Verellen Meatsmoke
January 2012
READ THE FULL REVIEW
While the Verellen Meat Smoke’s odd moniker and charred visage conjures thoughts of feasting on brisket and pulled pork, the heavyas- heck sounds lurking within this 300-watt monster are more mouth watering than the biggest Memphis BBQ banquet. Like the Marshall Major and Sunn Coliseum back in the ’70s, the Meatsmoke is equally suited for guitar or bass, and the six 6550 power tubes will give any player enough headroom to shatter glass with sweet clean tones. But it also has an overdrive channel that generates heaps of midrange grunt and grind that will spin the heads of metal fiends and stoner rockers out to do major damage. In our review, we suggested it might be the best new amp on the market for doom rock, sludge metal, and postrock players for whom massive volume is an essential musical texture. And though that may remain a subjective assertion, you can be certain the Meatsmoke will be too beautifully deafening for you to hear anyone arguing the point. verellenamplifiers.com
All That Glitters …
The Fender Select series of guitars and
basses is a unique, high-end line of instruments
based on the company’s most
popular guitar and bass designs. Loaded
with premium features such as select tonewoods,
custom finishes, high-end hardware,
and custom-voiced pickups, the first
100 of each model were handnumbered in
the factory. These particular instruments
were then randomly sent out to authorized
dealers, thereby encouraging players to
find the “golden ticket” among the new
guitars and basses.
After receiving the Select Precision, it was a couple of days before I actually opened the tweed, vintage-style case. And I’m a little remorseful that I didn’t open the case sooner, because this bass is remarkable. The sunburst gloss-lacquer finish is beautiful over the flamed-maple top, and the 3-ply (parchment/black/parchment) pickguard gives the bass a very classy look. The beautifully figured, quartersawn C-shaped neck is supported by two graphite rods and sports a satin finish. Other appointments are what one would expect in a higher-end instrument: black pearloid inlays, a high-mass bridge, and Fender/Hipshot tuners. Nothing flimsy, nothing loose, and no gaps anywhere—this bass felt solid, well constructed, and, well, just right.
There have been a number of variations of the P bass over the years. But if you are anything like me, you often opt for older (they are deemed desirable for a reason) rather than newer, and may be slow to warm up to change, especially from a bass with such a strong hold on history. However, with its welcome refinements, the Select P has changed my way of thinking. I generally prefer the heftier, U–shaped Precision necks of the ’70s, but with this bass, the U would have been too much. The neck is fluid and fast, extremely comfortable, and just what the instrument needs. The string tension is solid as can be, and because the bass is strung through the body (hey, my vintage Precisions don’t do that!), this P can sustain for almost a week—and I hadn’t even plugged it in yet.
Precisely What I Needed
When powered up, the Select Precision
sings. Running it through an Eden
WTX500 head and Eden D410XLT cab, I
set the P’s volume and tone controls wide
open. Each note on the 20-fret neck was
even and concise, even when I felt the need
to play the 20th fret on the 4th string. The
bass handled just about anything thrown its
way, from fast and furious metal to more
subdued country. And when using a pick,
this P takes on the punk role with ease, cutting
through like it’s supposed to.
Ratings
Pros:
Very comfortable to play. Well built. Great tones.
Cons:
Vintage purists may find it lacking classic P vibes.
Tones:
Playability:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$2,299
Fender
fender.com
The bass sounded great when paired up with my vintage Ampeg B-18, tube amp, too, though I needed to move my right hand a little more toward the neck to get the warmer vibe I was looking for. With all its refinements, the Select P does lack some of the warmer, more vintage-y tones of its ancestors, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With this P, it seems Fender is trying to evolve, not just repeat the past. The voicing of Fender’s new split pickup still maintains its roots—it is still a P—but it has slightly more mid punch than I’ve heard from other Precisions. In some ways, the tone is better than vintage. The pickups are church quiet, and this bass has that rare and wonderful quality that just makes you want to play more.
The Verdict
The Select Precision is a high-end offering
with great features and craftsmanship. And
naturally, the price is also higher. I used to
get upset every time I’d see a new “doctor
and lawyer line” of guitars or basses, so when
I saw the price for this Precision, yes, I did
have some initial sticker shock. But after playing
it, I totally get it. It’s sort of like a new
Shelby Mustang. The Shelby uses the same
chassis as the stock Mustang, but it takes on
some new and more expensive features at the
factory. The performance is better, and down
the line becomes more desirable. But do you
want to drive your Shelby Mustang everyday?
Enthusiasts say “yes.”
The Select Precision is built on the same premise: It’s a showroom instrument that’s meant to be an everyday workhorse. And when it comes to overall tone, this bass offers a straight, no-frills approach that’s fit for any stage. So if you are looking for a nice, upscale Precision to actually play rather than look at, and are in need of a bass that will work for just about anything, this is a fine place to start.
But while Jones is primarily known for his kick-ass variations on vintage Gretsch Filter’Tron pickups, he also offers custom-order instruments such as the Model 10 solidbody and Spectra Sonic Supreme semi-hollowbody. About 10 years ago, Jones also sold baritone guitars based on the original prototype that Setzer debuted at his June 29, 2000, gig in Kettering, Ohio, where he used it to perform “I Won’t Stand in Your Way” and “Mystery Train” (check out the fantastic video of Setzer playing the latter during his 2006 Japan tour on YouTube). Now, a decade later, Jones has brought that guitar—the Spectra Sonic C Melody baritone— back into the fold.
Supremely Designed
From top to bottom, the 29.4"-scale C
Melody is an impeccably built instrument.
Its 1.9"-thick, chambered alder body is
topped with a beautifully figured (but not
gaudy) maple cap finished in nitrocellulose
lacquer and bound with white-and-black
celluloid. The TV Jones Classic bridge and
Magna’Tron neck pickups are governed
by aluminum-knobbed volume and tone
controls, as well as a 3-position Switchcraft
toggle. The U.S.-made Bigsby B11 vibrato
is paired with a Tune-o-matic-style bridge
featuring notched brass saddles.
The 3-ply, U-shaped maple neck joins the body at the 16th fret and features a bound, radiused ebony fretboard with 22 medium frets and classy little popsicle-shaped inlays. The bound headstock features a 14-degree string-break angle, a 44 mm Delrin nut, Sperzel tuners, and a mother-of-pearl logo inlay.
Supremely Melodious
To test the C Melody’s tones, I plugged
it into a Goodsell Valpreaux 21 with a
ceramic-magnet Jensen Falcon 12", as well
as a 12" extension cab loaded with WGS
ET-65 speaker based on a 65-watt, Rola-era
(pre-1970) Celestion. For tonal variety, I
also augmented the Valpreaux’s clean and
overdrive tones with a Pigtronix Fat Drive
and a 2-knob Keeley Compressor.
From the outset, the C Melody—which was designed to be tuned C to C in order to be more horn-friendly with Setzer’s big band—was a dream to play. If your primary experience with twang-oriented baritones is with the face-slappingly affordable models Danelectro has been putting out since the ’50s, playing the TV Jones will feel like moving from a cool old Ford Mustang to a tricked-out hot rod. And I say that with all due respect to Danos—they’re fun as hell and sound killer, even if playing comfort and elegance aren’t their strengths. In contrast, the Spectra Sonic C, with its stock .013–.060 strings, doesn’t have the overly taut string response or cramped feel that some Dano baris have.
Although the C Melody’s scale is longer than most baritones on the market, the main thing most players will notice when transitioning from a 25 1/2"- or 24 3/4"- scale instrument isn’t how far you have to reach to get to open-position chords (doing that feels remarkably normal), but rather how there’s more real estate allotted to each fret. This isn’t as noticeable when you’re playing first-position chords—which, for the record, sound as grand as a piano—but it does become more of an adjustment when you’re playing barre chords or more complicated fingerings around the middle of the neck.
Another TV Classic
I’m already a fan of TV Jones pickups—I’ve
got Classics in a Gretsch hollowbody, and a
Magna’Tron in my Schecter Ultra III—but
when playing them in the Spectra Sonic C
I stoked a newfound admiration. It seems
having the guy who designed them also
design the circuitry and the guitar they’re
installed in pays big dividends: The Classic
bridge barks and twangs with authority
whether blasting through some pedal grit
or running naked into the amp, and yet
in the C Melody the Classic is also devoid
of some of the nasally midrange I’ve heard
from it in other guitars. The resulting tones
won’t let you down whether you’re plucking
spy-movie themes, Travis-picking rockabilly
lamentations, power-chording indie-rock
craziness, or fingering big, complex inversions
that use open notes to crisscross the
fretboard and the frequency spectrum.
The staggered cylinder magnets in the neck Magna’Tron do exactly what Jones intended them to do—they deliver your notes with an angelic and bell-like hollowness when you’ve dialed in a clean tone. With overdrive they ring out thick and gristly. And when you combine the two pickups, that’s where you’ll find the most piano-like blend of bite and corpulence.
Ratings
Pros:
Exquisite tones and versatility. fine craftsmanship. A rarity in the current baritone market.
Cons:
Somewhat pricey.
Tones:
Playability:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$3,125
TV Jones
tvjones.com
Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising thing about the TV bari’ is the tone circuit. Although I typically feel limited by the tone circuits in most guitars—I can usually get the widest range of tones by keeping it full on and varying my picking approach (harder pick attack for more grit and brightness, more flesh for softer, warmer sounds)—this is the first instrument I’ve played in a long time where I felt like using the tone knob was truly palette expanding. Jones says this is due to the .0068 μF capacitor he pairs with the 500k CTS audio-taper tone pot. I’ll admit my eyes start to glaze over when people start getting that deep into capacitor values, but I also know my ears don’t lie to me: Reining in the C Melody’s tone control doesn’t make it sound like it’s had all the dynamics sucked out, nor like you’ve thrown a blanket over your amp. Rather, it leaves the treble and high-mid frequencies that are crucial to transmitting little nuances you can get with clever use of plucking and muting techniques while changing the bass and low midrange in a way that makes the pickups sound almost like another set entirely. Suddenly each pickup position—but particularly the middle and neck selections—sounds richer, rounder, and warmer—like caramelized tone candy.
One other tone-related note: As many baritone players have found over the years, a good compressor is by no means crucial to getting very satisfying results from the Spectra Sonic C, however it does open the door to a whole world of wider sonic applications. The C Melody took to my Keeley like they were best pals, focusing and crisping-up the tone in ways that deliciously complemented techniques such as fingerpicked rhythms.
The Verdict
Given the C Melody’s association with two
very particular legends, it’s certainly no
surprise that it doesn’t disappoint in any
regard other than the semi-steep price. But,
considering how few new baritone guitars
from reputable builders are available at
present—MusiciansFriend.com currently
lists seven, five of which are geared toward
hard-rock or metal—it’s not a stretch to say
the classic-toned C Melody is justifiably
priced, especially considering its impeccable
sonics and attention to detail.
Watch our video demo: