Bigwan

It restricts how much you dig in on the strings. Works REALLY well for that actually. I had an adjustable ramp on a Shuker 6 I ordered years ago. My current ACGs have pretty large pickup enclosures so don't really need a ramp. Tell that to Billy Sheehan who's been using his P pickups as ramps for YEARS... Or maybe Gary Willis who's a fan of them... But different strokes for different folks! Edit: I see somebody beat me to the Sheehan/Willis comment, but I think it bears repeating...

It's here... And it's SPECTACULAR! Edit: unlike my photography skills...

Used EBS Fafner would be what I'd be looking for myself...

Just bought a bass from Rhys who was kind enough to respond to my wanted ad. It turned up well packaged and in super quick order. First time I've bought anything since Brexit - the Irish Sea customs debacle could have put a few sellers off, but Rhys sorted all the paperwork for the courier with minimal fuss. Couldn't be more pleased with the bass and I'd definitely deal with him again.

Last week... Missed it by deliberating too long... But I'm not too sad... I have something else French coming! (@walshy I was quite sad for a few days though!!!)

Yes I do... But no, I can't!

I could see a 30" 5 string (or 30.5" as Alan makes them) ACG in my future... although probably distant future given recent events!!!

All I can tell you is how I started with ACG - buy a used one to get a feel for what you think you might want. I bought an ACG Graft Recurve 5 from @Black Coffee of this parish... Actually I loaned it from him for a few days with a view to buying it... And transferred him money pretty much the same day I was that impressed with it. (I don't delieve in "signs" so much but on my way home from picking up the bass there was a pretty clear one as I was driving behind a Jeep Cherokee with an odd numberplate "xxxx ACG" - TRULLY BIZARRE!) Anyway, living with that ACG for a while taught me what I like about what Alan does. Zero radius fretboard - love it Neck shape - love it Scale length (33") - could be longer. I was used to playing Lakland 5s at the time so matched their 35" scale with my custom String spacing - OK @18mm but could be wider, went with 19mm but adjustable. Pickups (singles with an odd placement) - sounded great, especially the neck pickup but wanted twin P pickups and fatter enclosures. Ended up with a mix of Alnico P at the neck and reverse Ceramic P at the bridge. Alan was great with suggestions in this regard. 4 way selector switch - nope I had that on a Dingwall and didn't like it. Went with the all dancing 5K pre - this is the only thing I'd change if I was going again, and only because I've now owned a bass with the ACG version of the East Retro-P! Recurve body shape - yup, like it a lot. As for wood choices, I had my own ideas about what I wanted and Alan didn't dissuade me. I also wanted my pickups in a non-standard position - front pickup in normal P position, but bridge pickup as close as possible to the neck pickup. Worked well for me and the resultant bass is a dream! I've had 4 ACGs now, the original Graft Recurve 5 (gone but served its purpose well), my custom 5 Recurve (I doubt I'll ever sell this one), a custom 4 Recurve (similar spec to my 5 string, regretfully sold), the 4 string Finn "cricket club" bass (sold, regretted, bought back). Not a bad bass among them to be honest!

Looks like I'm going to get a chance to find out for myself! Woop woop!

Yeah I'd seen that one and I'm tempted. @Dood's video review is of the ACTUAL bass that bass direct have for sale too!

Alas I missed the boat on 2 (yes, 2!) Passion IV 5 strings over the weekend. Have wanted ads up - it's time for a bucket list bass so have ads up for Vigiers, Spectors and a left-field-in-comparison Dingwall Super P!

Thanks @Balcro! I'm holding off changing anything until I can play the cab with my band in the setting it was intended for and then we'll see what's what!

You know I'd forgotten I'd even started that thread - thanks for the reminder Phil! I did deal with the issues on the cab at the time, but it doesn't sound particularly pleasing with the BWs, albeit solo at the minute. Holding off on rashly changing drivers may be the sensible move.

Sorry, @Balcro I missed your initial message for some reason! 2 separate chambers, dimensions are as follows: 24" x 15.25" x 16" (internal) (610mm x 387mm x 410mm) 2 ports, each 4" (101mm) internal diameter, 4.5" (114mm) long I'd imagine it looked a bit like this in better days:

That's extremely useful. Thanks @itu! It's a Passion IV I'm interested in.

I really don't like the modern rock/metal tone. The Dingwall & Darkglass thing is EVERYWHERE and it sets my teeth on edge! Think more James Lomenzo/Billy Sheehan tones (not playing-wise I might add!).

The brand name means absolutely nothing. I'm asking about the tonal attributes of a specific model... A relatively rare bass, I've never seen one in the flesh in my 30 years of playing. It would be simple if I could try everything I wanted to... It's not something a bass player on this island ever has a chance to do on an instrument of the level we're talking about, not without significant travel. That's why I've always relied quite heavily on basschat input, since before day 1 of the basschat forum - some of us remember basstalk.co.uk. If you haven't anything better to contribute maybe you should be on a different thread...

Vigier are a brand I've been interested in since I used to read Guitarist magazine in the very early 90s and saw a review of the Passion - I never thought I'd be able to afford one, but I recently received a little bit of inheritance money from my grandfather so I'm in bass shopping mode! A used Amethyst Passion 5 at Bass Direct has caught my eye and is just within my budget... The other basses I'm considering are a Dingwall D-roc 5 Standard (currently on order with Mark as it was floating my boat originally) and a Spector Euro 4 or 5 What I'm looking for is a bass that feels ALIVE... Punch and growl are what I'm after. I don't see many reviews for the Passion that would cover my style (hard rock to metal) so it's hard for me to really judge and visiting Warwick is out for the foreseeable. What are the thoughts guys? Would a Passion 5 fit the bill?

Vigier are a brand I've been interested in since I used to read Guitarist magazine in the very early 90s and saw a review of the Passion - I never thought I'd be able to afford one, but I recently received a little bit of inheritance money from my grandfather so I'm in bass shopping mode! A used Amethyst Passion 5 at Bass Direct has caught my eye and is just within my budget... The other basses I'm considering are a Dingwall D-roc 5 Standard (currently on order with Mark as it was floating my boat originally) and a Spector Euro 4 or 5 What I'm looking for is a bass that feels ALIVE... Punch and growl are what I'm after. I don't see many reviews for the Passion that would cover my style (hard rock to metal) so it's hard for me to really judge and visiting Warwick is out for the foreseeable. What are the thoughts guys? Would a Passion 5 fit the bill?

All viable options...

A real pity that Alan isn't doing his classic line of basses any more... Can't afford another custom!

Same idea as the VFE Triumvirate. I don't know if the Triple Shot has adjustable frequency ranges like the Triumvirate, and at 239 quid I'm unlikely to find out! The Triumvirate didn't work nearly as well for me as the Lomenzo though... While the mid range drive was OK I couldn't get it as focused as the Lomenzo and the high or low ends didn't sound as nice either. Good for other sounds, but not the same sounds as the Lomenzo.

The Lomenzo is the best drive (for me) that I've found. I have a few issues with it: the form factor, the useless VU meter and the overabundance of controls... and being of a diy bent I've always fancied tackling a redesign of it but "real life" keeps getting in the way... I like it on its own for what I do, but you're not alone in liking to stack it! I've seen that a few times - Peter Iwers, formerly of In Flames, stacked it with an MXR DI.