Shen Rogeri SB200 Willow

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #1 10-10-2009, 09:58 AM

One of my students has one of these on loan from Nnick Lloyd's shop while her bass is in for repair. It's a very resonant and sweet sounding bass even with strings I don't like (D'addario hybrids) on it. She's tempted, but the price tag is sobering for her. Every time I picked it up I ended up thinking that with the right setup, there was a hell of a lot of music to be made on the instrument. Does anybody have any real world experience with one of these?

Marc Piane · #2 10-10-2009, 10:02 AM

Yup. I played one recently. Quite a bass. BIG sound for a new instrument and I can attest first hand to the workmanship of Shen. I love my Willow.

Eric Hochberg · #3 10-10-2009, 12:05 PM

Ditto, maybe we played the same one at Sonksen's, Marc. I thought it was very impressive, too.

Marc Piane · #4 10-10-2009, 12:21 PM

Probably. I also played the Grand Panormo model over at Mark's. Made me drool. The shoulders on that thing are a little steep but it might be the loudest, hugest sounding bass I've played.

LeslieD · #5 10-10-2009, 12:34 PM

I've had the Shen Rogeri SB 200W willow bass since March and really love it. I traded another bass for it and initially thought it might be a "transitional" instrument for me. Now I think I can pretty much stop looking at other basses (at least for a long while).

It is a very resonant bass and as a "section bassist" I've found that it blends very well with the other basses in my orchestra. I've got the same D'Addario strings, and might eventually swap them for something different. A number of the students I play with (undergrad university music students and grad students) have shown a bit of interest in it as well--though some preferred basses with a bit more sound and with larger lower bouts. It would make a very sweet solo instrument as well, though admittedly I'd never use it for that.

I played this bass a lot in the spring, but then didn't play it for about two months (I was playing my ply a lot about that time). When I came back to the willow rogeri I was so pleasantly shocked/pleased by the tone that I couldn't put it down and practically played for days on end.

Also I'm not sure if I just have a really good set up, but the bass is so easy to play compared to most anything I've spent any time playing. For the first time in my life I can even stand to listen to myself practice!

Steve Swan · #6 10-10-2009, 01:04 PM

I've generally found these to be dark sounding arco basses, great for section work, and relatively inexpensive for these given features. The Maple version, the SB 300, I think is a more complete sounding instrument and functions very well as a pizz bass in addition to the arco capabilities.

Mendry37 · #7 10-10-2009, 04:16 PM

I'm in the same boat as LeslieD. I have had mine for a bit over 7 months now. The bass has a great pizz sound and is very dark under the bow. It fits well in my section. The shoulders are a bit big, but I have had no problems playing solo work in thumb. The bass is very easy on my left hand and with Bel Canto's on has a very nice sound.
Listening back on my recital last semester, you would have never known that I was playing a shen bass.

Chris. how does the Rogeri compare to your LaScala under the bow?
Chad

salcott · #8 10-10-2009, 04:24 PM

I have the 300, and am very happy with it. As a predominantly pizz player, I have it strung with Spiro Mittels. If I played more arco, I'd use Evah Pirazzi regulars; if I was mostly arco, Bel Cantos would be my first choice. It can hold its own in a section even with my marginal bow chops. The bass is very well put together and has been trouble-free through Manhattan winter and subway travel.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #9 10-11-2009, 03:41 PM

Mendry - I have no clue, as I haven't bowed the Shen and the bow work I've done on the LaScala isn't worth discussing.

Wilbyman · #10 10-11-2009, 03:56 PM

Big basses...tons of low end coming out them, quite dark. I tried one out for a few days and found the sub-woofer low end was not really all that productive for jazz, at least not to me. I ended up with the much smaller SB200 3/4 flatback gamba. It is still quite loud but the low end is faster, cleaner and punchier for pizz. Somebody commented "the Rogieri is kind of Milt Hinton, the gamba is Ron Carter". The gamba made alot more sense for me and was significantly cheaper. I can see the benefit of the Rogieri if you want a rumbly orchestral section bass and do some jazz as well. My .02.

LeslieD · #11 10-11-2009, 05:09 PM

It's really hard to describe a sound and feel of an instrument. That said, I wouldn't say my Shen Rogeri willow bass has tons of sound or that it's "rumbly." It's maybe on the "dark" side for bowing, and not terribly punchy or powerful for pizz compared to the flatback gamba Shens. I've heard other [better] bassists play my bass and they get a bit more sound out of it than I do, but the sound is rather anemic compared to a number of my section mate's basses. (In particular, I'm comparing my Shen to a Jakstadt 7/8 bass, a 7/8 Pollman and a few other basses in the $12k to $17k range).

I don't play jazz, but from what I can tell this bass is mostly a student-grade classical bass. I play in a community orchestra (that also has students from a nearby university), and it works perfectly for me.

I've no idea how this one compares to an SB300.