When thrash metal music became my favorite genre some years ago, I wanted to get a Jackson bass and a GK head so badly.
I did tried and owned some new jackson basses, but to my ears the humbuckers didn't sound quite as good as I thought. I was a bit disapponted.
Talking about amps, had similar experiences with models like Backline 250 and Backline 600, again, I felt somewhat was lacking.
Since I wanted the real deal, had to wait so long, looking everyday in sites like ebay, craigslist and Talkbass for used charvel basses till one day a very nice one popped out from a guy in Louisville Kentucky.
Bought it for 450 bucks with a cool case and I couldn't be happier, honestly.
I want to remark the important details, first off the bass is neckthru and I noticed the difference right away, the strings vibrate more and the whole body of the bass vibrates a lot as well. It weighs a lot more than the other basses I had and also the difference in tone while playing unplugged was present while playing with an amp, being more clear, with more low end, more sustain and not as punchy.
Also the pickup configuration (PJ) is very relevant, because it features a reversed P pickup, which, IME, produces a bit more aggressive sound on the E and A strings.
When I first got it at home, it took me a couple hours to start playing because the fretboard was dirty and the frets were rusty, I also tightened the truss rod and changed the pickups and active electronics.
I had a brand new PJ set of classic vibe pickups so I installed them, the jackson pickups looked old and weighed less than the CV's.
The treble pot in the original jackson electronics was not working and I pulled out the whole circuit to toss an EMG bts control.
I also noticed the jackson bridge was HEAVY, I compared it hand to hand with a Gotoh 201 and damn, the original bridge was much heavier and it had to stay because I needed to drill new holes for the gotoh to fit.
I still want to make more mods on the bass, the paint was originally white and now is almost yellow, lol and also a refret because I like 6100 jumbo frets.
Now the Gallien Krueger, I don't know why but the 400RB from the 80's is just amazing. At first I wanted the 800RB but they were too expensive so I went for the 400. I did notice the difference in sound with the previous GK amps I had especially the voicing filters, the tone is just so clean and aggressive, totally love it.
Well that's it, I'm so happy and I wanted to share that with you guys, these are some pics of my 1987 Charvel 3B bass and my 1986 400RB.
I did tried and owned some new jackson basses, but to my ears the humbuckers didn't sound quite as good as I thought. I was a bit disapponted.
Talking about amps, had similar experiences with models like Backline 250 and Backline 600, again, I felt somewhat was lacking.
Since I wanted the real deal, had to wait so long, looking everyday in sites like ebay, craigslist and Talkbass for used charvel basses till one day a very nice one popped out from a guy in Louisville Kentucky.
Bought it for 450 bucks with a cool case and I couldn't be happier, honestly.
I want to remark the important details, first off the bass is neckthru and I noticed the difference right away, the strings vibrate more and the whole body of the bass vibrates a lot as well. It weighs a lot more than the other basses I had and also the difference in tone while playing unplugged was present while playing with an amp, being more clear, with more low end, more sustain and not as punchy.
Also the pickup configuration (PJ) is very relevant, because it features a reversed P pickup, which, IME, produces a bit more aggressive sound on the E and A strings.
When I first got it at home, it took me a couple hours to start playing because the fretboard was dirty and the frets were rusty, I also tightened the truss rod and changed the pickups and active electronics.
I had a brand new PJ set of classic vibe pickups so I installed them, the jackson pickups looked old and weighed less than the CV's.
The treble pot in the original jackson electronics was not working and I pulled out the whole circuit to toss an EMG bts control.
I also noticed the jackson bridge was HEAVY, I compared it hand to hand with a Gotoh 201 and damn, the original bridge was much heavier and it had to stay because I needed to drill new holes for the gotoh to fit.
I still want to make more mods on the bass, the paint was originally white and now is almost yellow, lol and also a refret because I like 6100 jumbo frets.
Now the Gallien Krueger, I don't know why but the 400RB from the 80's is just amazing. At first I wanted the 800RB but they were too expensive so I went for the 400. I did notice the difference in sound with the previous GK amps I had especially the voicing filters, the tone is just so clean and aggressive, totally love it.
Well that's it, I'm so happy and I wanted to share that with you guys, these are some pics of my 1987 Charvel 3B bass and my 1986 400RB.
