.

Nice pedal chain.

 

[Muddslide]

Setting up for a video shoot for the new Legendary ShackShakers record...

I hope this doesn't draw bad blood but I'm old friends with Jim Finklea a.k.a. Joe Buck. I haven't seen him in 20 years though. Pre-Joe Buck that is.

That upright is boobies by the way!

 

[D.M.N.]

vest complete!

Hey, that there's a pretty nifty looking SLEEP patch...


So it's springbreak at school, and since my plans to go to SXSW fell through (I don't know why everyone else was so hesitant to sleep in truck stops...), I decided to head into NYC yesterday for my buddy's birthday. Got trashed last night on Cream Ale and Jager, had some freaking amazing ramen, and got into a war of attrition with a house cat (spoiler alert: I lost).

I'll tell you guys the same thing I told New York when I arrived: Hold on to your anuses. This is a long post/rant.

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

 

[Blank_0101]

Hey, that there's a pretty nifty looking SLEEP patch...


So it's springbreak at school, and since my plans to go to SXSW fell through (I don't know why everyone else was so hesitant to sleep in truck stops...), I decided to head into NYC yesterday for my buddy's birthday. Got trashed last night on Cream Ale and Jager, had some freaking amazing ramen, and got into a war of attrition with a house cat (spoiler alert: I lost).

I'll tell you guys the same thing I told New York when I arrived: Hold on to your anuses. This is a long post/rant.

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

TLDR

How was NYC, get ABY cool pedals?!?

Kidding, dude sounds like a dick. $65 is better than $0

 

[dukeorock]

I hope this doesn't draw bad blood but I'm old friends with Jim Finklea a.k.a. Joe Buck. I haven't seen him in 20 years though. Pre-Joe Buck that is.

That upright is boobies by the way!

Thanks!

 

[mbelue]

Hey, that there's a pretty nifty looking SLEEP patch...


So it's springbreak at school, and since my plans to go to SXSW fell through (I don't know why everyone else was so hesitant to sleep in truck stops...), I decided to head into NYC yesterday for my buddy's birthday. Got trashed last night on Cream Ale and Jager, had some freaking amazing ramen, and got into a war of attrition with a house cat (spoiler alert: I lost).

I'll tell you guys the same thing I told New York when I arrived: Hold on to your anuses. This is a long post/rant.

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

Yeah I've been there. A big reason I avoid retail at all costs.
Hate to hear that though.

 

[Jolagh]

Hey, that there's a pretty nifty looking SLEEP patch...


So it's springbreak at school, and since my plans to go to SXSW fell through (I don't know why everyone else was so hesitant to sleep in truck stops...), I decided to head into NYC yesterday for my buddy's birthday. Got trashed last night on Cream Ale and Jager, had some freaking amazing ramen, and got into a war of attrition with a house cat (spoiler alert: I lost).

I'll tell you guys the same thing I told New York when I arrived: Hold on to your anuses. This is a long post/rant.

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

Yeah I have similar issues. People just got no respect for us young long haired beardos. That is one of the reasons i never buy anything from GC or the like. I may not look like it, but generally if I am in a retail environment i mean just as much bidniss as the next guy.

 

[CL400Peavey]

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

The guys at the GC know better than to bug me. I know my sh!t, and dont have an issue letting them know they are trying to serve up a turd sandwich. My dad has a guitar fetish, and I have probably bought 40 gibsons for/with him in the past 5 years, so the sales manager takes note when we come in.

Last time I went in, it was to check out a Fender hot rod deluxe or some other tube combo. The new guy was on the floor that day, and wouldnt find a cable so I could try the amp out. Finally the sales manager get out on the floor, and asks me how he can help me, "I need that $6k PRS down off the wall, and a cable to try this $400 amp." So he sends the kid up the ladder, I jam the amp, it sounds good, and I try to buy it. The new guy seems to not be interested in selling it to me, so I have him put the guitar back, and go tell the manager his sales guy has convinced me to buy it online.


Side bar:

Work has now blocked everything online. No more music via the internet. It is like they are trying to get me to off myself.

 

[Pelham Bleu]

The guys at the GC know better than to bug me. I know my sh!t, and dont have an issue letting them know they are trying to serve up a turd sandwich. My dad has a guitar fetish, and I have probably bought 40 gibsons for/with him in the past 5 years, so the sales manager takes note when we come in.

Last time I went in, it was to check out a Fender hot rod deluxe or some other tube combo. The new guy was on the floor that day, and wouldnt find a cable so I could try the amp out. Finally the sales manager get out on the floor, and asks me how he can help me, "I need that $6k PRS down off the wall, and a cable to try this $400 amp." So he sends the kid up the ladder, I jam the amp, it sounds good, and I try to buy it. The new guy seems to not be interested in selling it to me, so I have him put the guitar back, and go tell the manager his sales guy has convinced me to buy it online.


Side bar:

Work has now blocked everything online. No more music via the internet. It is like they are trying to get me to off myself.

At my new gig, I can't stream a thing, so it's all run through the phone. Need some BT cans, though.

I'd go batpoopie crazy if I had to sit in silence.

 

[CL400Peavey]

At my new gig, I can't stream a thing, so it's all run through the phone. Need some BT cans, though.

I'd go batpoopie crazy if I had to sit in silence.

I took everything off my phone recently as I am supposed to get a new micro SD card today.

Going to be a long day.

 

[mc_muench]

Setting up for a video shoot for the new Legendary ShackShakers record. Found a cheesy old town hall kinda place in Cadiz, KY. There will be a live audience as well. Running my First Act Delia Hollowbody electric through a Reiner 6SL7 pre. The upright is going through a Michael Pope MPP2. Both powered by a Carvin DCM2000L into my sealed 1822 cabView attachment 577747

Dets man, i need dets on dat 18 cab. Will there be a 218 version?

 

[The_Janitor]

Welp, lame-d out of the Torche show last night. Wife worked 20 something hours over Saturday and Sunday and was exhausted, I was feeling old and tired so we skipped it. Oh well, had a good weekend anyway.

Back at work today, wishing I wasn't. Busy week coming up...

Still in talks with the new drummer dude, couple of new prospects for a guitarist - supposedly a singer is nailed down. We're waiting to get together until we can get the whole group together. I think if/when it pans out it's going to pretty damn serious. I hope so, I'm really getting depressed over not playing shows.

 

[kzr750r1]

Hey, that there's a pretty nifty looking SLEEP patch...


So it's springbreak at school, and since my plans to go to SXSW fell through (I don't know why everyone else was so hesitant to sleep in truck stops...), I decided to head into NYC yesterday for my buddy's birthday. Got trashed last night on Cream Ale and Jager, had some freaking amazing ramen, and got into a war of attrition with a house cat (spoiler alert: I lost).

I'll tell you guys the same thing I told New York when I arrived: Hold on to your anuses. This is a long post/rant.

So today I had some time to kill before hopping the train at Grand Central back to New Haven, decided I'd hit up the big ol' Sam Ash, see if they have one of the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx pedals in stock. Walk on in, they have some nice 4003s, some cool German Hofners, and a Fender '74 AVRI Jazz, all of which I'd dig playing on for a bit if I get the chance. Walk over to the guitar section, patiently wait around for a guy to come over and ask if I could use some help. I noticed it seemed they were a bit short staffed, definitely weren't enough employees to deal with the amount of people coming in wanting to "try" stuff. I also noticed that there were two guys over in the bass section who were there from before I walked in, playing at a fair volume, maybe even a little louder than neccessary (the rooms aren't seperated for the guitars and basses, it's one big open showroom floor). Anywho, after about 10 minutes, the guy is able to locate one of the two remaning Fuzzz Boxxes, takes me over to the bass section and hands me off to the bass area guy. Seems decent enough, grabs some cables, tells me to grab whatever's closest to what I normally play (I think I grabbed a Standard P, solid instrument, but the neck seemed big after I've become so used to the '62 AVRI neck), and I ask if I could try out the Ampeg V4, since it's closest to what I use (100w, tube, etcs, I specifically mention I use Sunn heads). The guy kinda doesn't answer me, looks over in the area of the V4 (which is near where these other two guys are plugged in), and says, "Yeah, well, it looks kind of crowded". So, not wanting to be a hassle I say "well, that's alright I can try something else then", he lets out a sigh, goes over to the V4, checks it, "Yeah, I'm not sure about this one, doesn't look like it's plugged in." So he ends up putting me in a Hartke combo of some sort. Fine, sure, that's cool, I'm more interested in getting an idea of what the pedal sounds like anyways. He plugs it in tells me what the controls are and what they do (Volume, tone, Attack, 'cause I can't read). Turns on the amp, checks to see if there's sound, there isn't, tells me to turn the volume knob up, which I had already done, so he's looking at it, puzzled, and I say, "Well, the inputs are switched, like on a Fuzz Face". He then looks at it, and switches the cables. Asks if I'm all good, walks away, so cool, I can finally give this thing a spin. Except this dude behind me is really loud, one of those dudes that has been there at least 15 minutes at this point. I don't want to get in a volume battle with him, so I just try to set the Fuzz to a resonable volume so I can get a sense of how it sounds. After about 2 minutes of trying it, changing the settings, checking it out, a woman at the front desk yells back to the bass section guy "Hey, you need to tell that guy to turn down, I can't hear the damn phones. It's so distorted" I think huh, that's odd, this other dude's tone is pretty clean, and then I hear section man say "Yeah, sorry, he asked to test out a Fuzz pedal", to which I sheepishly turn around and say "Sorry, I'll turn down." I can't hear that much over this other guy, but I can tell that it's a cool sounding pedal, there's some easy mods to give it more tonal range, etc. I'm not looking for bass retaining fuzzes, I like old Germanium and Silicon gnarly 60s fuzzes. After the lady asked me to turn down, Section dude comes up, asks if I need anything, what do I think of the pedal, I say I'm liking it thus far, just trying out the settings, guy nods, walks away. About 5 minutes later, Section guy comes up, stands there and goes "So, you think you'll be buying that today?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it. On the price tag it says $99.77, but your website lists it at 79.99, is that true in store?"
"Yeah, we price match our site."
By this point, through his tone and the fact that he's come up to me, and only me, twice in the last 8 minutes, it's pretty clear he's trying to move me along. Hasn't bothered the other two guys playing bass.
"Alright, cool, well, look, it looks like it's been a floor model, and it's got some fairly big chips out of the paint, so is there any deal you can cut me on it?"
"Well let me take a look"
He takes the pedal, walks back to his desk area, I put the precision bass back, wrap the cables, and walk over.
"Yeah, well, it looks like these pedals are actually produced predistressed, see how it's all worn on the edges in the photo?"
He's pulled up a photo on the site, which has some glare on the red hammer finish, so the edge looks sort of white. At this point I'm honestly kinda pissed. First, he kinda talked to me like I was a dolt, explaining what the knobs did and how the volume worked. And now he's trying to b*llsh*t me that this pedal comes "pre-worn"?
"Yeah, no, that's the lighting in the picture. See how if I hold it up to the light, there's glare on the edge and it looks just like in the picture."
"Oh, huh, yeah, and those chips are on the side.
"Yeah, it doesn't come predistressed, this is just wear and tear. So can you take anything off for that?"
"Well let me go see if I can find the other one, see if it's clean."

He walks off and I'm left standing there for a good 5 minutes. The other guys in the bass section are still there, unmolested, noodling away. At this point I sort of just want to deal with this and then leave. Gone are my ideas of finally trying out a 4003 or Hofner for the first time. I then look at the '74 Jazz, which is hanging kinda high on the wall, and think "To hell with it, I'll ask if I can at least play the thing, see if I like the neck, I don't care about the tone. I don't really feel bad about making the guy get it down from me after how he's been treating me."

Guy comes back finally, tells me he couldn't find a fresh one, so I ask again, can he work a deal on it since it's obviously worn.
"Well, it's already on sale on the website down from $200"
"Yes, but this one it damaged."
"Let me check my account" or something to that affect, turns and types in on the computer.
"I can give it to you for...$78.99", turns and looks at me.
"Yeah, okay, in that case I think I'll pass today. Just one more thing, if it isn't too much of a hassle, I'd like to try out the neck on that '74 Jazz. I don't need to plug in, I just want to get a feel for it."
He looks at this bass, looks back at me, looks at it and goes "Well, it's a 70s bass, so it'll feel like a 70s Jazz neck, so yeah."
"Right, well, I'm not really familiar with that, I only really use slim 60s necks, C shapes"
"Alright, let's see..."
Walks over, passes the '74, goes to the guy that has been playing, and asks him if "the kid" can try what he's been playing, which is a new Geddy USA model, which has a totally different profile. '74 has a U shape, Geddy has a "custom profile, 9,5" radius"
"Yeah, this is a 70s model, so it has the same neck"
"I'm so sorry (I say to the man who I have just usurped of his bass). Look these, don't have the same neck they have different profiles."
"Nah, this is a 70s as well, Fender just puts the same neck on them."
So I play a few things on it hand it back and say thank you as politely as I can muster at this point.
The dude who was playing this bass then asks about the AVRI line and the pickups in them, if they're different for the years, to which section man goes "Well, the precision ones will sound like a vintage precision, and the jazz like a simarly vintage jazz."
I turn to the dude and say "Actually, they redesigned all the pickups for the AVRI line in 2012 when they remodeled the series, each year based on a corresponding pickup for that year, representing chages in the pickup construction method over time." and then left.
As I was leaving I heard the bass section guy go "So, interested in buying this bass? (The geddy) Lots of people coming in here and noddling around, but no one's buying, so I can cut you a deal today."

Now, I get that these guys in retail have to deal with lots of chumps coming in and just noodling around with no intention of buying anything. I always try to buy something when I go into a music shop, strings, picks, etc, at least something small so I don't seem like I'm just freeloading, and I'd actually gone in there with the intention of getting the Fuzzz Boxx if I'd liked it. I always try to be considerate as a shopper, please and thank yous, I'll patiently wait, tell the guys to take their time or take care of another customer first if the other person is being a hassle. But FFS, I was so pissed off when I left there with how this guy had treated me. Like, sure, I may not LOOK like I have a secure income and am willing to drop $5000 on the newest Les Paul Reissue, but that doesn't mean I'm some half-wit you can treat like an idiot. I get that they work on comission, and will try to cater to the individuals that are in there with their snot nose 13 year old that will spend a hilarious amount of money on an instrument that will probably see little use. They're well dressed, look like they have money, and the guy with long hair, in jeans, a jean jacket, and beat up cowboy doesn't strike the sales person as a high priority. But it was so obvious that he thought I was just wasting his time, that he was trying to move me along, and that I was being treated differently than the other guys in the bass section, who maybe were a little older and more clean around the edges. And then to bullsh*t me with giving me a dollar of an obiviously damaged product, while telling the other guy he'd cut him a deal cause no one was buying. And also apparently not knowing jack sh*t about the instruments in his department. AND KID!? Dude, I'm 22, I probably had more facial hair than anyone else in the freaking store. I HAD ALCOHOL FOR BREAKFAST. Don't patronize me. Honestly, overall, probably the worst customer service I've ever had in a music store. Last time I was at Sam Ash, when it was still on 48th Street in the old Manny's building, the guys in the bass section were bending over backwards to be helpful. They even gave me their card and direct line if there was anything I thought I might be interested in buying in the future. I think I'll call up a manager tomorrow and complain about this, it was a really sh*tty time. AND now I don't have a hot new fuzz to rock out with...

This sums up why I do not go to music stores any longer.

 

[Pelham Bleu]

This sums up why I do not go to music stores any longer.

Likewise, unless I have something specific in mind. That pretty much goes for all retail.

 

[Satyrnine]

Picked up the Epi Valve junior yesterday and came home to find puppies. Love the valve junior. Nice to have a tube in the power amp even if it is only a 5 watt amp.

There are some great Bass mods for the VJ as well! Basically a new Output tranny, added filtering, and rejiggered input section for more bass-appropriate tone. Also a 12AT7 for less gain. Pretty happy with it, it's my home practice amp basically.

 

[dukeorock]

I hope this doesn't draw bad blood but I'm old friends with Jim Finklea a.k.a. Joe Buck. I haven't seen him in 20 years though. Pre-Joe Buck that is.

That upright is boobies by the way!

Jim was easier to be around before he became Joe Buck. Haven't seen or heard from him in years. I hope he's doing well and all that but I needed to get some serious distance from the dude at the time. Maybe one day we'll reconnect

 

[dukeorock]

Dets man, i need dets on dat 18 cab. Will there be a 218 version?

I have drawn up a 218 version, but haven't built the prototype yet. Just goofing around at the moment with these things to test sealed designs. The '1822' prototype I have sounds really good to me. There are times when I love the sealed thing a lot. Super punchy and thick. I kinda figured at some point I may make them available, with and without mid drivers. Will most likely do a third prototype of the 1822 soon to test one more possible form factor. Would love to try a ported version as well just for kicks. I'm kinda over the moon for these 18" drivers I found

 

[Squanch72]

There are some great Bass mods for the VJ as well! Basically a new Output tranny, added filtering, and rejiggered input section for more bass-appropriate tone. Also a 12AT7 for less gain. Pretty happy with it, it's my home practice amp basically.

Still need to finish the bass to hear the Valve jr on bass. I laid out all my soldering/wiring tools on the kitchen table to fiddle with after work this week. I figure having the old lady yell at me to clean off the table will motivate me more to finish it. I definitely dig it on guitar though, it does seem slightly brighter than the Fender Champ I had that I did roll the tone control back some on the guitar. Not as bad as the VOX AC4TV I played at Sam Ash on Saturday to try some guitars, it was brittle, bright, ear rape. But it was the only amp available because people were jamming on all the good stuff. Felt like I was playing electric mandolin on all four very different guitars I played through the Vox. Maybe some mods down the line, but sure glad I picked it up. It even came with the original box, super cherry!