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Hanewinckel Signature Ceres 5
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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10.0
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Description:
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* Bolt-on 9 pc. Maple/Walnut neck
* Pau Ferro fingerboard
* Ash body with Walnut mid lam
* Flame/Spalt Maple top
* Bartolini soapbar pickups with Bartolini 3-band, 18v preamp
* 3-positon midrange toggle
* Vol/pan/bass/mid/treble
* 8.5 lbs
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Author
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boogiebass
Registered User
Registered: August 2000
Posts: 3578
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Review Date: Mon September 26, 2005
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Clarity, punch and playability
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Cons:
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None
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RIG/GIG--
Euphonic Audio Wizzy mini-stack driven by Euphonic Audio iAMP 500. The two Wizzys were sitting on a Gramma pad. Outdoor stage covered with Astroturf in front of a brick wall. Bass was run with no effects, connected with Bayou Cables Canare, gold-plated jacks. EQ was slightly tilted up with a light boost in the treble range and Contour II pushed. Bass EQ had a slight treble boost as well with the bass rolled off and the lower mids pushed a little.
SOUND--
This bass has tons of clarity; it rings with fingered harmonics and the slap tone is clear with no trace of harshness. The overall tone is somewhat complex as there's plenty of low-end but not at the expense of the mids or upper registers. Double stops up high allow each note to stand out. There's no sense of smearing the notes together or artificially blending of tones, as is the case with some basses. As a result, this bass is very revealing of technique. If muting is not correct, you'll hear it...and so will everyone else! The overal sonic impact of this bass is articulate as opposed to smooth. You can obviously roll off the top end and smooth out the sound but frankly, I wouldn't want to!
PLAYABILITY--
Perfectly balanced on a strap with a meaty but comfortable neck profile. Body contours are perfect and the poly finish makes for a smooth feel. While the back of the neck is poly, there\'s no stickiness, even when the hands get sweaty.
COMPARISONS--
With the possible exception of my Hanewinckel Signature 7, this is the best of Pete's basses I've encountered so far. Here\'s how it stack up to a few others:
* Hanewinckel Vintage Reactor 5
The Bart J pickups are brighter and the slap tone is slightly superior and it's a pound and a half lighter. But the Sig Ceres 5 has a more complex tone and is sonically more versatile.
* Hanewinckel Pro Fusion 5
A bit lighter and with a sound that's more upper-mid emphasised but the Sig Ceres 5 is punchier and, again, more complex sounding.
* MTD 535 w/ Rosewood board
A great bass (the best MTD I've owned) that is similar in many ways to the Sig Ceres 5. They both have punchy, complex characters and are about the same weight. The quirky MTD Bartolini voicing is not as effective at getting the wide range of usable tones, however. The Sig Ceres 5 is a better bass, all things considered.
SUMMARY--
This bass is on a par with the best I've ever owned. I was beginning to think that lam tops and insane multi-lam necks weren't necessary for the ultimate high-end sound. I guess I was wrong. A+ and easily equal to Pete's best work to date. And in case you don't know, that's a VERY high standard!
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Hanewinckel basses and Thomastik-Infeld strings
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