New Shen Willow

Mike Carr · #1 03-21-2011, 04:28 AM

I got a new Shen Willow 3/4 direct from Sam Shen in Shanghai yesterday. My former one is now in Hong Kong, decided not to risk flying it. My new one is great, I'm sure to enjoy it just as much as I did my last one, which served me well on 100's of gigs there. It's now the house bass at the top studio in Hong Kong. They fell in love with the way it records there!
The new Shen is nice, even better sounding, and playing brand new than the last one was when new. The finish is a bit nicer too. The whole bass seems a bit more refined, even better than the old one, bought new 6 years ago. Once it opens up, look out!

LeslieD · #2 03-21-2011, 06:09 AM

Congratulations! I love the Shen Willow basses! Did you get the SB200 with the flat back?

chris1125 · #3 03-21-2011, 08:33 AM

I have always been curious to see what the actual shop is like... They produce so many basses it must be crazy! Out of curiosity, are the prices the same in the shop as they are in other countries?

Mike Carr · #4 03-21-2011, 12:19 PM

Shen has a very nice showroom in Shanghai. Most of the basses he offers are on display there and for sale, along with the other stringed instruments they make. It's a very nice place, classy. They do minor repairs on sight too. The factory is in Suzhou, a couple hours away by train. I visited their original facility 6 years ago. It was clean, in an older building but in no way any sort of sweatshop. Most of his employes have been with him for years. I had lunch with Sam and several of them that day. I have not seen the new facility yet, he's had it up and running for several years now. I'm told it's a modern building, clean and well lit.
My bass is an SB-200 3/4, flatback. Spirocores and an Underwood. Sounded great on my gig tonight!

**Joshua** · #5 03-21-2011, 12:24 PM

Congrats!

I have been very pleased with my SB80, and when the times comes to upgrade will certainly be considering a higher end Shen...

glenfong · #6 03-21-2011, 03:10 PM

Very nice! I love my Shen, also an SB200 flatback.

Mike, is that the honorable Mr. Shen in the pic with you?

Mike Carr · #7 03-22-2011, 02:45 AM

Yes. One of the nicest guys around. The bass bench in the show room was in use at the time, and I wanted to get a set of Spirocores on before I left with the bass. Here is Sam helping me get the strings put on, carefully making sure the loose strings didn't scratch the brand new top of my Willow.

Mike Carr · #8 03-22-2011, 02:56 AM

Very happy and proud to have this bass!

longfinger · #9 03-22-2011, 11:00 AM

That's really neat that you could visit the Shen shop in person and meet Sam Shen and the workers. Locally, does Shen offer removable neck options and how much extra would they be?

Mike Carr · #10 03-22-2011, 11:47 AM

No, the removable neck basses are Charlie Chadwicks, he does all the stuff that makes them special. They start as Shens, but are very much a result of Charlie's efforts. You can not buy them in their final form in China unless you get one through Charlie www.foldingbass.com. Yes, it's cool to be here and close to where Shen makes basses. I've known Sam since 2005 and bought several basses from him. Great to see his company doing so well. They do because they keep their standards high, don't cut corners and give a good value for the money.

cacophonic · #11 03-22-2011, 12:12 PM

Hello Mike,

Congratulations on your Shen. Over a period of about 4 years, I would visit his storefront on Jingling Lu ever time I went to SH, hoping to find a bass that had something...special. One day, he had a Rogeri willow on hand and steered me right to it. Voila! I bought it from him and dragged it home with me to 'Frisco. It played well right off the showroom floor, with more satisfaction from the E string than any other Shen I have played, and has responded well to subsequent tweaking. Oddly, the neck is set somewhere between a "D" and "Eb" so it adds a little adventure when switching from and to my other bass. It's been my rock&roll axe mostly, but strung with Evahs, it acquitted itself rather well recently on a Ligeti piece.

Where are you gigging in SH? Maybe I'll stop by next time I'm in town.

Tsai jian,

bob

Wilbyman · #12 03-22-2011, 12:31 PM

Hey what strings are you guys using on these basses (SB200)? I am trying to find the right fit for me on mine. Had oldy Mittels on it, now have oldy Obligatos and thinking about some new Jazzers or Weichs.

Mike Carr · #13 03-22-2011, 12:31 PM

I'm at The Portman Ritz Carlton, Ritz Bar. Great band, new musical director, not the guy who sang and played drums who had the gig for years. Very swinging trio, all seasoned cats 50+ years old, expats. Stop by next time you come to Shanghai. Yes, the photos are from Sam's place on Jingling Lu.

Mike Carr · #14 03-22-2011, 12:38 PM

Strings? I had the best luck with Mittles on my last Willow and an SB-150 I had for a while. The new Willow has brand new Mittles on it. Looking forward to them calming down, pretty zingy right now!

Wilbyman · #15 03-23-2011, 09:47 AM

I am going to try some Jazzers on mine. I just ordered them. I really like Obligatos and perhaps should have bought them for this bass but since it is already a pretty dark sounding bass I thought maybe the Jazzers could be a good fit. I will probably put the Underwood back on.

Beautiful bass, plays great, I just need to get the strings figured out. I put an Animas G on it and didn't like that at all.

Steve Swan · #16 03-23-2011, 03:13 PM

On this model, Spirocore mittel has been a good place to start for most pizz players that I've worked with.

Wilbyman · #17 03-23-2011, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Swan

On this model, Spirocore mittel has been a good place to start for most pizz players that I've worked with.

Yeah, I am just not crazy about Spirocores and like the Pirastro offerings more.

Michael Eisenman · #18 03-23-2011, 04:11 PM

On my Willow Rogeri (SB-200W), I like EPs (regular). I've gotten good comments in the orchestra.

FritzM · #19 03-28-2011, 04:45 PM

Hey Mike,
This is Fritz Martin, I played opposite you at CJW's for about a year. How are you doing? I'm in the states now, but will be returning to Shanghai in a while. I got a Shen Hybrid and am pretty happy with it. Using Mittles, but thinking of going with some EP weichs here soon. I'm doing lots of arco on my current teaching gig. How is Carol?

Fritz

pmckee · #20 03-29-2011, 01:02 AM

I love my shen willow (7/8). It's been in Boston, san diego, mexico, domincan republic, etc and never had any open seems or anything! A truly masterful work of art. Ever used guts on your Shens? I have only used spiros on mine, but i love the gut sound so I am kinda thinking about it.