After a year and a half, GT-7 review

I realized the other day that I had never really done an in depth review of my baby. Here goes.

Construction 9.5 The construction on this bass is top-notch. The body is comfortable, and the whole thing balances very well. I really like the long upper horn, because it makes for a good looking instrument in addition to making it balance well. The neck is solid as steel. I can put this thing in the case, take it to the gig, check my tuning and it's still spot on. The purpleheart fretboard is awesome visually. I have two small gripes- the cool purpleheart board has a crack in it, beyond the 24th fret. Not cool, but I've spoken with JT and Mike at Conklin and they've both said that small hairline fractures are just the nature of the wood. The other gripe is one I've seen on every GT-7 I've played. On the body, where the neck joins it, there is a small crack. I think it's just in the finish, but I don't like it.

Playability 9 I went the John Turner route, going directly from an Ibanez GSR200 (first bass) and a Fender Precision to the 7 string. I opened the case when it came, and though I had played them before and felt fine, was scared. I grew into the bass, to say the least. I didn't even really start to incorperate the C and F until about 6 months after I got the bass. I think that it's one of those things that you have to write excercizes for the instrument to really get used to it. After about 6 months, my cover band turned into an orignals band. This probably prompted me to get better at this instrument- no one expects you to play a 7 string doing covers, so it's range just kind of sits there. When you start writing your own stuff, you begin to see what all that range can do. You start to use it to make your music sound different than some one else's, even though you may be in the same style. In my band, this is one thing that has really set us apart- our approach to the music.

Tone 10 This thing is phenomenal tone-wise. I have played everything from the Grease musical (intended to be played on a P bass, no doubt) to modern rock (and the tone associated with it) with no problems. It's so versatile. I leave my amp flat all the time now, no matter where I am or what I'm playing. I turn down my cabinet's tweeter if the old school tone is needed, but most of the time I leave it at halfway. I can get a dramatic tone changes just by twisting the tone knob. The bridge pickup soloed gives off the perfect Fender Jazz tone, and the neck pickup soloed gives this old school, round, really warm tone that put me through Grease. However, I find that there are three settings I use most of the time that give me most everything I need. I use a tone just favoring the bridge pickup that gives me perfect cut and good lows. I use the center setting for big bottom and slightly cut mids. I use a tone just favoring the neck pickup for slightly warm tones with defintion because the bridge pickup is still most of the way on. For slap, I usually boost the highs just a touch, and for those rare times when I need a dub-ish sound, I boost bass just a touch and cut treble a little. Overall, the bass is very verastile.

Overall 9.5 If you can get over the big neck, and learn to play it, it's actually really easy. Sightreading is easy now because you don't have to shift much, and the tone is great. If you're looking for a 7 (or a 6... I haven't found a 6 for less that does what this does.) this is a great buy.

 

I have the natural finish... I like my basses naked

I am more than happy with it. I can't express how happy I am with this beast.

I haven't played the Bill Dickens model.

BTW- I plan on dropping in an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp soon, because I love the sound and I got the thing for nothing.

 

Hey, cut me some slack! I've been practising for a year and a half...

 

I'm a huge advocate of the extended range instruments. Prog, you should sign on to AIM one of these days. I've got your screen name in my buddy list, and we could have a chat about the beauty of having such awesome instruments