- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,950
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I played the Legacy Elite at practice last night (through a Mesa/Boogie Prodigy head and Traditional PH410), and it was nothing but smiles all night. First off, that neck is so darned comfortable! It feels like an old friend, already. Tonally, I am really digging the way this bass speaks. It has a certain "punchy" articulation to it, but so often, if a bass has a "punchy midrange," it can also be described as "ganky" or "boxy." I suspect that this is the result of a stronger response in a fairly narrow band of frequencies (or maybe a couple such "peaks" in the frequency response). But this Zon has that "enhanced, strong articulation" which often comes with basses that are "punchy," but it doesn't have the obvious frequency peaks, or "gank." At least not with the pickups fully blended. Favor the bridge pickup, and you do get a nice burpy bark (and before anyone else says it, yes, Burpy Bark is playing Coachella this year
). But again, with the pickups blended, the Legacy Elite has that strong midrange voice, with great "in the mix" articulation, but it still sounds so balanced and even from top to bottom. The bass does lean ever so little to the "dark side" with the EQ set flat, but not in a bad way. Dial in just a little treble boost, though, and that evens out.
When I placed the order for this bass, I knew that I'd be following up later on down the line with a 5-string, 19mm spacing Zon. I was initially leaning towards a Sonus 519, but if this love affair with the Legacy Elite 4 continues, I just may have to get a matching Legacy Elite 5.
When I placed the order for this bass, I knew that I'd be following up later on down the line with a 5-string, 19mm spacing Zon. I was initially leaning towards a Sonus 519, but if this love affair with the Legacy Elite 4 continues, I just may have to get a matching Legacy Elite 5.