thodrik

I would probably obtain one of the 1980s Trace Elliot 'recommended setups' comprising 8 different 4x10s for the 'highs' and 8 different 2x18s for the 'lows', then send just a DI from a Sansamp to FOH.

I love them but never got round to buying one. I love the sound of them, particularly when driven through a big hefty valve amp.

If I could provide a comparison, playing with an M6 was like driving a high powered sports car on a motorway, playing the Big Block is like driving a JCB digger through a muddy field. Both highly entertaining activities.

Bass Direct have a Mesa Big Block 750 with the matching headcase for a grand. I bought one a while ago and it is my favourite amp bar none. Very much a 'rock' amp though and the EQ is fairly basic compared to modern offerings but it does big 'rock' tones with a bit of grit with ease. Also, the matching headcase is brilliant but adds significantly to the weight. The Mesa M6 and M9 amps have a much more flexible EQ but they are too 'clean' for my tastes. I prefer the feel of the M-Pulse line of Big Block and Walkabout amps. Ashdown ABM stuff is great. Hartke LH500/1000 is great for the price and great if your core tone comes from an external preamp or pedal. EBS HD350/TD650/Fafner are great amps too if you can find them used. I'm a big fan of the Fafner Mk I (apart from the damn cosmetic lightbulb which constantly blows). Gallien Kreuger RB heads are great too. You could also pick up an old Trace Elliot SMX head for about £300 as well. There is actually not that many 'new' Mosfet/hybrid heads on the market since class D has taken over. Also, despite owning several 'Big Iron' amps, I have no doubts that the modern top of the range class D amps will deliver pretty much everything I would be looking for in a new amp.

I saw Lomenzo playing with Megadeth and he was using a Passion at the time. Sounded great. I own an Arpege and Excess. They both cover all manner of rock and metal playing, or funk or pretty much any genre you fancy. They are also brilliant for alternate tunings as the stability of the neck means that set ups are easy. The Vigiers however in my opinion don’t really do authentic ‘vintage’ tones so if you are looking for something that gives you that tone then maybe look at something else. Given the placement of the pick up on the Passion it won’t really give you a traditional ‘jazz’ or ‘P-Bass’ tone, primarily because it wasn’t designed to do so in the first place. However, no vintage bass will give you the tone of a Vigier so it is really a case of whether the Vigier is what the OP is looking for. For a Passion I think that the closest comparisons would be a cross between a Warwick Thumb and a Spector but even then that doesn’t really give an accurate description. There are plenty of YouTube demos as well. I would buy a Passion without hesitation for use in a rock/metal context.

If it is sorted out in advance I am generally fine with it. Bands walking up just expecting to get gear handed to them without so much as a heads up is a no-no but even then I am more likely to just give them a 'why didn't you ask in advance?' query. Much like Steve Browning above, the chances of damaging my gear via excessive volume is much less than my gear damaging ears via excessive volume (in both cases I think the gear is a Mesa amp and cab...). However, in these days of ultra-lightweight amps which can be bought for a pretty economical price, I think that it is reasonable to expect most bassists to bring their own amp heads. It isn't like the old days when I generally had to liaise with three different bassists on a bill in terms of deciding which one of us was going to lug their heavy Trace/GK/Ashdown/Ampeg rig to the gig, though it would sometimes lead to some truly amusing shared set ups we would throw together for a laugh, with a combined Hartke 4x10, Trace Elliot 1x15 and old WEM PA head being my all time favourite combined bitsa rig.

I got into Graveyard by their third album, so that is pretty late for me. I got into Isis (the band, not the terrorist group) pretty much right after they split. I got really into the Joshua Tree era U2 material a few years ago, despite really not liking anything else they have released. Recently, despite having a 'if it isn't Peter Green era or Rumours it isn't Fleetwood Mac' attitude, I have really started to appreciate the 1980s Fleetwood Mac stuff.

The Warwick pricing means that their Sadowsky Masterbuilt 'limited run' production basses are in many cases more expensive than one off, custom built NYC single cut basses which are still being built by Roger Sadowsky and his team. A look on the 'recently sold' section of the Sadowsky site reveals a number of single cut basses which were on average about $1,000 cheaper than the Warwick limited edition. For example, just on the Sadowsky site is this single cut for the price of $6,950: Granted, the woods on the above NYC are not as exotic as the Warwick Masterbuilt basses, however, when it is possible to order/buy a Sadowsky built by Roger Sadowsky for a lower price point (and a considerably lower price point compared to the $10k plus models), it does raise a few eyebrows. It is a tricky one for Warwick, as if one of their craftsmen/women spends the same amount of hours on a Sadowsky Masterbuilt as they do on a Masterbuilt Thumb or Streamer, (which generally are sold at similar prices to the Sadowsky Masterbuilt line) then the prices will need to be charged by Warwick accordingly for the time spent on them by the craftsmen involved. The prices are eye-watering, but Warwick have been charging similar fees for their limited Masterbuilt runs of Warwick basses every year, so I would guess there is a market for them. As it is, I love Les Paul guitars but I just don't like single cut basses.

Wes Scantlin has had personal problems for well over a decade. Having seen videos of previous meltdowns, on stage rants, bad lip-syncing and heard first hand stories of disastrous behaviour on their UK tour in 2016, I have never been able to watch the video as I felt like making fun of it would be just kicking a guy when he is already down. In terms of the band, a few tracks on the first album were alright, but it was very much safe, highly polished post-grunge stuff and didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me as a teenager.

However, in many cases the more expensive Masterbuilt by Warwick basses are actually more expensive than the Sadowsky's built by Roger Sadowsky in NYC. I think that this is a short term anomaly, on account I think that the general ideas is for the the Masterbuilt by Warwick line tofully replace the NYC Sadowsky range when Roger Sadowsky himself actually retires.

I have the Ditto X2. It is fine and is fairly transparent. The new plus version is really good. The X2 though takes up quite a lot of pedal board real estate, but to me it is worth it for a designated 'start' and 'stop' buttons! I did a loop on a recent album where I had a bass tuned to drop C and there was no issues in terms of transparency or loss of bass signal when I was recording and the signal chain for that was just bass - Flashback X4 - Ditto - interface. Sounded great, apart from the actual playing.

Exactly, I am a hypocrite! Apologies, I had a half finished thought that I posted before finishing because I was called away on my lunch break at work. Essentially, while it is nice to receive an instrument that has been given a full set up before being shipped, I think that this should be considered as a bit of an 'unexpected bonus' rather than an expectation from a retailer. This is entirely correct.

It really is disappointing to hear. The two Sadowskys I have (2009 Metro, 2009 NYC) are exceptional. I understand that the Metro Express basses are made to a lower price point. However, for £700+ there have been far more QC issues than you would expect for a bass at that price point. The concerning thing however is the variety of different QC issues, weight, standard of finishing, electronics, set up etc. The fault of the set up might be partly down to the retailer. However, we cannot expect a retailer to give every instrument they receive a full set up. Particularly, Guitar Guitar, who probably would need about a dozen members of staff just to do set ups of the Gibsons they receive, let alone the basses they get. In comparison, my nephew bought entry level 5 string Sire from Andertons that was 'B- Stock' but was delivered fully set up in with a new set of strings. Needless to say I tried it and considered the bass to utterly exceptional for the price point. I think that someone at Andertons at twigged that this was a 'first bass' purchase by a 12 year old and had gone above and beyond to get the bass ready from the get go, despite it being a low value purchase.

Both gorgeous but I am very biased towards Sadowsky and both my Sadowskys are sunburst with maple necks... The figuring on the Fodera neck is very nice too though...

Hulk Hogan plays bass and used to act in films that were probably much worse than his bass playing. Jason Momoa is a keen bass player as well.

Great review. I have been seen considering the Teambuilt Thumb 6 for a while now. I really don’t need a six string but if I did a Warwick would be right at the top of the list.

Those Yerasov pedals look really cool.

I essentially use the AO as a clean preamp to add mids back into the signal to counteract the scoopiness of the B3K! Not recorded with the AO yet. Did a stoner/doom album lately with my signal essentially being the Walkabout combo with the B3K.

I really don’t like the first Red Hot Chili Peppers album but I really like the George Clinton produced Freaky Styley. Bleach by Nirvana is probably my favourite Nirvana album. It is also widely critically acclaimed so not one I would think is easily dismissed as a stinker. Also, I dislike all four of the first Pantera albums pre Cowboys from Hell!

I really really wish that they would do a wooden walnut style finish of the modern Vigier basses. I would love a walnut finished Excess.

Sadowsky NYC 5 or Vigier Arpege 5 Elixirs Nickel set 130-132 (both tuned 'up' to drop B Karnivool style but on five strings rather than six); or Sadowsky Metro with Roto 100-40 stainless steels (standard tuning); or Vigier Excess tuned to C sharp sabbath tuning/drop B with Elixirs 130-50; or Fender Precision tuned to D standard/Drop C with D'addario Nickel set 120-50; or (probably not but maybe) 1974 Gibson EB3 with Elxir stainless steel 105-45 (standard tuning) Generally I play fingerstyle but I have been playing with a pick more in lockdown. Cable Boss Tuner - TU3 Darkglass B3K or made by my mate GCI Bass Brutalist Darkglass Alpha Omega or TC Electronic Flashback X4 My mate's DIY clone or an Earthquaker Hummingbird Tremolo TC Ditto X2 Keeley Bassist Compressor cable into any one of Mesa Big Block 750: or EBS Fafner; or Trace Elliot V6; into a Mesa Powerhouse 6x10 (I have a heavily soundproofed garage and I am careful with the volume!); or when I being sensible my Mesa Walkabout 1x15 combo.

Exactly. 'Soundguy acceptance factor' is a big deal. I mean, if the soundperson has the view of 'I just want to use a DI box into the front input of the amp' it is difficult enough to negotiate the use of my own DI from my head, let alone trying to get them to (a) mic up my cab or (b) run a slave output to the back of my amp which runs into my own personal external DI box. Items (a) and (b) are needed to make the most of the immense tone of a valve amp with no DI attached, however in the soundperson's defence, sometimes they just do not have time to do (a) or (b) given time pressures between changeovers etc. Not all big valve amps have a DI. I'm pretty sure Matamps don't have a DI either but I might be wrong.

While those tactics are highly effective it still requires more items of gear that you would not need if the amp had a DI built in to it in the first place. I mean it is not an absolute deal breaker and it is an awesome amp irrespective, but I generally like an amp to have a DI with a pre/post EQ option.

There is also the English Muff'n and EBS Valvedrive, both of which actually have valves. I have both and confirm that they work well with active basses. Both take up a lot of pedalboard real estate though!

The Aguilar Agro worked great with my Sadowsky Metro. It worked great on low gain settings. It does seem to lack (in my opinion) a bit of low end 'oomph' compared to the Darkglass pedals, so I used to run the Aguilar with my old Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver. That was a great mix. However to my ears the Aguilar has a much more natural and less fizzy sound than the Darkglass, despite it not having a blend control. On low gain settings the Agro does a terrific 'clank' as if you are driving an amp to breaking point. I have a Darkglass B3K at the minute, which definitely delivers more low end grunt than the Agro. It is fairly fizzy, even on low gain settings but it most definitely works with active basses.