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Jack Casady (or other simlar basses)
- Thread starter servetakid
- Start date
What's the difference in sound from a Jack Casady and a Rivoli?
I have the Rivoli and i think that sound just smashing
I have the Rivoli and i think that sound just smashing
NO! The pickup is custom designed by Jack Casady (with Gibson engineers) specifically for the bass, without it you lose the unique tone the bass gives.
Not for me but some have replaced it with a Darkstar if you like that sort of thing. But that would require routing the body for the larger Darkstar.
So what did JC contribute? Just the varitone selector? I remember reading about how he worked with Gibson's engineers on the bass for the Epi model. Might be on the Epi website.
http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=116&CollectionID=12
It's a great design and sounds lovely and huge as is. Why plan on making changes for their own sake before even trying one?
Casady did work with Gibson to redesign the original PUP, it's not an identical copy.
I couldn't agree more. The JC is a great bass as-is. You shouldn't be thinking about changing it, especially before you've even played one.
I've been liking my Jack Casady since I got it. My first one (in gold) was replaced under warranty because the set neck was seperating from the body. Epiphone concluded it wasn't easily repaired and replaced it. When they asked me about that, I told them to send me a black one as the replacement. I actually think the black looks much nicer.
The shape of the body can actually leave you with that tell-tale arm crease as your forearm hangs over the body. There's no escaping that seem between the side and the top of the body. A minor thing like that gives you some perspective about the value of a contoured body.
I also put some nylon tape covered flats on it and it's got a great old school sound now. Those sound much better on this bass than roundwounds ever did.
One thing I'm going to do to this instrument is change the tuners out for some hipshot ultralites. In it's stock state this bass is a little headstock heavy and tends to take a dive if you're not holding the neck. Another Casady owner told me doing that solved that issue for him.
The shape of the body can actually leave you with that tell-tale arm crease as your forearm hangs over the body. There's no escaping that seem between the side and the top of the body. A minor thing like that gives you some perspective about the value of a contoured body.
I also put some nylon tape covered flats on it and it's got a great old school sound now. Those sound much better on this bass than roundwounds ever did.
One thing I'm going to do to this instrument is change the tuners out for some hipshot ultralites. In it's stock state this bass is a little headstock heavy and tends to take a dive if you're not holding the neck. Another Casady owner told me doing that solved that issue for him.
Right: If you let the weight of your arm rest on the bass, with your wrist bent and fingers dangling down to the strings, the edge of the body will definitely cut into your forearm and make it very uncomfortable to play. When I first got mine and realized this, my first thought was "uh-oh." But then I realized that this was actually an indicator that I was using bad arm and wrist position in the first place: Virtually all teachers will tell you that you shouldn't be playing with a severely bent wrist anyway. The JC forced me to adopt better technique by holding my right elbow further away from my body, instead of resting my forearm lazily on the bass body, and thus maintaining a much straighter wrist; it's a straight line from elbow to fingertips. So, what at first seemed like a problem turned out to be a real benefit for me that I've carried over to my other basses as well.
