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G. Gould Club!

#241
Finally! She is home. Packed pretty good. Came in a brand new Mono Case (which was a very nice suprise). lovely soft side case btw. On first impression, the pics didn't come close to show how beautiful this cocobolo top is. It is stunning on top of the Swamp Ash. The black hardware is amazing against that reddish cocobolo. The neck/fretboard are just a nice. Then I tuned her up. For me, To me, just out of the box... The action is horrible. Way too high. Again, for me. The strings are very tight feeling. There is no organic feeling in the playability. Again, this is out of the box. The frets are thick and high. Smooth and clean as well. Edges of the board and super clean and not a single issue with any of that. The neck itself very slim. Not at all what I had expected, but not in a overly bad way. The width of the neck, even though I had read the specs is really wide to me. Again, out of the box and only my opinion. 3" at the heal would almost to me be a Wide spacing/size. Not that it is, I do mean just to me. I am not used to the super thin neck nor the very wide heal. I am hoping that all my personal issues with the bass will be "fixed" when my luthier finishes the set up. There is quite a bit of relief in the neck from The Bass Place. First impression for me was great for looks, but not so much for playing
 
#245
I was really suprised it was not set up at all. Well of course, it might have been set up for someone who slaps or pops and plays a more modern style that needs the action a bit higher. Again, there was quite a bit of relief as well, so I don't think it was set up at all. Now I am wondering how much more I am going to have to spend to get it set up. I think my Luthier charges $60 to set it up how I like it.
 
#246
iriegnome said:
Did anyone else get the e-mail from the Bass Place offering up the Mary Kay Blue GGi5 at $1295? Well I did. And when I called to buy it, they would not sell it at the posted advertised price!! While I think there might be a problem legally with what they did there, I let it slip.. Anyway, it is now down to $1695 if someone is looking for a smoking deal on a G. Gould
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I bought that one. Too good a deal to pass up. I think $1295 price in their email was a simple typo. That is below cost.
 
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#248
:eyebrow:Other than GG strings, any use any other kind of more available strings on their GG bass? Since my bass is brand new, it needs strings.. Go figure. Not much about my "new" buying experience screams quality or care. However, it does say something to a bass that had been on a hook for almost 10 months with who knows how many people playing it, tuning/untuning and all the rest that comes with a bass that had been in a store for that long. Just saying, not happy at all. :eyebrow:
 
#251
I do not set up my own basses. I have a professional that does it. They are all done correctly and exactly the same. He is an amazing luthier. I would rather spend the $60 on a pro set up and have my bass play exactly right then waste it on 1 meal. A great set up will last for years. A meal, 1 hour
 
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#253
iriegnome said:
I didn't know. I have not seen strings like came on the bass. They are very thin over the bridge and then get thicker before the pickup. Hmm
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geoff uses taper-cores on the 'b' and 'e' strings where the core of the strings sit on the bridge saddle instead of the windings. they're nice but you'll need to goose the saddle up a bit on the 'b' and 'e' string if your action bottoms out since there is less string over the saddle. hope that makes sense.

since i prefer lights (.40-.120 range) and nickels, my preference are dr sunbeams nlr5-40's. i buy 'em by the boatload.

what brand are you using on your moduli? try 'em on your gould and if they're a no-go, just list out your preferences and check out what's available.

1. 35" scale
2. gauge preference? (x-light/light/med./heavy)
3. nickel or stainless steel?
4. flatwound? pressurewound/half-wound/hybrid? roundwound?

there are a few more options out there but you get the gist.

good luck!
 
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#254
It was the taper core thing that threw me. I use D'Addarrio XL-170-5 SL for my Moddie's!! The regular XL long sets do not seem to work well with the 35" scale on the Mod's for the B and E strings. So I pick up the SL (Super Long). No idea as to why the regular stings shouldn't fit, but they taper hits the nut so they don't generally work. Like I said, that taper core thing threw me. I am going to have my luthier stick with what it came with for now, but in a month or two of playing, I will change the strings and have him redo the bridge portion of the set up to work with the strings I use
 
#255
The Mary Kay Blue GGi5 arrived. Set up was not too good IMO. Had way too much forward bow for me so I adjusted the truss rod and was surprised and how much tension I had to put on it to move that neck. I know graphite is stiff but I really had to crank on that truss rod nut to move the neck.

I reduced the relief and tweaked the bridge saddles and got the bass playing well. Sounds good but I will be going to D'Adarrio XL's soon. The B string on my Gould is not nearly as good as the B string on my Roscoe basses. In fact, my Zon Sonus with 34" scale is better. The B on the Gould is not focused. Kind of blurry sounding. Might just be the string and I should know later today when I change them out.

It plays very nice and the controls work well.

Came in a Gator gig bag supplied by The Bass Place. No instructions or warranty card. Is this typical?
 
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#256
I had/have the same issues with my Cocobolo GGi5 that I received on Friday. Strings are old. I didn't do my own set up. I have a luthier that does it. Way too much relief in my neck as well. Made it almost unplayable. Mine was also very tight playing, but I think most of that will go away with a proper set up. Now, I know that mine had been sitting on the shelf by The Bass Place for a long while, so not sure what is going on. I have to wait until my luthier gets done with her. He is super busy, so I have to wait a couple extra days, but that's not an issue
 
#257
iriegnome said:
I didn't know. I have not seen strings like came on the bass. They are very thin over the bridge and then get thicker before the pickup. Hmm
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As @pnutz mentioned, those are tapered core. I tried a set of the Gould tapered core strings on mine but didn't care for them that much, but everyone's taste is different. When I first got my bass it had Labella Super Steps on it. Those are more like contact core and you really need to crank the bridge saddles up for those. I liked them but they were almost too 'grand piano-like' for me. They are also very expensive. However, if you like that tone and don't mind the expense, they are excellent. I currently have DR Hi-Beams on and they work fine. I've also used Daddario Super Long XLs which are good if you want the smoother sound and feel of nickel.
 
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#259
Well, I prefer to leave my personal basses to be set up by the luthier. They are exact and very precise. The set ups he does for me usually last the length of time I own the bass. So, some of my basses have not needed a set up in 10 years or more. I say, a good set up like this is worth every penny.
 
#260
That is your choice. My only point is that there is no magic in a set up. You say it's precise. That would imply that there are numbers involved, re: your preferred relief and string height, pickup height. Those are all very easy to do. I'm one of the folks who hasn't paid for a set up in well over twenty years. I wish you the best in getting your bass playing like you like. Were it mine, it would have, about an hour after I opened the case.
 

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