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07-23-2009, 03:26 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bozeman Montana | | Mike  ..... As a good-will gesture from a fellow engineer and a fellow player of an American plywood bass (maybe our basses were even made in the same mold somewhere outside Chicago  ) ..... I will bequeath you fairly-new Spiro Weich A and E strings. Send me your address.
I will get Luthier Jake deVilliers to send me back the Spiros since he won't be putting them on the Kay he is working over. I guess I'm just not a steel-string guy these days. Then you just need a G and D .... Innovation Super Silvers are a good buy (Quinn or Fretwell), match-up fairly-well, and sound good with the Spiros .... At least they did on another Kay I sold.
But I will warn you right now ..... The Spiros were made in Germany  .
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07-23-2009, 04:29 PM
| | AES Fine Instruments | | Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Brewster, NY, USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by thejumpcat 
I'm not sure how it's fair to slam someone for buying a Chinese bass, but not a German bass.
| Nobody slammed anyone for anything. You asked a question and received an answer. Shen basses are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to Chinese instruments. I sell them myself, and stand behind them. |
07-23-2009, 04:53 PM
|  | 'Woodworker - Witch Doctor - Luthier'
Owner/The Bass Spa, String Repairman/L & M Vancouver | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Crescent Beach, BC | | | Whoa there cowboy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Knebel Mike ..... As a good-will gesture from a fellow engineer and a fellow player of an American plywood bass (maybe our basses were even made in the same mold somewhere outside Chicago ) ..... I will bequeath you fairly-new Spiro Weich A and E strings. Send me your address.
I will get Luthier Jake deVilliers to send me back the Spiros since he won't be putting them on the Kay he is working over. I guess I'm just not a steel-string guy these days. Then you just need a G and D .... Innovation Super Silvers are a good buy (Quinn or Fretwell), match-up fairly-well, and sound good with the Spiros .... At least they did on another Kay I sold.
But I will warn you right now ..... The Spiros were made in Germany . | Not so fast, my prairie pal - Thomastik-Infeld is in Austria, not Germany. Pirastro, on the other hand... |
07-23-2009, 05:02 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bozeman Montana | | As for me JumpCat ..... Read my stuff again. I don't think I slammed anything. I even used "smilies" to soften my opinions. In my original politically-charged post (which I guess flared you up and which ensnared Arnold into this discussion), I was commenting on the Trade Deficit .... I said "The current United States trade deficit with China at about 17.5 Billion Dollars just went up a little more  ."
Otherwise, I just stated my preference for at-least-partially American-made plywood basses. Suffice to say ..... We are both sensitive guys. I'm sensitive to the state of the US Economy, the steady decline of American manufacturing of useful hardware, and the plight of the American Worker (and I don't mean those shufflers of obtuse financial derivative monopoly money that got us all into trouble). And you are sensitive to your Shen. Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers Whoa there cowboy!
Not so fast, my prairie pal - Thomastik-Infeld is in Austria, not Germany. ... | Oops Jake .... Germany and Austria are two different countries now ?? When did that happen ? I really gotta get me a newer model World History book. What's next .... I suppose you are going to tell me that my Swiss Velvet Animas aren't from Germany either . Well at least I know what country my Gamut guts are from ...... Minnesota .
OK I will shut up. Everybody get back to playing your basses and strings, wherever they came from.
Last edited by MT Spaces : 07-23-2009 at 05:51 PM.
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07-23-2009, 06:18 PM
| | 'Woodworker - Witch Doctor - Luthier'
Owner/The Bass Spa, String Repairman/L & M Vancouver | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Crescent Beach, BC | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Knebel As for me JumpCat ..... Read my stuff again. I don't think I slammed anything. I even used "smilies" to soften my opinions. In my original politically-charged post (which I guess flared you up and which ensnared Arnold into this discussion), I was commenting on the Trade Deficit .... I said "The current United States trade deficit with China at about 17.5 Billion Dollars just went up a little more ."
Otherwise, I just stated my preference for at-least-partially American-made plywood basses. Suffice to say ..... We are both sensitive guys. I'm sensitive to the state of the US Economy, the steady decline of American manufacturing of useful hardware, and the plight of the American Worker (and I don't mean those shufflers of obtuse financial derivative monopoly money that got us all into trouble). And you are sensitive to your Shen.
Oops Jake .... Germany and Austria are two different countries now ?? When did that happen ? I really gotta get me a newer model World History book. What's next .... I suppose you are going to tell me that my Swiss Velvet Animas aren't from Germany either . Well at least I know what country my Gamut guts are from ...... Minnesota .
OK I will shut up. Everybody get back to playing your basses and strings, wherever they came from. | The package says "Made in Austria".... |
07-23-2009, 06:23 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bozeman Montana | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers The package says "Made in Austria".... | Yeah Pal ...... But ..... You have my Spiro packages ..... Not Me ! I can't see all the way to British Columbia from here . |
07-23-2009, 07:37 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Maui | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Knebel I can't see all the way to British Columbia from here . | Maybe Sarah Palin could help ya out. |
07-23-2009, 10:10 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Detroit | | | Yeah, I think we're all on edge with this economy, especially here in Michigan where unemployment is so high.
I'm tired of worrying about where the stuff I buy is made. I really am. It's so high-pressure here with all the automakers. I got rid of a VW Passat that was the baddest car I ever owned. I'm trying to do my part, and I wish I could buy American everything. Maybe I didn't look hard enough for an upright. But the Shen is really nice, and I just need a good sounding, affordable bass.
I did another gig tonight sans-an-upright. I can't take it anymore. I like my electric Kay, but damnit, I play upright. I can't wait to get my hands on the Shen next Wed. and play the living hell out of it. I haven't had an upright for months and it's been tough. I sold my Kay because we needed the dough. I had that thing for 13 years. First upright I ever owned. But, you know, it's a piece of wood and metal. There are more important things in life.
OK, obviously I'm tired as can be right now. Time to go to bed. Thanks for putting up with my rant, TB'ers.
__________________
Michael May & The Messarounds; The Okie Dokie Stompers; The Sen-Say-Shuns
Kay Swingmaster; Underwood p/u; 1953-54 P; GK400RB; Avatar 410 Neo
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07-23-2009, 11:43 PM
| | 'Woodworker - Witch Doctor - Luthier'
Owner/The Bass Spa, String Repairman/L & M Vancouver | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Crescent Beach, BC | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson Maybe Sarah Palin could help ya out. |
I'm reading my own packages Bob, yours are in a bass bag somewhere! JUMPYCAT, they make Hondas in Canada and the USA, Subarus and Toyotas too. Just because GM has its head up its ass doesn't mean we should all chip in and save them.
Its good to consider where your money is going and what its supporting but don't let it wreck your life.
Jake |
07-24-2009, 12:51 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bozeman Montana | | Quote:
Originally Posted by thejumpcat Yeah, I think we're all on edge with this economy, especially here in Michigan where unemployment is so high ... the Shen is really nice .... | No Problem Kitty-On-The-Edge .... If you re-read my Krap from-above, I believe I said "nice Shens" two times . I never classified every Chinese Bass as .... a CCB / Bass-Shaped Object / POS (although I personally-know several players that have some of those imploded CCB / BSO / POS basses).
Load yer Dang Shen in The Merc and go play the hell out of it somewhere where Politics Don't Matter . I'll back you up if anyone gives you any trouble. |
07-24-2009, 09:04 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ypsilanti, MI | | | Golly gee, I was just excited about my new instrument and look what happened. I'm glad we're all friends again. |
07-25-2009, 05:06 AM
| | Registered User
Retailer: Shen, Sun, older European | | Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Burlingame, California | | | If only Kay had...
I'm one of the folks that strongly prefers the King Moretone and American Standard plywood basses made by H. N. White over Kay basses. Sometime in the mid-1960s Kay bought the competition's bass business from H. N. White but didn't bother to make what I consider to be the clearly superior instruments. Kay then went out of business 3 years later. It's this kind of dopey business decision by another shortsighted U.S. manufacturer that has opened up large market niches that have been filled by the Shens and Toyotas. I would love to see Engelhardt make a bass that gave Shen a serious run for their money, something with a big-toned response and more conventional size neck. I wonder if they still have the American Standard molds any more? |
07-25-2009, 10:01 AM
|  | WJWJr Moderator | | Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Connecticut | | | Congrats on your new Shen!
Mine has sure been a great bass...
__________________
Most ballgames are lost, not won.
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08-02-2009, 12:23 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ypsilanti, MI | | | |
08-03-2009, 02:01 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Detroit | | | Can I add that your bass looks 10 times better in person? I picked mine up Wednesday and yours was sitting there ready to go. It was tough choosing between the two.
Gary did a fabulous job on the setup -- filed the nut edges; dressed the fingerboard; installed a new soundpost; put in a new high-quality bridge with adjusters; and swapped out the tailpiece wire.
I'll post some pics soon. I gigged with it Thursday and Saturday. Plays great, but I'm not crazy about the Helicore Hybrid strings that came with it. In fact, I'm going to list them in the classifieds in a bit and see if any TB'ers are into them. Obviously, they're practically new. In fact, they're still stretching. I think Obligatos (or Animas) might help bring the low end out of these Shens.
Anyway, that blonde is gorgeous. Wail on!
__________________
Michael May & The Messarounds; The Okie Dokie Stompers; The Sen-Say-Shuns
Kay Swingmaster; Underwood p/u; 1953-54 P; GK400RB; Avatar 410 Neo
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08-05-2009, 01:10 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ypsilanti, MI | | | Thanks, an I agree--the pictures don't do it justice. The Helicore strings didn't bother me, but I'm pretty new at this whole thing and don't have much experience with different strings. Regardless, I really like the feel of Innovation's Ultra Blacks, and had those put on during the setup. I'm keeping the Helicores for now, in case I need a replacement or just a change of pace. I can definitely say the UB's have a darker tone. |
08-08-2009, 11:03 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Central Coast, California | | Quote:
Originally Posted by regularkent Thanks, an I agree--the pictures don't do it justice. The Helicore strings didn't bother me, but I'm pretty new at this whole thing and don't have much experience with different strings. Regardless, I really like the feel of Innovation's Ultra Blacks, and had those put on during the setup. I'm keeping the Helicores for now, in case I need a replacement or just a change of pace. I can definitely say the UB's have a darker tone. | I own a Shen SB90. For a factory pop out it's a great bass. Mine is a newer Shen and built very well. I have had zero issues with it. These are a fine workhorse that can be hauled around in the summer heat and low humidity if any reasonable care is taken when doing so. When I mic mine with Heil PR40 it certainly delivers a nice plywood bass sound.
I may add that I ordered an Upton laminated bass for roadwork. When you figure in they are built basically one off more in the fashion of a custom bass, they are a fantastic bargain. Look inside one. Few, if any glue drips, and machining and handwork is clean and tight. Add the had applied finish and custom set up they perform before shipping, the cost is comparable to the Shen line.
I also have a SB180 Hybrid and carved Juzek....but....the benefit of a laminated bass for me is when traveling with a bass I really do not have to worry about my more costly basses suffering damage from heat and/or low humidity. That piece of mind is worth plenty to me because I worry about my basses maybe more than I should.
You will really enjoy your SB90. They have a nice retro look and hold up well to aggressive playing and the rigors of the road. At least mine has. |  | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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