Long title and formatted walls of text below I know, but pics first!
This bass arrived in March but didn't get around to opening it around my birthday month, and I'm glad I waited! Gorgeous looking bass that was totally an impulse buy directly from GOC's site, as part of their first batch of their new "Chinese New Year" edition finishes featuring swamp ash bodies
Specs: (not listed in website)
- String spacing at bridge - 18mm
- Weight - 7.1lbs
- Nut width - 44mm (measured from centre of B to centre of G, I'm more than happy to hear tips how to measure nut width!)
Website specs: (with interpretation)
- Price 1100 USD / 1500 CAD (what I paid)
- Scale length: 34 - 37" Modern scale
- Body: Swamp Ash
- Neck: Roasted Canadian Maple / Micarta stripes
- Neck Shape: AONeck™ (kind of like Strandberg's enduraneck but the flat part where your thumb naturally glides in is less pronounced)
- Pickups: "The Bellow" Nordstrand-style Bartolini P2 housing humbuckers
- 1st Fret Thickness: 19mm
- 12 Fret Thickness: 20mm
- Fretboard: Richlite
- Fretboard Radius: 20"
- Inlay: Hollow-point
- Side dots: IGN8 - L (Luminlay-esque side dots)
- Truss Rod: 2-way trussrod w/ dual carbon rods
- Frets: Jumbo stainless steel
- Nut Material: Steel zero fret with SR spacer
- Headpiece/Bridge: GOC Duo-Lok B™ (stainless steel)
I generally don't consider myself to be a 5 string guy, but this bias stemmed from my bad experiences with my first 5 string (a
Washburn axxess bass with a maxxed out truss rod and dodgy electronics). Even with headless basses, my only real headless had been a not-good "Phoenix" headless P bass from the 80s. Over the years in the effort to try somethings different, I got a chance to try out a friend's strandberg to get a feel of the body/enduraneck and have been lucky enough to have a Long and Mcquade near me that has a variety of dingwall basses in stock (sometimes up to 2-3 different models!). This combined with trying out Ibanez EHBs let me have a good idea of what I was looking for in a bass. I had my sights on these types of ergonomic headless basses for a while but didn't find any I liked until I checked a local fb marketplace listing and there was a luthier making these exact type of basses that I almost was looking for at the time (Bors guitars) I ended up being unable to get it as it got sold, but it sparked a genuine curiousity into looking for a bass that combined what I liked about a Dingwall combustion (the pickups, electronics, multiscale neck) and a strandberg (the weight, the headless-ergonomic profile)
This is where GOC comes into play.
I discovered this brand when somebody on FB marketplace (again lol), posted one of their guitars on sale, and while I wanted to buy it, a part of me kept nagging at me to try out a 5 string after years of playing a bass tuned BEAD. I was initially hesitant, as I didn't care too much for the current finishes that were being offered which were just solid colours as opposed to the cool finishes their guitars get., Once this finish came out, I got the credit card ready and placed an order for the first batch! Once it arrived (after some grief from Purolator), fun began!
What I love:
The neck:
Not the best picture, but it's definitely a skinny neck, I have zero problems getting around it, and it really fits my hands nicely (for the record I'm a 6ft guy with long-ish arms and fingers). It's skinnier than the dingwalls I've tried out and the roasted maple feels great!
Out of the box, zero issues with the fit and finish (no tool marks, blemishes), I could almost swear it smelled like the paint from the factory when unboxing it! The body itself is incredibly comfortable, normally I try to prop up the bass a bit more vertical but there's zero issues getting around horizontally.
The nitpicks:
While I'm loving this bass right now it's not perfect. While I don't need it to be, I do admit the tuners at the bridge are stiff to turn. I'll most likely dissassemble the bridge to see what's going on and lubricate it, as it already has thrust bearings so I'm not sure if it's something to do with the machining.
In terms of action it's super low out of the box (4/64ths/1.5mm on the B and G strings), but once you get past the 12ths fret the action starts getting high for my taster (6/64ths/3.5mm on the B string, 3mm on the G). I will most likely find some sort of shin that fits the neck pocket in the future. While it's not a deal breaker, I do like having uniform action throughout the entire length of the neck, I have a good feeling the fretwork itself is good enough to be able to do this like a champ!
The preamp works fine it and the the pickups while good, the preamp itself isn't anything special and produces slight RF noise/hiss(?) when cranking the treble knob. It's a bit of an odd layout (coming from an Ibanez user), but hopefully the replacement preamp I get will fit the narrow control cavity.
Current verdict: (for both now and after said honeymoon phase)
Overall I'm really liking the bass, especially it being the first brand new bass I've ever bought up to this point coming from an exclusive stable of used instruments. It's going to sound next level once I get around to installing the nordwall dingstrand pickups I got, sourcing a Dingwall rotary switch for a decent price, and finding the right preamp to replace the current one! I'm hoping to get sound clips (maybe a video) within the month, if I don't it'll be a soundcloud link posted in the thread below!
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