Well, I had a year's worth of rental credit with Hammond Ashley, and recently dropped in to return the rental instrument and see what they had in stock to use up my store credit. As usual, they had some truly nice instruments, including a good number in my price range (I was trying to stay below $3000).
The first bass I tried was a Christopher hybrid with Obligatos. It was very nice, very nice indeed. Dark, but spoke clearly through the whole range.
Next was a Christopher 200 series laminate busetto with Superflexibles. Wow. To me, it blew the hybrid away, but I was suspicious that this might be due to the strings. It was beautiful and easy to play, and had lots of character. I had to double check to make sure it wasn't a hybrid! Nice flame maple laminated back and sides add a cool aesthetic, and the neck was a nice chunk of solid flamed maple also, with an ebony fingerboard.
Next, I tried another Chrissie hybrid, with Spirocores. Okay, now that thing just sang. Nicer than the busetto, especially in thumb position, but actually didn't beat it by too much. I was thinking that the busetto with Spiros might have actually come pretty close to matching the hybrid.
Fourth, I tried a 7/8 Christopher laminate 100 series with Obligatos. Wow, that thing had a deep DEEP, loud tone in the low register. Not as clear up high, but it was really something to hear a 100-series Chrissie laminate speak this deeply and well.
Fifth, I tried a Strunal hybrid with Superflexibles. Oh, man, that thing was a dream. It was super nice in all respects, quilted maple sides were gorgeous, and it just sang. It was a bit out of my price range, but I couldn't put it down.
Sixth, a no-name Chinese fully carved bass, not sure what the strings were. This was out of my price range, at $3990, but I wanted to see how the cheapest carved bass they had compared to the laminates and hybrids I was playing. It was very nice, but I actually preferred the Strunal by quite a large margin.
Finally, I tried a Shen hybrid, again, not sure what the strings were. Didn't really care for this one as much ... it was probably my least-liked bass of the day, which really surprised me. I've heard great things about them, and expected it to be a strong contender, but this particular one just didn't do anything for me. It was probably just this specific bass, or an example of a player just not clicking with a perfectly fine instrument.
Okay, by this time, I've put away everything except the Strunal hybrid and the Chrissie laminate busetto. The cheapest bass I tried that day, and the most expensive that I actually considered possible to buy (the carved bass was just for comparison). I went back and forth, playing the same lines on each one over and over. I got Matt at Hammond Ashley to play both of them so I could step back and listen. Also, he has much better technique in thumb position than I do, so I was able to hear what the basses really sounded like through the whole range of the instrument.
Then, I played them some more. One thing I discovered is that I like Superflexibles again, more than I thought I would.
I finally came to one last question for Matt. I asked him if the Strunal was fairly typical of the instruments they make, in sound, playability and aesthetics. My rationale was that if this was the be-all-and-end-all of Strunals, well I would take it. He replied that it was pretty standard for Strunals. That reassured me that I would be able to find another one if or when I want to upgrade from a laminate bass ... so I bought the Christopher busetto laminate. The last thought I had in terms of rationalizing this was that a plywood bass might survive bar gigs better. But maybe I'm just fooling myself there. Ah well.
Except that's not the end of the story.
As soon as I talked all this through with my wife, she asked me why I didn't buy the Strunal, and started playing devil's advocate. So much so that I'm considering going back to Hammond Ashley and trying it out again to see if I do indeed want to change my mind.
Like I said ... tough decision!
Cheers,
Liam
