thodrik

Step 1. Check that my rig is still working and nothing is missing. Step 2. Check that my main bass and back up bass are in fully working order. Change strings if necessary. Step 3. Load gear into car/van. Step 4. Check where the gig is. Step 5. Unload gear again as gig is on another day.

You can try. However the carbon/graphite component of the instrument will give the instrument a certain character that is really hard to EQ out. I mean, as hard as I have tried with a variety of EQ settings and systems, I cannot make either of my Vigiers have the woody characteristic of a passive Fender Precision or Jazz. However you can get a tone in the general ballpark. There should be enough demo videos online for Vigiers to give you an idea of whether that type of sound is something you would enjoy. The actual fit and finish of the instrument should be excellent.

Many thanks. I will try and get my head around the maths and electronics (not my strong suit) but I’m definitely going to do it! Cheers!

Hi, just checked the bulb, which is a 42v 2w 45MA bulb. It is about the fifth bulb I have gone through in ten years. Feel free to give me a PM or so with what bits I need. A blue LED would look far better. Many thanks again!

I will do! Much appreciated.

What kind of LED and what kind of resistor? I think I need to do this mod. Bulb had gone for the umpteenth time at a gig...

Depends on what Trace Head it is. I wouldn’t my trade my Trace V6 for a Mesa M6. However, I did sell a Trace SMX 300 to buy a Mesa M6, which I then sold to buy a Mesa Big Block 750

Pretty much this. I love my two Vigiers and think that the fit and finish is up there with any high end/boutique company. However if the ideal tone in your head is a Fender Precision then the Vigier isn’t going to cut it. However, even after owning a Vigier for five years as my main bass (2004-2009) I always thought that something was missing from my sound. I found that a Sadowsky Metro bass was the perfect bridge between my old barely working Fender Precision and my truss rod-less insanely high output Vigier Excess. if I buy another bass it will either be a Warwick Thumb 6 or a Spector 6.

From the few Fender CS shop basses I have tried (about 5), all but one of them had a good amount of single coil hum. Cracking basses though.

The 4x10 and 2x12 cabs are really tempting. I just can’t justify it at the moment particularly as I now own a Mesa 6x10. That Strategy head though...

Very different basses. It really depends on what you are looking for in a bass. Do you need to sell the Warwick to buy the Vigier? Is there something about the Warwick you don't like? The Vigier quality is top notch in general (I have two Vigiers). Though with a 31 year old bass I would want to try the bass first before committing to a purchase. If you have a chance to try it then I would highly recommend it. The only thing I would say against Vigier basses is that they don't (at least to my ears) deliver a very vintage tone as a result of the carbon fibre neck (or even a 10/90 carbon/wood neck on the new ones). The tone is phenomenal for sure. However, if the ideal bass sound in your head is boutique version of a Fender Jazz bass design, then you might not like the Vigier.

Contact EBS and they can ship you a replacement bulb directly. Any lamp of the same type will work though, it just won’t have that red/orange glow. In terms of the amp cutting out, the valve and the lamp should not be causing this. The lamp is purely cosmetic, the valve is only inserted into the drive system so if it blows the rest of the amp should still work. I kept my Fafner stored in an unheated rehearsal space for nearly three years. It is still working. So I don’t think that the environment you are storing the amp in is hurting it. It might be worth taking the amp to a tech to have a look. The Fafner I amps are great but they have been discontinued for years. Some parts to the existing amps will eventually start to wear out. I would agree though that the gain control is finicky. Changing the EQ setting or adding or cutting drive generally has a big impact on the signal so you have to add to reduce the gain to suit. Of course once you change the gain level this again changes the character of the drive signal... Great amp though!

I have never bought a Warwick, but have tried a few of the pro series. Always thought that they were well made basses and the fit and finish was on point. In fact, recently I was thinking of getting a team built Thumb 5 (or 6) as a back up/alternative to my Sadowsky. With the truss rod wheel and ease of adjustment of the bridge, Sadowsky basses are the easiest to set up instruments I have ever owned. Provided Warwick can get the shape of the neck, fretwork and fit and finish on point, they really should be able to deliver a really well set up bass. If not, then I think that the concerns of the move will be warranted. Otherwise, I am willing to give the partnership a chance. I suspect that Roger Sadowsky has gone to great pains to satisfy himself on how the instruments are going to be made. My one query/concern is how Warwick would approach dealers. Would dealers have to agree to stock both Sadowsky and Warwick basses or will the product lines essentially be treated as separate entities? I was just thinking of dealers like Guitar Guitar, who have stocked Sadowsky stuff for years, but to my mind have not recently been dealers for German/Pro Series Warwick basses.

I have heard that there is an issue with the five strings in that the string spacing on the bridge is wider than that of the fingerboard, meaning that the g string is in danger of falling off the board. Basically the bridge was built for 19mm spacing and the neck is designed for 18.5 mm spacing. I was wondering if anybody with experience of trying one out could confirm this? It seems like a ridiculous idea, as surely Fender would have thought of this when doing the R&D on their most expensive non custom shop five string bass. I can’t really tell from the demo but it seems to sound nice anyway.

To me it sounds like a 70 year old man who wants to slow down and just get back to building instruments rather than continue to manage an ever growing business. Kinda like Stuart Spector selling on to Korg. These guys have put a lot of time in and as far as I’m concerned they are entitled to choose their own succession/retirement plan. The demand for the Metro Express (and to a lesser extent the Metro and NYC models) far outstripped the actual supply of instruments. Rather than having to manage every aspect of the business, this deal potentially allows the supply of basses to grow but also allows Roger Sadowsky to keep building instruments without the extra pressure of managing foreign production and distribution. It does sound though that ‘something’ happened with Japanese production that Roger Sadowsky didn’t like that resulted in him stopping Japanese production altogether. If Warwick deliver duds though then I suspect Roger Sadowsky will look for a different licensee.

If you can speak German (or operate Google Translate) https://www.bonedo.de/artikel/einzelansicht/sensationsmeldung-warwick-baut-sadowsky-instrumente.html Basically: Metro Express (production process equivalent to existing Rockbass Warwicks): 799-999 Euros Metroline (equivalent to German 'team built' Warwicks: 2000-3000 Euro Sadowsky Masterbuilt (equivalent to NYC bass, but made by Warwick Custom Shop I presume: 3000-4500 Euros Not going to even guess what the £ equivalent will ultimately be. However from a strict Euro comparison from Thomann: - Metro Express; massive savings, almost half the price (half the quality?) - Metroline: pretty much the same, (though hopefully with more options in terms of finishes?) - Masterbuilt: comparable to 'Satin range' but with far more options and much cheaper than most NYC basses apart from the more 'stock' plain versions. There are a few pics on the site of the Masterbuilt line. In terms of 'bling' they are certainly comparable to some of the NYC lines, more than even a lot of the Satin series I see. Given the look of the basses, it seems that this partnership has been in the works for a while. I am cautiously optimistic and I say that as an owner of an older Metro and NYC.

I think that this is similar to how I view it. Roger Sadowsky cannot keep going forever as an individual. A lot of the boutique luthiers will be looking at retirement and succession plans, same as any other business. I would hope that the prices do not rise too much from the current Metro line. The Metro basses are expensive as they are. It is about £2500 for a Metro MV4 or RV4, which I consider is over the odds (I paid £1600 for mine in 2009). I think that that the goal for the Warwick Metro would be to sell them at around £2000, which is currently still about £500 north of a 'team built' Warwick Thumb 4. I would like to believe that Roger Sadowsky would not have moved production if it meant that the cost for the end consumer was going to be more expensive. We will no doubt see in due course.

Okay. Sounds like an equivalent or something similar to the Satin line. Though if it is like Custom Shop Warwick prices then the price could be even higher than current Satin/NYC prices. Though if the Metro prices are similar to the team built prices for the Thumb, Streamer etc, then that is much lower than current Metro prices Honestly, I am intrigued to see how it works out.

Custom shop as in the current NYC/Satin line? Interesting, I thought that the NYC workshop was staying open.

https://www.sadowsky.com/sadowsky-warwick-announcement/?fbclid=IwAR0ByXnN5qtBGX01Lz-fV48cU642Dkg9_hJDexz9anGByAph_GCuddZZZcI In an announcement that will surely lead to Talkbass users losing control of bodily functions and Basschat users to go 'hmm, vaguely interesting', Sadowsky and Warwick have come to a deal whereby Warwick will now be the exclusive constructors of the Metroline and Metro Express series of basses, that were previously constructed in Japan. Obviously, this also means that Roger Sadowsky is effectively handing over a bit more control to a third party, allowing him to go back to building basses in New York rather than have to constantly monitor expanding overseas production (the Metro Series and Metro Express involved two different construction processes in different locations, so quite a lot to oversee while you are still trying to manage the NYC workshop and business). Despite being a proud owner of a Metro bass, I am actually fairly interested in this partnership. If the Sadowsky Metro series are constructed and price at a similar level to the German 'team built' line, then this could see the price of the Metro series come down. A five string team built Warwick Thumb is now about £1500, which I think is pretty good value in the current market. If the Sadowskys are priced closer to that level then that is great news and really would lead to the Metro line being priced at or around the Sandberg and Fender lines, rather than £800+ above them as they are currently. I wonder if the Metro Express line will be a 'Rockbass' equivalent. Any thoughts?

EBS Fafner has a similar thing. The bulb keeps breaking. I am going to replace it with a blue bulb instead, so people will think that the pre-amp valve is really cold.

I must say that after being a massive fan for years I pretty much lost interest immediately after seeing them live at Hampden in about 2007. I will be interested to see what kind of direction he takes the band in. I really didn't like By The Way at the time, and well, I still don't for the most. However there are a few tracks on that album that I really really like. Stadium Arcadium I actually quite liked, though it was too long. I didn't find it offensive of anything.

Oh, I love a fancy burst! The top on my five string is very similar. Translucent Black over a figured top though...just take my money!

http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Sadowsky_USA_NYC_4.html?fbclid=IwAR0Ul4T-ls-8zKhj-U_lfG50LxRBX-xtQBTp7g7YNJ9sW07Kh5JA_PDgPqA Stunning used NYC in Bass Direct. Almost a four string equivalent of the five string I got from there in 2016. A lot more expensive than mine, though admittedly this one is in better condition than mine. From the numbering of the serial number I would guess mid 2000s.

Honestly wish I had thought of that. Actually I have long been tempted of installing a Sadowsky preamp into my Excess.