I just got my Valenti J5 yesterday. I felt like a kid at Christmas. I waited and waited for the FedEx truck to come, hoping it would be there by noon since I had to be at the studio at 1. It didn't make it by noon but my wife, God bless her everlasting soul, called me around 2-ish saying that it arrived and she was bringing it to me. I love that woman. So while I waited for the drum tracks to be laid down I went outside and waited for her. She made it and I immediately grabbed it from the car and opened the box. I found the case and everything in it was so much lighter than I expected. I carried it into the studio and started putting the strap locks on, Dunlops. I'm more of a Schaller kind of guy but I can always get another set at GC one day.
I plugged it in and the first thing I recognized was how light it was around my neck. I'm so used to 10 lb. basses and having to sit down after an hour. I can easily play this for two hours with no discomfort. The body contour, like any jazz bass, fits perfectly in front of you and every note was easily reached. I can see this as a main gigging bass, as it has already taken the place of my Tobias after the first day.
Ok, I plugged it in. In the studio I use my main rig, a GK 700 rbII with an Alesis compressor and a BBE sonic maximizer going through the loop, then that runs into an Avatar B212 and a Tube Works 410 cab. It sounded very punchy and modern, which is why I chose for it to have EMG 40J pickups and an Aguilar OBP3 preamp. I love the EMG's. I always have. I've never used an Aggie before since I was partial to Bartolini preamps, but this pre delivered. Great control over every aspect of the tone, no lack of headroom, especially at 18 volts, and it was laid out just like all my basses are, volume, pickup pan, treble, mid push/pull, and bass. The only thing I didn't like is the fact that it's always active. there's no passive switch or push/pull knob. Not a big deal, just a minor thing. I'll just have to make sure I have extra batteries on me at gigs. I also played it at church this morning and after the first song I was told to turn down. I've never been told that before. I had all my settings on my amp the same as I've had it every week but this bass had so much punch and mid range that it was blowing away the entire left side of the church. I don't go through the system. I strictly rely on my church rig, a GK 700 rbII going to an Avatar 212 and an SWR 210 cab. It took about 2 songs to adjust my levels to where I was comfortable but after that it was a great bass playing experience. I cut through everything and all my little extra notes I play up top were heard loud and clear. No body hears everything I do but this morning I got a few eyeballs looking towards me and some nodding heads and winks when I did a fill. The Tobias I usually played never cut through up high, just down in the lower registry. This bass cuts through all over.
The fretwork and neck profile on this bass are impeccable. Nino does good work assembling his basses and I'd rank his work up there with Sadowsky, Lull, Alleve Coppolo, etc. He cares about his work and it shows in the overall product. He uses USACG parts and, although I've never heard of them before I ordered my bass, I'm glad he uses them. The wood that I got was a good selection of birdseye maple and swamp ash. The figuring on the neck and fretboard are much better than I thought I'd get. I love it. Even the feel is smooth and very easily playable. I thought my Laklands were nice, since I've always loved Lakland neck profiles, but this one is up there, if not better, than my old Lakkies. I can't believe I'm saying that, but yeah, it is.
Overall I'm very pleased I went with Nino. I was up in the air, wondering if I made the right choice, semi-regretting my decision at first. I looked at the Low End bass shop's website and saw some nice used Sadowsky basses for around the same price I paid for mine, $2,050. I almost cancelled my order once but something told me to just let it happen, and boy am I glad I did. The moment I saw those pics in the Valenti Megathread II I knew I was going to be happy. I don't know why, I just did. I ordered this bass in March, and here it is in June and I have it already. That's less than 3 months people. Nino not only does great work but he does it fast too. Ok, I've been typing for a good half hour now so I'll go ahead and post this along with some pics I took this evening outside. Enjoy!!!
I plugged it in and the first thing I recognized was how light it was around my neck. I'm so used to 10 lb. basses and having to sit down after an hour. I can easily play this for two hours with no discomfort. The body contour, like any jazz bass, fits perfectly in front of you and every note was easily reached. I can see this as a main gigging bass, as it has already taken the place of my Tobias after the first day.
Ok, I plugged it in. In the studio I use my main rig, a GK 700 rbII with an Alesis compressor and a BBE sonic maximizer going through the loop, then that runs into an Avatar B212 and a Tube Works 410 cab. It sounded very punchy and modern, which is why I chose for it to have EMG 40J pickups and an Aguilar OBP3 preamp. I love the EMG's. I always have. I've never used an Aggie before since I was partial to Bartolini preamps, but this pre delivered. Great control over every aspect of the tone, no lack of headroom, especially at 18 volts, and it was laid out just like all my basses are, volume, pickup pan, treble, mid push/pull, and bass. The only thing I didn't like is the fact that it's always active. there's no passive switch or push/pull knob. Not a big deal, just a minor thing. I'll just have to make sure I have extra batteries on me at gigs. I also played it at church this morning and after the first song I was told to turn down. I've never been told that before. I had all my settings on my amp the same as I've had it every week but this bass had so much punch and mid range that it was blowing away the entire left side of the church. I don't go through the system. I strictly rely on my church rig, a GK 700 rbII going to an Avatar 212 and an SWR 210 cab. It took about 2 songs to adjust my levels to where I was comfortable but after that it was a great bass playing experience. I cut through everything and all my little extra notes I play up top were heard loud and clear. No body hears everything I do but this morning I got a few eyeballs looking towards me and some nodding heads and winks when I did a fill. The Tobias I usually played never cut through up high, just down in the lower registry. This bass cuts through all over.
The fretwork and neck profile on this bass are impeccable. Nino does good work assembling his basses and I'd rank his work up there with Sadowsky, Lull, Alleve Coppolo, etc. He cares about his work and it shows in the overall product. He uses USACG parts and, although I've never heard of them before I ordered my bass, I'm glad he uses them. The wood that I got was a good selection of birdseye maple and swamp ash. The figuring on the neck and fretboard are much better than I thought I'd get. I love it. Even the feel is smooth and very easily playable. I thought my Laklands were nice, since I've always loved Lakland neck profiles, but this one is up there, if not better, than my old Lakkies. I can't believe I'm saying that, but yeah, it is.
Overall I'm very pleased I went with Nino. I was up in the air, wondering if I made the right choice, semi-regretting my decision at first. I looked at the Low End bass shop's website and saw some nice used Sadowsky basses for around the same price I paid for mine, $2,050. I almost cancelled my order once but something told me to just let it happen, and boy am I glad I did. The moment I saw those pics in the Valenti Megathread II I knew I was going to be happy. I don't know why, I just did. I ordered this bass in March, and here it is in June and I have it already. That's less than 3 months people. Nino not only does great work but he does it fast too. Ok, I've been typing for a good half hour now so I'll go ahead and post this along with some pics I took this evening outside. Enjoy!!!
