Received my grail bass a month ago from a seller in Italy. Koa top, f-hole, 33" scale, fretted mb-2. The neck is more D shaped than other RA's I've owned, and despite having developed a love for slim necks, I find it very comfortable. There is a mag pickup in addition to the piezo. Volume and pickup balance (with detent) controls in the bridge. Came with a matching koa ramp which appears to never have been installed (the double sided tape still has the wax paper strip on it) that I'm going to install soon. Reverse headstock provides a slightly longer travel for the low string (and it has the string-thru plate on the back to extend the ball even more enabling regular scale strings).
The bass arrived strung B-G (despite the ad stating it was set up for E-C, and which a previous owner mentioned long ago) and buzzed like crazy. New strings and close inspection revealed that the nut was poorly cut/modified (and loose) and the bridge saddle slots were very worn down. I took it to my luthier immediately and he installed a new bone nut and new saddle, as well as extending the bridge angle slightly and cutting compensating string slots to achieve a near-perfect intonation. He also repaired the binding where it was coming separated at the shoulders (and where someone else had tried to repair it previously and left some excess glue).
It weighs about 7lbs.
IF I'd had the opportunity to spec a custom order for this bass, I may have asked for a slimmer neck. But everything else? It's totally my dream RA.
It sounds amazing - the mag pup and piezo are not extremely distinct from each other but (a) there are adjustments I can make in the control cavity I haven't explored yet, and (b) they blend really well so far. Bonus: the way the bass engages my pedals is surprisingly pleasant. The reaction of my Mooer Sweeper (recently plugged in and dangling at the moment!) and Tender Octave pedals and Fliptop Boost to the signal made it seem as if they were waiting for this bass. My other passive and active basses sound good through them, but not this good. Fun.
Picture!
The bass arrived strung B-G (despite the ad stating it was set up for E-C, and which a previous owner mentioned long ago) and buzzed like crazy. New strings and close inspection revealed that the nut was poorly cut/modified (and loose) and the bridge saddle slots were very worn down. I took it to my luthier immediately and he installed a new bone nut and new saddle, as well as extending the bridge angle slightly and cutting compensating string slots to achieve a near-perfect intonation. He also repaired the binding where it was coming separated at the shoulders (and where someone else had tried to repair it previously and left some excess glue).
It weighs about 7lbs.
IF I'd had the opportunity to spec a custom order for this bass, I may have asked for a slimmer neck. But everything else? It's totally my dream RA.
It sounds amazing - the mag pup and piezo are not extremely distinct from each other but (a) there are adjustments I can make in the control cavity I haven't explored yet, and (b) they blend really well so far. Bonus: the way the bass engages my pedals is surprisingly pleasant. The reaction of my Mooer Sweeper (recently plugged in and dangling at the moment!) and Tender Octave pedals and Fliptop Boost to the signal made it seem as if they were waiting for this bass. My other passive and active basses sound good through them, but not this good. Fun.
Picture!
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