Gotcha! thanks Geoff. I meant EMGX soap bars not J but I guess the same principle holds true.
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G. Gould Club!
- Thread starter nick g.
- Start date
Some may have noticed the Bass Club Chicago GGi6 got sold... 
I'll cut right to the chase: here are some recordings of the bass! Recorded directly through my M-audio fast track which I've had since like 2004, into Garage Band. No EQ or compression. This thing rips!
Anyway, any good NBD has a lengthy impressions sections, so here we go!
0) Looks: I actually don't have any pictures - been too busy playing! And the picture on Gould's site in the sun really does it justice. It is stunning when you look up close. But it's also brown wood, so it's kind of special in an undercover-way, if you don't know what you're looking at, which was something I was searching for and appreciate.
1) Sound: Surprisingly versatile. I expected the big Modulus-esque graphite thing, but there's a lot more here: Jazz bass on steroids? Check. Souped-up P-bass? Check. Big piano Anthony Jackson thing? Check. As others have noted, the bridge pickup is surprisingly full - the volume is very even with neck pickup which is not something I'm used to. Probably contributes to that big jazz bass tone. Cool.
The neck pickup is really special - and I'm a neck pickup guy! It sounds like a giant P-style split. Like if it had huge magnets [Note: I don't know how pickups work]. That is to say, where the P split is midrange focused, on this it sounds like the EQ curve doesn't cut off. Very low-lows, and lots of high-highs. The treble knob does a great job dialing the airiness and finger sound if you need to tame it a bit, but it sounds right in a mix.
I can see how the exposed core strings are polarizing. They're different. The best way I can describe it is they sound like their phase isn't consistent (maybe because of how they vibrate). They're thick, but the tension is lower than strings normally that thick. I think they sound great, but I want to play them more in live settings before I make up my mind on them.
2) Playability: This neck works great for me. This is more comfortable than my Modulus Q5 neck. Even though it's wider, the profile makes the reach easier :Chef's kiss:.
The body is comfortable too, the cutaway is deep enough and the shaping on the body where the right arm comes over is perfect.
Then the weight - my first thought when I picked up the box it shipped in was that the entire package probably weighed less than my Modulus Q5! I don't have a scale for it, but it's been quite comfortable to wear for several hours.
3) Finish: It arrived in a state that... honestly made me think it had never been set up before. I've bought and sold instruments on the internet for a while, and I always give an outgoing instrument at least a cursory intonation check. Maybe my expectations are too high. The 24th fret on most of the strings was between a quarter and a half step out from the 12th fret. The action was inconsistent - C and B were almost all the way down in mush town, and A was nearly all the way up. E was half as high. I saw the neck had some relief, but figured it was a carbon neck so it couldn't have gone far from where it ought to be, but I couldn't get the intonation right. The B & E strings were flubbing out past the 12th fret.
I took a closer look at the neck - almost 1/4" of relief! It was playable, so I can kinda get taking it off the wall for a few minutes and not noticing anything, but I expected better here, what with it being a new instrument and all - a Fodera wouldn't arrive this way - but I think this is more a criticism of the distributor than Gould.
The finish also cracked a little by the neck pocket during shipping. Womp. No one's fault.
I was worried, but based on interactions I've seen here and elsewhere I felt confident that Mr. Gould would stand behind his instrument, which is one of the reasons I went through with the purchase. At the end of the day, I didn't need to contact anyone... read below!
4) Adjustability: I can make some positive notes here, since in the end, I'm almost one and a half turns through the truss rod (over a period of a couple weeks). I'm below 1mm of relief and I've been able to get the action and intonation perfect [for me]. I'm used to adjusting wood necks which really move, but it was slow going with this truss.
5) Happy Camper: In the end it sounds spectacular, makes playing a 6 string easy and comfortable, and I can't wait to take it out for more gigs!
I'll cut right to the chase: here are some recordings of the bass! Recorded directly through my M-audio fast track which I've had since like 2004, into Garage Band. No EQ or compression. This thing rips!
Anyway, any good NBD has a lengthy impressions sections, so here we go!
0) Looks: I actually don't have any pictures - been too busy playing! And the picture on Gould's site in the sun really does it justice. It is stunning when you look up close. But it's also brown wood, so it's kind of special in an undercover-way, if you don't know what you're looking at, which was something I was searching for and appreciate.
1) Sound: Surprisingly versatile. I expected the big Modulus-esque graphite thing, but there's a lot more here: Jazz bass on steroids? Check. Souped-up P-bass? Check. Big piano Anthony Jackson thing? Check. As others have noted, the bridge pickup is surprisingly full - the volume is very even with neck pickup which is not something I'm used to. Probably contributes to that big jazz bass tone. Cool.
The neck pickup is really special - and I'm a neck pickup guy! It sounds like a giant P-style split. Like if it had huge magnets [Note: I don't know how pickups work]. That is to say, where the P split is midrange focused, on this it sounds like the EQ curve doesn't cut off. Very low-lows, and lots of high-highs. The treble knob does a great job dialing the airiness and finger sound if you need to tame it a bit, but it sounds right in a mix.
I can see how the exposed core strings are polarizing. They're different. The best way I can describe it is they sound like their phase isn't consistent (maybe because of how they vibrate). They're thick, but the tension is lower than strings normally that thick. I think they sound great, but I want to play them more in live settings before I make up my mind on them.
2) Playability: This neck works great for me. This is more comfortable than my Modulus Q5 neck. Even though it's wider, the profile makes the reach easier :Chef's kiss:.
The body is comfortable too, the cutaway is deep enough and the shaping on the body where the right arm comes over is perfect.
Then the weight - my first thought when I picked up the box it shipped in was that the entire package probably weighed less than my Modulus Q5! I don't have a scale for it, but it's been quite comfortable to wear for several hours.
3) Finish: It arrived in a state that... honestly made me think it had never been set up before. I've bought and sold instruments on the internet for a while, and I always give an outgoing instrument at least a cursory intonation check. Maybe my expectations are too high. The 24th fret on most of the strings was between a quarter and a half step out from the 12th fret. The action was inconsistent - C and B were almost all the way down in mush town, and A was nearly all the way up. E was half as high. I saw the neck had some relief, but figured it was a carbon neck so it couldn't have gone far from where it ought to be, but I couldn't get the intonation right. The B & E strings were flubbing out past the 12th fret.
I took a closer look at the neck - almost 1/4" of relief! It was playable, so I can kinda get taking it off the wall for a few minutes and not noticing anything, but I expected better here, what with it being a new instrument and all - a Fodera wouldn't arrive this way - but I think this is more a criticism of the distributor than Gould.
The finish also cracked a little by the neck pocket during shipping. Womp. No one's fault.
I was worried, but based on interactions I've seen here and elsewhere I felt confident that Mr. Gould would stand behind his instrument, which is one of the reasons I went through with the purchase. At the end of the day, I didn't need to contact anyone... read below!
4) Adjustability: I can make some positive notes here, since in the end, I'm almost one and a half turns through the truss rod (over a period of a couple weeks). I'm below 1mm of relief and I've been able to get the action and intonation perfect [for me]. I'm used to adjusting wood necks which really move, but it was slow going with this truss.
5) Happy Camper: In the end it sounds spectacular, makes playing a 6 string easy and comfortable, and I can't wait to take it out for more gigs!
Weird about the setup, those are supposed to be plek'ed before shipped out, but good to hear it turned out (and sound) great.
We still want to see pictures!
(also of the finish crack by the neck pocket, my son made some crack on mine as well and I'm curious to compare)
We still want to see pictures!
(also of the finish crack by the neck pocket, my son made some crack on mine as well and I'm curious to compare)
Hey @GeoffGould - any chance you could tell me the string spacing on this bass in the classifieds? Thinking about picking it up as I’m a huge fan of Quantums from the earlier years of Modulus, and I hear the “new” GGI5s cope that overall vibe very well 
For Sale - G Gould 2021 GGI5 EX+ Condition BEST OFFER barely played 2495 obo
For Sale - G Gould 2021 GGI5 EX+ Condition BEST OFFER barely played 2495 obo
GeoffGould
Commercial User
Hey @GeoffGould - any chance you could tell me the string spacing on this bass in the classifieds? Thinking about picking it up as I’m a huge fan of Quantums from the earlier years of Modulus, and I hear the “new” GGI5s cope that overall vibe very well
For Sale - G Gould 2021 GGI5 EX+ Condition BEST OFFER barely played 2495 obo
Jump on it! Great deal!
A very pretty 6 is at The Bass Place.
G.Gould GGi6 Burled Myrtle top high gloss - A great custom 6 String - 9.85 pounds - 1403 - The Bass Place
G.Gould GGi6 Burled Myrtle top high gloss - A great custom 6 String - 9.85 pounds - 1403 - The Bass Place
- Jan 2, 2006
- 992
- 3,069
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Curt Mangan Strings, & Formerly Wyn Guitars. RIP Randy!!
rehearsal set up, good to play again after 2 months summer break and to get back on the Gould (I let my Stingray do the last 2 gigs of July). We'll play next week, super cramped bar for which I considered my headless Status but nah, I just really want to play the GGi5
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Guessing maple burl?
GeoffGould
Commercial User
had to google 'amboyna burl' to see other samples and was not disappointed!
it mentioned rolls royce used it for their dashboards. woof!!!
those prices also... guess i know what to use for hardwood floors when i win the lotto!
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GeoffGould
Commercial User
I remember doing some Amboyna burl and some maple burl back in that era. The color of the photograph doesn’t look that accurate, so I’m not sure. Amboyna is kind of orange. I’ll see if I can find the serial number
The SST got the call up today and it performed marvelously! For the Spanish worship team I fill in for it tends to fit in better for some of their more modern latin/gospel driven songs they like to play on occasion, which frankly is why I added it to the collection. I've written about it before on here, but the pickup positioning has three very distinct tones with options in between -
1. Blended fully towards the "neck" pickup is the sweet spot position. It sounds really close to my Modulus Flea Bass 5 that has a super hot-rodded Stingray tone, but is more manageable with far better mid range definition.
2. An equal blend of the two pickups is very tight, focused, dynamic sensitive, and super smooth. I've only owned one other bass so far that could come close to how well this one responds, and that was my Roscoe LG3005 that I traded off to get the SST. Loved my Roscoe, but I like carbon fiber necks significantly more and the slightly wider string spacing helps. I think it's very hard to create a bass that can cover a broad range tone at once without getting too harsh one way or the other.
3. Blended towards the bridge is Jaco on steroids. Not my style, but it's certainly there should the need arise.
I changed the strings over to an equal gauge set of Ken Smith strings with the taper core like Geoff's strings, but I think after I wear these out I may ditch using taper unless I end up having some intonation issues. The B string, while still miles better than most basses, is still exhibiting some weird pitchy overtones and I've read that the taper core is usually to blame. The intonation is set up correctly, but it's very audible. My other GGi5 is set up with standard strings and exhibits nothing of the sorts and is a real joy to hammer on the B string. I have all confidence in that bass and I want to get the SST into that territory as well.
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The rig for last saturday's gig :
And a video from the audience :
As a buddy is saying "Now we know this will be your never let go bass". Yep.
And a video from the audience :
As a buddy is saying "Now we know this will be your never let go bass". Yep.
My GGi5 in Mary Kaye Blue came out to play for today's set with our main team. I generally use this bass the most since a good portion of the songs we play need a 5 string. It's hard to see in the video screen grab, but the finish shows the grain through it. This one was sold to me by Chuck M and continues the majority of its playing time in a worship setting. The knobs were changed over to a Sadowsky style made by Kilo International, and I tend to favor rolling the blend towards the neck pickup by about 80-85% for a nice big and round tone.
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GeoffGould
Commercial User
Re: GGi6
Overall, thanks for the kind words. Regarding the setup, sorry for the trouble you had. Yes, it’s PLEKed, but could still be setup poorly. I’m sorry for whatever part I might have played in that. I think there’s always a little “settling of contents” when dealing with a brand new instrument. But I’ll take this as an inspiration to improve.
Overall, thanks for the kind words. Regarding the setup, sorry for the trouble you had. Yes, it’s PLEKed, but could still be setup poorly. I’m sorry for whatever part I might have played in that. I think there’s always a little “settling of contents” when dealing with a brand new instrument. But I’ll take this as an inspiration to improve.
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