I found this thread while researching Ubasses. I went through a lot of it and hope that you all will answer some questions for me.
2) I've listened to some demo videos and on some I'm hearing a fairly prominent string "rattle" or "buzz" sound. I think it was most noticeable on a Taylor GS video. I realize that the metal strings will sound different than the plastic strings on a Ubass but I don't hear the same thing on full scale basses with metal strings. Is what I'm hearing due to the shorter scale of the GSAB or is it due to recording technique or something else?
It’s mostly playing technique.
Particularly when these things first came out, demonstrators were failing to adjust their technique to the soft tension and more flexible strings.
The slightly longer scale on the Ibanez models helps to reduce unintended clangs, as do the slightly higher tension of La Bella CB40’s.
If you want a better idea of what a well-played GSAB sounds like, check out this Ibanez demo, especially the plugged-in second half:
Perhaps it helped that I don't pound on my conventional basses, but I was consistently getting that sort of tone within a couple of days after taking my AVNB1e home.
I want to be absolutely clear on this: I have no trouble getting similar tones out of Taylors in the store, despite them having the shortest scale of the three brands.
I loved my AVNB1E, but I traded it in for a Guild late last year. I am enjoying the couple of extra frets clear of the body on the Guild, but to be honest it was very hard to choose between the two. The Ibanez isn't as pretty, and the 12th fret body joint is a little restrictive, but it was a little better made. Both sound great acoustically or amplified.
Despite the inch and a half (more or less) between the shortest (Taylor) and the longest (Ibanez), string tension really isn't the dominant factor.
Plugged in, I've found the biggest divide to be between the models with limited EQ (Taylor and Guild), compared to the ones with regular bass and tone controls (Ibanez for sure, and some others as well).
The Guild has a more limited tonal pallette, since all you can do is roll off some treble. Amongst the Ibanez models, the AVNB1E in particular has a stout preamp, with tons of output and an excellent XLR output built in. The bass and treble controls have a lot of range, and I was able to get great sounds at both extremes.
I got fairly convincing electric bass tones out of the Ibanez by rolling off a little bass and treble, but I could also get huge, almost subsonic reggae bass tones by pushing the bass control. If I want to do the same sort of thing on the Guild, I have to use a floor preamp to add external tone shaping.
The Taylor is the best finished, and has a more quality feel. However, the pickup system sounds pretty anemic in comparison. It's my least favourite plugged in...
