Lots to say here but I'll try and keep this short. Firstly, pics are
here.
After a lot of research and trying out basses, I am the proud new owner of a Shen 7/8 Willow flatback which I purchased from Arnold Schnitzer. Arnold setup the bass and fitted a C extension. I only just got home on Saturday night with the bass. I played the heck out of it today and have plenty of gigs lined up this week with it but already I think I can offer up a good story about this purchase.
I sold a beautiful twenty year old Maggini copy to buy this bass. In many ways, this was a scary purchase. This was the first new bass I had ever bought. Every bass I had previously owned (three of them) was at least 20 years old. The Maggini copy was a beautifully resonant bass that was very fine particularly under the bow. However I needed something that was better suited to what I mostly do which is play jazz and a lot of that is with gut strings and with minimal or no amplification. I was also in need of some cash so my budget was tight. The Shen ended up costing me about 3/5 of what I sold my Maggini copy for so in some ways, one would expect this to be a step DOWN. Also, while I had heard lots of good Shen stories, I had also heard some bad ones including a nightmare or too that had me concerned about quality control. Since this is a still a new bass, I'm not completely convinced yet but I am no longer worried. However this bass is a flatback and it's new and I live in a pretty bizarre climate with very hot and humid summers and cold and dry winters. I have always babied my basses and even without a humidifier in winter, my music studio is not dry as we have radiant floor heating which is so much more bass friendly than forced air or or wood heat. However I do expect an open seam or two and maybe even a crack in the coming years (neither of which I have had on any previous bass).
I should also mention that I had played a number of Shen Maple roundbacks a couple of years ago and was not very impressed at all. Also when I was at CSC trying out this bass, I played a 3/4 Willow flatback and the large 3/4 Rogeri Willow roundback and was less than impressed with both. The 7/8 Willow flatback however was a very different story.
I think this is probably one of the best damn deals on the market right now. An absolute bargain in my opinion and Arnold seconded that. Arnold had not seen one before but he says he will be getting another as he thinks they are great for pizz and that's how I feel. Of course it is a flatback and it is fully carved so it's not going to have the stability of a New Standard but if you want a big bass for jazz, it's an insanely good deal. It is also pretty damn big so some people may find it an inconvenience to carry or to play in tight spaces. The build quality and the finish on the bass is wonderful in my opinion especially when you consider the price level. To be more specific, I've seen plenty of basses that are more than twice the price of this one that weren't built or finished as well and didn't sound this good. Although not everyone likes it (e.g. my wife!), the Willow grain is both different and beautiful. My wife prefers good old Maple.
Right out of the box, this bass sounds and plays beautifully. It's not bright at all. I tried it at CSC and it had been setup the day before with brand new Helicore Hybrids. Now I have my old faithful Gamut unwound guts on G and D and Pirastro Permanents on the bottom two strings and it sounds great. For pizz, it's much clearer and less boomy than my previous bass although definitely not as thunderous or as resonant under the bow. The bottom string is not super strong but it's hard to say right now with a new string. It's not weak however. It's all just very well balanced.
The bass is very big but it's very easy to play. At 5'6" I have to have the endpin all the way in but the sloped shoulders and generous overstand make it easy to navigate. Also, I guess since Willow is not as heavy as Maple, the bass is not too heavy to carry despite its size. I had been told the neck was very thick. I stopped in at Bill Merchant's house on the way to Arnold's and he said the neck is as thick as he'd ever want to make one but it's certainly no problem at all. In fact I even find it a bit small. Certainly feels fine and not tiring to play and low F octaves are no problem with 42" string length.
Not so good things - tuners are OK but not the best. They tend to get a bit slack which is what I had heard. Endpin is not the best either (I had heard about this too) and while Arnold said this one is better than others he's seen, I will be replacing it sometime soon. The stock, new fingerboard could be marginally thicker too. These are however all small things and overall, this is a great bass.
Thanks to John and Paul at CSC for making this happen. Arnold of course does superb work and made a great effort to accommodate me in his busy schedule. His setup work is great and the C extension is beautifully crafted. He's certainly won me as a customer.
