Pope is also a fantastic player. He played with Chick Corea when John was not around. To get past Dave Weckl and Frank Gambale, you better have an preamp that cuts through
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Mike Pope Flexcore Preamp
- Thread starter Michael Maddix
- Start date
If you need to part with it, I can dispose of it for you free of charge.
Seriously, that's a very flexible, incredibly musical preamp. Depending upon what options, it make take some experimenting before you find what you're looking for, tone-wise, because that preamp can dial-in a wide range of tones.
John
Mike is no slouch when it comes to electronics, either. He's not a pro outside of his own companies, but he's definitely got skills. I believe his dad worked at NASA.
Set bass to flat. On your amp, cut the bass, boost low mids.
I had one in a bass and ended up replacing with a JohnEast. I prefer the JE’s but it might be that way because I’m more familiar with it. Either way it’s a great onboard pre. You might just need to spend some more time with it. Like some guys have stated earlier in this post, set your amp flat and then try to find your sweet spot on the Pope.
Let cut the OP some slack guys. He just joined yesterday. @Michael Maddix, "no pics, no bass" is an inside joke, and kind of an unwritten rule here on Talkbass. It means please post a pic of your bass so we can collectively drool over it. Buncha sickos. (Not me, but those other guys for sure.
)The Mike Pope preamp does get a fair amount of love around here, but tastes vary and it might not be for you. Definitely a high-quality piece of gear though. Be sure to spend some quality time with it before deciding whether or not to replace it. I'm sure others who have more direct experience will be along shortly.
Welcome to Talkbass.
It's also important to consider that the Fodera likely has more sustain of the fundamental than other basses, and that certainly changes the "punchy" factor more than the electronics would. I struggle with this on my Peavey Cirrus 5 string, which has sustain for days, and then switching to my Lakland bolt-on 5 string fretless. I have to eq them quite a bit differently to get similar punch.
Mike's partner is a dear friend of mine since forever, and a brilliant engineer who holds a couple-hundred patents and is also an exceptional bassist who puts his heart into his designs. Great company and great people.
John
Mike's partner is a dear friend of mine since forever, and a brilliant engineer who holds a couple-hundred patents and is also an exceptional bassist who puts his heart into his designs. Great company and great people.
John
Be curious to see the bass and what controls/pick ups it has, if they are dual coil and have the coil tap option etc.
I like Mikes stuff, have one of his Mpp-2s as well as of course the pope pre in my Fodera, mine cuts through the mix well, but I would probably have the bass in single coil mode with the blend at 30 front 70 back or something like that..
There are alot of factors in this.
I like Mikes stuff, have one of his Mpp-2s as well as of course the pope pre in my Fodera, mine cuts through the mix well, but I would probably have the bass in single coil mode with the blend at 30 front 70 back or something like that..
There are alot of factors in this.
After the time I spent with him both at NAMM and after the fact working on some Trickfish-related stuff, and after seeing much of the guts of his designs for both the Flexcore and Trickfish gear, he's definitely the kind of engineer I aspire to be.
He's always been just an incredibly kind, brilliant and solid guy. He's also the only person I know who would double the guitar intro to The Spirit Of Radio on 4-string bass.
John
I’ll echo what most others have already said - the Pope Flexcore is considered high quality and is known for accurately representing the True Tone characteristics of the bass. It also has the ability to change the frequencies being boost or cut, so maybe the current settings are not ideal for you.
How many knobs and switches are on the bass? There’s quite a few options and different configurations, so handy to know what you have.
cheers,
Justin
How many knobs and switches are on the bass? There’s quite a few options and different configurations, so handy to know what you have.
cheers,
Justin
The website is still up for the Pope Flexcore, does anyone know if they are still shipping. I tried the email address and did a few google searches and a talkbass searches. Seems like from what I have read Fodera is still getting them but no one has heard from Mr. Pope. Guess with the Paypal checkout if they never ship I can get my money back.
Thanks for any info I couldn't dig up online.
Thanks for any info I couldn't dig up online.
Let us know if you manage to get hold of a flexcore from their website. Interested in getting either this or the East uni-pre.
I ordered that midrange switch last night and got an email from someone at the Website saying my order would ship soon. But it wasn't a bot it was a person so I replied and asked if there were any preamps in stock and if all was good for the store. I soon got a reply saying there are preamps in stock ready for shipping.
Hope that helps.
Thread drift: If you tried to diagram Who Is Listening To Who? during the guitar solo in that clip, it would start off looking like four or five separate arrows traversing the bandstand, and quickly devolve into multiple overlays of the classic "Neo-Laffer Curve"
I've got one incoming paired with Nortstand JB pickups and I'm looking forward to hearing this combo.
Of course, too much scope can mean you screw the sound out of sight but it doesn't have to be that way just because it is capable.
I'm looking for quiet efficiently, like a Glock, which is by far and away my current favourite out of MC3, Sire, East, Fender and Shack.
Some pre amps aren't necessarily in harmony with the rest of the build and then chasing a tone from there is a thankless/fruitless task, imv.
Of course, too much scope can mean you screw the sound out of sight but it doesn't have to be that way just because it is capable.
I'm looking for quiet efficiently, like a Glock, which is by far and away my current favourite out of MC3, Sire, East, Fender and Shack.
Some pre amps aren't necessarily in harmony with the rest of the build and then chasing a tone from there is a thankless/fruitless task, imv.
The pontif himself has commented on this clip, many years ago.
If I remember correctly he said it wasn’t his best moment. Still though, high level stuffs happening.
I couldn’t imagine having to do that gig.
If I remember correctly he said it wasn’t his best moment. Still though, high level stuffs happening.
I couldn’t imagine having to do that gig.
Revisiting this thread as nowhere else to post this.
Very capable pre amp. First thing to do us understand its config and the key thing to note is the mid controls are not swept. Mids are key to a useable sound or screwing it, and on this prevamp, you have a stack pot for low and high mids.
The tone stack goes, vol with passive pull, blend, tone, bass, mids stack hi and low, treble.
For me to tame excessive growl, i go low mids at 1 o clock, and high mids at 10.
Set bass to suit the instruments tonal character and treble for how much top.
The other big influences will the tone control.
But...get the mids stack wrong and you will not want pick the bass up.
I have 5 different pres and they all have bias but they all work well if you dont fight them.
Flexcore is a high quality pre amp. It can be subtle and classy and I'm currently really liking it.
Its married with Nordstrand JB singles and is a top notch pairing imv.
Very capable pre amp. First thing to do us understand its config and the key thing to note is the mid controls are not swept. Mids are key to a useable sound or screwing it, and on this prevamp, you have a stack pot for low and high mids.
The tone stack goes, vol with passive pull, blend, tone, bass, mids stack hi and low, treble.
For me to tame excessive growl, i go low mids at 1 o clock, and high mids at 10.
Set bass to suit the instruments tonal character and treble for how much top.
The other big influences will the tone control.
But...get the mids stack wrong and you will not want pick the bass up.
I have 5 different pres and they all have bias but they all work well if you dont fight them.
Flexcore is a high quality pre amp. It can be subtle and classy and I'm currently really liking it.
Its married with Nordstrand JB singles and is a top notch pairing imv.
