The venerable Devin Townsend has graced youtube with this pretty sweet little tour de bass tone. He’s run three downright sexy basses – a Zon, a Sadowsky and a Sandberg (from beefy to gritty) – through a DarkGlass Vintage Deluxe into a Fractal Axe Fx2, all played with a pick. These specs are generously provided in detail by Townsend and lazily copied by me. Enjoy:
Zon: Poplar body, Ziracote top, Purple heart tone plate. Composite neck, Phenowood fingerboard, Zon / Bartolini pickups, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp
Sadowsky: Ash body, Quilted maple top, Maple neck and fingerboard, EMG pickups, Sadowsky preamp
Sandberg: Alder body, Maple neck and fretboard, Sandberg pickups, Sandberg preamp
His follow-up will be with a Dingwall, Warwick and Ernie Ball and all you anti-pick bass purists can stop foaming at the mouth – he says some fingering is coming soon. (Terrible pun not intended, but was noticed and not removed. Which is worse?)
Let us know what you think. Are the pickups, preamps or that luscious tonewood making the most difference? Either way, that Zon looks amazing and I deeply appreciate Townsend’s narration of each instrument switch.
