Mike Pope Flex Core Review - Page 2

mb94952 · #21 06-13-2012, 12:56 AM

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I am in the process of having Mark Garza build my first custom, ever.

I have decided on Mike Pope Flexcore, but I don't know what kind of soapbars to use. I now play a Peavey Cirrus (which I love) and want that type of set up.

Any suggestions ? I want piano tone and growl ...

evilgus · #22 06-13-2012, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb94952

I have decided on Mike Pope Flexcore, but I don't know what kind of soapbars to use. I now play a Peavey Cirrus (which I love) and want that type of set up.

Any suggestions ? I want piano tone and growl ...

I highly recommend the Classic (BC) Bartolini pickups, lots of piano-like tone and plenty of coil-switching options if you get the 4 connector cable versions.

Cheers,

EG

mb94952 · #23 06-13-2012, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilgus

I highly recommend the Classic (BC) Bartolini pickups, lots of piano-like tone and plenty of coil-switching options if you get the 4 connector cable versions.

Cheers,

EG

Awesome thanks. That's what I will go with then.

evilgus · #24 08-13-2012, 07:39 AM

I finally got to play my Signature 5 with Flexcore at a gig and it was AWESOME! Yes, it's a pretty nice bass to begin with, but with a Bart NTMB circuit in it, really didn't sound all that special. The Flexcore really allowed the character of the bass to come through and gave me HEAPS of dynamics to play with, but also gave me the flexibility to tame the mids, for a good R&B/Funk/Latin sound.

From a tweaking perspective, I ended up boosting bass a little, cutting high-mids a good bit, boosting low-mids a little, the treble mostly cranked up and the passive tone rolled off quite a lot. Quite weird to have both treble boost and passive rolloff, but it worked well! The treble was set for a "perfect" snap tone or for digging in with fingers, then I could roll the passive tone up or down to set the "airiness" of the tone for each song.

My only regret is that I didn't record any of it, for later enjoyment! I even had my Zoom recorder with me and just didn't bother setting it up. DOH!

EG

mb94952 · #25 08-13-2012, 11:57 AM

Hi EvilGus !!

I took your advice and I ended up having Mark Garza install Bartolini Classic Soapbars into my custom Garz Stinger II. I had already selected the Mike Pope preamp to be installed in it no matter what.

I've owned the bass for a few weeks now and I am playing daily to distribute the resin in the wood so it sounds good all the time. It's never good to let a newly assembled bass sit. I am also still discovering the Pope Flexcore pre.

Mark had never used a Mike Pope before. He always used "other" nice preamps in his customs. He said the Pope is the best pre he has ever installed and we went with the Flexcore 2.1 without the ability to coil split. I'd like to do that next.

Anyway, as you are well aware of from my kind words about it, I was initially almost disappointed with the Pope. It seemed like there were too many knobs that did too little. Almost as if for show. The problem was my expectations.

Just as Mike Pope himself said in the threads here somewhere, you go into a music store and try an amp or bass by itself and it sounds awesome and has all this monster tone. Then, you proudly take your new rig to a show or rehearsal and you get lost in the mix ; it was all an illusion.

I though the Pope almost sounded "un-awesome" by itself. Yes, transparent. Sometimes to me, transparent is "boring" for lack of a better word. There was no single "voice" like an Ampeg growl or and SWR sparkle. It seemed like it was just "there". That was my first 30 second assessment.

Well, the magic of the Pope are the subtle changes you can make. In other words turning the knobs a little in different configurations makes huge results. I can go from a passive (ish) , warm, Motown tone all the way to a sparkly SWR '90's fusion tone ala Skuli Sverison. Turn up the low mids and put the blend toward the jazz pup and I get a burpy NTMB tone.

Yes, a lot has to do with the fact that Mark Garza made me a spectacular bass, but also the Pope preamp is very musical and authentic. It doesn't lie.

I just don't understand when players say $299 is too expensive. Let's just assume your bass is worth over $1,500 to begin with because you're a player and you've been around a block a few times and now you know that's where you need to be for a quality instrument, in most cases. Then, you will lay down $150 for a pre anyway.
So, there's $1,650. So, you're saying another $150 is not worth taking your bass to a whole new level ???

Sorry for the long response. I hope I didn't bore anyone, but I hope I described the Mike Pope well. This is just my experience.

evilgus · #26 08-14-2012, 03:40 AM

Hey Michael,

I know what you mean, I had the Pope in my bass for weeks and really wasn't sure how good it was, until I played a gig! I think there is a subtlety to it that really shines when you play more loudly and with other instruments in the mix. I did have to laugh when I let a few other guys play the bass and they couldn't figure out the controls, hehehe.

EG

thepontif · #27 08-14-2012, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilgus

Hey Michael,

I know what you mean, I had the Pope in my bass for weeks and really wasn't sure how good it was, until I played a gig! I think there is a subtlety to it that really shines when you play more loudly and with other instruments in the mix. I did have to laugh when I let a few other guys play the bass and they couldn't figure out the controls, hehehe.

EG

That's so other guys will never sound as good as you when they sit in on your bass

melodiaopus · #28 08-14-2012, 11:17 AM

Any idea if one of these bad boys would fit into a Warwick Thumb BO 4 stringer? I have been looking at updating my Wawick for years, since I haven't been that happy with the pickups nor the tone of my bass. But I love the feel and playability on it. Any suggestions would be great.

azzyrazzy · #29 08-14-2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb94952

I've owned the bass for a few weeks now and I am playing daily to distribute the resin in the wood so it sounds good all the time. It's never good to let a newly assembled bass sit.

How so? Is this a widely accepted fact?
Not that I plan to let my custom sit when it's done

SGD Lutherie · #30 08-14-2012, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb94952

I've owned the bass for a few weeks now and I am playing daily to distribute the resin in the wood so it sounds good all the time. It's never good to let a newly assembled bass sit.

That has nothing to do with resin. Even if the wood has resin in it, playing it won't do anything to distribute it. Resin sits in pith pockets in wood. It can't move.

What you are actually experiencing is that when you play the bass it vibrates, i.e., bends. After being strung up for a few days the neck also starts to change under string tension. Together they warm up the tone of the bass, which can sound kind of stiff when strung up for the first time. The wood gets a memory about the ways it bends and flexes.

I've experienced this many times when putting strings on a brand new bass. The tone will also change if you just let it sit in the case with strings on it, but playing it will help more.

Acoustic guitar makers sometimes put their new guitars on vibration tables to get the wood to resonate and loosen up.

mb94952 · #31 08-14-2012, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

That has nothing to do with resin. Even if the wood has resin in it, playing it won't do anything to distribute it. Resin sits in pith pockets in wood. It can't move.

What you are actually experiencing is that when you play the bass it vibrates, i.e., bends. After being strung up for a few days the neck also starts to change under string tension. Together they warm up the tone of the bass, which can sound kind of stiff when strung up for the first time. The wood gets a memory about the ways it bends and flexes.

I've experienced this many times when putting strings on a brand new bass. The tone will also change if you just let it sit in the case with strings on it, but playing it will help more.

Acoustic guitar makers sometimes put their new guitars on vibration tables to get the wood to resonate and loosen up.

I read it on a Luthier's Forum when I was researching wood tones. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but it sounded good to me. I wish I could remember the site. It said that a played guitar will sound better out of the case than a guitar that's been sitting in a case. They may sound the same after time, but the sitting guitar needs to be played for 10 minutes to redistribute the resins, whereas a played guitar already has distributed resins.
Again - Not my words, but I read it somewhere. It was one of those things where you google Warmoth Tone woods, and then that leads you somewhere else, etc. Just like what happens when I watch Youtube ...

melodiaopus · #32 08-16-2012, 04:31 PM

Any idea if one of these bad boys would fit into a Warwick Thumb BO 4 stringer? I have been looking at updating my Wawick for years, since I haven't been that happy with the pickups nor the tone of my bass. But I love the feel and playability on it. Any suggestions would be great.

Modulus1906 · #33 12-01-2012, 07:18 PM

Folks,

Just wanted to know whether anybody is experiencing any "hissing" with the preamp when in active mode. For example, with the treble set flat, there is an audible hiss that I don't recall being present when the preamp was first installed. Even if I turn the treble or the master volume all the way down, the hiss is still present and seems "fixed" at the same volume. Also, it's not as prevalent when I run the pre passive, but still more noticeable than my other basses in active mode. Is it indeed possible for idle hissing to get worse over time and what things should I have checked? Thanks