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Hanewinckel?

Classical_Thump

Classical_Thump

Jan 26, 2005
240
0
#1
I have found a couple great deals on Hanewinckel basses, they look beautiful and since I don't hear too much talk about them on here I was wondering what your guys opinions of them were. Specifically I was wondering about their "B" strings and their fretless quality. thanks
 
#2
They're great - I have three (two fretted 6es, one fretless 6). The B strings are solid, and the quality and sound of the fretlesses are wonderful. The build quality is extremely high, and Pete's a great guy that will help make sure the bass you get is what you want.

Here's a clip of my most recent fretted (everything but the drums is it), and one of the fretless.
 
#3
I agree with Geshel. He, Dave Grossman, and Boogiebass are the reigning Hanewinckel authorities on this newsgroup.

I have two 34" scale 6 stringers (one fretted, one not). They are beautiful, well constructed, play like buttah, and sound mahvelous. B string is nice and tight. Other than that, they suck ;) j/k.

When I bought the fretted 6 I bought it over the internet, sight unseen, never having played one. Best gamble I've ever taken on an instrument. Helluva pay-back.

Peace,

James
 
#5
geshel said:
They're great - I have three (two fretted 6es, one fretless 6). The B strings are solid, and the quality and sound of the fretlesses are wonderful. The build quality is extremely high, and Pete's a great guy that will help make sure the bass you get is what you want.

Here's a clip of my most recent fretted (everything but the drums is it), and one of the fretless.
Click to expand...

That fretless clip is so cool. I live Mick Karn and you've really got it down here. Can you tell us about your fretless? Body woods, bolt-on and so on? Do you have a pic? Thanks Geshel.
 
#6
Thanks! It's a bolt-on, padauk neck with a pau ferro fingerboard. Mahogany body with spalted maple top. Bartolini soapbars, that clip is the bridge pickup in series.

Pictures. . .let's see. . . I'll try to find them (I have some online but forgot the filenames :) )
 
#7
Classical_Thump said:
Thanks a lot guys, thats super helpful. Geshel- the fretless sounds a little trebly, is that just the way you EQ'd it (I'm assuming so)? And the slap sounds really good.. I'm definately GAS-in
Click to expand...

It's just the bridge pickup, I was definitely going for a punchy sound with that. I think that clip is basically straight into the board though. It's not a very trebly-sounding bass overall.

The slap riff transitions gradually from having an amp sim, to being totally flat, BTW.
 
#8
Here's a pic of the fretless. The fretted one is my current Avatar.

6f_done.jpg
 
#11
Yep, RMC piezos in the bridge. IME they're far superior to the Shadows (in ABM bridges). My first fretted Hanewinckel has Shadows in the bridge, and they are kinda iffy - the D and G strings sound wonderful, the B and E strings sound pretty horrible, the rest in between.

There's no chorus, it's two takes, one panned hard left the other panned hard right. :)

Here's another pic of the fretted:

padauk_draken1.jpg
 
#13
geshel said:
Here's a pic of the fretless. The fretted one is my current Avatar.

6f_done.jpg
Click to expand...
I had dibs on that spalted top (above) before this bass was built but I passed on it. I wish I didn't. That's why I couldn't pass this one up (below):

piccolo-burl2.jpg


I have two 7-string fretted, one 7-string fretless and one 6-string fretted, semi-acoustic Hanewinckel. They're great basses. Do you have any pics of the ones you found? How many strings?

Pete's basses have great low B-strings and his fretless basses are excellent.

- Dave
 
#14
Ah, I didn't know that Dave. :) At the time, I was also considering the second board of shedua that Pete had (like the one on the "Signature" bass on his website). When it came time to start the 3rd bass, I was kinda hoping he still had it around (heh, after two years yeah right!). He had another shedua board that was pretty nice but not quite as wild, so I went with the striped padauk for the trifecta (padauk body on #1, padauk neck on #2, and padauk top on #3). :D

I'm really looking forward to seeing how your buckeye 7 turns out Dave!
 
#19
Pete is a good friend so you may want to consider my comments in that light.

Whether or not a Hanewinckel turns out to be the "one" for you is largely dependent on you; your personal preferences, likes/dislikes, etc. But you can pretty much count on the following:

* Construction will be top-notch.
* He will treat you fairly
* He will build you whatever you dream up

Pete's basses have become my preference and yes, part of the reason is my regard for the man himself. However, as someone who's owned many of the other high-end instruments out there, I find Pete's basses suit me the best. His work is very consistent and his instruments have a balanced feel and tone. I've never found a dead spot on a Hanewinckel neck. I currently own over a dozen of Pete's basses including 4's, 5's, 6's and 7's and an electric upright (Pete also restored my old upright).

The world of custom luthiers seems to be populated by a bunch of great people and Pete is no exception. You may end up prefering the way somebody else's bass looks but it's hard to imagine disappointment over the fit/finish/tone or playability of a Hanewinckel.

As to your two specific questions: Pete's B strings on his 34" scale instruments are easily on a par with a Zon or a Ken Smith, to pick two luthiers who prefer 34's (and whose basses I also own). Plenty of low-end but balanced with the other strings (not artificially large like some can be) and not at all floppy. I currently own two of Pete's fretless instruments, a Nimbus Pro 6 and a custom graphite-neck 5 and they're two of the best basses I've ever owned; superb in every respect and the sixer has the fastest fretless neck I've enountered to date.

Good luck!
 

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