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I've recently came into possession of a Bacchus Handmade Venus 4 (specifically a 3 tone sunburst model). This bass looks like a jazz bass with a thinner and more ergonomic body, but it has a completely different character to a typical Fender jb. Ergonomically it is thus much better than vintage-style jazz basses. It is also relatively light, coming in at just 3.99 kg (thanks to the light-weight Ash body). The neck profile is less round compared to most jazz basses and is very fast and really comfortable. The two pieces of ash, that the body is made out of are matched perfectly, to the point where it is almost impossible to tell that it's not a single piece of ash. The two halfs are also different in their density and resonant frequency, such that the bass part resonates at lower frequencies, while the treble half resonates well at higher frequencies. All hardware on this instrument is top notch! The 2-piece bridge simplifies setup (similarly to how an Alembic/Warwick 2-piece bridge makes changing strings and setting up intonation easier. Although, this bridge isn't 3-dimensional, meaning that you can't adjust the string spacing). Most basses of the Handmade line come with Gotoh tuners, with more recent models stocked lightweight tuners. My bass came with Gotoh GB11W tuners, which are on the heavier side. These are exquisite smooth tuners which stay in tune really well. Even with heavier tuners this bass is still perfectly balanced and doesn't suffer from the ubiquitous jazz bass neck-dive problem. The pickups are Bacchus in-house pickups. I'm not sure what their spec is - visually they look like typical passive jazz pickups. The impedance is clearly fairly low, as the output of each pickup is weaker than average. They are however pretty much noise-free. This suggests that the pickups are somewhat under-wound and/or use pole pieces that don't increase impedance as much as typical Alnico V magnets. All Venus series basses are active and come with a 2-band preamp that Bacchus labels "SuperBOMB" in their catalogue. It is nearly completely noiseless (although boosting the high-end to the max still adds noticeable noise); the two shelf preamp is designed well - the Q-s of both low and high shelves are not too narrow, but are also not too wide, to make them hard to use and the center frequencies are chosen well too. The maximum cut/boost is within reason (my guess it's about +-10db for both shelves). Venus 4 has an extremely clear modern sound, with tons of sparkly high-end and a strong punchy low-end to back it up. The body resonates extremely well, and each note fills out the entire audible frequency spectrum almost completely (especially with relatively fresh strings). The sound is extremely clear, with the harmonic series of each note played being audible all the way up to ~17K and a well-defined fundamental that dominates all other sonic content. Ofcourse with older strings the sound mellows out significantly, but the overall voice of the instrument remains the same. The broad sonic range of the instrument gives you a lot of options to sculpt pretty much any sound for a specific mix, making it very versatile and flexible. It's also worth noting that this instrument has a sharper and punchier than average attack (even among bolt-on basses). This makes it really satisfying to play percussive lines and play with the dynamics. While the bass sounds really clean and clear, it doesn't sound sterile like some active basses - it has a sound of its own with a distinct and beautiful colour which is unique. Overall its one of the best basses I've ever played, and it is an utter joy to play it! While you might initially mistake it for a Fender clone - it is anything but that. With its full modern sound, I can really only compare it to Dingwall and Wal basses. P.S. I should note that Justin Chancellor's bright bass sound (which is what might come to mind based on the context of this review) isn't exactly typical for Wal basses. In my opinion its the clarity, percussiveness, unique sonic colour and excellent preamp electronics that liken this Bacchus bass to Wal basses.

This bass is Gibsons take on a modern bass design. This bass is fairly versatile, as it uses two humbucker with coil-split functionality. Using push-pull pots for switching between humbucker and single-coil modes is also a nice touch, as it doesn't add any additional controls to the bass, leaving the design with just 3 pots. Its worth mentioning that even in a j-bass config (both pickups in single-coil mode) the instrument doesn't sound like a typical jazz bass at all. The large open pole pieces of the Alnico pickups make them sound warmer and noticeably darker, but also somewhat punchier than most single-coil pickups. In the humbucker mode these pickups do not sound like MM humbuckers at all (even though they look almost identical to the MM humbuckers). They also do not sound like the typical Gibson mudbuckers, even though they do bear some tonal resemblance. The bridge and neck pickups are wound differently and use different materials, so tonally they are very distinct. Coil splitting works really well and changes the sound of the instrument drastically, but using pickups in different modes (e.g. neck pickup in single-coil and bridge pickup in humbucker mode) produces noticeably more noise (although generally it is not an issue). The body shape is not something completely unique - its different just enough to be recognizable. In that sense it is a step down from the much more unique design of the 2013 EB. Ergonomically this shape is really comfortable, and the balance is great. Acoustically the instrument is amazing - it resonates extremely well, to the point where it almost feels like its a semi-hollow instrument (even though it is not). My biggest gripe would be that the pickups (atleast to my ear) don't fully flesh out the harmonic richness of the instrument and have a distinct voicing to them which is not for everyone. While the pickups do give these basses a certain growl (especially noticeable with fresh strings), they also don't capture high frequency content accurately, and make the instrument sound relatively muddy with old strings. That is unsurprising considering their relatively low resonant frequency and high impedance. Comparing it to a Custom Shop Fender Jazz bass (which I sadly do not own, but have experience playing) - this bass sounds much thicker and darker (with the pickups in the single coil mode) even though acoustically it is louder and brighter. The neck profile is much wider but also less round, resembling more of a "D" shape. The EB4 is definitely doesn't have as fast of a neck as a Jazz Bass, but is still rather comfortable, as the neck is on the thinner end of the spectrum. The Contour of the body on the Gibson feels more modern, but the arm cutaway on the front of the body is much more shallow than on a traditional Jazz bass, making it slightly more awkward to play in certain positions (especially if you prefer playing with a pick). To get an idea of the pickup voicing it is worth listening to sound demos of the 2015 Thunderbird and this bass side to side - they use the same pickup design, but have a completely different build and use different materials. Because of that, all the similarities in the frequency response are mainly due to this voicing, even though the overall tone of the instruments is very different. In the past Gibson made a lot of unique instruments with distinctive design and sound. EB4, in my mind, can be viewed as a descendant of Gibsons 1987 IV and V basses (and a great improvement over them). Let me elaborate: both use thunderbird pickups (EB4 uses the same pickups as 2015 thunderbird, although they were originally designed for the 2013 EB bass), both use fairly similar ergonomic body shape and wide string spacing. Unlike the 1987 basses, the 2017 (and 2018) models use swamp ash (which overall gives these basses a much more modern sound), and provide much more tonal options with the coil-split function. Overall its a great versatile bass (with all of the sound options you can get with the 2-mode pickups), however the tonal properties of the pickups may be its biggest flaw (depending on your preferences). Especially, since its difficult to get replacement aftermarket pickups that fit the thunderbird pickup shape and don't require routing. I would strongly recommend playing this bass and "feeling" how it responds to your playing style (and even listening how it sounds acoustically, if it comes down to it). If you want more versatility out of this bass, I would strongly recommend swapping the pickups out for a more neutral-sounding alternatives, which capture the mid and high frequencies of this bass better.

This is a 90's analog all in one distortion + amp & cab-sim pedal, and it sounds great (not as a cabsim though). Obviously compared to modern digital pedals the cabinet simulation aspect of the GT2 is lacking, however this pedal still offers a diverse range of tube-like sounds which work great for guitars and for bass too. The distortion circuit limits the output, and adds a significant amount of sustain and tube-like saturation even on the cleanest settings. This circuit communicates dynamics extremely well, while maintaining a certain output level, which makes playing with it really awesome. Its worth noting that GT2 doesn't really ruin note definition on most settings, with the exception of mid to high gain hot-wired "california" setting. The circuit tends to be noisy on high-gain and hot-wired settings, but is well behaved on the clean setting. Older models (like mine, which is a revision 2, 5-digit model) do tend to be noisier though. As a bass player I can only use it in a parallel loop with the mic switch in the center position, mixing it with the dry signal to maintain low-end, when running hot-wired or hi-gain settings. It's a great distortion pedal for bass when used in this arrangement, and although it doesn't give a huge upper harmonic boost like a darkglass pedal, it offers an easily recognizable mid-high range growl, that helps cut through the mix without much interference with other instruments and without any loss in definition. But this is not the only use case for this pedal: the GT2 works great as a subtle saturator or clean boost - it's fairly easy to dial in a clean, but gritty and bright bass tone without loosing low-end (in this use-case you don't even need a parallel effects loop setup), which works well in a huge range of genres and sounds almost like tones that you can get out of a real tube amp. Overall it's a pretty great and versatile tool for both bass players and guitarists and it offers enough tonal diversity to make it a worthwhile purchase for a wide range of genres.

I've recently came into possession of a Bacchus Handmade Venus 4 (specifically a 3 tone sunburst model). This bass looks like a jazz bass with a thinner and more ergonomic body, but it has a completely different character to a typical Fender jb. Ergonomically it is thus much better than vintage-style jazz basses. It is also relatively light, coming in at just 3.99 kg (thanks to the light-weight Ash body). The neck profile is less round compared to most jazz basses and is very fast and really comfortable. The two pieces of ash, that the body is made out of are matched perfectly, to the point where it is almost impossible to tell that it's not a single piece of ash. The two halfs are also different in their density and resonant frequency, such that the bass part resonates at lower frequencies, while the treble half resonates well at higher frequencies. All hardware on this instrument is top notch! The 2-piece bridge simplifies setup (similarly to how an Alembic/Warwick 2-piece bridge makes changing strings and setting up intonation easier. Although, this bridge isn't 3-dimensional, meaning that you can't adjust the string spacing). Most basses of the Handmade line come with Gotoh tuners, with more recent models stocked lightweight tuners. My bass came with Gotoh GB11W tuners, which are on the heavier side. These are exquisite smooth tuners which stay in tune really well. Even with heavier tuners this bass is still perfectly balanced and doesn't suffer from the ubiquitous jazz bass neck-dive problem. The pickups are Bacchus in-house pickups. I'm not sure what their spec is - visually they look like typical passive jazz pickups. The impedance is clearly fairly low, as the output of each pickup is weaker than average. They are however pretty much noise-free. This suggests that the pickups are somewhat under-wound and/or use pole pieces that don't increase impedance as much as typical Alnico V magnets. All Venus series basses are active and come with a 2-band preamp that Bacchus labels "SuperBOMB" in their catalogue. It is nearly completely noiseless (although boosting the high-end to the max still adds noticeable noise); the two shelf preamp is designed well - the Q-s of both low and high shelves are not too narrow, but are also not too wide, to make them hard to use and the center frequencies are chosen well too. The maximum cut/boost is within reason (my guess it's about +-10db for both shelves). Venus 4 has an extremely clear modern sound, with tons of sparkly high-end and a strong punchy low-end to back it up. The body resonates extremely well, and each note fills out the entire audible frequency spectrum almost completely (especially with relatively fresh strings). The sound is extremely clear, with the harmonic series of each note played being audible all the way up to ~17K and a well-defined fundamental that dominates all other sonic content. Ofcourse with older strings the sound mellows out significantly, but the overall voice of the instrument remains the same. The broad sonic range of the instrument gives you a lot of options to sculpt pretty much any sound for a specific mix, making it very versatile and flexible. It's also worth noting that this instrument has a sharper and punchier than average attack (even among bolt-on basses). This makes it really satisfying to play percussive lines and play with the dynamics. While the bass sounds really clean and clear, it doesn't sound sterile like some active basses - it has a sound of its own with a distinct and beautiful colour which is unique. Overall its one of the best basses I've ever played, and it is an utter joy to play it! While you might initially mistake it for a Fender clone - it is anything but that. With its full modern sound, I can really only compare it to Dingwall and Wal basses. P.S. I should note that Justin Chancellor's bright bass sound (which is what might come to mind based on the context of this review) isn't exactly typical for Wal basses. In my opinion its the clarity, percussiveness, unique sonic colour and excellent preamp electronics that liken this Bacchus bass to Wal basses.

This bass is Gibsons take on a modern bass design. This bass is fairly versatile, as it uses two humbucker with coil-split functionality. Using push-pull pots for switching between humbucker and single-coil modes is also a nice touch, as it doesn't add any additional controls to the bass, leaving the design with just 3 pots. Its worth mentioning that even in a j-bass config (both pickups in single-coil mode) the instrument doesn't sound like a typical jazz bass at all. The large open pole pieces of the Alnico pickups make them sound warmer and noticeably darker, but also somewhat punchier than most single-coil pickups. In the humbucker mode these pickups do not sound like MM humbuckers at all (even though they look almost identical to the MM humbuckers). They also do not sound like the typical Gibson mudbuckers, even though they do bear some tonal resemblance. The bridge and neck pickups are wound differently and use different materials, so tonally they are very distinct. Coil splitting works really well and changes the sound of the instrument drastically, but using pickups in different modes (e.g. neck pickup in single-coil and bridge pickup in humbucker mode) produces noticeably more noise (although generally it is not an issue). The body shape is not something completely unique - its different just enough to be recognizable. In that sense it is a step down from the much more unique design of the 2013 EB. Ergonomically this shape is really comfortable, and the balance is great. Acoustically the instrument is amazing - it resonates extremely well, to the point where it almost feels like its a semi-hollow instrument (even though it is not). My biggest gripe would be that the pickups (atleast to my ear) don't fully flesh out the harmonic richness of the instrument and have a distinct voicing to them which is not for everyone. While the pickups do give these basses a certain growl (especially noticeable with fresh strings), they also don't capture high frequency content accurately, and make the instrument sound relatively muddy with old strings. That is unsurprising considering their relatively low resonant frequency and high impedance. Comparing it to a Custom Shop Fender Jazz bass (which I sadly do not own, but have experience playing) - this bass sounds much thicker and darker (with the pickups in the single coil mode) even though acoustically it is louder and brighter. The neck profile is much wider but also less round, resembling more of a "D" shape. The EB4 is definitely doesn't have as fast of a neck as a Jazz Bass, but is still rather comfortable, as the neck is on the thinner end of the spectrum. The Contour of the body on the Gibson feels more modern, but the arm cutaway on the front of the body is much more shallow than on a traditional Jazz bass, making it slightly more awkward to play in certain positions (especially if you prefer playing with a pick). To get an idea of the pickup voicing it is worth listening to sound demos of the 2015 Thunderbird and this bass side to side - they use the same pickup design, but have a completely different build and use different materials. Because of that, all the similarities in the frequency response are mainly due to this voicing, even though the overall tone of the instruments is very different. In the past Gibson made a lot of unique instruments with distinctive design and sound. EB4, in my mind, can be viewed as a descendant of Gibsons 1987 IV and V basses (and a great improvement over them). Let me elaborate: both use thunderbird pickups (EB4 uses the same pickups as 2015 thunderbird, although they were originally designed for the 2013 EB bass), both use fairly similar ergonomic body shape and wide string spacing. Unlike the 1987 basses, the 2017 (and 2018) models use swamp ash (which overall gives these basses a much more modern sound), and provide much more tonal options with the coil-split function. Overall its a great versatile bass (with all of the sound options you can get with the 2-mode pickups), however the tonal properties of the pickups may be its biggest flaw (depending on your preferences). Especially, since its difficult to get replacement aftermarket pickups that fit the thunderbird pickup shape and don't require routing. I would strongly recommend playing this bass and "feeling" how it responds to your playing style (and even listening how it sounds acoustically, if it comes down to it). If you want more versatility out of this bass, I would strongly recommend swapping the pickups out for a more neutral-sounding alternatives, which capture the mid and high frequencies of this bass better.