Glarry Bass Posts

[rojo412]

The TB hype machine for Glarry, SX, Brice, etc has been humming for years now...
And my actual experience with them is all the same: You're gonna get what you pay for.
Best of luck to anyone willing to take a shot with these, but be ready for disappointment.

 

[GretschWretch]

As the person who got the Glarry ball rolling, I suppose I have to chime in here. My first Glarry (a Crescent, actually) was a $50 pawn shop prize hung on the wall between a Yamaha and an SX Jazz. Due to the weight just getting the Yammie off the wall hanger was a chore; the SX was worse. Never having heard of the Crescent I girded my loins for a real strength test and yanked the Crescent from the wall. And nearly tumbled over backward, it was that light. THIS, I was not expecting.

With the number of weight grievances being posted on TB at the time I thought this was mentioning, but I I knew I could not form an opinion based on a single instrument, so to get a representative sample I bought I bought eight (in 2017) and in 2019 a couple of fretlesses. Not all carried the Glarry badge, but all were of the same type: light and cheap. And IMO far more resonant unplugged than any bass of my experience made of more traditional body woods. For the entire lot I paid between $75 and $110 (for the fretlesses) shipping included. And once set up, almost all were giggable right out of the box.

The naysayers who probably have no real first-hand experience with Glarrys are missing the point. They are not competing with Sire or Squier or any such. Their main selling points have always been that they are cheap (yes) and LIGHT, all eight pounds and under (usually considerably under). And while none of mine really need modding, the other selling point is you could drop $150 of after-market parts into a Glarry and still come up with a fine bass that is much cheaper than dropping that same $150 into a Squier or Sire would be.

Yes there are irregularities, wide diversity in pickup output levels, for example. But except for fret sprout on one and a pickup dropped down in the cavity for another, no real flaws. And the grain of paulownia wood puts most traditional body woods to shame.

But to try to at least brush shoulders with the question OP asked, I will address resale price as opposed to new. Glarries have NO resale price. How can I resell a bass I paid only $75 for new? How can I fleece an aging octogenarian or some pre-schooler for a pittance for a used Glarry? One does not re-sell used Glarries; one donates them.

 

[5StringBlues]

Of course. And yet Fender- and Gibson-bashing threads are similarly full of posts feigning lofty impartiality. The truly indifferent don't post.

See my post however you like.



We know there are 50 and 60 year old Gibson and Fender instruments out there being used.

Will Glarry instruments last that long?


See it how you wish, pure speculation on my part.

 

[GretschWretch]

See my post however you like.



We know there are 50 and 60 year old Gibson and Fender instruments out there being used.

Will Glarry instruments last that long?


See it how you wish, pure speculation on my part.

We won't know the answer to that until at least 2065. I doubt any of US will be around to see.

 

[Tplanert]

I bought my Glarry 3 months ago and have taken it apart about 5 times. I had to mess with the truss rod and sand a few high frets. I replaced the bridge with a heavier one and will eventually replace the pegs and maybe pickups. It plays well right now. So i'm happy with the $100 I spent. (included small amp)

 

[DJ Bebop]

They really arent underpriced at all...and the musical instrument is a "bass" not a "base".

 

[5StringBlues]

We won't know the answer to that until at least 2065. I doubt any of US will be around to see.

I'm hoping I'm not.

 

[SoonerBill]

I'm hoping I'm not.

I'm with ya!

 

[DJ Bebop]

The TB hype machine for Glarry, SX, Brice, etc has been humming for years now...
And my actual experience with them is all the same: You're gonna get what you pay for.
Best of luck to anyone willing to take a shot with these, but be ready for disappointment.

I think the folks who really benefit from these Glarrys are tinkerers, modders, or people who want to learn those skills but don't wanna try a more costly instrument not necessarily for a first-time player looking for their first bass to play. Those folks haven't developed the skills to do a setup or any minor repairs.

These are cheaper than those kit builds you can get. So one can learn from one of these. Maybe getting one that isn't bad out of the gate, only needing just a setup to get playing.

Even though I had better basses at the time, I went the SX route to hone my modding skills. Although those out of the box were in great shape, needing only a setup to get into playing/gigging shape, or for personal preference.

I kinda miss the variety of colors and styles Rondo Music-SX had to offer back in the day. I enjoyed switching out pickups and hardware for no other reason than being able to do it to see the results.

I have been thinking of fooling with the 5-string P they had offered.

 

[manbass]

.....With the number of weight grievances being posted on TB at the time I thought this was mentioning, but I I knew I could not form an opinion based on a single instrument, so to get a representative sample I bought I bought eight (in 2017) and in 2019 a couple of fretlesses. Not all carried the Glarry badge, but all were of the same type: light and cheap. And IMO far more resonant unplugged than any bass of my experience made of more traditional body woods. For the entire lot I paid between $75 and $110 (for the fretlesses) shipping included. And once set up, almost all were giggable right out of the box.

The naysayers who probably have no real first-hand experience with Glarrys are missing the point. They are not competing with Sire or Squier or any such. Their main selling points have always been that they are cheap (yes) and LIGHT, all eight pounds and under (usually considerably under). And while none of mine really need modding, the other selling point is you could drop $150 of after-market parts into a Glarry and still come up with a fine bass that is much cheaper than dropping that same $150 into a Squier or Sire would be......

This ^.

My singular experience is with a GP Pro I bought new in Nov. 2023. 5.4 Lbs, $85. I needed a 4 string P for my bands significant rock repertoire. I also wanted a P without a pickguard so I could refinish the top in Carbon Fiber which the is the GP Pro. I also wanted to be able to trash it if I messed up my refinish, guilt free of excessive cost. The Glarry Club posts here led me there instead of SX, Brice and the numerous asian versions all over the interwebs. Pics below, but heres the BLUF (bottom line up front):

With every Bass purchase I have minimum QC standards to be playable:

• Decent fretwork, no buzz
• Neck straight and true, again no buzz or at minimum straight enough after adjustment
• In general, The pickups and tone circuit have to work (but not be perfect)
• The Bass must be resonant unplugged, the measure is you can hear notes and chords played while having a normal conversation verbally.

The GP Pro I received had all that and super lightweight as an added benefit.

Pics below. Theres a misalignment of the E and A strings vs. PU Poles but I cannot hear a unity imbalance compared to the well aligned D and G Strings. The string location on the neck and spacing is perfect (nut slot to bridge saddle). For the Carbon Fiber version it added about 1.7 lbs. so its about 7.2 lbs as finished. I have basses that I play that are 30 times the Glarrys cost and many in between (check my profile if you wish I keep a running past and present inventory list there) and some of those required much more mod.

 

[Guitalia]

See my post however you like.



We know there are 50 and 60 year old Gibson and Fender instruments out there being used.

Will Glarry instruments last that long?


See it how you wish, pure speculation on my part.

Why wouldn't they last that long? One of my favorite basses to gig with is an Orpheum (Japanese) violin bass built around 1967. (A hollow-body version of the original Gibson EB bass, not on the Hofner that was a semi-knockoff of the same Gibson.)

 

[5StringBlues]

Why wouldn't they last that long? One of my favorite basses to gig with is an Orpheum (Japanese) violin bass built around 1967. (A hollow-body version of the original Gibson EB bass, not on the Hofner that was a semi-knockoff of the same Gibson.)

Just wondering if they will.



And those old Orpheums thump nicely!

 

[Guitalia]

Just wondering if they will.



And those old Orpheums thump nicely!

Thump is right! And that rhymes with chump, which is what I feel like sometimes if I pass by my mid-'70s Precision and EB-3 and first-run Japanese Jaguar (etc.) and head out the door with the Orpheum, but that thump is addicting!

 

[Major Seven]

I'll be the bad-guy, nay-sayer. Trash. Don't waste your money. The routing looks like it was done by hand. Notice how the strings don't line up correctly with the pickups. Even the most basic routing jigs can get stuff lined up. The fasteners: garbage tier. I'm surprised the neck screws don't snap off. At the price range you shouldn't expect much of a finish, but look at the wood fills in the picture. Why they didn't spray this one a solid color is beyond me. This thing went back immediately. With my one, very brief experience I think they are not worth the price. People can pile the hate on me if they want. I say garbage.
View attachment 7500276

It seems to matter who you bought it from. I have 2 of the model pictured above purchased from the Glarry site. Perfect out of the box.
I also have a few from Amazon like sites. I got them to learn to do fretwork etc without taking an expensive risk when I screw up.

The Amazon ones, in particular Ktaxton (identical without a brand on headstock) seem to have rougher fret ends and are 1 to 2 lbs heavier.
I suspect the B stock ones go to Amazon, Temu et al. and the prices reflect it. From Glarry $99. From Amazon $57 - $67.

Its a hit or miss situation very much like buying a Squire. Out of 100 Squires you might find 2 good ones, 1 great one. With Glarry its more like a
50% probability you get a good one. Also customer service is very accommodating if you have a problem

 

[urkel3000]

I learned from a Glarry J that I probably prefer ceramic pickups.
Also, I learned that I *can* hear the difference between soft and hard body wood, enough to matter to me. Prefer hard, but many might like the Glarry.
I thought it was mysteriously beautiful sounding, and hopefully I now understand why. This is a good memory.

If you like ceramic pickups like me you should try a peavey patriot

 

[Major Seven]

Kindling in less than 20 years.

For people like me, I will be kindling in less than 20 years.
By then, kindling might cost $50 anyway.

 

[5StringBlues]

For people like me, I will be kindling in less than 20 years.

I have had my fun if I don't get well no more.

 

[Major Seven]

I learned from a Glarry J that I probably prefer ceramic pickups.
Also, I learned that I *can* hear the difference between soft and hard body wood, enough to matter to me. Prefer hard, but many might like the Glarry.
I thought it was mysteriously beautiful sounding, and hopefully I now understand why. This is a good memory.

I learned from Glarry that I prefer a P size neck on a J body. The neck on what they sell is P size, no matter what body its on, P style, J, whatever.

 

[Major Seven]

That’s not the impression I have (never used one myself). Yes, some people really like them and argue that they are worth more than what they paid. Maybe they got a lucky and got a good one (quality seems to vary considerably, which is expected at this price point) and/or just connect to the instrument in a way that is often hard to predict. But a much more common opinion seems to be that they’re surprisingly usable for the price, but still a significant step below more established budget brands like Squier or Harley Benton.

If Glarry charged 50% more, they would still be comparatively cheap, but the difference between them and other budget brands would be smaller, and people would be more likely to pay the extra cash for a brand with a better reputation. That’s probably a very significant factor in why they’re priced the way they are.

Also consider that the posts of the people who really like them probably don’t represent the experience of the average buyer. If someone buys a really good bass for $100, they’re much more likely to tell everyone about it than if they bought a bass for the same price and it was just what they expected, or even if it was trash, because that’s a calculated risk if you buy an extremely cheap instrument. So you’re likely reading about the experiences of So you’re likely reading about the experiences of a heavily biased sample of owners of these basses.

"So you’re likely reading about the experiences of a heavily biased sample of owners of these basses. "

The heavily biased sample of owners here are bass people generally somewhat knowledgeable about what they are looking at.

 

[Major Seven]

There's at least a couple other threads that have very recently had posts praising Glarry bases. And my first base was an Amazon bought Glarry. So as many of is think they are an amazing bargain I wonder what they could actually sell for? They obviously are underpriced.

Yamaha trbx $290. Ibanez GSR $250. Glarry GIB $99 Look to be the same bass.