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G. Gould Club!

#21
Beautifully figured Walnut and bookmatch. I don't think I have seen another Gould where the top is not continuous. He probably decided that the Walnut despite not being wide enough was simply too nice not to use. Does the center "sandwich" run through to the back too? Does this one have the jazz bass style EMGs?
 
#23
StephenR said:
Beautifully figured Walnut and bookmatch. I don't think I have seen another Gould where the top is not continuous. He probably decided that the Walnut despite not being wide enough was simply too nice not to use. Does the center "sandwich" run through to the back too? Does this one have the jazz bass style EMGs?
Click to expand...

Sorry it took a while to get back. Yes - "sandwich" runs through to the back as well. I don't know if these are the Jazz pickups you're talking about? (they probably are) - a few years after I purchased it I printed out the specs from Geoff's site. I believe these are the ones I have (mine certainly are the same configuration) :

"pickups = EMG-CS-GG Developed exclusively for Geoff, these dual-coil pickups, running at 18V (in easy-change external battery compartment), feature only one magnet. This gives a single-coil dynamic, with higher gain than vertical humbucking single-coil designs. The addition of strategically-placed steel 'warms' the sound as well."

"EQ = EMG-BQC system master volume, pickup balance, midrange control 'Hat' is boost/cut, ring is center frequency, bass/treble. 'Hat' is treble boost/cut, ring is bass boost/cut"

There you have it. :)
 
#24
Interesting alternate build with the "sandwich" being part of the body only. I am guessing you have the EMG-JV set though. These were the stock pickups he was using on the GGJ series basses like yours (and my walnut). Pickups are easy to remove.... next time you change strings pop them out and you can check the model number on the back. That is one of the cool things about the EMG pickups, they are not hard wired, you can disconnect the lead and put in a different EMG sounding pickup in minutes with no tools other than a screwdriver. Handy way to change the sound of the bass for a recording session while still being able to play the same instrument. Would be interesting to know if Geoff deviated from the standard pickups as well as construction with your bass.

The EMG CS-GG pickups are the ones he had designed for the GGi series basses (like my cocabola topped one). Mine came with only one of these in the neck position and a stock dual coil EMG DC pickup in the rear. When I spoke with Geoff he told me that was the standard pickup configuration for the GGi series. Geoff preferred using the hotter stock DC pickups for the rear pickup. I swapped the DC pickup for another CS-GG since I prefer identical pickups on instruments with a blend control. The thing I don't like about the EMG-BCQ electronics is the blend control though. Since the two pickups are driven by one op-amp they interact in what I feel is a negative way. There are phasing and tonal shifts that wouldn't occur if they used an op-amp for each pickup so they were each on their own circuit. I much prefer the sound of each pickup individually to the sound of the two blended and have found just about zero use for blending them. The CS-GG pickups are much higher output than the EMG-JV pickups. While I like the sound of the JV set the output seems a bit low to me. I tend to prefer pickups that send a strong signal to the pre-amp.

When I get a chance I will pull the pickups from my GGJ and note the pickup model numbers. Based on what I see currently on the EMG site I am pretty sure the ones I have are discontinued earlier models of the five string EMG-JVs.
 
#25
StephenR said:
Interesting alternate build with the "sandwich" being part of the body only. I am guessing you have the EMG-JV set though. These were the stock pickups he was using on the GGJ series basses like yours (and my walnut). Pickups are easy to remove.... next time you change strings pop them out and you can check the model number on the back. That is one of the cool things about the EMG pickups, they are not hard wired, you can disconnect the lead and put in a different EMG sounding pickup in minutes with no tools other than a screwdriver. Handy way to change the sound of the bass for a recording session while still being able to play the same instrument. Would be interesting to know if Geoff deviated from the standard pickups as well as construction with your bass.

The EMG CS-GG pickups are the ones he had designed for the GGi series basses (like my cocabola topped one). Mine came with only one of these in the neck position and a stock dual coil EMG DC pickup in the rear. When I spoke with Geoff he told me that was the standard pickup configuration for the GGi series. Geoff preferred using the hotter stock DC pickups for the rear pickup. I swapped the DC pickup for another CS-GG since I prefer identical pickups on instruments with a blend control. The thing I don't like about the EMG-BCQ electronics is the blend control though. Since the two pickups are driven by one op-amp they interact in what I feel is a negative way. There are phasing and tonal shifts that wouldn't occur if they used an op-amp for each pickup so they were each on their own circuit. I much prefer the sound of each pickup individually to the sound of the two blended and have found just about zero use for blending them. The CS-GG pickups are much higher output than the EMG-JV pickups. While I like the sound of the JV set the output seems a bit low to me. I tend to prefer pickups that send a strong signal to the pre-amp.

When I get a chance I will pull the pickups from my GGJ and note the pickup model numbers. Based on what I see currently on the EMG site I am pretty sure the ones I have are discontinued earlier models of the five string EMG-JVs.
Click to expand...

Got it. Very interesting. Thanks. Next time I change strings I'll have to remember to check the Model number on the back of the pickup.
 
#26
I bought it used from Andy West (The Dregs, Zazen, and The Mistakes) a few years ago. He told me it was his 'go to' bass for a very long time and I can see why. I'm very fortunate to own several high quality basses. This bass is as good (or better) than any of them. And the 'B' on this is the most usable and natural sounding I have heard.

019a.jpg

020a.jpg
 
#31
Hoover said:
I'm impressed that there are 2 of you out there! G.Gould basses are so off-the-radar I was beginning to suspect it was just a tax shelter, or a front for Geoff's illicit operations :)

I have a Modulus from 1988 when Geoff still ran the company, can I be the bastard stepchild of your club?
Click to expand...
Nice to see the pictures here, and also to get some feedback on what you guys like. I'm quite below the radar, but still appreciate the honor of making basses for good players.

Here's the newest model (in the bass line), which has been out for a while now, but unless you've seen these at The Bass Place or on my site, you'd never know!

GGi4_cocabola.jpg
 
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#33
It is the newer version, not the j-style. This finish is called "root beer" I guess. I always thought these looked nice when I would stroll through the bass place, but I finally had to pick this one up and give it a go. The action was so low yet there was never a rattle; I was hooked. Since buying this I have basically learned to slap and tap effectively.
Recently I have been drop tuning this to CGCGF. The 5th string still sounds considerably decent at that low of a frequency. I have a mesa 6x10.
The picture of the blue one is from G.Gould's blog site. I would pay a pretty penny to get my hands on that one... if I had the money. :smug:

I will try and find a picture of the whole instrument.
 

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#39
My guitarists are switching tuning on me quite a bit now. I need another G. Gould in my arsenal. Christmas is coming up, maybe Geoff would be kind enough to squirt a few more 5 stringers into the market... hint hint ;)
 
#40
These basses are not easy to find. I have had mine for a year now and I love it. The wide shallow neck makes playing a dream. The more I checked into the bass the less I found out. I have communicated with Geoff to buy some strings and get some basic information on the bass but he is not much of a talker. Nice guy though. The bass is great It has the EMG soapbars in it with the vol, blend, treble, and bass contols. I was wondering if anyone had the EMG pre with the stacked knobs which give you a mid freq and gain control? and improve the tone flexability of the bass. I can't believe how inexpensive these basses are selling for and how few of them there are. Let me know if you can tell me anything more about the man or the basses.
Thanks
 

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