SisterAbdullahX

[quote name='BassManKev' post='300265' date='Oct 6 2008, 08:12 AM']as far as i know the vigier body logo wasn't applied on the early passions. The guy is lying through his teeth if it is a refinish as he has told me he has owned since new. The number on the bass looks original, and i doubt they could have done a refinish without re applying that. Tis nice, but not nice enough for my picky mind! [/quote] I stand corrected! 15/05/86 it is! That still makes it a series 1, full graphite neck/no body logo Passion. The finish problem was there when I bought it second hand sometime around '92. It started as a bubble just below the lower horn, which can be seen in the pic, then spread to the middle. Gel coat? Could be. Seems to be a coloured lacquer applied directly to the wood, rather than a colour then a lacquer coat. The bits that have come away left clear wood beneath. Contacted Patrice to get a price to refinish......700Euros!!!!

[attachment=14348:Vigier_044.jpg][attachment=14349:Vigier_042.jpg][attachment=14350:Vigier_037.jpg]h ere's an early one, 1984 Passion I, serial no. 213. Was my main bass for 10 years but now in need of some TLC. The finish is falling off! Will never be sold. The necks on Vigiers are the best of any bass I've played, so thin and the wide flat frets make for a super low action

[attachment=13852:Vigier_044.jpg][quote name='cd_david' date='Sep 22 2008, 06:16 PM' post='289374'] In recent weeks I've been complaining of severe GAS for a Vigier. I put an appointment on with the doctor, Luckily, he paid me a home visit yesterday, dished out a prescription and the GAS problem is cured Woo Hoo! I've known Nick (Doctor of the Bass) online for about 10 years, but it was great to meet face to face, what a great guy, and outstanding player. Sorry for the quality of the pics, will sort some better ones later when i can bare to put the bass down for more than 5 minutes. Cheers for the bass Nick ATB Dave Check my baby out, 1983 Passion. #213. Seen better days, but the best neck of any bass I've played.

Hartke LH1000. Anyone got one? Are they any good?

Anyone out there own or tried A Glockenklang Heart Rock? I am currently using a Hartke HA 350 with a 4.5xl cab. Sounds nice but a little underpowered. The cab is great, though, so I thought I'd get another (currently £278 at Thomann) and a more powerful amp. I was going to go for a Mark Bass LMII, but heard a few online sound samples that I was really disappointed in. Sounded totally lifeless to me. I know it's hard to tell from a sound sample, will have to get my hands on one. I then thought, well, if I'm gonna get a new amp, I might as well spend now and keep forever. I've read a few reviews on the Glock Heart Rock and it looks like a Rolls Royce of an amp, (with a price to match). It would definitely be powerful enough, 750 watts at 4 ohms into two 4x10's! Anyone got one? I know that just getting another 4.5xl and keeping the HA350 will improve power as the amp will be knocking out it's full 350 watts, but the Glock just appeals to me!

[quote name='LeftySteve' date='Jul 31 2008, 10:26 AM' post='251883'] Well, after swapping a load of gear around here I now need a reasonable combo urgently (as in the next couple of days!). I have been looking around on the net this morning, as usual there does not seem to be much secondhand around within a reasonable distance to collect and it's looking like I may well have to buy something new... hence the Roland D-Bass has surfaced!!! So... anyone have any experience of these, either the 210 or 115? Any good? Should I forget about them right now? They look as though they could be ok, in my experience Roland does not make much that is not up to the mark. I would also be keen to hear from anyone with either a combo or 4ohm cab available within striking distance of the South West that is available to buy in the next couple of days.... all reasonable (ish) things will be considered! Cheers Steve Haven't tried the new 210, but had a DB700 (1x15) for a few years. I absolutely loved the sound of it, and having two programmable channels is a great feature. The compressor was great, the overdrive sounded lovely and the chorus nice and lush. The downside was it was heavy and not really powerful enough to use in anything other than a small club. It had to be on 10 on the pre and master and still struggled on a loud stage, which was a shame cos the sound was lovely and rich. It developed a fault that resulted in no sound when first switched on. This was cured by thumping the heat sink! Yeah, technical, I know. 6 months or so ago it packed up altogether and I was told the cost to replace the faulty part (the main pcb) was the wrong side of £140. I was told by the repair man that he spoke to Roland and they told him "it was a very common fault." So you might want to consider that before you buy or even speak to Roland yourself to see if the same part is fitted in the new ones.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='209605' date='May 30 2008, 02:03 PM']Hartley Electric Music 238 London Road, SHEFFIELD, S2 4LW T : 01142682738 Pete Hartley a Sheffield legend who runs a little shop, Hartley Electric Music, that makes and repairs all kinds of stuff. Pete sold synths to Cabaret Voltaire and the Human League, then apparently went on to design the Simmons-based drum kit which Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen used after losing his arm. Allan Holdsworth uses Hartley Thompson amplifiers[/quote] Yeah, I've used Pete. His shop is a bit hard to find, but he knows his stuff and he's fast.

Got a Hartke 4.5xl cab which I use with a 3500 head. Very happy with sound of cab but it's recently developed a metalic rattle when played at gig volume. Any ideas?

[quote name='steve-norris' post='92673' date='Nov 22 2007, 12:37 PM']Tayste_2000, how did you get on with the BAD MONKEY? I have just ordered a Humphrey modded bass version after hearing good reports, i will report in due course[/quote] Yeah, I just ordered one too. Heard good things and it's not expensive. Can it do the Muse thing?

Just been given a Hartke HA3500 amp head as a freebie after winning a 4.5XL cab on e-bay (Cheers Martin!). The amp is totally dead after a power surge occurred mid gig. Last owner changed fuse and valve to no effect. Any ideas on what might be the problem? How much to repair? Know of any reputable repairmen in Yorkshire?

[quote name='ped' post='139977' date='Feb 13 2008, 11:29 PM']Wow - well that's MOJO! I am sure a quick refin and electronics sort-out wouldn't cost you much @ The Gallery - worth investigating perhaps? Cheers ped P.s pics of mine on my site![/quote] Yeah, definitely will get her sorted at some point in the not too distant future. Too good a bass to have sat around collecting dust. I e-mailed Patrice about a year and a half ago to see how much a refinish would cost and he quoted something rediculous like 700 quid! Maybe he couldn't be bothered at the time and was trying to put me off. It worked if he was. The good people at Overwater said they could sort out the electrics, but at the moment I need to finance a new amp and finish off the Warmoth Jazz, neither of which the wife is too happy about! Your babies are fine, by the way!

[quote name='ped' post='138570' date='Feb 11 2008, 11:41 PM']Hey there! Another Vigier fan eh? I would love to see some pics. Perhaps I can fix it for you ;0)[/quote] Yeah, I love my Vigier, even though she hardly ever gets played, due to the pickup and finish issues, but anyway, here she is. TLC required!

[quote name='ped' post='29129' date='Jul 9 2007, 02:16 PM'] [[email protected]]Contact ped[/email] [[email protected]]Contact East UK[/email] [url="http://www.east-uk.com"]East UK website[/url] John East lives near me in Oxfordshire and used to live a stones throw away from my house. After meeting him for the first time at the bass bash and having a chat, I decided to try out one of his now world famous pre-amps in one of my basses. My Vigier fretless has always suffered from what I thought to be a fairly useless pre-amp. The unit consisted of a rotary frequency selector and a cut/boost switch, and most confusing of all, a tone pot assigned only to the bridge pickup. The main issue with it however was the fact that it was quite noisy and was becoming a problem on what is one of my most often recorded basses. It could have been largely due to the output jack giving up and a whole host of other things, but the rear tone pot thing annoyed me a little. The natural decision was to check out some new electronics in the bass, as I know the pickups themselves sound huge and the bass is otherwise lovely- so it was a sunny June day that I found myself in the car heading for Mr. East’s workshop just outside Oxford city centre. Many will know of the ‘J-Retro’ pre amp, a drop in replacement for fender type basses, complete with control plate. You might think John a brave man to mess with what is one of the world’s most popular basses, but after having a quick whirl on his own 70’s Jazz you hear instantly why these are becoming so popular among modern bassists. [i]The pre-amp comes in gold, black and chrome - or a mixture of the three if you ask nicely.[/i] A pre-amp is simple though, isn’t it? It just adds or cuts treble or bass and that’s that. Why not just do that on your amplifier? Well the electronics in your bass are an essential part of the signal chain, passing on the sound from your pickups. Cheaper electronics will mask and hide sounds which the retro brings out in the bass, making it sound like a new instrument. You will hear frequencies you didn’t know existed. This was certainly the case with my bass. I decided to go for the ‘U-Retro Deluxe’ model – essentially the same as the J-Retro model but designed to fit into a non-jazz bass shaped 4 hole body. There are three stacked knobs and one normal small knob and two switches. Here is a diagram of the arrangement with labels to show what does what exactly: [i]The arrangement shows the J retro layout - input jack is to the left[/i] More details on what frequencies are boosted or cut and by how much can be obtained from the East-UK website (link at the top of the page). The unit is very impressive. There are many possibilities with the amount of flexibility it offers. Just some sounds it has opened up to me are a rear pickup nasal fingerstyle sound, a dark and woody upright tone, a wide and full sounding natural vibe and a blooming and open classic fretless 80’s cheese mode. The difference it makes is huge, and my pickups sound better than ever. The unit itself is quite compact when compared to my previous harness, and can fit into most basses without any modification. You might have to have two small holes drilled for the switches; as it was I only needed one for the active/passive switch, but if you are against this you can hide them in the control cavity – John also does a small amount of custom requests to cater for your individual needs should you need anything in particular. If you have a bass that you think is being held back by its electronics and you want a reliable, super quiet and neat alternative which will make you wonder how you coped before, check out John East’s electronics. [/quote] I'm getting a J-Retro Deluxe for my Warmoth Jazz, to go with a set of Nordstrand NJ4SE's. I'm expecting big things! By the way, Vigiers ROCK! I've got an '84 Passion, all graphite neck jobby. It has the best neck of any bass I've ever played. Unfortunately the finish is falling off and the bridge pick up doesn't work, one day I'll make her great again!

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='138409' date='Feb 11 2008, 07:09 PM']swapped over the necks again - they just seem that little better playing and looking with the "wrong" neck on each. I did this before but reverted them back to how they came thinking I was for moving on the candy apple red/maple one. if they both stay as keepers this is how I'll have them from now on [/quote] That white sparkle, my friend, is fabulous. Is that a standard MM colour?

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='85012' date='Nov 7 2007, 05:08 PM']snce got another Sterling and swapped the necks out cant decide which one I like more they're both fantastic! [/quote] White is such a cool colour for a bass.....

Does anyone know if a modification could be done to a dbx 160 compressor to enable it to be switched on and off via a footswitch? Does anyone know a tech who could do this?

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='111497' date='Dec 31 2007, 02:17 PM']Been playing for a while now and I'm still staggered by Andy Rourke's lines from The Smiths...the guy is a legend. As someone once said, his songs sound like a whole different song going on withing a song.[/quote] Andy's playing with The Smiths was a thing of beauty. To me it was as important a part of their sound as Johnny Marr's guitar playing. I really don't think they would have been the band they were without him. The same can be said of another much overlooked player, Bruce Thomas from The Attractions. When I was 16 he was God! He had it all. He was melodic, supportive and muscular all at the same time. Also, he and (drummer) Pete Thomas together were rhythm section gold! Check out "Accidents Will Happen" or "Party Girl". Come to think of it, check out the entire Attractions back catalogue. Later, after years of listening to him I was surprised to hear that he was a north-easterner, like myself. He's from Stockton, about 10 miles away from where I grew up.

[quote name='DHA' post='115857' date='Jan 7 2008, 10:18 PM']Hi, The new models are all now active eq and that's one of the modifications that I will be doing on Sug's amp later this week. I am not happy with the compressor when it's integrated into the pre-amp so I am not offering it any more as an option on the amp. Another VT5-400-Bass was delivered to a BC member today with the latest active eq so there should be some more reviews soon. There are 2 more in production which are also going to BC members which are not far away now, so more reviews to follow soon I hope. Dave[/quote] Thanks Dave. It's nice to know that a manufacturer cares enough about a product (and his customers!) to make those kinds of changes. I'll keep an eye open for the reviews of the new ones.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='115906' date='Jan 7 2008, 11:07 PM']Cost. The QS410 has speakers with whizzer cones, not dual voice coils. Check out what people say about the treble response of the EA Wizzy, which AFAIK is the only other whizzer cone bass cab on the market. I used to own a whizzer cone cab and it's quite a neat solution to added treble without electrical crossovers (the voice coil / cone/ whizzer cone flexible joint acts as a mechanical crossover) and mid/tweeter units. Alex[/quote] Cheers Alex

[quote name='DHA' post='66843' date='Sep 28 2007, 11:32 AM']Please check out the special offers section for an offer to BC members on this amp. Dave[/quote] Hi Dave, I mentioned this to Sugden, so I might as well ask you upfront, any plans to build custom bass cabs to go with the amps?

[quote name='Sugden' date='Jan 7 2008, 01:37 AM' post='115173'] Hi I indeed own a VT5-400 Buzz has already directed you to my review if you have any other questions then Im happy to answer them through PM or on here. The amps back with dave at the moment having some updates mentioned in the review so I wont be able to give an update for afew weeks. I will add though that since the review I have gigged with the amp twice and practised with a band quite abit, and its by far my favorite amp out of the ones mentioned in the review and previous amps I have owned. It sits in the mix well, cuts through and everyone else I played with loved it. The sax player's never really fussed about peoples tones etc but he even mentioned how nice it was. Mind me asking what sort of tone your after? Cheers Sug To be honest, I seem to change my mind every week as far as tone goes! So I suppose something that covers as many bases as poss is what I'm after. From Doug Pinnick (King's X) to Jaco and everything in between! Love the idea of a gorgeous warm valve tone but also want mids to die for. The Kern 777 interests me too and I suppose the VT5-400 could be seen as direct competition for the 777. There's no mentionin your review of how good the compressor is. Can it do a Marcus or is it a more subtle effect? Also, the comments about the passive eq cause just a little concern. Would prefer to have a bit more control. However, the great thing about Dave's operation is the fact that you can pretty much custom design your amp, so maybe active eq or semi para mids could be an option. One thing I definitely want is punch and volume, and as you said in the review, it cuts through. I'm definitely interested! I wonder if Dave would consider building custom bass cabs as well!! Cheers for the help.

Anyone have or tried the QS410 Pro cab from Hughes & Kettner? I'm interested in it because of the dual coil speakers in it which means no horn required. I was wandering if it still has the top end sparkle but without the dreaded "clack" of a lot of 4x10's with horns in them.

[quote name='Buzz' post='115083' date='Jan 6 2008, 11:12 PM']Yes, people own the vt5-400 (I think two are in possession of BC, I know one is for sure). Have a gander further down at the affilates forum, and the DHA section. vt5- Preamp review: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5239"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5239[/url] Sudgen's review of his VT5-400: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6172&hl=dha+vt5"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...&hl=dha+vt5[/url] The search function is your friend at times.[/quote] Wow. That was a fast and comprehensive reply!