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First-Class Flyer Picking up the Flyer, it's easy to spot the characteristics that put the bass in a category of its own. First off, at under five pounds, the bass is remarkably light. Yet, the Flyer's T-bolt neck joint and radiused top make it feel nearly as sturdy as a solidbody. Given the cost of the bass, I'd be reluctant to travel much with merely its included gig bag for protection, but the basses certainly felt sturdier than others of their ilk. The larger bodies of some ABGs can make technique transitions from electric bass a bit cumbersome. Not so with the Flyer. The bass' compact dimensions and 34" scale length are extremely comfy. Owing to the body's lightweight, the bass is subject to some neck dive, but no more than I could fairly expect. Similarly, the contour of the lower bout of the body helps position the bass comfortably while seated.
Specifications
List $4,450 Pros Loud, articulate acoustic voice; ergonomics Cons None Bottom Line As a top-tier acoustic bass guitar. the Veillette Flyer Bass is hard to fault, whether In terms of style. sound. or ergonomics. Superior volume, clarity. and sustain. Construction Bolt-on Top Spruce (radiused) Sides and back Maple Neck Mahogany Fingerboard Pau ferro Scale length 34" Pickup K&K undersaddle piezo Preamp D-Tar Wavelength Weight 4.9 lbs Made in U.S.A. The Flyer may be on the small size in terms of dimensions, but acoustically, the bass is surprisingly loud. I've grown accustomed to Veillette basses strung with Joe's preferred La Bella Nylon tapewounds, which do a lot to lend his basses a mellow, upright-like thump. Arriving with nickel roundwounds, the fretted Flyer had a much brighter disposition. I liked it. A lot. I definitely dug the tapewounds on the fretless Flyer (more on that in a minute), but the roundwounds worked beautifully, as well. With simple volume and tone controls elegantly hidden on the upper curve of the soundhole and a range of playing techniques, the Flyer was versatile as can be. Though the control placement makes on-the-fly adjustments a bit tricky, it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make, given the aesthetic effect. The fretted Flyer speaks with authority, its articulate, midrange-rich response buoyed by a l8-volt K&K/D-Tar piezo pickup and preamp. In order to mitigate the amplification of string noise, I generally rolled back the tone knob a bit, especially with the roundwounds. But with clean technique and the tone on full, the Flyer had a full frequency response, with plenty of low end and little in the way of the brittle highs so common with piezo systems. Fret-Free Flyer Whether the next Ritchie or Swallow is ready to take the ABG to the next level of cred is hard to say. What is clear is that the Veillette Flyer is an instrument capable of getting them there.
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