|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
Average Rating
|
|
100% of reviewers
|
None indicated
|
10.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
|
* Neck-through construction
* 9-piece neck, Wenge/Maple/Bloodwood
* Gaboon Ebony fingerboard
* Mahogany body
* Macassar Ebony top
* Matching headstock, pickup covers and knobs, Ebony
* Lightweight, gold Hipshot hardware (tuners/bridge)
* Brass nut
* Flush-mount Dunlop strap pin construction
* Hand-wound, custom Hanewinckel pickups, toggle splits coils
* 18v Bartolini preamp
* Blue side LED's
|
|
|
|
Author
|
|
boogiebass
Registered User
Registered: August 2000
Posts: 3578
|
|
Review Date: Wed August 8, 2007
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
Tone, playability, aethetic qualities
|
|
Cons:
|
None
|
|
This bass was constructed by Pete Hanewinckel as a result of my desire to have a "cost-is-no-object" neck-through sixer with very specific woods. The use of so much ebony in a neck-through construction obviously contributes greatly to the overall sound but the custom Hanewinckel pickups are also a major factor.
But, on to the review...
GIG/RIG
Small bar with a large, raised wooden stage. Open to the street near the beach in San Diego. High ceilings with very effective baffling via carpeting around the stage area. The sound in the room was live and focused. The rig was two Euphonic Audio Wizzys (single 12 in each cab) driven by an EA iAmp500. The rig sat on a Gramma pad about a foot or two from the wall. Classic rock trio with a loud drummer and guitarist using a single Mesa Boogie Mark IV. Nothing going through the PA but vocals. No effects or out-board devices between the bass and the amp.
SOUND
The bass exhibits a balanced, clear tone with a particularly strong low-end and a rather complex overtone nature in the upper mids. The pickups can be split for single coil usage and, as a result, a wide variety of tones are present. Most of the time, I found my sound by leaving everything flat and using the coil-splitting mainly to differentiate between fingerstyle and slap. The fingerstyle tone is solid and articulate but not what is normally considered "punchy" as is often noted with bolt-on necks. Rather, this one has an open, warm quality that sits well with the other instruments but doesn't exhibit the kind of "leap-out-at-you" characteristic that so-called "punchy" basses sometimes do. Neither does it sound at all compressed. Also as expected, sustain is superb, making muting a particularly essential technique when playing this instrument. The slap tone is clear and full without edginess or artificial brightness but can certainly be coaxed into the "snappy" range.
When you "dig in" and really pull the strings, the sound is boinky without sounding overly distorted or out of tune. I find this especially pleasing on aggressive rock solos.
COMFORT/PLAYABILITY
The bass is medium heavy at about 10 lbs. but balances perfectly on a wide strap while left/right hand access is excellent. The body contours fit nicely at the level I strap it (about midway just above the belt area). The neck is front-to-back slim and medium wide, making fast runs easy and chords are no problem in any register. The beautiful hand-turned knobs operate smoothly and are easy to see at a glance. On the fly adjustments are a breeze. The instrument also stays in tune amazingly well; I barely had to tweak anything over four sets as it stayed spot-on all day despite high temperatures and a fair amount of "digging in" on solos.
COMPARISONS
* Hanewinckel Draken 6 Pro
This is a bolt-on and sounds great but quite different than the Signature. It's punchier but lacks the overall clarity of the neck-through. No way to choose between the two for me. I like them both for what they do.
* Hanewinckel Graphite Neck 6
Much lighter and the graphite neck gives the bass a completely different sound, of course. Also, this bass has Bartolini pickups. While I love the sound of this bass, it's nowhere near as subtle or refined as the Signature. But it's a great choice for marathon gigs or Grateful Dead tribute bands as the fingerboard is quite...uh...psychedelic!
SUMMARY
It's funny; I played this bass at home a lot and set it up for my prefered strings (Thomastic Powerbass) so I spent a lot of time with it before I gigged it. I thought it was quite unique and figured gigging with it might be a strange experience in some ways. In fact, I found the opposite to be true--this bass is in many ways the perfect gigging instrument for me! It's comfortable, plays easily and sounds superb. And it's really, REALLY beautiful. That Ebony is a real knock-out. All of this is, of course, topped of with Pete's meticulous craftsmanship. A++++
------------------------------
Hanewinckel basses and Thomastik-Infeld strings
|
|
|
|
Powered by: Reviewpost vB3 Enhanced
Copyright 2010 All Enthusiast, Inc.
|
TalkBass Forums
