by KARSTEN FERNAU
At last, Jazz-Bass hysteria seems to have come to an end. All possible variations have been done (still waiting for that seven-string jazz bass!) and now there is room for new developments. Although Hot Wire is one of those companies surfing high on the Jazz-Bass hype, company owner Bert G. is a big fan of vintage Precision basses. As he does not issue mere copies, the fivestring Prezz followed suit after the successful lauching of the fourstring Prezz.
Technical Details
- one piece birds maple neck
- rosewood fingerboard
- bone nut
- one piece swamp ash body
- chrome hardware
- Hipshot ultralite machines
- Hipshot bridge
- Schaller locking endpins
- Hot Wire PJ-pickups
- U-Retro Preamp plus passive tone control
- PUR matte finish
Construction
As the Prezz definitely should sound like a precision, the Hot Wire team stayed with basic P-bass construction. The light swamp ash body resembles those of pre CBS P-basses, and the neck is bolted on with four screws. As the neck dimensions do not differ much from the four string, the modern Prezz 5 is not far away from the original. The rosewood fingerboard sports 21 frets. By using small Hipshot machines, the headstock is only one cm longer as that of an original P-Bass. The bridge comes from Hipshot as well, combining classic design with innovations such as string saddles that can´t slip away to the side and the bass can be strung through the body, just like on some very old Fenders. Alternatively the Prezz can be ordered with a Badass bridge.
The electronics combine vintage and modern features as well. Seven knobs and three switches should not irritate you - the modified U-Retro electronics also have the vintage passive sound if you want it. You have a complete passive set-up with volume and passive tone control. You choose either the P-pickup or both via the mini switch. The passive tone is also working in active mode, so you have an additional hi-cut pot next to the three active tone controls.
Playability
A P-bass is not considered to be a light weight instrument! But don´t worry – the Prezz 5 is not a „Precisaurus“! As the designer is an active player himself, he did not want to much strain on his back. The Prezz 5 is astonishingly easy to handle. The light swamp ash body does not pull on your shoulder, and thanks to the light machines, even some four string P-basses could learn something here.
The neck dimensions are very well done. With a nut width close to the fivestring jazz bass and a solid but not too fat neck profile you feel great right from the start. As could be expected, the frets are dressed carefully, so the action feels more like High-end bass than Sixties Retro.
The player who likes to dig under the strings when popping will be pleased noting the absence of a scratchplate, which could be installed on demand. The position of the controls can be defined by the customer.
Finger players find two positions for the thumb on the pickups. The short distance between the B-String and the edge of the pickups might be something to get used to , as the designers use normal four string pickup covers for a symetrical look. One coil houses the pole-pieces for the G-, D-, and A-strings, the other one for the E- and B strings. Service work like changing strings or batteries are easy to do thanks to the slotted bridge and the flip-open battery compartment.
Bottom Line:
For a five string bass, the Prezz is more easy to handle than many a four string!
Sound
Even without a manual I found out right away which pot does what. The first tandem pot has master volume and pan, the second one has highs and bass, with a 8 db boost in the 7000 Hz range when you pull the pot, and the third pot offers mid cut/boost and frequency, the single pot being the passive tone control. The first mini switch is a pickup selector for the passive mode, as the active pan pot is not available in passive mode. You can choose either one pickup or a mix from both, with the single one being of course the P-pickup (whoever wants a passive jaco-sound can wire the bridge pickup to that position). The second switch dials active and passive modes. As a good passive sound is the basis for the Prezz concept rather than an emergency mode let´s look at the passive sound first. Thanks to the great acoustic qualities which consist of a light timbre with clearly defined sonorous low mids, the Prezz delivers a fresh and open sound without using the active controls. The wideness in tone comes out best just using the P-pickup. With the passive tone you can make the bass purr... so the Prezz can speak the same language as his Pre-CBS-examples!
Turn on the Retro electronics, and you can get modern sounds out of this bass. Note that the volume of both pickups does not differ – with many PJ-combinations the bridge pickup is always too low in volume. Also the active balance seems to offer better sound when using both pickups. In the middle position I get a very nice round and fat tone. Sophisticated slap sounds are no problem here, with the highs coming through very distinctively, but appear crisp and crystal clear. The bass pot supports the basic tone real well as it does not make the classic P-sound too tight.
The midparametrics working in a broad spectrum make for whole pallette of new sound colors.
Especially slight cuts in the high mids deliver compact slap tones, with the combination of passive and active high controls. A slight cut with the passive control can take away the bite of strong high boost without losing the edge.
Bottom Line:
The passive sound is reminiscent of vintage precisions. Thanks to the Retro, the Prezz 5 can be taken to modern grounds without losing the sonorous mid-sound.
Comment:
For many players the Prezz 5 could be a dream come true! This bass has the charms of a vintage P-bass but with many details of a modern high end bass. A P-bass with five strings which is easy to handle and still sounding like the original. And with electronics that deliver everything from „Retro“ to „modern“ without losing the typical P-sound.
Scale 864 mm
Neck width - nut 47 mm
Neck width - 12. fret 68 mm
Neck thickness - 1. fret 23,5 mm
Neck thickness - 12. fret 26 mm
Number of frets 21
Stringspacing - nut 9 mm
Stringspacing - bridge 19 mm
Pickup distance from bridge 52 and 130 mm
Batteries 18 Volt
Weight 3,8 kg
Extra Gig Bag, tools
Preis 2.195,- Euro
Karsten Fernau