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itu

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Everything posted by itu

  1. @ped but I have played one. The shop had two new red instruments, a 4- and a 5-string. I have seen the 4-string later on and it was modified with a detuner. Full carbon. What was the 5-string then? Was the neck painted or... This gets really interesting.
  2. Passion bass 5: 001 - 240 (the first few made in 1989 were with the carbon neck) All of the following were made later, so probably these are only with 10 / 90 necks: Arpege bass 5: serials 001 - 076 Arpege bass 6: 001 - 027 Passion bass 6: 001 - 030 @ped: take a look at this 4-string for the red colour I mentioned earlier. Note the bridge and controls and the neck! https://www.bassic.de/kleinanzeigen/letztes-preisupdate-auch-tausch-vigier-passion-iii-1990.5147/
  3. @ped , according to the lists, there are few. I have played one see through red 5. It was in a shop and my intention was to buy it in 1994 or so. When I had the money, she was gone. I bought an MG Quantum 5 SPi. The MG is sold, but I do have a burgundy red Passion II 4-string from 1988, and an amberburst (or similar) from 1989.
  4. The neck actually goes up to the neck pickup. The rest is maple. These are light, stiff, and true high end instruments. Very playable. Benedetti single coils (some have visible polepieces) and the Vigier preamp offer lots of sounds. 18 V circuitry. Schaller strap locks, tuners, and bridge. Some notes... First instruments Patrice Vigier made had wooden neck. There was even a model with metal in between the fretboard and the neck. Electronics were developed. During the series two time there were two models available, Passion and Arpege. The neck was available with Delta metal fingerboard (fretless), or fretted with phenolic resin board. No front dots. Carbon fibre neck, no truss rod. Passion had two options for electronics, the semi-parametric (as above) and another with interchangeable ROM packs (two visible dots in the top close to the pots hold the circuitry). The latter has two pots, a Vol and a rotary switch with different preset sounds. There were few different packs available. Some colours include black, burgundy red, green and blue. Later on there were also "sunbursts", natural, and some see-throughs available. I may have seen a silvery one with a ROM pack, maybe. HW is silver, black or gold. Arpege has the neck pickup closer to the neck and a bass pot. There was a very special circuitry available, called Nautilus. Lots of pots and even a memory with a display for several sounds. External power box. Ultra rare. Ultra complicated. Series III is a neck through, and since then the necks have been 10/90, where the numbers represent the percentage of carbon fibre / wood. Series IV is a bolt-on. Electronics and HW vary. Most of the basses have 4 strings but there are few 5- and 6-string instruments. You want one, buy this now. The next time you see one may take some time.
  5. Take a look at the strap button at the end of the bass. Three numbers. Vigier has a database in his pages that tells the build date according to the serial.
  6. What is the serial (and the build time)? Does the semi-parametric go upwards or downwards, when turning the frequency pot clockwise?
  7. Will the next body be done from two parts? Top can hide a lot of what is underneath.
  8. This is called "semi-parametric mids". Shape attenuates (down to -3 dB) or boosts the selected frequency (up to 11 dB). Fully parametric would give the possibility to adjust the Q-factor, which is the width of the boost/cut. Here the Q is constant. You can compare this semi-parametric to a wahwah pedal. While playing, try to turn the freq, when the shape is at zero or 10.
  9. 8 & 15 August, 1-4 & 19 September... looks good, although these are practically private parties.
  10. No, I am not. There are some limitations and arrangements within these gigs. But getting back to the stage! (Just came from the rehearsals, there is clearly a place for some homework...)
  11. My 2 x 12" can handle 1.3 kW, so no need for an extra cab. My amp has enough power to make me deaf. Week and a half to the next gig! 7 booked already for August and September!
  12. If the amp is able to push power into 2 channels of 4 ohm loads (total of 2 ohms), go ahead. If the amp says 8 ohm per cab, you can try the 12 ohm setting. The impedance described in a single number is always an approximation, as it changes over the frequency range. In theory the bigger impedance is easier for the transistor amp. If your amp is a tube/valve unit, it is recommended to match the amp's output transformer to the cab(s). 8 to 8, or 4 to 4. When in doubt, 8 is a good guess, and avoid driving the amp to its limit. Usually the temp of the amp tells something about the matching, as hotter equals worse match: 1) Lower impedance requires more amps (A) from the transistor amp(lifier) and the head will be hotter. 2) Impedance mismatch in the tube amp drives the output transformer harder and the excessive heat may melt it. These are generalizations.
  13. I might use the word refining...
  14. I am not flashy, I play fretless and double bass a bit too little, but a finger per fret is my choice for all instruments. For me it is easier to use the same technique with all instruments, otherwise I would be in trouble. An old cat like me hardly learns even old tricks. I do try to keep my electric instruments in the same height, as I have a few hand issues. Road biking in cold weather did the trick for my joints years back. I try to find as neutral position as possible to my left hand.
  15. It seems that most of the fruitful discussion is about tolerances. Electronic components have probably stricter and well analyzed variables compared to wood. Any organic material like wood can have several parameters that we are simply overlooking or just do not see (or hear) and we do not have the tools to make reasonable analyzing what is actually related to the sound. Is the wood hard or soft, heavy or light - I just think these are more related to building a robust instrument than what the final products will sound like. If a professional instrument maker can not predict the final sound, is it because the material selection process is weak? There are no parameters to follow, measure, or even compare. The luthier may have a hunch, but the exact end product parameters are the sum of so many components that no one has had the power (= money) to do the ultimate research. We have certain heritage, and plenty of beliefs that direct our taste. Come on: tell me what is a good sound, and then how you measure it? Oh, you say "punchy and round", well, thank you...
  16. - 19 mm string spacing at the bridge - 36" scale, fretted/fretless = 2 instruments - no front dots, they are useless - a single pickup will do, another is an optional extra - no controls, they can be in the pedal board - lightweight, chambered/hollow - dark top and fretboard - local timber, oil finish - black HW - 5 strings (BEADG) - 40 - 125, ss rw I think I am ready, where's the gig?
  17. All music old enough is practically improvised. No one can claim, what was the actual idea behind any score. The composer is dead and there are no recordings available. The dirigent may have studied the works of an old master and interpret (improvise) the score the way s/he sees feasible. After the concert we listen to critics who discuss about "ponderable tempo and agogic choices" in detail. If you think that the guitar fight in the Crossroads movie was very original, study a bit of history and check how much Mr. Bach walked in Europe trying to find music competitions. Winners could get some money, although Johann's reputation as an improvising player was soon known in so many places there was no competition - and no money. By the way, JSB liked bars and used many folk songs in the themes he refined. I could call them pop(ular) songs of his time.
  18. If the length of the pickup is 4", it is actually the same as EMG 40. EMG's numbers describe the pickup's size: 35 = 3.5" (for a 4-string), 45 = 4.5" (for a 6-string).
  19. itu

    Neck Shapes

    And for me neck thickness and fingerboard radius are a bit less important than width and profile.
  20. The incredible Montserrat Caballe:
  21. And bass is not even a member of the violin family. Viola da gamba is the predecessor of the bass.
  22. itu

    Neck Shapes

    https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/What_the_Heck_is_with_that_Neck I think that Tobias was at least one of the first to introduce an asymmetrical neck. A lapsteel may have a square block neck (which I like, and have in my fretless), but they are not common in basses. My feeling is that a Steinberger L-2 neck profile is very close to a double bass neck.
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