Well, the Browne fretted and fretless arrived on Friday afternoon and I had the weekend to enjoy them. Here are my initial thoughts:
1. Wow!
2. I've played/owned dozens of basses from a host of makers, including Sadowsky, Modulus, Warwick, Fender, Gibson, Tobias, Rickenbacker, G&L, and Ritter. When I bought a Pete Hilton bass, it was my first Carl Thompson-inspired bass and I was blown away. It was by far the lightest electric bass I ever picked up (I never weighed it, but if it's over 6 pounds I'd be shocked). But it's no light-weight in the tone department. The passive electronics are simple - 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 3-way mini-toggle for mute, series, and parallel on the single Kent Armstrong pickup. And within that user-friendly circuit is a world of tone, from deep P-bass like thud to bright and snappy J attack. Add a super fast neck and 24-frets and I think in anyone's hands, the Hilton has alot going for it. Not to mention the woodwork craft - that it's stunningly beautiful is just icing on the cake!
3. With that background I was eager to see how the Brownes compared:
a. The first thing I noticed was the quality of the woodwork - as with the Hilton, these basses are just amazing eye candy. It's hard to imagine ever getting tired of looking at them! The fretless, in particular, with its pink ivory lined fingerboard and matching pickup covers, is one of the most beautiful basses I've ever seen, much less owned.
b. Picking them up out of the case, I was a little surprised at how much heavier they are than the Hilton. The bodies are noticably larger than the Hilton as well, but certainly not too large or uncomfortable. I didn't weigh these either, but each is at least 1.5 pounds heavier in my view than the Hilton. I'd guess they are in the range of 7-8 pounds vs. the Hilton at 5-6 pounds. Certainly more than manageable! I've had basses that weighed close to 11 pounds, so the 7-8 pound range is still very light!
c. Next I plugged in. I went with the fretted first, because comparing that to my Hilton was more apples to apples. But not really - the Browne has an active circuit, specifically an Aguilar 3-band preamp working a pair of Nordstrand Js. I'm not 100% sure how the electronics are configured, but after some tweaking I decided to set my amp EQ flat and make the onboard pre-amp do all the work. And that, I think, is the ticket with this bass. In short order I was getting phenomenal J-style tones out of the Browne. And unlike the Hilton, the Browne is terrific for a slap 'n pop. Tweaking the onboard EQ really brought the funk - from Stanley Clarke to Larry Graham to Flea - this bass was covering alot of my favorite funk tonal ground. And a more vintage finger-style sound was also easily obtained by dialing down the Bass and Mids to around 10 o'clock, while keeping the Treble just below noon and slightly favoring the neck pup. This yielded a very rich, thick vintage J-bass sound. With those same settings, except blending to slightly favor the neck pup, I was able to find P-Bass-like tone that was great for major Motown riffage.
d. In all, the fretted quickly won me over. Great looks, a quick neck, and a host of active tonal possibilities make it a keeper. It is also distinct enough from the Hilton to justify my keeping both, at least for now. What it comes down to is this: the Hilton is lighter and simpler to operate, and lends itself to more vintage, organic tones; while the Browne is active and primed for more aggressive, modern tones, with slap-styles being a real forte for it. I like the look of the Hilton better, but not by much. And you get what you pay for -- the Hilton had many more wood options, and was thus more expensive.
d. On to the fretless. What can I say? I may have found the ultimate fretless bass for me. Aside from the sheer beauty of this bass, she plays like butter and can sound like every fretless tone I've every admired. Jaco. Mark Egan. Tony Grey. Manring. Those are the tones I hear in my head when I think about fretless bass, and I was able to dial in those tones amazingly well on this bass. Like the fretted, it has 2 Nordstrand Js, but the preamp is an Audere and it comes with a 3-way mini-toggle. I haven't quite figured out what each control exactly does, but I have played with different variations for hours. Simply put, whatever the setting, the bass sounds as great as it looks - best of breed, phenomenal, world class! Not much left to say!
What I'm finding is that for me, I'm lately more interested in something a little different from the mainstream J, P, and MusicMan basses that I've played and loved for years.
I appreciate fine woodwork, and feel like it inspires me to pick up a bass and play.
I appreciate the "wow" factor. When someone sees my bass, acknowledges that they haven't seen anything like it before, and immediately wants to know all about it, I just freakin' love the experience of sharing my joy with them!
I appreciate a slightly smaller scale bass. I believe the Hilton is 32" and the Gnomes are 33.5". As a 25+ year guitar player, the slightly shorter scale translates to easier playability for me. I can play faster and more comfortably, which builds confidence and makes me practice even more.
Finally, I really like supporting small builders who are coming up through the ranks with something to prove. These guys are in it because they love it and because they think they have something to contribute. Their vision and talent is as inspiring as the instruments they create. Even if their builds are based on those who came before, well these days whose aren't? I'd love to support as many of these guys as I can so they continue doing what they do!
If any of the above rings true with you, too, you'll be impressed by the instruments being built by Pete Hilton and Mike Browne. Though expensive, they are absolute killers in every department. It's hard for me to imagine ever parting with the 3 I've not got!
Hope the above is interesting and food for thought for those following this thread!
The fretted is FAST under the fingers, and very punchy.
