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G. Gould Club!

#121
Tdub77 said:
Interesting to hear your thoughts on the neck differences. Does the Graphite neck also feel a lot different from the maple one? Do you prefer one over the other? Or have you not played a graphite one?
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I have only played one Graphite neck G. Gould. I found the back to front depth to be a bit thin for my taste. The necks on all three G. Gould basses I have played were all different and I still like the neck on my GGi5 the best of the three. The earlier G. Gould basses, like the Walnut one on Reverb, were modernized Jazz basses so the neck has a similar profile, narrow at the nut and rounded slightly on the back. Ultimately I didn't care for the rounded profile. The neck on my GGi5 is flatter on the back and wider both at the nut and where it joins the body. I currently own six basses and find the neck on my GGi5 to be the most comfortable of all six basses. I have been playing five-string basses pretty much exclusively for 31 years now and over the years developed a preference for wider necks. IMO the hardest thing for people moving from 4- to 5- or 6-string basses is finding a neck that is comfortable. There are a lot of variants and combos of neck profiles, widths and string spacing available and it takes some experimenting to find what is most comfortable for you. It is a shame that more people aren't aware of, or have the opportunity to try one of, Geoff's basses as they are all super nice and excellent quality.
 
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#123
Pnutz as the guy with the most experience playing Gould basses, how would you compare the maple necks vs the graphite ones? Thickness, play-ability, speed, etc?

thanks for posting the for sale link. Cool bass, question though what's with the fill piece around the bridge pick up? did you mod this one and then swap it back?
 
#124
bubba-b said:
will give a head's up here when it goes live.

yeah, the tbx was from here. the seller was not as forthcoming with her condition when he sold it to me so she's getting some work done (refin, pickups, etc.).

pix when she's runway-ready! :bassist:
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Yeah I saw that listing, it was a great deal but if you looked closely at the ad you could see some of the issues, good luck with it! I'm sure it's in better hands now.
 
#125
Tdub77 said:
Pnutz as the guy with the most experience playing Gould basses, how would you compare the maple necks vs the graphite ones? Thickness, play-ability, speed, etc?

thanks for posting the for sale link. Cool bass, question though what's with the fill piece around the bridge pick up? did you mod this one and then swap it back?
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the maple neck gould's have a slightly more rounder, old-school tone. the graphite neck does bring a bit more 'hi-fi' tone to the dance. a little more presence.

geoff's graphite necks are a little bit thinner than the maple necks. his necks from his days at modulus are even thinner.

the graphite necks currently have a satin finish so less thumb-drag than a gloss finish.

it does all boils down to comfort, feel and playability. if i could get a 'maple neck' and 'graphite neck' side-to-side built to my specs, don't think i'd hedge one way or the other.

for me, i'm kind of in the same boat as @StephenR where maple necks are slightly preferable. but the graphite necks on my b-quad 5's just fits my fretting hand perfectly. and the modulus tbx has a neck that just fits me also.

the pickup ring is original. pic below is from geoff's fb page of the bass before he sent it out:

elsa1.jpeg
 
#126
Tdub77 said:
Yeah I saw that listing, it was a great deal but if you looked closely at the ad you could see some of the issues, good luck with it! I'm sure it's in better hands now.
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yeah, i kinda got hypnotized by seeing one of my 'unicorns' out there. thought i'd never get a shot at a tbx with a coco top in my lifetime.

i knew i was gonna have to have some work done on it (plek, pickups, etc.) but the seller made it sound like it was a fairly clean bass. of course when i opened the case, it looked like someone backed over it. chip marks, dings and dents. the neck was straight tho so that was a definite weight off my shoulders.

it did get me a chance to personally try the services of mr. pat wilkins tho. most swear by his refin jobs. and i had the caveat of doing a refin of wood and graphite. will then take my (what's turning into an) annual trip to the folks at s.f. guitarworks for the rest of the work.

ah, g.a.s., how you vex me so...
 
#135
Tdub77 said:
View attachment 858324 You guys have to see this one. The next one coming out of Mr. Gould's shop.
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I just talked to John at Music Unlimited (one of THREE Gould dealers), as they just got this one fresh from Geoff's hands when he was in the shop, yesterday. I was impressed by MU's service over the phone, simply because they instantly texted me pics as it came in! This one's pretty! It's got the normal black-weave headstock w/ black tuners.
 

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#138
Only thing that bugs me? Why does Geoff insist on the headstock truss adjustment, and with a three-screw cover? Even though the neck probably will not really need that much adjustment, that accessibility is a royal pain. Just put it at the heel like Modulus and Status....
 
#139
songwriter21 said:
Only thing that bugs me? Why does Geoff insist on the headstock truss adjustment, and with a three-screw cover? Even though the neck probably will not really need that much adjustment, that accessibility is a royal pain. Just put it at the heel like Modulus and Status....
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I'm no luthier but I think the reason is that it works better there. When you're adjusting for neck relief you are wanting the curve to go into the top part of the neck more than the heel. I think that it accomplishes this much better when located at the head. Again, I'm no luthier, maybe the man himself will chime in on this subject...
 
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#140
songwriter21 said:
Only thing that bugs me? Why does Geoff insist on the headstock truss adjustment, and with a three-screw cover? Even though the neck probably will not really need that much adjustment, that accessibility is a royal pain. Just put it at the heel like Modulus and Status....
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I agree with you, but you're also right in that you'll probably set it and forget it...
 

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