Samuel Shen 7/8 Maple Flatback?

Sounds like you have already made up your mind to me.

 

Well you can check out the prices of new Shens here:

http://www.samuelshen.com/

Why does this bass need so much work? Some are upgrades but a new FB?

 

It sounds like you found a good one. I favored the 7/8 size basses I played right away also, and even though mine's not a Shen, it has a distinctly lower voiced tonality compared to most 3/4 instruments I've played and that was also true of a 7/8 Chritopher hybrid that I once tried out a few years ago. Mine & the Chris were 5-string with solid BB and EE strings.

The nice 7/8 size basses don't come along near as often as the 3/4 ones, so if you like it as much as your love affair suggests, make the committment. Also search the posts for Shen and read what others have reported on performance. It seems like Beerman's has upgraded the hardware a bit (someone reported endpin issues with original Shen endpins) and that saves you potential headaches. That is a kind of serious commitment price, but also a level that is a solid investment.

 

Yup, you're in love. You won't be able to sleep until you get her.

Don't wait too long to make your decision or someone else will ask her to dance.

 

I'm hooked up with the object of your desire's little sister, a 3/4 Willow.
She can really move a lot of air, so I know that the 7/8 will be all the better in that regard. But I'd think twice before getting a new fingerboard. My bass's board recently got a little bit of re-shaping work done by Lisa Gass here in LA. It was plenty thick enough to have a bit of it original scoop reduced and it's radius flattend out a little. She had plenty of fingerboard to work with. Even after this process there is still sufficent mass to it, no sort of springboard effect at it's end. Durring some recent time spent in China I had the opportunity to see and played a bunch of the Shens at the factory and at Sam Shen's new showroom in Shanghai, including the 7/8 basses. None of these seemed to have fingerboards that were thin, at least in my opinion.

 

I have a shen 7/8 willow flatback, and it's a pretty remarkable bass. For the most part I love it--it just sings, it's so easy to make sound with it. The middle register is exceptionally sweet; it's even across all positions. I have three mild criticisms

1. the endpin sometimes slips a bit--it sometimes wants to drop down like 1/4 inch. For the dough, it should have a better endpin--but yours already does

2. it sometimes seems a little too bright to me--which might be the spirocores. for the size (see below) it's not all that deep a sound. But I've only ever tried it with spirocores, which are bright and thin-ish

3. It's big--I miss the more convenient 3/4 size. It's hard to maneuver in small clubs, hard to keep safe between sets: I get more nervous because it's more expensive and because it's so honkin' big.

Beyond those things, i just love it. it's a joy to play

 

I also have a 3/4 shen willow. It's a nice bass.
Yes mine is bright too, i had a new bridge cut, the fingerboard reshaped some with a little scoop added...and it was plenty thick, the luthier that did the work even commented on how thick the FB was (as well as the quality of the instrument).
i have no problems with my endpin, but i make sure i find the groove in the pin everytime.
My bass is real fat in the midrange and and upper register too.

 

I too have the Shen 7/8, in maple. It's a nice bass, sounds good and is indestructible. The only downsides I can see to these are a: they weigh a lot and can be a pain to haul around, and b: as far as I can tell there is a whole array of bits and peices that these basses can come with, and some are better than others. For example, mine came with all very nice hardware, but the machines are pretty junk and the fingerboard is not a good piece of wood; it's had to be re-worked several times because of warpage/twisting and it's still not very good. I'd say if you find one that's well outfitted at a good price, buy it, because it's a great all around instrument that will last forever and won't give you any headaches.

 

I've only had mine for about 4 months, hard to say

 

Where is Shen located? I really want to be able to test these basses out and hear how they sound...

 

Shen basses like the Willow and Maple 7/8's and Willow 3/4's are finely crafted in China. Their U.S. rep is John Spruage, who can be found right here on Talkbass.com. He could surely tell you where a Shen could be found to check out in your area.
My Shen is also quite new, just a few months old. I've been told that the best way to break-in a young bass is just to simply play it a lot and to spend lots of time playing it arco. I can't honestly say if in the half year or so that I've owned it that it's sound has changed much but it does seem to be a bit, "warmer" that it was when I first got it. It's my understanding that good carved basses often take years to realize their potenial sound-wise. This is gives me much to look forward to, as I allready like my bass's sound very much. I can certainly say that my Shen bass is a "keeper" and is going to sound better and better in it's own time.

 

There is a recent thread on the Set-up and Repair forum about one "opening up" perhaps prematurely.

 

get us some pics mister

 

good job Shen!

If anyone has questions about this bass, I'll be glad to answer!

Chad[/QUOTE]

Chad/Charles,

I think you described earlier that this is a 7/8 bass. What is the string length or scale of the bass?

Thanks,