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Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 13)

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#261
Hey guys a little off topic but I recently picked up a Valenti J5, it's a 60s style with a Pau Ferro fingerboard, Nordstrand VJ5 pickups and an Aguilar OBP-2 preamp.

It is amazing just how different this bass sounds when compared to my LG5, I now have a much better idea of where Narud was going with his suggestion of a Nordy pickup swap on my LM5. In comparison the LG has a very strong fundamental and almost piano like tone to the notes where the Nordy equipped Valenti has a much richer set of overtones and weaker fundamental (I'm not sure if that explains perfectly what I'm hearing but that's the best I can come up with). I have yet to play this bass in a band context, on their own the Valenti has a more vintagy growl and grind to it where as the LG5 just screams clear and precise notes.

The LG has Sunbeams and the Valenti has Blue Steels so it's not exactly a equal comparison, although I have recently had blue steels and low riders on the LG and I don't think my observations would change all that much.

In any case my point isn't to find if one is better then the other, just a little compare/contrast. For a long time I spoke about how my Fralin loaded Lakland JO4 had a very vintage Fender tone, while the LG5 was a more modern take and "clarity of the notes" always seems to pop into my mind. The Valenti reminds me a lot of my old beloved JO4.

So much for culling down to one bass
 
#262
peterpalmieri said:
Hey guys a little off topic but I recently picked up a Valenti J5, it's a 60s style with a Pau Ferro fingerboard, Nordstrand VJ5 pickups and an Aguilar OBP-2 preamp.

It is amazing just how different this bass sounds when compared to my LG5, I now have a much better idea of where Narud was going with his suggestion of a Nordy pickup swap on my LM5. In comparison the LG has a very strong fundamental and almost piano like tone to the notes where the Nordy equipped Valenti has a much richer set of overtones and weaker fundamental (I'm not sure if that explains perfectly what I'm hearing but that's the best I can come up with). I have yet to play this bass in a band context, on their own the Valenti has a more vintagy growl and grind to it where as the LG5 just screams clear and precise notes.

The LG has Sunbeams and the Valenti has Blue Steels so it's not exactly a equal comparison, although I have recently had blue steels and low riders on the LG and I don't think my observations would change all that much.

In any case my point isn't to find if one is better then the other, just a little compare/contrast. For a long time I spoke about how my Fralin loaded Lakland JO4 had a very vintage Fender tone, while the LG5 was a more modern take and "clarity of the notes" always seems to pop into my mind. The Valenti reminds me a lot of my old beloved JO4.

So much for culling down to one bass
Click to expand...

I've played a similar spec'd Valenti, and yes, that would be a VERY different vibe than the LG.. brighter, grindier, and a bit more modern sounding... more clicky and less fat. This difference would be GREATLY amplified by the string difference though, with those Blue Steels being super bright and aggressive in the upper mids, and the Sunbeams being super scooped, with a more hi fi click and deep bass.
 
#263
KJung said:
I've played a similar spec'd Valenti, and yes, that would be a VERY different vibe than the LG.. brighter, grindier, and a bit more modern sounding... more clicky and less fat. This difference would be GREATLY amplified by the string difference though, with those Blue Steels being super bright and aggressive in the upper mids, and the Sunbeams being super scooped, with a more hi fi click and deep bass.
Click to expand...

Someone should right a manual on how to describe tone I have a hard time doing it well.

You said, brighter, grindier and more modern. I would say the Valenti is grindier and the LG is brighter and more modern. Without a doubt the LG is more modern sounding, at least how I would define modern.

..more clicky less fat... The LG is fatter but also more clicky.(I think of clicky as hearing the frets?) We may be describing different things on this one, not sure...

I believe most of the real differences I hear are the pickups and preamp and the fingerboard to a lesser degree. I have a very good idea of what Blue steels and low riders sound like on the LG and while the sunbeams pull them further apart I know the general differences I am hearing wouldn't change if I went back to one of those strings on the LG.

In any case both great basses with totally different vibes.
 
#264
peterpalmieri said:
Someone should right a manual on how to describe tone I have a hard time doing it well.

You said, brighter, grindier and more modern. I would say the Valenti is grindier and the LG is brighter and more modern. Without a doubt the LG is more modern sounding, at least how I would define modern.

..more clicky less fat... The LG is fatter but also more clicky.

I believe most of the real differences I hear are the pickups and preamp and the fingerboard to a lesser degree. I have a very good idea of what Blue steels and low riders sound like on the LG and while the sunbeams pull them further apart I know the general differences I am hearing wouldn't change if I went back to one of those strings on the LG.

In any case both great basses with totally different vibes.
Click to expand...

So much interacts with these individual instruments that it is hard to generalize. My LG sounds a bit different from yours, and the Morado fretboard on your Valenti really moves that away from the classic 60's spec, etc., etc.

It seems like you are still really searching for that 'tone in your head', which can be frustrating... been there, done that. It took a lot of years and a lot of basses to finally understand the exact tone(s) I was looking for. Once you match up an instrument with that 'sound in your head', GAS pretty much goes away.

Of course, strings, amp, technique, everything makes such a huge difference that it just takes a while to try a bunch of stuff out. Also, since there is so much variability from one instrument to the other, your final 'dream bass' might actually have a spec that is a bit different than what you would have originally thought!
 
#265
KJung said:
So much interacts with these individual instruments that it is hard to generalize. My LG sounds a bit different from yours, and the Morado fretboard on your Valenti really moves that away from the classic 60's spec, etc., etc.

It seems like you are still really searching for that 'tone in your head', which can be frustrating... been there, done that. It took a lot of years and a lot of basses to finally understand the exact tone(s) I was looking for. Once you match up an instrument with that 'sound in your head', GAS pretty much goes away.

Of course, strings, amp, technique, everything makes such a huge difference that it just takes a while to try a bunch of stuff out. Also, since there is so much variability from one instrument to the other, your final 'dream bass' might actually have a spec that is a bit different than what you would have originally thought!
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right, although neither the Honduran or Morado are classic 60s specs. I tend to believe based on this very limited time that the Nordstrads are closer in that spec then Jimmys pickups. Not that I like them better but just in regards to a 60s Fender thing. This is one reason I've considered a Dalbergia, bent plate, nitro LG. I'm not looking for my tone nirvana just a faithful representation of a early 60s Fender in a 5 string package. The LG has never been that for me but in finding that bass I stumbled upon a great bass.

In reference to the sound in my head it really is playing my upright in the jazz context and nothing more. When it comes to the different electrics I play it's more of coping a vibe for one of the various contexts I am playing in. My biggest problem is making one bass work in all these different environments. And sometime it's just fun to have all the different flavors available.

You are totally right though, I am lucky enough to be able to afford to experiment with all this stuff. A road you have already been down. Each really good bass with a slightly different spec gives me a little better perspective on things. Thus far what I'm taking away from the Valenti is how good the Nordy NJ5s are. And it's killing my misconception that the OBP-2 is a heavily voiced modern sounding preamp. Nino also does a bang up job at putting a bass together!
 
#266
peterpalmieri said:
You are absolutely right, although neither the Honduran or Morado are classic 60s specs. I tend to believe based on this very limited time that the Nordstrads are closer in that spec then Jimmys pickups. Not that I like them better but just in regards to a 60s Fender thing. This is one reason I've considered a Dalbergia, bent plate, nitro LG. I'm not looking for my tone nirvana just a faithful representation of a early 60s Fender in a 5 string package. The LG has never been that for me but in finding that bass I stumbled upon a great bass.

In reference to the sound in my head it really is playing my upright in the jazz context and nothing more. When it comes to the different electrics I play it's more of coping a vibe for one of the various contexts I am playing in. My biggest problem is making one bass work in all these different environments. And sometime it's just fun to have all the different flavors available.

You are totally right though, I am lucky enough to be able to afford to experiment with all this stuff. A road you have already been down. Each really good bass with a slightly different spec gives me a little better perspective on things. Thus far what I'm taking away from the Valenti is how good the Nordy NJ5s are. And it's killing my misconception that the OBP-2 is a heavily voiced modern sounding preamp. Nino also does a bang up job at putting a bass together!
Click to expand...

+1 to every point.

Also, a bit OT (which I guess is basically my middle name on Talkbass:p), but we all (or at least those of us who have been playing a while and are at least at a moderate level of competence) have our 'own tone and sound'. The idea of any one instrument being exactly representative of a classic tone is a bit of a pipe dream. They all sound different, and the interaction of the player and the instrument takes the tone in a different place to each player.

So, agonizing over specific pickup windings and exact weight specs or whatever is a bit of a trip down a road to nowhere. The key (IMO!) is to find an instrument that effortlessly gets you to the tone and feel you enjoy. For me, that is a sort of 'electronically buffered but otherwise flat' ash/maple spec with single coils pickups that are fat and full and grindy versus thin and ganky. But, no matter, it still sounds like me, and the tone of my LM and LG with me playing it, while different, still 'sounds like me' (for better or worse).

Even though I play mostly in cover bands (and maybe this is due to my age and the era I came up in) it was never about 'copping the exact tone' for any tune, but rather putting your own mark on it, while still respecting the original.

Blah, blah, blah, I guess, but I assume some of the guys who have been gigging for 20 or 30 (or in my case, almost 40 years :eek:) know what I'm talking about.:)
 
#267
KJung said:
It seems like you are still really searching for that 'tone in your head', which can be frustrating... been there, done that. It took a lot of years and a lot of basses to finally understand the exact tone(s) I was looking for. Once you match up an instrument with that 'sound in your head', GAS pretty much goes away.

Of course, strings, amp, technique, everything makes such a huge difference that it just takes a while to try a bunch of stuff out. Also, since there is so much variability from one instrument to the other, your final 'dream bass' might actually have a spec that is a bit different than what you would have originally thought!
Click to expand...

+1 to ALL this.

As soon as I plyed my new (2nd hand) EUT5 I HAD that tone & feel & punch I've been lookin for.
Sure a couple of my other basses do it 99%, but none tick ALL of MY boxes like the AC EUT5 does.

Punchy & even across all strings- yep
Passive & active- yep
Active sound is same as passive when EQ's are flat - YEP
5 string... vintage sound, but able to be 'tweaked' for a modern vibe.... etc.....
This was with ROUNDWOUNDS on it ( a new set of SIT's actually ) But as I'm into flats at the moment, I've put a set of Labella flats on. Will see HOW that goes.
 
#272
#276
biggreddbass said:
Well boys & girls, it's official ... The EUT is now available in the states !!! I just left a deposit for an EUT 4, primavera body, 60's spacing, rosewood board.
Click to expand...

Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread. Jimmy's models are still quite confusing. Is this just an LG with different body wood, or a 'lower end' A-C with different hardware, pickups, etc., or more outsourced construction, etc.?
 
#278
The new EUT specs...

Primavera body with a red wine vinegar stain
Olive wood neck is hand rubbed with extra virgin olive oil
Italian rosewood fingerboard is dipped in garlic butter

There is no case included but the bass is wrapped in a paperbag before being shipped

Must I go on?
 
#280
As far as what I know it's got the Primavera body, Maple or Rosewood board, 60's or 70's spacing and A-C electronics... And I do not believe this is a budget A-C... This is handmade at the shop like the rest of them.

The only budget A-C I know of is the NF5, which the no body wood choice, no options and import hardware are the differences, but it's still handmade at the shop.
 
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