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Samick Royale RLB-2
- Thread starter GregSBass
- Start date
seems very similar to the dbl. cut that Larry 'The Mole' Taylor had, so it should be killer.
Well...Here's an update for anyone interested in a Samick Royale RLB-2....I bought the bass from Downtown Sounds, in Northhampton, MA....original msrp was $899, Downtown was asking $599+$50 shipping + new flatwound strings, I offered $550 with shipping, they came back with $600 with shipping, so I accepted the offer. They said it didn't come with any case, I asked them if they would put it in a gig bag....They shipped it in a nice Sterling padded bag no charge. After I had placed the order, I found a posting for this same bass a year ago, $479 at a music store in upstate NY. local pickup only (no case and roundwound strings).... it was listed as 'Refurbished'....Downtown Sounds didn't mention that in their add. I contacted them, they had already shipped it, but said if I wasn't happy, they'd refund the money...I said I'd wait and look at the bass.
I'm posting this on Reverb to the seller, Downtown Sounds, in Northhampton, MA....
I received the bass, thanks for putting it in a decent gig bag, the staples came out of bottom of the shipping box, so the bottom of the bass got exposed. The UPS driver was great , he let me inspect the bass, the gig bag saved the bass from any damage.
Upon inspection I can see why the bass was sent to refurbishing, around the volume knob it looks like the clearcoat had some dimples. Refurbishing marked it as a Blem by removing the last three digits of the serial number on the headstock and covering the serial number with a label printed with the new serial number. Downtown Sounds being a guitar retailer should have known this was a 2nd/Blem and advertised it as such. If I had known it was a Blem, I would have asked for a better price....a bit high for a 2nd.
I spent a few hours setting up the bass, cutting the nut slots for better action, setting the truss rod relief, adjusting the bridge height/radius and intonation. The fret work on the bass is excellent, didn't have any sharp ends or high spots. The action and the neck feel great now.
I've played the bass for a few hours now, and it's a nice instrument. I have a quite a few semi acoustic bass's, an expensive German Warwick, a few Korean made, and a couple of Hofner CT's, this Royale is a quality build and has it's own unique tone, I think it sounds great with the flatwounds.
The finish issue is minor, I would have put flatwounds on this bass anyway, and putting the bass in a nice padded gig bag made this a fair deal....Thanks for the sale.
So would I do this deal again....Yes, other than the few dimples in the clearcoat, the bass is mint and has a very cool tone, different than my other semi's. Samick discontinued this bass so they're hard to find. The body is cut from a solid block of mahogany, chambered, and then capped with a quilted maple top, so it doesn't sound like the other semi's..it's heavier than a Jack Cassidy, weighting 9.15 lbs.....It looks different, I like the shape of the body....very cool!!
Would you have done anything different?
I'm posting this on Reverb to the seller, Downtown Sounds, in Northhampton, MA....
I received the bass, thanks for putting it in a decent gig bag, the staples came out of bottom of the shipping box, so the bottom of the bass got exposed. The UPS driver was great , he let me inspect the bass, the gig bag saved the bass from any damage.
Upon inspection I can see why the bass was sent to refurbishing, around the volume knob it looks like the clearcoat had some dimples. Refurbishing marked it as a Blem by removing the last three digits of the serial number on the headstock and covering the serial number with a label printed with the new serial number. Downtown Sounds being a guitar retailer should have known this was a 2nd/Blem and advertised it as such. If I had known it was a Blem, I would have asked for a better price....a bit high for a 2nd.
I spent a few hours setting up the bass, cutting the nut slots for better action, setting the truss rod relief, adjusting the bridge height/radius and intonation. The fret work on the bass is excellent, didn't have any sharp ends or high spots. The action and the neck feel great now.
I've played the bass for a few hours now, and it's a nice instrument. I have a quite a few semi acoustic bass's, an expensive German Warwick, a few Korean made, and a couple of Hofner CT's, this Royale is a quality build and has it's own unique tone, I think it sounds great with the flatwounds.
The finish issue is minor, I would have put flatwounds on this bass anyway, and putting the bass in a nice padded gig bag made this a fair deal....Thanks for the sale.
So would I do this deal again....Yes, other than the few dimples in the clearcoat, the bass is mint and has a very cool tone, different than my other semi's. Samick discontinued this bass so they're hard to find. The body is cut from a solid block of mahogany, chambered, and then capped with a quilted maple top, so it doesn't sound like the other semi's..it's heavier than a Jack Cassidy, weighting 9.15 lbs.....It looks different, I like the shape of the body....very cool!!
Would you have done anything different?
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I had the guitar equivalent of this bass in the early 2000s. It was very well made and played great, though the pickups were meh at best. Personally I don't think I'd have paid as much as you did, even without the finish issues, but it should be a solid piece so if you like it you're all good 
Thanks for the reply...You're right I probably paid too much for it, but I don't want to send it back, I can't find these 2 soap bar models anywhere! Before it got here I was thinking maybe changing the pickups to some Aguilar ones, but the more I play it the more I like it just the way it is, it's got this deep rich tone that's so different than the German Warwick Star bass I have. I bought the Warwick Rockstar 5 string last year, sent it back, build quality wasn't good, and the bass didn't do anything for me.
I like everything about your bass.
The woods, hardware, and finish check all my boxes, and I respect Samick's quality.
The woods, hardware, and finish check all my boxes, and I respect Samick's quality.
I liked the size and shape, and was planing on changing the pickups, but now that I've played it for a few hours, I wouldn't change anything about this bass, it has it's own great sound.
I also just pulled the plug on a used B&G Big Sister Crossroads bass. Bought it used, still waiting for it. Ever since the release of the Crossroad line I've wanted to try one. Unfortunately....unless you buy one, or know someone that has one, there's no way to demo it. The custom shop 'Made in Israel', are a bit to pricey for me, especially considering there's no way to play one before you lay out a large sum, but they look great!
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Just got the B&G Big Sister Crossroads...The bass is mint... but I was bummed at first because the action was mega high, I can't believe someone was playing this bass with that action! It took a lot of work on the nut, trust rod and bridge to get the action down, then the 13th fret on the E string buzzed, looked like some scoring on the E side of the fret, that's probably why the action was set so high. I've got fret crowning files, so I worked on that fret and finally got the action nice. I just plugged it in and played through all it's settings. With the Aguilar double pole pickups it's got super tone, this bass is amazing, great neck, and it's only 7.7lbs...The woods and build quality are top notice, and I like the small body, very comfortable. I've got a rehearsal tomorrow, it'll be interesting to hear it in the band mix. So far I'm super impressed with it, it's hard to find semi acoustic bass's that can handle all the songs in a 3 or 4 hour set list....I think this bass can do it.
After gigging with this B&G Big Sister Crossroads bass for over a month now...I like it the more I play it, it's a great bass, super tone, comfy neck, very versatile and light! The bass came with Pyramid Gold 640/A flat wound strings, I've never had these flats before, usually D'Addario, or Thomastik flats...the golds are nice. I use it with a band and also an acoustic trio. If you ever get a chance to play one, try it out....Let me know what you think!
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After doing many gigs and rehearsals with the B&G, it's my #1 choice.....above the Lakland, Sting Ray, all the P and J's I have, the Warwick Star, Jack Cassidy, Guild Starfire's...and a recent purchase of a Rick 4003....All these bass's are great, but there's just something special about this B&G, it sounds great on any song!
Thanks for the report. I own 3 Samick Bass guitars and my RLB-3 is my favorite. Great tone, action is great, and it NEVER goes out of tune! I love mine and am sure you will love yours.
I saw a used Samick in a shop recently, I didn't catch the name of the model at the truss rod cover, it looked a lot like the one in the OP but the sunburst was red and the pickups were like chrome Thunderbird ones.
Any ideas to this model? So far I can't find it on the internet.
Any ideas to this model? So far I can't find it on the internet.
