The latest candidate in the fretted 5 category. For those not following at home I am firmly in love with my Rob Allen Deep 5, but have been looking for a fretted 5 to accompany because sometimes...well, sometimes you just need a 5-string fretted. I've pondered a Nordstrand for a couple of years but never quite pulled the trigger. Being without a bass for awhile, having some money in my paypal account from selling some other gear, an update to the in-stock page, and a road trip with my son that put us about 8 miles from Carey's shop, and a 10% off August sale...well, evidently the stars were aligned. And so the banana comes home today. So named by my son when he walked into the shop and said, "so you're buying the banana bass?"
It was build as a VP5 - passive P-bass. While I love a good P bass, I find that for my gigs that require a fretted bass I prefer to have 2 pups. But I'm not a JJ kinda guy, so the PJ setup is my preferred solution. I've been playing a Fender AmDlxP for a few months and like it a lot. I stopped by the shop on the way to Big Bear for vacation and played a few basses. I loved the feel of the banana, and the sound of the sonic blue/maple neck one was to die for. I headed up the mountain telling myself I'd think about it. Ha.
Talked with the g/f the next day and asked her opinion. She asked, "does it do something that your current basses don't?" The answer there is yes. Next question, "well, how is the resale if you don't like it?" (she knows me well and has seen me buy/sell a number of instruments in the 4 years we've been together). I said, "not bad." She then said, "well, you should buy it. It isn't like you're buying a Fodera or something where you're emptying your accounts." There's a reason (well, a number of reasons) that we moved in together last month.
At any rate, I called the shop and asked about adding a bridge pup. They said no problem and suggested a Big Split to match with the P. I said sure and that was that. Today we headed back from vacation, I stopped by the shop, picked up the banana, and headed home.
Action is as low as I can really play it, no buzzes, and very even response. I plugged it into the Streamliner/Berg AE210 (no pedals or comp) and a/b/c'd it with the Fender and my Deep 5. I will need to adjust my thinking a bit with the passive setup. It isn't as hot as the active Fender or the RA. In that way it reminds me of my Lull PJ, though the Nordy is easier for me to play (34" scale) and I prefer the Nordy pups to the SDs.
For tone I'm hesitant to comment too much as I know all too well that the proof for me is in a live mix rather than my own noodlings at home. I do have reference points though and my hunch is that it will hold down the fort well and it doesn't have a massive boomy low end that will fight with the kick - it is very tight. Compared to the RA it is bass shy, but so is pretty much every instrument around. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though as in my band situations too much booty ends up making it so you can't hear the rest of the instrument.
The P pup sounds like a P pup. I it sweeter and has more clarity than the Fender (though they are different basses so hard to pin things down to single factors). Running the Fender passive vs the Nordy, the Nordy is just a better sounding bass. Switching to active on the Fender helps a lot but it also gets louder and I know that often influences our ears to think, "ohh, that's better." The active is more aggressive with both pups full up. But again that isn't in a band situation so I can't comment on which is better in that context.
The Big Split is pretty damn sick. Messing around so far I'm finding that the previously mentioned 100% Big Split / 90% P gives a nasty sound. A perfect "I am the bass and I'm driving" tone. That is in marked contrast to a typical J pup in the bridge when solo'd sounds more like a solo to me.
At any rate more on the sonics later. I have 3 gigs tomorrow and will have the Nordy at the night gig. And to prove it exists:
It was build as a VP5 - passive P-bass. While I love a good P bass, I find that for my gigs that require a fretted bass I prefer to have 2 pups. But I'm not a JJ kinda guy, so the PJ setup is my preferred solution. I've been playing a Fender AmDlxP for a few months and like it a lot. I stopped by the shop on the way to Big Bear for vacation and played a few basses. I loved the feel of the banana, and the sound of the sonic blue/maple neck one was to die for. I headed up the mountain telling myself I'd think about it. Ha.
Talked with the g/f the next day and asked her opinion. She asked, "does it do something that your current basses don't?" The answer there is yes. Next question, "well, how is the resale if you don't like it?" (she knows me well and has seen me buy/sell a number of instruments in the 4 years we've been together). I said, "not bad." She then said, "well, you should buy it. It isn't like you're buying a Fodera or something where you're emptying your accounts." There's a reason (well, a number of reasons) that we moved in together last month.
At any rate, I called the shop and asked about adding a bridge pup. They said no problem and suggested a Big Split to match with the P. I said sure and that was that. Today we headed back from vacation, I stopped by the shop, picked up the banana, and headed home.
Action is as low as I can really play it, no buzzes, and very even response. I plugged it into the Streamliner/Berg AE210 (no pedals or comp) and a/b/c'd it with the Fender and my Deep 5. I will need to adjust my thinking a bit with the passive setup. It isn't as hot as the active Fender or the RA. In that way it reminds me of my Lull PJ, though the Nordy is easier for me to play (34" scale) and I prefer the Nordy pups to the SDs.
For tone I'm hesitant to comment too much as I know all too well that the proof for me is in a live mix rather than my own noodlings at home. I do have reference points though and my hunch is that it will hold down the fort well and it doesn't have a massive boomy low end that will fight with the kick - it is very tight. Compared to the RA it is bass shy, but so is pretty much every instrument around. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though as in my band situations too much booty ends up making it so you can't hear the rest of the instrument.
The P pup sounds like a P pup. I it sweeter and has more clarity than the Fender (though they are different basses so hard to pin things down to single factors). Running the Fender passive vs the Nordy, the Nordy is just a better sounding bass. Switching to active on the Fender helps a lot but it also gets louder and I know that often influences our ears to think, "ohh, that's better." The active is more aggressive with both pups full up. But again that isn't in a band situation so I can't comment on which is better in that context.
The Big Split is pretty damn sick. Messing around so far I'm finding that the previously mentioned 100% Big Split / 90% P gives a nasty sound. A perfect "I am the bass and I'm driving" tone. That is in marked contrast to a typical J pup in the bridge when solo'd sounds more like a solo to me.
At any rate more on the sonics later. I have 3 gigs tomorrow and will have the Nordy at the night gig. And to prove it exists:
Before ^ After:
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