Hi all,
It's about time my beloved Carlo Robelli's had a club of their own.
(Mod's: I did a search and found none. If I'm mistaken, my apologies).
I don't know if this will be the smallest club on TB or not, but after reading how some others had love of the Carlo Robelli basses in an old posting that was recently resurrected, I decided it was time to have our own club.
Say it loud and say it proud!
If you would like to join, please, at the very least, share some info and input about your beloved Carlo Robelli(s). Pictures would also be great to see.
I know that they are not for everybody, so please don't make this a "bash on Carlo Robelli" thread. Thanks!
My Carlo Robelli story:
After a looooong hiatus from playing with bands, in 2005 I was asked to play bass for a friends band. At the time, all I had was an AEB, having sold off all of my other gear.
I stopped into Sam Ash to see what they had, and I saw this hanging on the wall:
It was love at first site. It was the last one they had in the shop. It was missing one of the knobs, and, never having heard of Carlo Robelli before, seeing the low price (if I remember correctly it was $180 on sale) and finding out it was the store brand, I didn't expect much. I reluctantly asked to take it off the wall for a test drive, and I was VERY surprised at how good it felt and sounded. Without a second thought, I bought it.
It has been my main bass ever since. Well, sort of. (I'll get to that in a minute).
A few months later, I went back to Sam Ash to see what was new, and I saw this:
It was my first time ever seeing an 8 string bass. And, loving hot rods etc. (given the flames on the other bass), I loved the heavy, metal flake on this one. I plugged it into a bass pod and must have sat there for 2 hours, getting lost in the sound. It is a heavy bass, and it took some getting used to holding it and playing double strings, but I loved it. I bought it immediately.
When I wasn't playing the 4 string CB, I was playing the 8 string.
I would use both when playing with my band and jamming with other.
They both have what seems to be, the same active electronics. They are damn good! Sound loud, crisp, punchy with a lot of variation in the tones for low, mid and high. It took me a long time of setting up my tone to get a sound I like out of a bridge only pickup.
In 2009, I decided to move to Greece (Athens). In an attempt to "lighten my load", I sold off a bunch of stuff, including my 2 CB's. Once I got here, I immediately regretted it.
After some searching on the U.S. for sale sites, I found another of the 4 string, and, here on TB, another 8 string for sale. I bought both and had them shipped out to Greece. That's how good these basses have been for me.
I've since added red, Aurora strings to the 4 string (they sound and feel GREAT) with red dice as the control knobs (actual dice from Las Vegas), and adhesive fret markers to the 8 string, keeping with the hot rod theme.
I've considered swapping out the pickups for either an EMG or a Seymour Duncan, but I don't know if it's necessary. Does anyone know anything specific about the stock pickups in these and why they went for a bridge only placement?
I now still use the 4 string as my main gigging bass, as well as the 8 string. When some people immediately just assume they are crap, I realize that they have no clue what they are talking about.
I'm not saying that there haven't been any bad Carlo Robelli's made, but what are the chances that I've had 4 (two each of the same model), that had no problems and sound great?
Just sayin'
Ok, so does this make me club member #1?
Any others want to join, or will it just be me and the tumbleweeds?
