Opinion on ACG Single Cut vs Limelight P Bass

[The Badderer]

Hi all, never one to normally post and ask a question as I normally read all the useful info you guys put out there.

Having *another* case of GAS as I saw this and thought WOW!!!
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/236720-acg-finn-custom-single-cut-4-string-price-drop-to-l900-free-uk-delivery/page__fromsearch__1

But I also really fancy a Limelight relic'd P Bass as they look gorgeous and I don't have a P Bass and it'll fill the final hole in my tonal armory and will be a workhorse bass that i'd be happy to carry around with me and not get dinged up.

They will prob come out at very similar money, so my head (and most of my heart) says go for the ACG as it's bloody gorgeous and I can always come back and get a Limelight in a year (or 2 months ). It's been hard to find any sound clips of the ACG aside from someone playing a Finn 5 string https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwaUZsvY0zY

Just be interested in opinions....

[ead]

Not the easiest of comparisons I'd say. One is a replica of an iconic 'no frills' type bass, and the other fully luthiered with beautiful wood combinations and a really flexible EQ.

I've seen and played that ACG and it is lovely, although as a massive fan of things ACG it might not be the coldest of objective viewpoints. I'm not a massive fan of Fenders, but have been talking to Limelight about a yob bass myself (I'm a complete hypocrit really). Tough call, and I do get your dilemma.

As I so very nearly parted with cash for the ACG and haven't got to that point with Limelight, ACG is where my vote would go.

Probably no help at all really. Worth noting the 4-string ACG single cuts are very rare.

[eude]

ACG Basses are amoung the finest custom instruments out there in my experience. I've played nothing but ACGs for quite a while now, and it's highly unlikely that'll ever change now.
Difficult to make a direct comparison, as the two basses you're looking at are wildly different.
One point I can make though, is that the ACG gives you a massive amount of variety in one beautiful instrument and will get you pretty close to a P Bass tone with some work on the preamp. A P Bass will only sound like a P Bass, but that's the reason a lot of folks like 'em.

Here's some more videos for you though...

http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/acg-harlot-mkii-6-string-demo-from-cocos-bassment/

http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/acg-uber-graft-j-type-5-demo-from-cocos-bassment/

http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/acg-graft-finn-4-demo-by-cocos-bassment/

Eude

[The Badderer]

EAD you are totally in the same camp as me (i hated the concept of owning a Fender until i got a beautiful red jazz bass from Clarky and it's gorgeous to play).

Eude thanks for the links will listen to them sooner. I think they are totally beautiful and have always wanted a single cut bass have heard very high praise for ACG.

Thanks for the thoughts so far!

[Muzz]

Completely chalk and cheese as basses, I'd say - while I've no experience of Limelights (and probably never will - can't be doing with relicing) I've played a few ACGs, and they're lovely instruments, but as a comparison it's like a very good sportscar and a very good 4x4 (in no particular order) - neither better necessarily than the other, it all depends on what you want out of a bass.

[The Badderer]

Cheers Muzz. very much the thoughts that had been going on in my head too.... hence why I opened the floor to all of you lot

[Cameronj279]

All I can really say on this subject is that I played an ACG and 2 weeks later I had my deposit on a custom build.

[Scooby]

Not sure I can be overly helpful but having owned a couple of ACG basses I can give you my Impressions. Firstly, ACG are very well made, use some nice woods, have some enterprising design features and are built to last. Secondly, they have a flexible pre amp, good range of sounds and can give you some tones reminiscent of other notable basses. However, some of the design features do take a little getting used to. The asymmetric neck is slightly odd at first. It does take a little while to get used to this feature and, if you only play an asymmetric neck then fine. For me moving from an ACG to another bass felt distinctly odd. Some of the fretting positions on an ACG tend to nudge your fretting hand into a different position to that when playing a more conventional neck. The ACG pre amp can be difficult to alter on the fly. It is a very sensitive pre and I found you tweaked the pre to a setting I was happy with and then had to use the pan control to alter the sound via the pups - obviously not possible on a single pup bass ;0)
The weight of the ACG basses is, to me, a major issue, as I have found the couple ice owned to be on the heavy side - I must stress that these were not custom builds and I'm sure ACG would build a lighter bass on a custom job. A long stint with the ACG was, for me slightly uncomfortable but that is my personal issue and not a fault of ACG. Aesthetically, some of the designs are interesting and, depending on the type of body shape you are used to, some of the ACG shapes are more comfortable than others - again a personal issue. Having owned two ACG basses and played a couple more, would I buy another? No. But, again, as with all basses, it is purely subjective. I'd strongly recommend trying some of the ACG basses for yourself as I think that is the only real quantifiable way you'll find out if they are for you or not.

[ead]

Scooby makes some good points there. I find that with the filter preamps it's worth investing time in getting each pickup to sound how you want it and then adjust via the blend when playing. I have the slight advantage of tone knob on mine that works in active mode too, so that is useful in a live situation.

I think the weight issue is very much dependent upon the woods in each bass. Three of my ACGs weigh a little over 7lbs and are some of the lightest basses I have played, the other is around 8.5lbs. You can ask Alan to build you pretty much anything you can think of - check out this bass http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/portfolio/0159-salace-10-string/ and certainly weight can be managed. From memory I think the single cut the OP refers to is around 9.5lbs but not sure.

I'm a big fan of the asymmetric neck but like a lot of features it's a personal thing.

[BassBunny]

Another vote for ACG, I've got 2 and wouldn't go anywhere else. Alan can easily make one down to a weight, (my Skelf is only 8Lbs), and if the filter pre-amp frightens you, an East is an option.
Once you get your head around the filter-pre, it is pretty awesome.
I agree with all the other posters, you are trying to compare chalk and cheese.

[TheGreek]

I'm a big fan of ACG basses with my single cut Harlot currently being my "go to" bass - I haven't found it to be too heavy (no idea of the actual weight) but the balance is excellent which may be relevant.

Scooby's comment about the pre-amp being difficult to adjust on the fly may be an issue if you actually change your tone during a set but I set mine and leave it alone. I think it's one of the best pre-amps that I've used and that it compares favourably against my former Wals and my Ritter. As somebody pointed out, the ACG can do a range of tones which includes the P bass tones, the P can't match the range from the ACG. I believe that Alan has made some modification to the newer pre-amps to make them more usable but I favour the versatility of the earlier model.

One of the selling points for me about the ACG is that each one is unique - you buy something that nobody else has as compared to a Fender style bass which there are plenty of. Coming across a nice ACG at a good price isn't going to happen every day (even though there seem to be a few for sale at the moment) I'm fairly sure that finding a good P bass is going to be a lot easier.

For me it's a no brainer...

[The Badderer]

thanks guys. really appreciate the thoughts. that has really clarified my thoughts too. made a decision much easier. thanks

[The Badderer]

For those interested I decided to go for the ACG as it makes much more sense and think it's an amazing looking bass and not a single person has had any issues aside from Scooby with the weight issue. I'm really excited to give this a try and if it's not for me, i can always shift it on and not lose any money. Worse comes to the worse i can pick up a Limelight in the future as I have begun talking to mark. For those interested Mark's speed of response to my email was excellent and I will update you all with my thoughts on the ACG when i get it sorted with Reggieboomboom. Thanks for all your responses!

[LukeFRC]

good choice I think

[Prime_BASS]

It's like comparing chalk and cheese

[Billy Apple]

Soap n' water

[TheGreek]

Wise decision - as you can see from the thread I tried to acquire Reggie's ACG to go with the one I already have. I took mine to today's Herts Bash and had lots of positive feedback.

Edited July 6, 2014 by TheGreek

[Lozz196]

And from the Precision side, many liked my aging battered `78 today .

Difficult re the Limelight as not many about, so a tryout could be hard to manage, sounds like Mark is a good guy to deal though, with so I reckon we may see a few more around soon. The ACG, well as that`s been settled on, good call. There can`t be many sounds on them that aren`t available from the explanations/recommendations above and as said, if you can`t get on with it it should go quite easily, and for same value.

[eude]

[quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1404653696' post='2494416']
For those interested I decided to go for the ACG as it makes much more sense and think it's an amazing looking bass and not a single person has had any issues aside from Scooby with the weight issue. I'm really excited to give this a try and if it's not for me, i can always shift it on and not lose any money. Worse comes to the worse i can pick up a Limelight in the future as I have begun talking to mark. For those interested Mark's speed of response to my email was excellent and I will update you all with my thoughts on the ACG when i get it sorted with Reggieboomboom. Thanks for all your responses!
[/quote]

Fantastic news mate, I'm sure you won't be disappointed

[ead]

Nice one, I hope that in you mind the bass live up to the hype!

[GreeneKing]

Of course you don't have to have a filter pre-amp on an ACG. The ACG preamps are made by John East for Alan. Alan will fit one of John's own products if that's what you prefer.

I've 4 ACG's, a J5, a fretless, and Uber spec custom and bass that I had made specially in memory of my Mum. Weight wise they are a product of the woods chosen for construction and even within that some woods from the same tree can be more or less dense. If you want a lightweight bass Alan will build one. My Uber spec is particularly weighty but the tone mirrors this and being the beefy bloke I am I find the weight irrelevant.

I switch from asymmetric neck to a variety of sections and don't notice it to be honest. All I do know it that the ACG's feel like coming home

I have a P (I have 2 actually, and a P/J) but I'd not pay a lot of money for it as a P is a P is a P....

P (eter)

Edited July 7, 2014 by GreeneKing

[The Badderer]

cheers guys. all very reassuring

[The Badderer]

Just picked it up from Reggieboomboom and had a play for half an hour. what a stunning bass..... really incredible sound, it's actually lyrical and it sings beautifully when you go up the neck and play with some vibrato. really really happy i bought this bass!!! G.A.S. cured for a looooooooooooong time!!!

[GreeneKing]

[quote name='Jestermab' timestamp='1404861392' post='2496560']
I have the London Bass show ACG Uber spec ART Krell 5 string 0158. This is my first post on this....

The ACG is a sublime bit of kit, the P-bass you were looking at has one sound. Good choice going from the ACG!!

I have a German Warwick streamer $$ and the tone the Warwick kicks out is wildly different to the ACG. I have found the rigs I use also kick out wildly different tones too and the tonal pallet available is brilliant in the ACG. Although, there are some major criticisms to the ACG which I have experienced. I found the pickups are weak due to their configuration and in the setup I have cannot revert to passive. I had the filter setup at first and had it swapped out for East J-retro setup due to lack of on the fly flexibility(during gigs) and there is also a certain unacceptable level of noise from the treble side. The weight of the guitar is huge!

But, and this is a big but, the guitar is beautiful, and feels beautiful to play and stands out in a very classy understated way. The neck is simple and fast to play accurately, it never goes out of tune, and with the new j-retro setup is super flexible. Choosing the ACG is the bass choice you could have made..

[url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/portfolio/0158u-uber-art-krell-5/"]http://www.acguitars...er-art-krell-5/[/url]
[/quote]

A beautiful bass indeed.

You have Alan's MC (multi coil) pickups and they are weak Have you tried adjusting the inboard mini pots?

I think your noise from the treble side is in no way generic. I own 3 ACG filter pre's and I've not had this problem.

Peter

[Conan]

[quote name='Jestermab' timestamp='1404892170' post='2496660']I have a variety of bass amps, both solid state and valve with a selection of cabs which are the best you can get.[/quote]

No offence, and I'm sure it is not the reason for your lower pickup output - but many would argue that Orange and Markbass cabs are far from being "the best you can get"...