funkypenguin

They can be addictive, I switched to 6ers full time in 2008 and have never looked back, though I still own a P bass for teaching and when I need a passive sound. John Patitucci, Anthony Jackson and John Myung opened the door onto another world of possibilities (and later Tony Grey, Damian Erskine, Oteil Burbridge and Bjorn Meyer) that I don't think I'll ever tired of exploring Ben

I’ve seen too much gear being treated like s*** at multi band gigs to let anyone near my amp. The cabinets maybe, provided that the other bands had asked ahead of time. If they just turn up and expect to use it then no

Thanks very much and thanks for checking it out! 🤘 Ben

This is the most recent of the lockdown projects I've gotten done from my laundry list, and It also happened to tie in nicely with the odd meters challenge thats been running over on SBL! This is taken from Dream Theater's Live At Budokan DVD, it was built around The Dance Of Eternity and features music from various other instrumentals. This is Instrumedley! Its a particular thing (as is all of progressive music) but hopefully some of you will dig this. Ben p.s - props to any of you that make it through all 12 minutes!

One of the greatest songwriters and musicians? Yes. Greatest guitarist? Never. I can't think of any Prince guitar part that would even crack a guitar players top 10. You will never convince me he's greater than players like Vai, Slash or Hendrix. Ben

This is where taste comes into the equation, as opposed to being able to split them simply by looking at the spec sheet. I can't stand the voicing of the MEC pickups or their preamps, for me they are the weakest part of any Warwick bass especially at the top end. My own Warwick has Seymour Duncan pickups and the East preamp, and the bass sounds fuller and a lot sweeter to my ears. I have no idea about any of the technical specs of Johns preamps (or any preamps for that matter), I only know that I prefer how they sound to the MEC units Ben

I have an East U-retro in my Warwick (it replaced the old MEC 2 band unit) and it sounds a lot better in both active and passive modes. John makes seriously high quality circuitry that I don't think any mainstream manufacturer can match for the reasons that @Dood has already mentioned. Top quality = top dollar, which extends to Johns after sales care, after part of my preamp came loose (my fault!) he had me over to his workshop and sat me down with a brew while he fixed it free of charge. I would recommend his preamps to anyone, for me they are the best retrofit preamps available anywhere Ben

Fodera 32" Monarch 6 string

Pulled the trigger on the dream custom build

Really enjoyed that Bilbo, you have a lovely sound on that fretless! Ben

Everything on John's preamps is plug in or screw terminal so you don't need to worry about your ability to solder! Shoot him an email if you want to discuss your requirements, his knowledge and customer service is second to none. When a part of my preamp broke, he had me round to his house and sat me down with a brew in his workshop while he fixed it completely free of charge. I've never come across any manufacturer that comes close to his level of customer care and after sales service. Ben

Seymour Duncan pickups and an East UNI preamp I have the older East U-Retro in my Warwick and it totally transformed the bass! Ben Edit: just spotted you went with Seymour Duncans after all! Great choice!

I've just pulled the trigger on a custom order through Bass Direct and its been an incredibly positive experience thus far!

Yeah, between Thomas Haake's kick drums and Thorendal's right hand it was one of the most brutal gigs I've ever seen!

Toto - Falling In Between Live In Paris Earth Wind And Fire - Plugged In And Live Stevie Wonder - Natural Wonder Jamiroquai - Live In Verona Those 4 are still regular players for me 8 or so years after I first heard them Ben

Meshuggah - Manchester Academy 2013. The loudest and most aggressive gig ive ever been to! Ben

Some gorgeous basses in here! Looking forward to joining this club in the (relatively) near future, putting in an order for a 32" bass with Fodera in the next month or so!

You're dead on with the body shapes all hanging differently, the streamer has always hung nicely on a strap for me, but the 6 string thumb I tried was too far over on my body when on the strap which made first position awkward. I've never been a particular far of the corvette aesthetically but thats just me. I still can't get to grips with what is made where with the Warwick range at the moment, things were much clearer years ago when you either had a German Warwick or you had a Rockbass. If you want to hear how my Warwick sounds with the East preamp, I'll post a recent recording I did below (using my Hellborg rig). I grant that its not 100% representative of low end playing but since its completely unaccompanied its as clear a sound sample as you're likely to hear short of actually playing my bass. As for the Warwick vs. Spector debate.....I've never played a Spector 6 that I really liked, the spacing is too wide for my tastes and 35" scale is too long. Also the electronics in anything other than a top spec NS with the HAZ preamp seem a little lifeless and 'plastic' to my ears (the older locking bridges also have a habit of falling to pieces the moment you try and adjust them....). Warwick for me every time, though as always YMMV with that .

If you want to dip into the world of Warwick, I would recommend going for a bass made in Germany in the late 90's or earlier with a wenge neck and preferably with electronics and pickups other than MEC (EMG, Bartolini and Seymour Duncan are the other makes often used). Thats a specific set of criteria I know, but the basses that fit within them are better instruments than a lot of the basses made post 2000, unless you were to go for a top of the line custom shop model. The wenge neck is what sets a lot of the great Warwick basses apart, the basses with ovangkol and maple necks don't sound the same to my ears, they miss that lovely Warwick growl. The MEC electronics are the weakest part of Warwick basses across the board, to me their top end is too thin and brittle sounding. My own Warwick has Duncan's (standard) and an East U-Retro preamp (retrofit). The change of preamp transformed the bass, it was literally like night and day compared to the old MEC 2 band unit. Hope that helps somewhat! Ben

Hey guys, Over the weekend I finished my last recording project of 2020, a performance of Patitucci's Heart Of The Bass. This closes the chapter that started when I transcribed this back in 2013, and was on the laundry list of projects to get done during this year. We had some technical issues during the session and the audio isn't absolutely pristine (my engineer thinks its the power supply in his building thats the issue but unfortunately due to COVID we couldn't use his studio). The performance isn't perfect either but its the best I'm capable of right now. It was recording via the following signal chain. DI was taken from the Hellborg Pre and we had mics on the cabs to capture the lovely warmth and harmonic grit from the Hellborg power amp and speakers. Warwick Streamer LX6 TC Nova Delay TC Ditto X2 Warwick Hellborg Preamp Warwick Hellborg Power Amp Hellborg Hi Cab (2x12) and Lo Cab (1x15) I'll link in the YouTube video and also my soundcloud for those that want to listen to a high quality WAV file (I definitely recommend headphones!) Hope you enjoy it. This performance was dedicated to my daughter, Aurelia. Ben https://soundcloud.com/funkypenguin-1/heart-of-the-bass

Finished my last 2020 recording project over the weekend, a performance of John Patitucci's Heart Of The Bass.

I would say so, the preamp and power amp are massively engineered (the power amp is heavier than the moon so it needs it....). All the switches and knobs have a really solid, quality feel to them. Obviously I haven't taken the cabs apart or anything but they seem very well engineered to me, and are tuned to work together as a full system (like really high quality monitors), so it might look like overkill on a gig but there is reason behind the madness. I bought the entire rig either second hand, clearance or B stock, so it cost me a fraction of what it would have cost as new back in 2007.

Just finished rebuilding my rig and it’s all Warwick so it fits in here nicely! complete hellborg system with my 97 Streamer LX custom shop!

It works beautifully with my 6 string. Its a great sounding bass regardless of the amp, but through this rig it sounds rich and sweet in a totally new way. I haven't cranked it yet for obvious reasons but can't wait to see how it sounds in a bigger room where I can push it a little! It's interesting you mention the power amp, I discovered the exact same thing. I played through a Hellborg rig back in 2008/9, but was in a room with a bunch of other gear (trade show) so didn't notice the harmonic grit. I wasn't sure if it was a fault or not so I went back to an old copy of bass player mag where they reviewed this rig (club cab rather than Hi Cab) and they mentioned this very characteristic. Its certainly unique and takes some getting used to, but adds a lovely warmth to the sound, especially after the transformers have fully warmed up. I've never played through anything that has this blend of warmth and clarity, and the dynamic range and attack are amazing. Really happy to have the dream rig assembled! obviously it still has to pass the acid test of being gigged, but the signs are very encouraging! ben