|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
Average Rating
|
|
100% of reviewers
|
$500.00
|
8.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
|
Neck: 3pc GWB neck
NeckType: GWB
Body: Basswood body
Frets: Fretless
Fingerboard: Ebonol
Inlay: Off-Set White Dot
Bridge: B105 bridge
NeckPU: SFR-GWB custom pu
EQ: EQB-GWII eq
HWcolor: BK
BKF: BLACK FLAT
“It has its own sounds, but it’s also transparent; you get sounds out of your hands. When you can dial in an instrument to this level of performance, it’s amazing.” – Gary Willis
|
|
|
|
Author
|
|
Tslicebass
Registered User
Registered: June 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 952
|
|
Review Date: Mon August 27, 2007
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $500.00
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
Great Playability, super smooth, lightweight, sturdy, great hardware
|
|
Cons:
|
Awful Electronics
|
|
I recently picked up a used one of these of a fellow TBer. It came with a very nice hardshell case. I love Gary's playing and bass building philosophies and I needed a affordable fretless, so grabbed it.
The good stuff.
This bass is one of the easiest playing instruments I have ever picked up. It is very lightweight and has very comfortable body contours. The 34 inch scale, 3 piece maple neck plays very nicely...very sturdy. B string sounds killer. The surface of the neck could use a tiny bit of sanding to quicken up the finish IMO. Great cutaway and easy access to the 24th fret. Good neck and body bolt joint. The tuners are AWESOME. I am surprised more people dont use these things. They are very lightweight and attribute to the lack of neck dive on this thing. Plus they are super quick to tune and i am sure they make changing strings a breeze (i havent had to do this yet). The ebonol fingerboard feels great and looks great. It is lined and has offset dot markers which i really dig. Truss rod is great and after a few tweaks, has stayed pretty solid even thru crazy humidity changes. Nice bridge. I like the two strap buttons as well. They allow the bass to balance perfectly without a stand. Plus they allow for 2 different strap heights. I like using the strap bolt closer to the input jack. It puts the bass in the perfect place on my body. And the RAMP. I love it. Great concept. It gives the player a cosistent surface to play over after the neck ends (i would imagine this would appeal to upright players who are looking for a fretless, because it is similar to the consistent fingerboard playing surface on an Upright).
The cons.
First off. The stock electronics on this bass are awful. I first noticed it when i plugged it in at home and had too boost the volume on my amp way higher than i normally have it set for my lakland 55 02. I took it out on two jazz gigs. The first was a quiet private party, drums bass sax keys. Sounded alright but a little fishy and not very loud. Next on a restraunt jazz trio gig, bass guitar sax. Was perfect for this setting. I took it out on a louder jazz gig with drums, keys, horns, singer, and myself. I actually had my volume on my amp louder for this bass than i did for my upright ...which is just wrong for an electric with an active preamp. These electronics just lack any sort of guts. They are too quiet and have hardly any presence. Plus, the trebile control is extremely hissy and noisy past flat (and is evil around light dimmers). The bass offers a nice boost to the overall sound but i have to have it jacked almost all the way up whenever i play it. The knobs are kinda sketchy. Seem like they are loose and are ready to loosen up and fall off...especially the stacked knob. I also am not happy with the way the ramp came set up on this particular bass. It is set too high so that the 21st-24th frets on the d string do not ring out and are pretty much just dead notes. This can be easily fixed. What cant be easily fixed is the fact that the ramp and pickup surface are not contoured to be the same surface (they are on the higher end GWB series basses). So although the ramp continues the playing surface consistinency of the neck, the pickup doesnt...which is a little weird sometimes. No push/pull active passive switch despite what the ibanez site says. The battery control cover is screwed on which would probably leave me screwed if the battery went out on a gig. Also, i dont know if i dig the super tight string spacing (16.5mm ) It makes it easier to use Gary's three finger style but IMO makes it harder to do Garrison-esque four finger technique.
So in summary, if you want a great playing instrument that is lightweight and has great options and is under $1000, look no further. However be prepared to do some electronics work. The other problem with this is the unusual dimensions that the pickup cavity has. And forget aboout trying to swap in the electronics from the higher end GWB basses. The only aftermarket pickup i have been able to find that fits is a bart BC5. I am going to eventually install one of these with a Bart NTBT pre (stock on the higher end GWB basses) I will update when this is complete.
------------------------------
www.timseisser.com
Tim Seisser. T.S.5. Live! New album now available on I Tunes
|
|
|
|
Tslicebass
Registered User
Registered: June 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 952
|
|
|
|
|
Powered by: Reviewpost vB3 Enhanced
Copyright 2010 All Enthusiast, Inc.
|
TalkBass Forums
