ped

I'll try and bring mine to a bash soon. The series II passion is the best four string I've ever played, it's seen off many basses in it's time including Alembics, Bacchus, Zon, Fender, Marleaux etc. They didn't do a five string in graphite so for me the best 5 is a Ken Smith.

Hopefully it'll be sorted then - my Arpege fretless had the same and it was dead quiet. The fretted series II I had needed a new jack. Let us now how you get on. If you do need to replace it I may be able to find you a replacement Vigier pre.

It’s even worse in the age of the smartphone. Many a cringeworthy minute I have sat clutching someone’s phone listening to something shit pretending I can hear and like it. You can’t give the phone back early so you just have to sit and feign interest. Something I’m bad at.

Much prefer a thru neck. IMO they look and feel better plus I feel like it’s better craftsmanship, not that some bolt-ons aren’t quite tidy.

OR it’s a marketing thing. Could be both. Could be neither.

Interesting. Sometimes I used to find (when I had a jazz bass and used TI flats) the strings sounded weird when I re-string it after a clean. Often slacking them off, taking it off and putting it back in changed the sound. I assumed it was due to it not being seated properly or twisted perhaps. So it could be partly that too?

Righto here I am! First of all, it looks like a lovely bass, congrats. Where did you buy it? It’s a series 1 bass, before Patrice started using carbon fibre necks. The brass laminate runs along the neck and although it’s a bit heavy it’s a really good system. I had a series 1 fretless which I recently sold but never had to touch the truss rod once I had set it up. There should be a serial number above the rear strap pin but it’ll probably be before Patrice started recording them against the date (there’s a spreadsheet on the Vigier site but think it only starts with series 2 basses). In that case, the year and date of manufacture will be under a pickup, usually the neck one. Assuming the electronics are original then they might feel a bit buzzy by modern standards however they can be cleaned up and working flawlessly. It’s a really nice sounding filter preamp which is attached to some awesome Benedetti pickups. Enjoy it - it’s hard to find a decent one of that vintage that doesn’t have any finish cracks, butchered electronics or knackered truss rod adjuster. Anything else I can answer for you? Cheers ped

Send each other a PM. You wouldn’t be the first BC couple 💖

British Telecom (sorry, UK based internet router joke)

BT HomeHub 5 (Edit - someone did that joke, sorry) 😞

There’s no sense in it but it’s just true to say that if I buy one today it’ll be worth more next year. But instruments as an investment is different to an instrument being worth the price for a player. I happen to think some basses and the time of some of the masters of the craft are worth a bit extra. What I don’t understand is how some bog standard factory produced basses can be so expensive.

I agree to an extent, but definitely think more expensive instruments are often worth the money. Quite often they keep their value better, too. So you haven’t so much spent the money but have it tied up in an instrument (that excuse normally works on the wife anyway)

I suppose you could use it as a paddle

I think it’s a good thing - it gives the smaller guys a look in at a more accessible price range. Nobody has to spend 5k on a bass. Look at the price of handmade furniture. You can spend £100 or £10000 on a chest of drawers. Bass guitars are cheap, really, considering how handmade some of them are. And you can’t play a chest of drawers.

If my order books were full and people were queuing up to pay £5k for one of my instruments, I’d charge £5k

Did the price of Ken Smith basses drop when they moved from NY to Pennsylvania? Don’t think so! Once the brand is established and the quality is known, the prices can remain high because the order books are still full.

And my lack of desire to be a session player

With all due respect I don’t think possession of a P bass is the main factor in me not being a first call LA session legend 😂

I gave myself a warning

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