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Warwick Hellborg amp reviewed in BP

#101
The link in my sig has some clips of the band last NYE, That's a streamer stage II, through the hellborg pre. direct to the board. The guy who mixed it is a strange one, theres a boominess to the bottom end tha i don't recall hearing on the gig. Amazing pre, and sounds great with an acoustic guitar.

Hey florin, wassup.
 
#102
chadds said:
... I'm responding to the "anti warwick" phrase of yours when there has been very little criticism about this rig here.
...................................................................................... If the artist's sound bites why would I want gear that he thinks sounds good?
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Hey Chadds,
I was talking about the forum in general, not this topic in special, that was my feeling... that there was some unmotivated Warwick hate. I mean everybody is talking about "baseball bat" necks, but I am not sure everybody actually tried a Streamer Stage II. I personally find Warwick necks very ergonomic and fast, that's why sometimes I might feel offended when I hear people talking like that about the gear I chose.
For example I opened a topic announcing a design contest, and there was guy making a mockup with a Warwick bass with a bat instead of the neck, and everybody found that funny. Well, as I am using a bass like that I don't feel it is funny.
And in the end, there will be a lot of bassist that will not even try a Warwick, because of these jokes, and they will probably miss the bass of their life, as I know I did before... I was a MM SR5 fanboy, and used to make fun of the Warwick as well, untill I took one to a gig a few years ago...
I apologize If I am wrong.
And just for you to know, on Warwick forum, all the brands are treated with respect, you should know that :-)

################################
About your second question, you are absolutely right.
But...
Jonas is first of all a studio freak, and his rig is a studio quality, transparent one. It has nothing to do with his sound.
I tested the preamp with bass drum, accoustic guitar, snare, and some tested it even with vocals and it worked great.
It will not bring the Jonas Hellborg sound, but it will let you make the sound you like.
But you know, you seem to be a guy that knows his ****. I am sure you are using great gear, so you don't need to try this one too.
But if you do try it, than please come back and tell us how you find it, because there are too many comments here coming from people that didn't tried one...
Hey sandman, mate, nice to see you here :-)
Cheers, Flo
 
#104
bongomania said:
A side note about the whole "Neve" marketing angle- there are loads of companies making Neve clones or designs based on Neve concepts; over in the "pro audio" world you can't spit without hitting a product based on Neve or a person babbling about it. Not knocking the Hellborg, just saying it's far from unique.
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Psychicpet said:
and as far as coil eqs go, this apparently is floatin' Tony Levin's boat BIG time!

bkg-forest-start-bgdy.jpg


and no, it's not gonna be cheap.
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with $400.00 worth of parts, and a purdy front panel, you can charge $3500.00 for them. There's NOT a lot of parts in these things - change a coupe of transformers and off you go - boutique Neve.

This Summit stuff of mine is the bomb, man - teeny, light, and quite cheap for what it is. The compressor is to die for. You HAVE to come hear them with this little Berg IP stack - there is nothing like it. Perhaps the Warwick system, maybe...

But mine fits in the trunk.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#105
There is a cat locally that has the Hellborg pre, power, and 215 wizzy cab. Honestly it does sound really stinkin good. It does pack on the depth of tone and the thing does get louder than hell without breaking up. However the vintage tone just doesn't cut it for my sound.

I have tracked my rig on a Neve console fed in to a Distressor compressor and it was pretty damn orgasmic. However, given the price, impracticality, and sound the Hellborg will stay in the store when I go to satisfy GAS onslaughts.
 
#109
Its been awhile since anyone has posted on this thread and I could find any other threads on this gear. Has anyone else made this purchase? I could pick the pre/250 stereo/ and club cab for $3500 new. Pretty good discount. Woundering if its worth it. I had a berg ip310 years ago and hated having to let it go.
 
#110
Wowee, did I actually write that opening post 6 1/2 years ago? ;) Oh well, I had just gotten the LMII and 121p combo and was a little overtaken with them. Funny how a bad CS experience and a little more time with the cabs made me change my mind soon after!

Just goes to show you...you can't trust anyone's opinions but your own!
 
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#111
Time flies. I had a string of $$ Casino gigs, and instead of saving like a responsible adult, happily bought the Hellborg Lo/Club and 500 and Pre.
Marvelous, But HEAVY. I had both a road case and then the Warwick Sleeve which took forever to get.
Sounded transparent and sensational, some serious engineering in the power and pre.
I liked the cabs too, but frankly was disappointed to find that they were Chinese, and no I will not go down that path of "offshore good/bad"!
I expected for that level of high-enginering of the system to get German-Built cabs, but nonetheless... I particularly liked the 15.

Worth It? I sold mine; it's beautiful benefits of sound/tone could be and are equaled by other less cumbersome and expensive rigs.

I would recommend highly the Hellborg for an "inert" studio rig, for real world gigging, it's kind of a PITA to load in or out; maybe you have a road-crew.

Fine product, IMO, but more of a "showcase" amp than a working gig rig.
Did REALLY love the sound though! If you got it, I am sure you would be very happy with the sonic output.
 
#114
allenhumble said:
Thanks for the reply. Im not gigging. Just jamming with friends occasionally and playing solo. Not going to be moved often if ever. I was offered what I thought was a good deal and thought id ask for experience. Thanks again for the reply.
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You are Welcome- To be clear, it is moveable, but heavy! The power amp has transformers, weighs IIRC about 40 lbs, connected with the preamp in a sleeve, it's a lot of bulk, but that's what they make carts for! It can be done certainly.

The volume overall was a little less than I expected; I guess these days 500W is not a big deal. However, the amp DOES open up and "blooms'"magnificently.
It really is a great rig- I think I paid about 5 large for mine, and I don't think I'd repeat-But it is truly a beautiful and very much high-end bass rig.
Good luck either way.
 
#115
allenhumble said:
Its been awhile since anyone has posted on this thread and I could find any other threads on this gear. Has anyone else made this purchase? I could pick the pre/250 stereo/ and club cab for $3500 new. Pretty good discount. Woundering if its worth it. I had a berg ip310 years ago and hated having to let it go.
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Imo, the price for those HB pieces is too high atm. You could probably find the same pieces new/pristine used for less...

I've actually owned every piece of the HB line over the years...the only pieces I didn't/won't let go of, are the Pre/Mono500/BigCab. I do consider them for home use only--->super heavy, and the cabs are not very road worthy without some modifications (corner protectors, etc.) Incredibly quiet, transparent (without bias) bass tone...reflects YOUR playing/YOUR instrument!
 

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