Let me start by saying I have strongly disliked almost every Gibson bass I've played. I think they are pretty but do not care for how they feel or play. I liked a G3 (I think thats the model) I played at a GTG but that has really been it. I'm more of a Jazz bass guy but every jazz bass... well thats another story.
So I have been struggling to find the perfect sound for my main band I play with. Mostly Dylan, The Band and some other stuff. I love my Clements and they sound great but I needed a different sound to sit in right with this band. I've tried many, many different basses and nothing seemed to work. Until now.
Popped into guitar center to kill some time before a meeting several weeks ago. Wanted to check out some new basses and I knew they had an Orange AD200B. Played several different basses saw a few Gibsons (which they usually don't have) played two. Had that familiar, feels like I'm playing a kitchen table kind of feel. Then a pretty little SG caught my eye. "Thats cute" I thought to myself. This I guess was the SG re-issue. Plugged it in and was simply blown away. There was this sound I've been looking for. Not better than my other basses but this sound I felt like I've been looking for. Just for this band.
Loved the sound and generally the feel of the bass but it was a little worn out from being a demo and I didn't care the the gloss finish on the back of the neck. This was a bass I loved to play and it sounded different but great.
Had to go to my meeting so I tried to put this experience out of my head. Plus I couldn't scrounge up the $1400 for that bass anyway. Of course I ended up in a hotel room full of gas and an internet connection So I started doing some research. I found that the SG bass (which never existed until recently) has a worn finish sibling that is the identical bass but with a satin finish, no fancy inlays and a slightly different nut. Everything else is the same and it even comes shipped in the same plush case. The catch is it's $600 less. Now the gloss finish is very nice, but I prefer the feel of the satin finish anyway. And this.. I could almost afford.
Well after agonizing for a whole 18 -22 hours I called my friends at Sweetwater and ordered myself one. Took a whole day to get here too! Get the bass, open it up, setup great out of the box and there was that sound. Noticed it was a bit neck heavy and had some Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners that just happened to fit the headstock and use the existing screw holes so I swapped those out. Had it back together 5 minutes into band practice. Guys in the band were very, very, very skeptical. That is until they listened back to the recordings of our practice.
An a side note, the finish in the Sweetwater pics made the bass look really bright but I was assured by Sweetwater that is was much more mellow than their pics. It is. My first pics outside made it look real bright too but I think I got a more accurate representation indoors.
So Pros/cons
Pros:
Cons:
So the tuners fixed the neck heavy deal, I changed the bridge to a Hipshot Supertone ( a beautiful chunk 'o' metal) which allowed me to really dial it in, adjusted the pickup and now have a nice even sound. Really out of the box this bass was better than the majority of basses I have received. The fit and finish are truly excellent, the nut was cut perfectly and the fretwork, while I can tell it will sprout a bit, is better than most basses too. perfectly level and allows for a very easy playing setup. It really is quite impressive especially for the price. This is also the first short scale I've really like too. Of course I am a pretty big guy and this will look like a novelty bass strapped on but oh well.
If you are looking for an easy playing, great sounding short scale bass these are a great deal IMO.
Some proof...
Here is one outside where the color is wrong. Pics above more accurately represent the color.
So I have been struggling to find the perfect sound for my main band I play with. Mostly Dylan, The Band and some other stuff. I love my Clements and they sound great but I needed a different sound to sit in right with this band. I've tried many, many different basses and nothing seemed to work. Until now.
Popped into guitar center to kill some time before a meeting several weeks ago. Wanted to check out some new basses and I knew they had an Orange AD200B. Played several different basses saw a few Gibsons (which they usually don't have) played two. Had that familiar, feels like I'm playing a kitchen table kind of feel. Then a pretty little SG caught my eye. "Thats cute" I thought to myself. This I guess was the SG re-issue. Plugged it in and was simply blown away. There was this sound I've been looking for. Not better than my other basses but this sound I felt like I've been looking for. Just for this band.
Loved the sound and generally the feel of the bass but it was a little worn out from being a demo and I didn't care the the gloss finish on the back of the neck. This was a bass I loved to play and it sounded different but great.Had to go to my meeting so I tried to put this experience out of my head. Plus I couldn't scrounge up the $1400 for that bass anyway. Of course I ended up in a hotel room full of gas and an internet connection So I started doing some research. I found that the SG bass (which never existed until recently) has a worn finish sibling that is the identical bass but with a satin finish, no fancy inlays and a slightly different nut. Everything else is the same and it even comes shipped in the same plush case. The catch is it's $600 less. Now the gloss finish is very nice, but I prefer the feel of the satin finish anyway. And this.. I could almost afford.
Well after agonizing for a whole 18 -22 hours I called my friends at Sweetwater and ordered myself one. Took a whole day to get here too! Get the bass, open it up, setup great out of the box and there was that sound. Noticed it was a bit neck heavy and had some Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners that just happened to fit the headstock and use the existing screw holes so I swapped those out. Had it back together 5 minutes into band practice. Guys in the band were very, very, very skeptical. That is until they listened back to the recordings of our practice.
An a side note, the finish in the Sweetwater pics made the bass look really bright but I was assured by Sweetwater that is was much more mellow than their pics. It is. My first pics outside made it look real bright too but I think I got a more accurate representation indoors.
So Pros/cons
Pros:
- Easy to play
- Great fit and finish
- wonderful sound but can still get that wooly old sound if you like
- sits in a mix well
- light
- nice case
Cons:
- Neck heavy
- bridge while it works is not great or easy to adjust and is somewhat limiting
- E sting was weak when I received (neck pickup)
- probably will have fret spout this winter (I can just tell)
So the tuners fixed the neck heavy deal, I changed the bridge to a Hipshot Supertone ( a beautiful chunk 'o' metal) which allowed me to really dial it in, adjusted the pickup and now have a nice even sound. Really out of the box this bass was better than the majority of basses I have received. The fit and finish are truly excellent, the nut was cut perfectly and the fretwork, while I can tell it will sprout a bit, is better than most basses too. perfectly level and allows for a very easy playing setup. It really is quite impressive especially for the price. This is also the first short scale I've really like too. Of course I am a pretty big guy and this will look like a novelty bass strapped on but oh well.
If you are looking for an easy playing, great sounding short scale bass these are a great deal IMO.
Some proof...
Here is one outside where the color is wrong. Pics above more accurately represent the color.
