thodrik

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.

I moved on my M6 because it was so loud and clean and I wanted something I could dial in a bit of preamp dirt at useable volumes like I could with the Walkabout. I ended up with the Mesa Big Block with is probably the dirtiest, most valvey hybrid head I have tried. The EQ on the Big Block is fairly agricultural compared to the Walkabout or the M6, as the Big Block only really does 'one sound' which is generally a mid heavy, gritty, grindy rock tone. Luckily that is the exact sound I am looking for. You can kind clean up the sound by backing off the gain but it just does not achieve that wide open clean sound of the M6. However, I already had an EBS Fafner which could do the same kinda tone as the M6 but had a more forgiving volume taper! Though back to the actual thread I would have bought the Orange AD200 several times over it had actually had a DI! I really like the Orange guitar amps as well and have been after one of the discontinued Thunderverb heads for a while.

I might do this but I have essentially migrated to Bias for my go to ‘laptop’ guitar sounds.

Surely if the bass player is capable of playing quickly enough to reach the 'gold' standard of BPM expected of professional bassists that is excitement enough?

Well if you are fan of movie soundtracks and don't play with a pick, then to be a respected professional you will need a Goldfinger capable of playing to 104 BPM... https://songbpm.com/@shirley-bassey/goldfinger

Gold by Spandau Ballet has a BPM of 143, so this is the correct answer in terms of finding the 'Gold' standard. https://getsongbpm.com/song/gold/mwMVME

After 40+ years, the 'good ones' will be the ones that were owned by people who generally looked after them and gave the basses a regular set up, rather than how many cosmetic dings the bass has. I think that the overdone 'relic jobs' of modern basses give some people unrealistic expectations of how much wear and tear you actually should expect to see on a 40 year old an instrument when the instrument hasn't been periodically attacked by a belt sander.

I know what you mean. There were great tones in the Pod for sure but you had to work for them rather than rely on the preset tones.I ditched the Pod once I got a Sansamp Bass Driver, not because it was better, but just because of how quick and easy to use it was!

That sounds like a brilliant set up. I think a Helix is in my future. However, I am still stuck in the 'old school' mentality at the minute and generally go weak at the knees when I see a 'bargain' Mesa, Orange, Trace or Ampeg rig on the BC Marketplace. In lockdown though my thinking has certainly changed and just from messing around with things like Bias FX and Amplitube I am really starting to realise just how far things have come since I bought the original Bass Pod in about 1999! The last time I was considering buying a Helix, I ended buying a used Mesa Big Block 750, matching 6x10 (essentially my dream set up 10-12 years ago) and a Mesa Rectoverb 50 1x12 guitar combo. The total cost for all of that gear was about £1700, so in terms of 'new RRP' cost comparison it was technically a complete bargain. However is a boutique 6x10 a bargain at any price in terms of practical considerations? The answer is 'no', though I still love that cabinet as it essentially filled my lifelong goal of owning one 'big' cabinet in my lifetime. In terms of practical use I am absolutely confident I would have got far more practical use out of a Helix and FRFR, as well as saving a load of floor space! The main benefit of buying the Mesa 6x10 is that I have started doing weights in order to be able to physically fit enough move the cab, which has resulted in me getting in much better physical shape, so there is that.

That is a really great practical set up and when you state it like that it also is a wise financial investment. I have probably spent upwards of £1500 on bass pedals alone over the last ten years, without even factoring in what I have spent on amps and cabs, so it really brings into the value for money of of the Helix FRFR route once you get your head around the concept.

I really like that finish. I really wanted that for the Arpege but when one in burgundy came up for sale I wasn't going to be choosy! Honestly, if the pickup system in the Arpege was converted to a comparatively 'simple' three band EQ shared for both pick ups I don't think I would particularly mind. It is the neck shape and general fit and finish that impresses me more than the electronics, even though the electronics are great.

Looks pretty legit to me. Price seems about right for a Precision which has been upgraded with non-original parts. If the bass hasn't been played much and has been well looked after, then it doesn't surprise me if it is in good condition. As said by Doctor J above, getting an exact date on Fenders from this era as S7, S8 and S9 serial numbers each span multiple years. I have an S9 Precision which could have been made at any time from late 1978 to around 1981. I have never bothered trying to get it dated exactly as it is not from a particularly valuable or collectible era so there is no point in trying to strip and trying to confirm whether the body and neck are dated from a particular year or whether the signatures or stamps can be identified. I'm not going to sell it so I have never bothered checking. If the bridge and pickups have already been switched out, I'm not sure there is much use in checking the pots or wiring. I would just be checking whether the pickups are delivering a sound you like and whether the bass needs a decent set up. My bass plays great and I don't want to risk that by taking it apart with the aim of authenticating it. If I was buying a pre CBS era bass I would maybe however want to check everything.

I think that there is good degree of overlap between the Arpege and the Passion. The three band EQ per pickup on the Arpege does give a bit of option paralysis at times. It has taken my ten years to figure out my preferred settings! I don't tend to use the Arpege as a traditional 'jazz bass' by running the pickup blend dead centre. It sounds great doing this, but in practice I prefer a more traditional 'Fendery' type bass for traditional J bass sounds (I have a Sadowsky for that). I use the pickup blend to slightly favour the rear pickup. I generally use the EQ system to add a bit of additional bass to the back pickup (but not the front pick to avoid too avoid a potential lack of definition), so that it sounds less like a single coil jazz pickup, but more like a big humbacker or dual JJ pickup you would find on a Warwick Thumb five string or a Stingray. In practice, I think I am actually trying to make the Arpege sound more like a Passion! A black, satin finished 5 string Passion is on my 'wishlist' for sure.

Amazing looking bass! I really like that finish a lot. I really want a Passion as it is the only Vigier bass model I am missing. In terms of the bridge, I was initially wary of the monorail bridge design on the Arpege compared to the solid hulk of metal on the Excess. However, in terms of functionality and sustain, the monorail bridge on the Arpege has been brilliant and I definitely wouldn’t change it.

I am temped to get one of those or the TC Electronic BQ500 as an emergency back up to my main amps for gigs. Previously my back up was a Trace Elliot SMX 300 amp that weighed more than my main amp! Also, I LOVE the feature list for the Gnome amps: 6 Switchable Pad: No 7 Switchable Low Cut: No 8 Integrated Effects Processor: No 9 Internal Effects: No 10 FX-Loop: No 11 Tuner: No 12 AUX Input: No ... 14 LINE IN: No 15 LINE OUT: No ... 18 Tuner out: No ... 22 Foot Switch Connection: No 23 Incl. Foot Switch: No None of the Gnome range have any of these features, so why even bother listing all the things the amp can't do?