Valenti Bass review by Henry James

I’m reviewing a Jazz style bass for up and coming bass builder Anthony Valenti. I received the test bass from Fed-X in perfect condition at work but just to keep the excitement flowing I left it boxed until I got home. I have never done this before so I’m very excited to be picked to do this review. I opened the box pulled out the sweet nylon gigbag/hardcase and laid it on the floor. Opened the case and the first thing I said was Awesome! Looking at it in the case reminded me of a Darrel Jones Lakland with the downsized Jazz body with blocks and binding on the board. After picking it up out of the case I realized this bass was not a DJ Clone. With Bassline Classic Stacks and the Aguilar OBP1 preamp I had a feeling that this bass was a sleeper. The first thing that caught me was the Black block Neck and the black guard and hardware really gave this bass a vibe of its own. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m a Jazz bass guy all the way and my favorite combo is maple board with black blocks.

 Before I even plucked a note I looked over the workmanship and quality of what you would be getting for your buck. The body and neck joint is flawless and I especially liked the finish on the back of the neck, the finish on the Body is killer also. The contoured Neck heel is something I could get used to real quick. Nothing but the best hardware on this bass and the Hipshot gears and bridge were first rate. The finish is a little worn on a few of the saddles but I think this is one of Nino’s players and will attribute that to players wear.

 Now as always my first test for any bass is the unplugged test. I always say if a bass sounds good unplugged then everything else can be tweaked. This may sound stupid to some but I can tell if a bass has nice resonance and projects really well when playing unplugged, that’s the true tone of the wood. I checked the resonance by plucking a open A note and counting Mississippi’s, This bass got my approval at 15 Mississippi’s, Nice piece of Ash and a good mate between the neck and body. I did love the contoured neck heel after playing some Entwhistle licks way up high on the neck. I’m guessing this bass weighs in at around 9 and a half to 10 pounds on my cheesy bathroom scale.

After sitting on the floor playing this bass unplugged for 45 minuets the only con for me so far is the frets are just a little bit sharp on the edges, A pet peeve of mine This is just my preference, I like nice and dressed rounded over fret ends, These were not bad like the mid 90’s Fenders were, but it was enough for me to notice, A simple fix at my Luther or I’m sure Nino can dress them per customer needs. Otherwise this neck had an awesome feel The shape reminded me of the 69-74 era of Jazz basses. With this said I will give my first test with the Valenti a A-

A peak inside the control cavity revealed nice wiring work and the cavity was squeaky clean I think that is shielding paint in the cavity wich ads a nic touch.

 It just happed to be rehearsal night so I was pumped to see what a high end bass like this sounded like. Now I’m not a big fan of Active electronics but this set-up with The Duncan Classic Stacks and the Aggie OBP1 2 band preamp made for warm lush vintage tone and all out balls to the wall modern tone, with the blend pot adjusted for more rear pup the thing just sung like a 60’s J bass on steroids. With the Volume rolled off a little I could tame it a little more toward the vintage tone that I am a custom to. This bass felt nice playing fingerstyle

 Everything set flat I whipped out my .88 Tortex and ripped into some Kiss tunes, The bass was awesome, It felt great strapped on and the balance was right on the money. The more I played it the better it felt the Neck has just the perfect girth to it. After Ripping through a few tunes the tone was modern and in your face and the bass was overpowering the music. I needed a Gibson ripper mud tone which is the one thing this bass can not do. And you wouldn’t want it to. After rehearsal I strapped it back on and jammed for about ½ hour with my drummer. The bass was so inspiring that we wrote a pretty sweet funk jam in a few minuets. This bass made me slap!!

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At rehearsal

 Recording this bass was a breeze!! Plugged straight into the board without any DI, I usually have to use my Sansamp with my passive basses but this thing rocked straight onto tape. To take some of the edge of I strung her with the Nickelwounds Nino supplied and put the Stainless aside. Ahhhhhhhhh I’m a Nickel guy and I took that edge and bite off it. I played it for a few day’s and realized I missed the Stainless on that bass for playing slap. I’ll say it again this bass was born to funk. I’ll leave the Stainless steel’s on it.

The amps I tried it out with were  a Vintage SVT, A 90’s Sunn 300T and a Eden WT400, The cabs used were Aguilar GS 210’s and a 1969 SVT 810. This bass didn’t like my 300 T much and it was good with the SVT but when I plugged it into the Eden/Aguilar combo is when this bass shined. I could do anything to this bass and it sounded awesome., Finger style, Pick, Thumb, Pluck, Slap, It all sounded nice on a Valenti.

The testing ground

 Overall conclusions are: Anthony Valenti is a great up and coming builder who puts together a nice product and is a sweet alternative to the sometimes way overpriced boutique basses of today. . Email Nino for price quote and any questions or special orders.

The bass itself is monster sounding and a joy to play the only gripes for me would be the fret ends could be dressed a little smoother for my liking and I would like to have had a passive/Active switch just incase of a battery failure. 

Pros

Great Bass from a great upcoming builder. Very Versatile with all styles of music. A+ fit and finish nothing but the best for electronics and hardware. Made in the USA

Cons

Fret ends could use some dressing, No passive/active switch incase your battery dies, If you are like me I always leave my active basses plugged in and they eat batteries. The biggest con is I have to give it back to Valenti.

After talking to Nino we came to these conclusions

The fret ends might of just popped out due to different weather conditions/humidity conditions between NYC to MA. Please rest assured that when the bass left here the frets ends were fine. I too HATE when the fret ends stick out even alittle. :) It has been really unseasonably cold here in NE! I agree the day it arrived it was 6 degrees! 

 I emailed you about the saddles. I emailed Hipshot with pictures of the worn saddles and they told me that some saddles with badfinishing slipped through QC. I should be getting replacement saddles from them on my next order but if you look at the G saddle, it looks like a totally different texture/finish. I never read it by accident, It got deleted with my spam. 

Nino stands by his basses 100% and would address any issues that arise..

Valenti Basses: http://www.valentibasses.com

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