Okay, this is crazy. Just last week on this very forum I said that "I don't have gas for any new gear". Well I saw a picture of the Shifter, read this entire thread and ordered a cream/maple Shifter!!!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Godin Shifter
- Thread starter caeman
- Start date
In my case the more I use my Shifter the more I like it and I have to say I still admire it when I look at it. The neck feels great too.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I have played a lot of 3-pickup basses that just didn't work very well for one reason or another. The Shifter is one of the best implementations of this idea that I have seen. I think that if you played one for a bit, you'd get quite used to it. In person, it's a pretty nice looking and very nice feeling instrument, and a bargain for a "Made in North America" instrument.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
- 6,944
- 2,081
- 51
- Disclosures
- Please see Profile for Endorsement disclosures
Man, I LOVE that look! It's what made me pull one of the wall in the first place! Different Strokes, I suppose, lol...
Still hoping to secure a Shifter 5 this year. I really dig 'em!
Hawkeye
Canuck Amateur
I've not played much in the way of dub reggae, but you can get some really thick, dense tones using some of the neck p/up combinations and rolling off the tone control. Monstrous low end if you want, and the B's pretty good on the fiver.
The Shifter is the most tonally versatile passive bass that I've come across with more sounds in it than my Reverend 5L, which was my previous nominee for "Most Tonally Versatile Passive Bass".
Hey everybody
...Yesterday was my first day to ever see a Godin Shifter, and I keep thinking about it in my head. I'm in love with it's appearance basically, and am considering it for my first bass.
What I wanted to know, is....are the tones versatile enough to play aggressive heavy metal---and softer rock such as radiohead tunes? I've had people tell me that a bass is a bass, but I just wanted some input from you folks.
Thanks for any help!
...Yesterday was my first day to ever see a Godin Shifter, and I keep thinking about it in my head. I'm in love with it's appearance basically, and am considering it for my first bass.
What I wanted to know, is....are the tones versatile enough to play aggressive heavy metal---and softer rock such as radiohead tunes? I've had people tell me that a bass is a bass, but I just wanted some input from you folks.
Thanks for any help!
I love my shifter and it's so convenient to be able to flip a switch and get 5 different sounds not to mention the tone knob as well. It feels really good, has a great neck and I believe it's versatile enough to cover you needs. It's my first bass also in the sunburst finish. My teacher who is a studio musician and has played with Radiohead, Tom Jones and heavy metal groups loves it. I would say go for it. It even sounds better when he plays it!
Attachments
Well again I love it and I am obsessive about big decisions. I compared it to many different ones. It really boils down to what feels best for you. I had compared it to a Schecter Stiletto Elite or Custom I don't remember but the higher priced one and I sent it back and got the Shifter. I should have stuck with my first gut feeling. The one thing that may bother some people is that it is heavier than most. In a case it's a handful. The gig bag that comes with it may not be designed for that weight because the nylon around the base of the handle tore on my bag. I contacted Sweetwater, who I bought it from and they got Godin to send me a new one right away. Other than that it stays in tune well and sounds great. Oh one more thing I've noticed and seen others post about, it seems like the E string vibrates off the frets so that there is a buzzing. When I showed my teacher he told me to move my right hand down away from the neck when I play and it stopped. Where I bought it they have a 30 day return policy no questions asked and I got to buy it making 3 equal payments.
P.S. in case anyone's asking I don't work for them and I don't receive any referral fee!
A bass like this with all the tones it has deserves for you to buy it and to try it for at least a year. It will take that long for a player to give all of it's tonal variations a decent chance. I believe this bass is that good and has that type of sounds...
I'm gonna get me a 5 string Godin...
I'm gonna get me a 5 string Godin...
Perhaps you can get some other feedback as well but I can only tell you what my opinion is. First, as a new bass player in general I had been at one of these cool boutique music stores that doesn't sell big commercial names. I knew nothing technical so when I say I liked it I am speaking about a first impression that drove me to research Godin and found out that they are hand made in Canada (better to me than made in mexico, china, korea etc.) they are a green company so the wood they use is sustainable and it's a family business.
When researching I found that they have a small but loyal following and found very positive feedback about them. There is also a Godin Forum on here that you can check out. Watch some You Tube videos and read a few reviews from the stores online like Sweetwater, Musicians Friend etc.
Ok I'm really rambling but I would say as a newbie I really feel fortunate to have this bass. I've tried many others hanging out at different stores before and after I bought it and I still don't regret my decision one bit. Rather than have a cheaper one I look at it like a lifetime investment.
Ok how can I describe it. SMOOTH, GOOD, substantial but not overly large like some. Yet not too small like the Schecter that I considered. Well balanced and solid. Again, remember each of us has our own preferences so you may not feel the same as I do but I suggest looking for some shop that might have any Godin (I first found out by playing the semi-accoustic and they have the same neck. As I mentioned my teacher who has a Masters in bass, teaches at the Musicians Institute here in Los Angeles. loved it too. So I hope this helps a little. Oh yeah and you can't beat having 5 preset sounds it's so convenient when playing to quickly flip a switch or to avoid feed back that sometimes results from one pick up but not the other. Twangy to a growl to smooth all with a flip of a switch!
Actually, there are 6 preset sounds. The tone control is a push/pull pot and you can engage that in position 1 to get only the neck pickup. Way cool.
I've just recently picked up a used Shifter 4, transparent cream w/ rosewood. Put new Rotosound JazzBass 77 flatwounds on it. 105-45. Sounds and feels great!
I can confirm the head dive. A bit of a shame, though I wouldn't want the body any heavier to compensate for it. This is a substantial and strongly built bass!
The reason you get hum in position 4 (neck and bridge) is that both neck and bridge pickups are the same winding direction and magnet polarity. Only the middle is reverse wound/reverse polarity (as on a JB). So you actually get MORE hum when you mix two single coils together that are the same winding/polarity. Obviously not all 3 pickups could be different, two had to be the same. (If you really needed humbucking in the bridge-neck position, you could probably swap the middle and neck pickups. But then only one position would hum cancel instead of the current 2.)
If you own a compass (or even an iPhone with a compass app) you'll see the change in magnet polarity as you move it over the middle pickup, compared to the other two. You'd think this would make an inverted signal, but because the coil is ALSO reversed, it puts the string signal back in phase while cancelling the environmental hum that isn't affected by magnets, just the coil direction.
Mine has one problem. It buzzes even when I'm touching the strings. This is because the bridge isn't grounded, so the strings are floating. The buzz goes away if I touch the metal knobs, switch, screws, or pole pieces. I've verified with a continuity checker that the strings are isolated from the jack/ground. I've looked under the backplate and all solder connections look proper and there's a wire running into the body. However it seems to only connect to the strings-through-body plate, not the bridge itself. (And I've got it strung through bridge as apparently flatwounds will split their windings apart around the sharp corner if mounted STB).
And here's a weird thing I just noticed. The pole pieces of the bridge and middle pickups ARE grounded to the jack, but not on the neck pickup.
I obviously need to have a closer look at the wiring. And I'm afraid I'm going to have to take the bridge off to properly ground it. (Wrecking my nice new string job!)
For now I'm just using a bit of wire tied between a string-end and the jack-washer to ground it out. Anybody else have this issue? I'm the second owner of this one, so it's possible the previous guy f-ed it up.
Pics to come! Despite this small issue, it's still a great bass. You can feel the quality. I'd say it's on par with modern American Fenders, if not a bit better. (I used to own a ~1999 American Std. JB which was also very nice. But considering price and versitility, these Shifters are great too!)
