Cool video! I get an impression that he is combining what he likes about Fender style with Spector style instruments.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The Valenti Megathread Part IV
- Thread starter smperry
- Start date
This bass came to me as a bit of an odd duck.. 33" scale, not quite standard pickup placement, referred to as "Wooten" spacing. Pau Ferro / super light ash, wood combo. The original set of EMGs and EMG pre were replaced with nordy pickups and a Sadowsky preamp. The P seemed to be upside down, with just the B & E using bass side of the P pick up and the A, D & G using the treble side. I slapped on a set of chromes which weren't my favorite strings.
It is pretty magical bass that works so well in a group context. 2 or 3 months after getting it I still shake my head and chuckle about how good it is.
It is pretty magical bass that works so well in a group context. 2 or 3 months after getting it I still shake my head and chuckle about how good it is.
That is a great bass for sure!
How is the B compared with other 34/35" basses you have played?
I really have a thing for 33" basses these days. 34" still works for me and I can't stand 30", but 33" seems to fit me perfectly.
I am almost exclusively a 5 string (B-G) player these days and do use the B a lot.
@Baird6869
The B is great, as is C, D, E & F; I don't think I'd thump away on an A in a rock context, I'm using fairly low tension flat wounds but my experience isn't much different with my 33" scale Pavel, that has a more standard round wound guage. The 33" scale is so comfortable and has no problems providing those thunderous low Bs and Ds but the shorter scale length for obvious reasons shows it's limits as you move up the fretboard. No issues though if I want to play 10ths A on the B string and C# on the D string, or just a passing tone in a jazz context it's totally usable. It's a compromise I am willing to make.
My Fodera is a 4 string 34" scale and in working out what I will want to spec in the future 33" scale is likely where i'd go as well. I did have a small gathering at the house recently Joel brought over his 33" MG which was incredible, but Mitch's 36" AJ is really what you want if the goal is to rock out the B string between the 7th fret and the octave. That's just not a big priority to me. I hope that makes sense.
Also both my 33s are using strings designed for a 34" scale bass, bumping up to a higher tension may lessen the effects of the wolfyness but personally one of the other benefits of the 33 scale is that slightly lower tension which works well under my fingers.
The B is great, as is C, D, E & F; I don't think I'd thump away on an A in a rock context, I'm using fairly low tension flat wounds but my experience isn't much different with my 33" scale Pavel, that has a more standard round wound guage. The 33" scale is so comfortable and has no problems providing those thunderous low Bs and Ds but the shorter scale length for obvious reasons shows it's limits as you move up the fretboard. No issues though if I want to play 10ths A on the B string and C# on the D string, or just a passing tone in a jazz context it's totally usable. It's a compromise I am willing to make.
My Fodera is a 4 string 34" scale and in working out what I will want to spec in the future 33" scale is likely where i'd go as well. I did have a small gathering at the house recently Joel brought over his 33" MG which was incredible, but Mitch's 36" AJ is really what you want if the goal is to rock out the B string between the 7th fret and the octave. That's just not a big priority to me. I hope that makes sense.
Also both my 33s are using strings designed for a 34" scale bass, bumping up to a higher tension may lessen the effects of the wolfyness but personally one of the other benefits of the 33 scale is that slightly lower tension which works well under my fingers.
Thanks. Great info.
My only 33" right now is a Fodera Garrison and it is still strung E-G. I generally play the B between the D and F#, so no worries of me really going into 12th fret+ territory on a 33" B very often.
I guess it is totally different when you get into selling merch, have to put gas in a tour van, etc.
At my cover gigs, I gat a handful of cash and split it evenly 4 ways. If we need posters, a sign, rent lights, etc. one of us buys/rents them and collects $15 or $20 (or whatever) off each member. Easy peasy.
At my cover gigs, I gat a handful of cash and split it evenly 4 ways. If we need posters, a sign, rent lights, etc. one of us buys/rents them and collects $15 or $20 (or whatever) off each member. Easy peasy.
I am learning to be very flexible with scale lengths. The Valenti B-G and Pavel B-C are both 33", My Fodera 4 is 34 and My Kinal E-C is 30". Also throw in my 40" upright. With all different lengths and added strings or missing strings my muscle memory needs time to catch up. I find a few runs with a 2 or 3 octave scale helps my brain catch up with my fingers. Otherwise I can overshoot or undershoot a shift or grab the wrong string. Someday I will settle into less variety.
Just waiting for Nino to call me back, finalize some specs, and take my money!
Told the wife I was gonna order a new bass for my birthday, which is today, and, I got some really good news from my urologist! She just looked at me, rolled her eyes and said "are you selling, trading, or just adding to?" Adding to? I didn't know that was an option! I just smiled and said "I'll PROBABLY sell something later, I've got some time." She just smiled and said "ok."
I really love that woman!
Told the wife I was gonna order a new bass for my birthday, which is today, and, I got some really good news from my urologist! She just looked at me, rolled her eyes and said "are you selling, trading, or just adding to?" Adding to? I didn't know that was an option! I just smiled and said "I'll PROBABLY sell something later, I've got some time." She just smiled and said "ok."
I really love that woman!
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
Definitely a keeper!
That she is(that and the fact that, mmm, 90% of the time, she helps me schlep my gear!)!
Well, I talked to the man a bit ago. The specs are, pretty much, finalized, and the deposit has been sent! Now, the wait begins...
This has been a good week. New cabs ordered from LDS and a new Valenti...
Dang! I had to go SIXTEEN pages in before I found this thread again! 
I'd like to propose doing something similar to what the Spector guys do when it comes to posting pics. Since there aren't any new club threads after 1k posts, they have decreed that the first Friday of the month is post pics of your bass day. This would be super cool for a couple of reasons:
1. It would keep Nino's work more visible, especially to guys who may be considering a custom build and are looking at Sadowskys, Lulls, Nordstrands, Alleva/Coppolos, or M Basses. If they aren't searching through TB, they might miss this thread if it's buried 15 or 20 pages deep. We might actually be able to drum up some business for Nino if the thread stays bumped!
2. For those of us who have Valenti's on order, seeing some of the killer basses you guys own or have owned, might ease the waiting period.
Doesn't need to be as frequent as the Spector club, but if you see the thread starting fall back, post up a pic of your Valenti!
I'd like to propose doing something similar to what the Spector guys do when it comes to posting pics. Since there aren't any new club threads after 1k posts, they have decreed that the first Friday of the month is post pics of your bass day. This would be super cool for a couple of reasons:
1. It would keep Nino's work more visible, especially to guys who may be considering a custom build and are looking at Sadowskys, Lulls, Nordstrands, Alleva/Coppolos, or M Basses. If they aren't searching through TB, they might miss this thread if it's buried 15 or 20 pages deep. We might actually be able to drum up some business for Nino if the thread stays bumped!
2. For those of us who have Valenti's on order, seeing some of the killer basses you guys own or have owned, might ease the waiting period.
Doesn't need to be as frequent as the Spector club, but if you see the thread starting fall back, post up a pic of your Valenti!
Screw Friday's.... It's a holiday in Canada (and the U.S.)!Dang! I had to go SIXTEEN pages in before I found this thread again!
I'd like to propose doing something similar to what the Spector guys do when it comes to posting pics. Since there aren't any new club threads after 1k posts, they have decreed that the first Friday of the month is post pics of your bass day. This would be super cool for a couple of reasons:
1. It would keep Nino's work more visible, especially to guys who may be considering a custom build and are looking at Sadowskys, Lulls, Nordstrands, Alleva/Coppolos, or M Basses. If they aren't searching through TB, they might miss this thread if it's buried 15 or 20 pages deep. We might actually be able to drum up some business for Nino if the thread stays bumped!
2. For those of us who have Valenti's on order, seeing some of the killer basses you guys own or have owned, might ease the waiting period.
Doesn't need to be as frequent as the Spector club, but if you see the thread starting fall back, post up a pic of your Valenti!
Still loving my Valenti and I agree that Nino deserves more recognition. He does amazing work.
P.s. I used to own 3 Sadowskys (including a NYC) and prefer my Valenti. AC is a different story IME as Jimmy's basses are unlike any Valenti, Nordy or Sadowsky I have ever played. Basically 60's Fender tone with the option of a B string. Not my thing, but very cool, very expensive and about as un-modern as it gets! I really like Sadowsky, Nordy and Lulls, but again... Valenti basses are just great to me and the aforementioned have nothing on Valenti except brand recognition (again, IMO).
Last edited:
Great bass!
A PJ5 Valenti is my next bass. Spec-ed out with Nino and ready to go a few months back. Blackburst (black to natural).
Unfortunately the USD is so strong against my Canadian dollar that I can't justify pulling the trigger now. Was at parity 18 months ago now I am $0.75. Can't do $4k for a "nice to have" bass.
It's a 33" which I know you like. It is my meat and potatoes bass with chromes on it.
Any sort of cover type situation it's a real grab and go. Can get pretty zingy when neccesary but dials in a great passive P.
All my other basses are situational this really covers a lot of ground.
Any sort of cover type situation it's a real grab and go. Can get pretty zingy when neccesary but dials in a great passive P.
All my other basses are situational this really covers a lot of ground.
If your slap tone standard is an ash maple jazz bass it doesn't get there but for a PJ with flats it is very passable. It goes way beyond that standard brick house P bass slap tone. I generally play passive or with the preamp engaged and the EQ flat. If I boost both T and B on the Sadowsky pre 25% and use both pickups I can get it to pretty much cover what I need.
It does the other stuff so well that a little compromise is ok
It does the other stuff so well that a little compromise is ok
Heck yeah! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! @Baird6869 and @peterpalmieri, you guys have some SWEET basses! I really dig the Whiteburst finish, and I've always been a big fan of the PJ5 setup!
Nino talked me into putting Big Singles in this build, so we'll see how that goes. I'm pretty excited about it. I am, however, spec'ing out what will probably be my number 3 Valenti(number 2 will probably be almost identical to number 1, other than color), and I'm planning on a PJ setup.
I'm really hoping that some other Valenti owners will drop in and post up pics...
Nino talked me into putting Big Singles in this build, so we'll see how that goes. I'm pretty excited about it. I am, however, spec'ing out what will probably be my number 3 Valenti(number 2 will probably be almost identical to number 1, other than color), and I'm planning on a PJ setup.
I'm really hoping that some other Valenti owners will drop in and post up pics...
