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Lace Helix Bass.......Once Again

#21
cdef said:
This is an interesting bass. I even like the look. If there was a two-pickup bolt-on available I might go for it. Did they abandon the twisted neck? And am I correct in recalling the Lace Alumitone pickups are a Villex construction? Lace had it on their website that a Precision version was "coming soon", but I can't find it anymore.
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Did Lace have a twisted neck also?? The only one I know of is the Torzal Twist bass.

Here's Ed Friedland playing it:

 
#29
I tried build number 19 or something last night at a friend's house.

All I can say is wow. The most impressive thing to me is when you go up the neck on the higher frets you don't get warbly notes, even on the E string. Also extreme power and clarity everywhere! With the tone rolled off completely it's still a very clear tone.
For a relatively cheaply made bass, the TONE is incredible, and that is not an exaggeration. I'm seriously thinking of getting one.

I'm thinking for $420 bucks online it's a no brainer. Great bass!
 
#30
cdef said:
As I recall, they did, and that was the rationale for naming it the "Helix" bass.
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The word in the last thread that I read on this bass, was that this model was simply named after the similar shaped guitar in their range, but only the guitar had the "twisted" neck :hmm:.

There are still a few appealing innovations on this bass (pickups, mainly), but I have to say that I'd never buy one. Any bass with the forearm area "removed" like that is very "uncomfortable" feeling to me :(.

I had an Alembic Rogue, which also had a very low curve to the rear upper body and it just flapped around all over the place when I was playing it hard :p. I prefer to keep some wood under my forearm, to keep a "mental reference" for where the strings are (I've lost you all now, I can tell ;)). By the same token, I'd probably never be happy with a Steinberger either :hmm:.

Just my $0.02
 
#32
For the last seven weeks I've been using a Lace Alumitone pickup in a DIY '51 P style bass. It was originally designed for a Stratocaster guitar but I'm extremely impressed with the tone of this pickup in the bass.
 
#34
Got one in trans red LOVE IT! the way I wear my basses standing (a bit off to one side) no neck dive problems at all...very cool feel...a quiet bass wasn't sure if the Alumitone pick up would be noisy or not? top notch gig bag worth I'd say by todays standards $200! all total -$325 shipped brand new! this bass is number 28 for me over my 30 years of playing now..-buy one! they sound gr8! feel gr8! and look amazing! nothin' cheap here.
 
#37
Ok, I have some comments for Mike and the rest of you guys on the bass Alumnitones....
My girlfriend bought me a Lace Helix 4 string neck-thru bass with the new alumnitone pickups for my birthday earlier this month (the NEW version with the 3 knobs, not the switch).. she spotted it online and liked the way it looked and when I got it, it was a complete surprise! (God she knows what I like) Now I have had many basses, a '68 P-bass, a couple Gibsons including a T-bird, a USA deluxe P-bass, and many others through the years. I want you to know first that the Helix bass is the BEST bass Ive ever owned, bar none. The pickups are the best I've ever heard, with unbelievably more variation of tone and higher output than my active deluxe P. I compared the tone of both basses and the Helix wins hands down thru the same amp on the same settings. But, what was really surprising is while the deluxe P clipped on the input signal, leaving the amp settings the same the Helix didn't clip. AND the Helix was deeper & louder. Ok, so I liked the sound of those pickups so much that I just bought two of the new BassBars for a Warmoth project bass I'm building, a look-alike of the John Entwistle Alembic series II Explorer bass. (one of my bands is a WHO tribute band) I also plan on building another Warmoth, a "Fenderbird" look-alike that Entwistle made famous on the Quadrophenia album. I will use the same pickups on that bass too.

I think the Helix bass looks really sexy, but reading the comment in an earlier post I guess it's not for everybody, but I can tell you this bass plays and sounds like a dream. And it's so lightweight. I've played it in 3 gigs now and 6 rehearsals and there is nothing like it. I just had to tell everyone. Thanks Mike and everyone at Lace for treating me so good, they even threw in the pots with the pickups and pre-wired most of it! I couldn't be more happy with Lace. Oh....and thanks for the t-shirt! I'll wear it proudly!
 

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