I went into my local GC to pickup a Boss ME-50B.. While walking around I look in the bass section.. What do I see?? A used Benavente Vortex. http://www.benaventeguitars.com/bass.htm Its looks EXACTLY like the first one on that page.. I mean EXACTLY, even the grain (which I stared at for a good 5 minutes). Might be the same one, I dunno. Anyways, plugged it into a GK 2X10 combo. Started playing and my face just went . This has to be one of the best basses I have played to date. I was playing some standard slap stuff that I play on all of the basses to compare the sound. I heard notes coming out of that bass that I dont think I've ever heard before Everything was crystal clear. I dont know how else to explain it. It was almost a religious experience It was simply a beautiful sound bass.
I played one of his super-early one a while back. It was in Portland, and a local bassist was using one. It was quite nice. He said he'd picked it up at a Nail Mary gig back when Chris was more or less selling them out of the trunk of his car. It was really, really nice. Dark woods, EMG electronics, and a 4 string is about all I can remember. Sounded amazing as well. If he's gotten any better in the years between when that was made and now, and I mean any better at all, he must be one of the best guys in the biz.
might of been, 6 string vortex in blue on ash would be rather unique. Nice bass huh? That was going to be the color of my fretless but Chris felt mine needed to be a burst. I gave him the ok to make it look how he wanted to paint it.