ped

TBH the Bona Bass looks OK sideways but not great standing up. Still, don't understand the negativity here, variety is the spice of life and all... just don't buy one?! Sometimes I find basses that look nice are horrible in the hand' or vice versa. The most offensive though is another P bass, ffs... but I guess session pros will need one

Don't know why they bother giving a 'score' - what's the point? how about a write up which we can read and make up our own mind based upon what is alluded to in the article? Do people skip to the star rating and ignore the rest? It's not relevant.

Would you make an exception for this one

Elixirs. Not the cheapest but they last ages so save you a fortune in the long run.

Perk of the job fuck wank bastard piss

Any other Smith owners? I registered at Ken’s forum to ask some questions about mine a while ago. He didn’t approve my account because he thought my surname (Hiscocks) was a joke, he said it sounded like a ‘porn name’ lol. All rectified with a chat - quite amusing. I know some people say he’s rude and arrogant etc but personally I don’t care if he’s a serial killer, I love his basses. That’s where my interest in him ends

So glad you love the bass. I knew you would. I bought it from an old man in Spain who was such a nice person he sent it before I had paid. Lots of good vibes around that bass. Just realised I still have the C string I was meant to give you - PM me your address and I’ll pop it in the post!

😂😂😂

I’d love to be wrong!

Yes I’ve heard stories but personally never seen one in over 15 years so perhaps there are some but I didn’t think so. At least not full carbon series 2 basses. I thought I asked Patrice too but it would have been a while ago. I thought he said they only ever had moulds for four string necks and it was those moulds wearing out that led to the development of the 10/90 system (which have too much relief for my liking)

I'll try and bring mine to a bash soon. The series II passion is the best four string I've ever played, it's seen off many basses in it's time including Alembics, Bacchus, Zon, Fender, Marleaux etc. They didn't do a five string in graphite so for me the best 5 is a Ken Smith.

Hopefully it'll be sorted then - my Arpege fretless had the same and it was dead quiet. The fretted series II I had needed a new jack. Let us now how you get on. If you do need to replace it I may be able to find you a replacement Vigier pre.

It’s even worse in the age of the smartphone. Many a cringeworthy minute I have sat clutching someone’s phone listening to something shit pretending I can hear and like it. You can’t give the phone back early so you just have to sit and feign interest. Something I’m bad at.

Much prefer a thru neck. IMO they look and feel better plus I feel like it’s better craftsmanship, not that some bolt-ons aren’t quite tidy.

OR it’s a marketing thing. Could be both. Could be neither.

Interesting. Sometimes I used to find (when I had a jazz bass and used TI flats) the strings sounded weird when I re-string it after a clean. Often slacking them off, taking it off and putting it back in changed the sound. I assumed it was due to it not being seated properly or twisted perhaps. So it could be partly that too?

Righto here I am! First of all, it looks like a lovely bass, congrats. Where did you buy it? It’s a series 1 bass, before Patrice started using carbon fibre necks. The brass laminate runs along the neck and although it’s a bit heavy it’s a really good system. I had a series 1 fretless which I recently sold but never had to touch the truss rod once I had set it up. There should be a serial number above the rear strap pin but it’ll probably be before Patrice started recording them against the date (there’s a spreadsheet on the Vigier site but think it only starts with series 2 basses). In that case, the year and date of manufacture will be under a pickup, usually the neck one. Assuming the electronics are original then they might feel a bit buzzy by modern standards however they can be cleaned up and working flawlessly. It’s a really nice sounding filter preamp which is attached to some awesome Benedetti pickups. Enjoy it - it’s hard to find a decent one of that vintage that doesn’t have any finish cracks, butchered electronics or knackered truss rod adjuster. Anything else I can answer for you? Cheers ped

Send each other a PM. You wouldn’t be the first BC couple 💖

British Telecom (sorry, UK based internet router joke)

BT HomeHub 5 (Edit - someone did that joke, sorry) 😞

There’s no sense in it but it’s just true to say that if I buy one today it’ll be worth more next year. But instruments as an investment is different to an instrument being worth the price for a player. I happen to think some basses and the time of some of the masters of the craft are worth a bit extra. What I don’t understand is how some bog standard factory produced basses can be so expensive.

I agree to an extent, but definitely think more expensive instruments are often worth the money. Quite often they keep their value better, too. So you haven’t so much spent the money but have it tied up in an instrument (that excuse normally works on the wife anyway)

I suppose you could use it as a paddle