MY NEW BLONDE SHEN

Emi · #1 03-24-2007, 12:17 PM

Hi all,

I'm (virtually) new to this forum.

For a LONG year and a half, I've been wanting to play upright. Within that time, I researched different types of basses constantly; so many basses to choose from--all I knew was I wanted to get my hands on something blonde.

In September, I e-mailed Cincinnati luthier, Nick Lloyd about about a blonde laminate Shen. He referred me to Steve Swan, right here in California. Six months later, I finally managed to save enough, called Steve and got everything squared away. He didn't have the particular Shen bass that I was interested in, but he quickly got ahold of a blonde Shen for me.

I can't say enough good about Mr. Swan--he was very easy to work with, for one. I was very surprised at how quickly my bass came, as well as how quickly it was setup. On top of that, he patiently put up with me.. it being my first bass, I was pretty anxious.

Above all things, Steve helped me out a TON on shipping costs and transportation. After driving through Southern California and back again, he delivered my bass directly to my home around 9 PM. He really went out of his way to make sure that I had my bass as soon as possible.

I would GLADLY recommend Steve Swan to anyone here at Talkbass, as well as anyone else in the area looking into finding a local dealer for stringed instruments.

As far as my bass goes.. the blonde finish is beautiful. The wood grain is very nice, and the longer I play, the better she sounds. Very glad I went with Shen. I'll take some pictures soon.

flint · #2 03-24-2007, 12:23 PM

being new to this forum, your transgression may be forgiven.

but you should know that it is a TERRIBLE thing to talk about your new bass w/out pictures. Especially when it's an irregular thing like a blonde shen-I didn't know they were making blondies, actually.

anyway-what strings? get a bow? how's she sound? are you getting lessons? etc...and CONGRATULATIONS. It's always a good thing to get a new bass.

Stewthebassman · #3 03-24-2007, 01:05 PM

Congrats!

Sounds like your birthing experience (Lol) was very positive!!

And as Chortle Nut says,........PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve Swan · #4 03-24-2007, 03:04 PM

Thanks for the nice post, Emily. It was a very long day of basses, nearly 20 hours and 960 miles door to door from my home in San Frandcisco. I deliverd a Shen 3/4 willow to a customer in South Pasadena at noon, picked up 4 new Eastmans and 1 new Paesold in Pomona, delivered the Shen SB 90 to Emily in Madera, and got back home after midnight. Emily has a very supportive Mom and a nice bass to work with. She has the enthusiasm to take her playing far along in a hurry. It's time for my nap now.

fish slapper · #5 03-25-2007, 12:55 PM

Congrats. Especially since I own the same bass. Actually, according to John Sprague, mine was among the first 5 sent over. It still gets rave reviews. In fact, my first lesson with my new teacher, much of the first lesson was spent in him admiring my "triple B" (big bottomed blonde).

Maybe we should start up a blonde Shen club.

Enjoy.

John Sprague · #6 03-26-2007, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish slapper

Maybe we should start up a blonde Shen club.

LOL, I really enjoyed that! That Steve is a sweet guy, ain't he? I had the pleasure of meeting him at NAMM in person. Here's a little gift for Emily and Fishslapper to kick off your 3-B club. I was working on the blonde pic while I read this, so here's something for your desktops if you like.

Dr.Ken · #7 03-26-2007, 04:53 PM

Nice pic, John.

I will be joining the Shen Blonde club this Saturday (hopefully). I purchased an SB90 blonde from Nick Lloyd and look forward to actually seeing it. I will update after the weekend, but so far have been very impressed with John (he emailed me a couple of times to answer questions) and Nick.

Regards,

- Ken

fish slapper · #8 03-26-2007, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Sprague

LOL, I really enjoyed that! That Steve is a sweet guy, ain't he? I had the pleasure of meeting him at NAMM in person. Here's a little gift for Emily and Fishslapper to kick off your 3-B club. I was working on the blonde pic while I read this, so here's something for your desktops if you like.

Thanks, John. I love it. Sooo, are they officially "SB-90" now? Mine has a SB-100 label in it.

John Sprague · #9 03-26-2007, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish slapper

Thanks, John. I love it. Sooo, are they officially "SB-90" now? Mine has a SB-100 label in it.

Yep, they are officially annointed the SB90. Yours is a rare piece, like coins that get double-stamped. Yours has inlaid purfling I believe also, which is not the case on the final 90s. It may never be worth tons because of it, but it has a good story.

Emi · #10 03-26-2007, 09:40 PM

Again, I really can't say enough good about Steve Swan. As far as the bass goes, he is definitely who I'll be going to from here on out. I feel really good about having found an honest, decent dealer that I can actually see in person when the occasion calls for it.

To answer any previous questions: My Shen was setup by Jeff Sahs.. she's strung with Labella nylons, don't have any fancy pickup system yet.. (baby steps for this poor college kid). Looking for a teacher in the area--I've been learning some things on my own, but it would be really helpful having someone around to help me out. No bow for a while.. I'm mostly interested in the rockabilly slap style of playing, as well as pizzicato.

Thanks, John! That's definitely my new screen saver for the next 6 months or so, ha ha.. I'm all for starting a blonde Shen club.

Here are some horrible pictures to make up for no pictures at all, which is even MORE horrible.

Better ones are coming soon--trust me!! I want to show it off to the entire world.

The engraved plate tuners are beautiful.. it's just too bad that the details are so hard to see in this one.

Steve Swan · #11 03-27-2007, 01:14 PM

Jeff Sahs pretty much does all of my setups now. He's very agreeable, meticulous, and attentive to specific setup needs. For me it is well worth the 100 mile trip each way to have him do the work. I try to reduce my driving by having him do batches of 2-5 basses. He does work on all violin family instruments, but specializes in bass. He's also a fine jazz bassist when he has time to gig, which is virtually never. Jeff's phone number in Sacramento, California is (916) 739-1962.

fish slapper · #12 03-27-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Sprague

Yep, they are officially annointed the SB90. Yours is a rare piece, like coins that get double-stamped. Yours has inlaid purfling I believe also, which is not the case on the final 90s. It may never be worth tons because of it, but it has a good story.

Ha! Well the more I play her, the more I love her so I don't think I'll try to turn a profit quite yet. Actually, thanks to a great set-up by Pete Lampe, its playing in very nicely. My A string is particularly tasty.

I might want a Willow some day if I decide to feed that classical jones, but I've been thinking it'll be a "too" not an "instead of".