thodrik

Old 2008 Volvo V50 for me. I’ve had it eight and a half years. I’ve put a lot of miles on it but it is still going. At this point I will just run it until it stops working as the trade in value is virtually nil.

10 minutes ago, itu said:

Which year was this? MG hadn't truss rods until late 1990's.

Well, this would be in the 2000s. The fact that Modulus had transitioned to using trussrods was used as proof of the need for instruments to require trussrods!

Generally: 

Bass
Amp and cab/combo
Pedals and leads

If I use a combo (a Mesa Walkabout 1x15), I can pretty much load in everything and out in one trip with the combo in my right hand, my bass in a gig bag over my left shoulder and my pedal bag over my right shoulder. This was my 'non-touring' set up in Glasgow for 10 plus years and was designed to enable me to get in and out of a black cab in one movement. I can walk about 100 yards with this gear which usually gets me from the cab to the venue. Not comfortable but do-able. 

If on tour, I generally use separate head and cab and a back up cab because we usually had a van.

My touring days are probably over now but I now have a car which is nice.  I drive a 2008 Volvo V50 with 160k+ miles on it. In practice a malfunctioning car is far more likely than malfunctioning bass gear. 

54 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I'm not sure that I see it as a flaw, odd yes, but not necessarily flawed. I presumed, that given their construction, there is supposed to be very little (if any) movement in the neck, even taking into account changes in temperature/humidity etc. Again my presumption, but would the neck relief be set reasonably low from the manufacturer, but you can still raise the string height if required? I have several graphite necked instruments myself and I can count of the fingers of less than one finger how many times I've had to mess with their respective truss rods. Maybe the answer is Modulus installs truss rods unnecessarily? I don't know. I'd really like to try one though.

Definitely not a flaw in my opinion. However, definitely a design choice that is worth considering if it is for you if you like to have a bit of neck relief.

If you pick up a Vigier and think 'that is nice, but I would like to add a bit more relief to the neck to accommodate my personal taste' then you are out of luck. That relief is not changing. The set relief is very minimal and is essentially 'almost but not quite' flat. If you do like it, then set ups are a doddle, set string height and you are pretty much ready to go. You only have to adjust the height when you change string gauges. 

In owning one Vigier for 17 years and another for 11 and living all over Scotland and touring etc, the necks have never warped or moved. You can also move from light low tension strings to heavy gauge high tension strings and the neck will not move (I done used both basses with completely different gauges and tensions and in different tunings). Instances of Vigier necks warping are so incredibly rare outside of anecdotal 'I heard about a player/I had a friend' forum posts with no corresponding evidence.

I am sure that there have been Vigiers with warped necks but I think that they are very much anomalies rather than signs that the design is inherently problematic. There are enough Vigiers from the 80s about dead straight necks to demonstrate that.

1 hour ago, Dazed said:

Likely to affect future values? All the Vigiers being cleaned and packed away..

I'm not sure. They never fully broke through to the US market beyond to a select group of players, so I am not sure that we will see Wal level price spikes. For example, I have a 2009 Sadowsky NYC and I am pretty sure that is going to appreciate more than my Vigiers once Roger Sadowsky retires. 

The lack of truss rod means that not everybody will appreciate the design aesthetics or enjoy the fact the relief on the necks is pre-determined and cannot ever be changed from the factory setting. I recall Vigiers getting a number of 2/5 'design' or 'bench' ratings on things like Bass Gear Magazine, where US reviewers decided that because Modulus graphite instruments included a truss road then it was scientific fact that all graphite necked basses 'needed' a truss rod. The lack of truss rod was seen as an inherent flaw rather than a consciously made design choice. I do think that this opinion will persist to a group of players which will stop Vigiers from massively appreciating in value.

I would say 'I hope I am wrong' but actually if I can buy a GV Rock or Passion five string in the future at a bargain price then I won't be complaining!

Worst amp I have ever used was one of those 1980s Peavey Mark amps and a 4x10 that had been left in a studio for 20 years unserviced and in a damp room. Just rubbish but might have been more the circumstances the amp was kept rather than the design of the amp. Moving the EQ controls seemingly made no difference to the tone whatsoever. 

'Worst' amp I have ever owned would probably be a Trace Elliot GP7 SM 300 combo. It was actually a great amp and I owned it for nearly fifteen years. However I replaced it with some great amps (Mesa Big Block, EBS Fafner, Trace GP12 300SMX, Mesa Walkabout, Trace V6) so the Trace Elliot GP7 is worst by default.

In terms of shortest timescale from purchasing to selling an amp, I only owned a Mesa M6 for about 18 months before selling it. It was very loud, clinical, aggressively voiced and very easy to dial in. However, the gain and master volume taper were very temperamental (and to my ears did not have enough of a useable taper), so I found it difficult to dial in enough preamp gain to give a bit of pre-amp drive at non-ear splitting volumes. I moved it on and bought a Big Block 750 which is much more to my tastes even though I would think that most other folk would consider the M6 to be a superior, more versatile amp.

 

Wow, I didn't expect that. 

I am very happy to own two Vigiers, in fact I have owned an Excess for nearly 17 years and an Arpege for about 11 years. They will never be sold. 

However, I would guess that closing down is better than going the licensing route and probable dilution in quality. 

Quote

are they reliable? Is 2008-2009 a good year for Matamp? 

You are talking about an amp that is now about 13-14 years old. Valve amps generally require servicing periodically. If you have bought the amp second hand then you don't really have any idea how often it has been used, how hard it has been driven, whether it has been running mismatched loads which are not good for the transistor or whether the amp has been serviced regularly or not serviced at all.

It would not surprise me if the amp required a bit of work considering its age. You could buy an Ampeg, Mesa or Orange valve amp from the same period and you might have to get the amp serviced and incur similar costs, particularly if the amp has been shipped a long distance.

You also have to factor in that servicing valve amps can get very expensive when it comes to replacing valves, irrespective of the brand of amplifier on account that valves are generally expensive. My Trace Elliot V6 has been very reliable and has only needed serviced once in nine years. However that service cost me about £450 because the power tubes died and needed replaced, all six of them! It means that the repair costs of the V6 have been more expensive than the repair costs of all my non-valve amps combined! It doesn't make the V6 unreliable, just expensive to fix if something goes wrong. 

In terms of Sleep and High on Fire, they were generally driving the amps at full volume and boosted with multiple boosts and fuzz pedals. They were also operating them while under the influence of a variety of substances and touring heavily. Even the best amps in the world would have struggled in that type of environment.

If you require reliability and low repair costs, then I would look at non-valve amp options. If you need authentic valve tone though then you just have to put up with the potential repair costs.

So it will probably be £1500 for a made in China 4x10 cab that weighs 76lbs.

A bit disappointing. That is a boutique Mesa/Barefaced/Vanderkley/Bergantino type price but with old school weight and probably lacking the same levels of QC.
 

A pass for me I am afraid. 
 

Amp still looks nice though.

I thought that the original Peavey era cabs were significantly lighter than the older TE cabs, so if the new cabs are lighter than that then they should be fine. 

A well built 4x10 is generally going to weigh something. Anything around 55lb-65lbs or so would be reasonable considering the castors, metal grill and removable front cover will all add weight, so I wouldn't expect GR Bass/Barefaced etc weight expectations. Anything north of 70 lbs though is pushing it for being paired with a 'lightweight' amp though.
 

37 minutes ago, Merton said:

I've seen a few "made in China  " type comments too. Daft.

To keep folk happy they really should have included a bright box, 4x10 combo and a 2x10/1x15 'stack in a box' in the new product line, all covered with the classic 1990s 'rat fur'.

4 minutes ago, Rich said:

The 1000w handling is clear... is that "8 ohm"? Not intended as a one cab rig then. 

Damn, I wanted a four ohm cab. Now it is off the list as I really wanted a single 4 ohm Trace cab to run with my V6.

Still intrigued for sure here as a long time TE enthusiast. 

I do like that the cab can be placed horizontally or vertically and that the badge rotates. Also the removable front cover enables the cab to be stored easily at the base of a pile of gear. If the build quality is high and the specs are good then that cabinet is going to be near the top of my list. If if is 4 ohm them yepp I am pairing that with my old Trace V6. It really does look like a 'proper' Trace Elliot cab built for the 21st century. 

I do like the amp too but I am fairly set for amps at the minute. I would have liked a 'drive' feature but honestly the TE amps were classically clean machines, so if the new amp manages to get in the ballpark of that kind of tone then Peavey will be on to a winner here. 

On 06/12/2020 at 13:02, thodrik said:

Just booked my tickets for the Glasgow show.

Just got a refund on my tickets for the rescheduled date in May. 

I completely forgot about the gig until yesterday! 

Is anybody else still going to see them?

1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said:

i wasn't aware the Vigier Aperge pick ups had their own EQ. that must be quite a busy bass. I'm off to google a pic of that one LOL

Dave

My one is one of the post 2009 bolt on designs. I'm not sure whether the earlier models had this. 

It is very clever. The tone controls are stacked so you can use them as a standard three band EQ. This means you don't want to start messing around different settings for each pick up then you don't have to. However you can get an absolutely insane amount of different tones once you start using different settings for each pick up, however there is a bit of learning curve to get the most out of it and even then the options can be overwhelming. I hate 'control twiddling' at a gig so I pretty much stick to the same few settings.

With active basses my settings change greatly depending on the bass and type of preamp and the amp or external preamp (if any) I am using.

With my Sadowsky basses generally a tiny bit of bass and treble boost, probably less than a quarter turn. I never touch the VTC so it is on full. If I wanted a more vintage tone then I would use a passive bass.

Vigier Excess, treble cut by a lot maybe only a quarter turn from zero, bass cut by a little bit too, otherwise the signal into the amp is too hot and treble is incredibly piercing and metallic.

Vigier Arpege, each pick up has its own three band preamp. Generally I boost the bass and treble in the bridge pick up and set the pickup pan slightly towards the bridge pickup. Front pick up set flat as things can get confusing very quickly on a gig if I mess around with controls on the fly.
 

1979ish Fender Precision, plug it in and hope it works. Maybe pull the tone back a touch if I am looking for that soupy devoid of treble 1960s tone.

1974 Gibson EB3. Plug it in, realise that it still sounds the same no matter what tone settings or pick up combinations are used, unplug and fetch the Fender…

27 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I think a 130 string tuned to C# might snap the neck of a Thunderbird 

According to https://stringtensioncalculator.com/, a 130 string tuned to C# on a 34 inch scale would yield a tension of about 45lb. This isn't much different a tension to tuning a 105 or 110 string to a standard low E and much less tension than tuning a 50 gauge and 65 gauge string up to G and D in a standard tuning 50-,65-85-105 set. 

A 130 gauge probably wouldn't fit in the nut without some work though, so if you are going for that gauge of string it requires a bit of commitment knowing you are not going to simply go back to a standard gauge set anytime soon. 
 

Its pretty clever in terms of what it can do, at least in theory. It is clearly designed for those how are familiar and comfortable with working with technology and digital processing. 

However, 'in the studio' I can achieve the results I want with with BIAS FX/Amplitube without the need for a physical amp and live I prefer having my pedals at my feet and physically in place. So this amp is clearly not for me, even it was I would probably wait six months for the inevitable E800 version which will have more features (a pre/post FX 'master' five band graphic EQ or something) and the ability to footswitch the various 'pedals' on and off. 

Darkglass have a defined audience and every one of their releases caters to that audience and they have a constant stream of products released every year to cater to/milk that audience. The gear however is generally really good (I have three pedals) and to a certain extent I do applaud them for not sitting still and continually to evolve their product line.

Trial and error played a big role in my quest for the optimum strings for downtuned four string basses. 

Generally I like sets of 100-40 in standard tuning and I generally try to get a set that gets somewhere close to the tension of a 100-40 set in standard whatever the tuning. 

Since D'addario's String Tension Pro has gone dead, I have been using https://stringtensioncalculator.com/. It isn't exact science but yellow = loose, white = standard, red = high tension. Start with something close to the gauge you prefer in standard and try to approximately match the tension in your chosen tuning. Tension isn't the be all and end all but it at least gives a starting point. Personal preferences and issues like action, fit of the bridge, compliance all play a role. It is essentially a bit of trial and error and lots of guesstimates as to what will work.

For C sharp standard, D'addario Balanced Tension 120-50 are my go to 'set' or a set of Elixir singles of 120-50 but they are in short supply at the moment. Personally I didn't like the DR DDTs as I felt they were too unbalanced in that the low strings were too loose and the high strings were really high tension.

19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yep, Ampeg pretty similar tho I find that Ashdown have more clarity when the top end is pushed, seem a bit smoother to me, with Ashdown maybe being more low-mid biased with Ampeg more towards middle-mids if that makes any sense.

Totally agree.

I feel that EBS heads like the v.1 Fafner share some similarities to the ABM heads in terms the basic features (comp, valve drive, mid scoop pre shape) but with a lot more treble and a little bit less sub bass on tap. 
 

Maybe the Ampeg SVT Pro series in terms of that slightly woolly but warm valve sound too. 
 

I don’t have any experience with the class D Ashdown heads.

32 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Currently in PM's with  a bass seller here, and his bass, packaged , weighs 77kg.  I said you mean  7.7kg   ??

 

He insisted its 77kg.  So the packaging weighs in the region of  73kg, give or take.

 

I'm going to have to decline.  My TE combo weighs half that and i can barely lift it

 

 

Must be special a 6 string Warwick constructed out of bubinga infused with concrete.

I have two Vigiers (no truss rod) and two Sadowskys (truss rod wheel), so set ups on those are really easy. 

Work requiring actual tools like slotting a nut, soldering, electrical work is all via a tech. Also I will use a tech to set up the truss rods on my 70s P bass and Gibson EB3. 

Even after a 'pro' set up though, I will generally adjust the action to my personal taste (not super low but usually lower than what I get).

The same guy who recommended Future Islands to me as part of a massive weekend drinking session 6-7 years ago also recommended Eli Paperboy Reed, who at the time was on a  mission to bring the Motown sound back into the 21st century popular music. 

As of 2022 I believe he is still trying and success has been mixed at best. Still this song made me smile at the time.
 

I thought that they were going to be absolutely massive when I first heard them 6-7 years ago. They just didn't really kick on to megastardom and I haven't heard anything from them that is as good as Seasons. 

To me they looked and sounded like a US high school band who reformed especially for their 20th anniversary school reunion but then decided to keep going afterwards.