Always been curious, but these are rare. Then a couple years ago I saw a used one in a Nashville music store. It was AWESOME. I play upright mostly in jazz groups, but I have been preferring electric bass more lately. So finally I saved up enough to snag the last one Sweetwater had this time (they and most places are usually out of stock, and get one or two at a time every few months). Got it today, and I forsee this trumping the upright in a good chunk of future gig situations.
The build quality and fit/finish is second to none, and it is a fantastic example of a great bass in this price range. Even better than expected. Dare I say flawless. The electronics are so well thought out and balanced, and I love the new updates (the long thumb rest and clover tuners). It was perfectly in tune and the setup was glorious. It was medium high, like I thought I'd have to do, and the intonation and relief was spot on. The playability is wonderful and it has a narrow spacing and slim taper neck. The finish has not even one rough spot and there are no dead notes or wolf tones. The low B is like a Sadowsky (or anything else 2-3x the price), nice and full, tight, clear, and east to play. I can't put it down!
It has a myead of fretless tones. Going Piezo, It doesn't really thump like Paul Chambers or Mingus, like we all dream of. Down low it is glassy and woody like Steve Swallow, up high it is still woody, and it sings beautifully like Eddie Gomez or NHøP. I can definitely make it fit in many of the modern acoustic jazz situations I find myself in.
Panning it to the mag pickup, it is passive, and it blends evenly and complimentary to the other pickup. The active EQ only affects the piezo. The mag pup has a passive tone that is very usable. The tone is unbelievable. It nails Gary Willis or Jaco and the burpy aggressive possibilities belie its conservative acoustic look. I'm about to have a fretless jazz for sale (or at least the neck). Pan the two pickups and change up the technique, and I believe we have the most versatile fretless I have played to date. The Chromes it is strung up with are perfect for this axe. I suspect they will get even better with time. Finally, a cure for a serious case of GAS. I have a feeling I'm gonna fire up the vid cam for some late night YouTube demos, because I find the existing ones for this axe.... inadequate. Stay tuned and I'll post links in this thread.
The build quality and fit/finish is second to none, and it is a fantastic example of a great bass in this price range. Even better than expected. Dare I say flawless. The electronics are so well thought out and balanced, and I love the new updates (the long thumb rest and clover tuners). It was perfectly in tune and the setup was glorious. It was medium high, like I thought I'd have to do, and the intonation and relief was spot on. The playability is wonderful and it has a narrow spacing and slim taper neck. The finish has not even one rough spot and there are no dead notes or wolf tones. The low B is like a Sadowsky (or anything else 2-3x the price), nice and full, tight, clear, and east to play. I can't put it down!
It has a myead of fretless tones. Going Piezo, It doesn't really thump like Paul Chambers or Mingus, like we all dream of. Down low it is glassy and woody like Steve Swallow, up high it is still woody, and it sings beautifully like Eddie Gomez or NHøP. I can definitely make it fit in many of the modern acoustic jazz situations I find myself in.
Panning it to the mag pickup, it is passive, and it blends evenly and complimentary to the other pickup. The active EQ only affects the piezo. The mag pup has a passive tone that is very usable. The tone is unbelievable. It nails Gary Willis or Jaco and the burpy aggressive possibilities belie its conservative acoustic look. I'm about to have a fretless jazz for sale (or at least the neck). Pan the two pickups and change up the technique, and I believe we have the most versatile fretless I have played to date. The Chromes it is strung up with are perfect for this axe. I suspect they will get even better with time. Finally, a cure for a serious case of GAS. I have a feeling I'm gonna fire up the vid cam for some late night YouTube demos, because I find the existing ones for this axe.... inadequate. Stay tuned and I'll post links in this thread.
Congrats on getting your hands on one! I've seen exactly 2 in all the stores I've visited around here in the past 3-4 years.
