For those of you who have both, how does the Greco bird compare to an NR. Going by memory of the little I got to play one, I *think* they are similar?
The Greco II and IV are both reverses, so the reach and the lap balance is a bit different than a Gibby 21 NR. I like the feel of both the NR and Reverse bodies but they are very different when sitting or standing.
The neck on my NR is much more rounded than my Greco necks, width is about the same IIRC. I have over 20 Tbirds and I’d say my 21 NR is quite possibly the most effortless bass of the bunch to play. I don’t know why, to the best of my knowledge I have the same Fender strings on it as I do several other Tbirds and action is set about the same as well, but this one just darn near plays itself.
As far as sound goes - the NR is more laid back and warmer, not mellow but just smooth and deep. The Grecos have a more aggressive sound and are capable of blasting out many other basses in volume, and thickness of tone, kind of a wall of bass sound. Simply stated, the magic of the Grecos is their pickups and placements, nothing else about the brand is anything beyond Epiphone or Gibson.
Quality of components and build goes to the Gibson. The Grecos are solid basses but the stock hardware is not at Gibson quality levels. Finishes and woodworking are about equal between the two brands.
If I was in the Greco buying mood I’d be looking for a nice clean original 1970’s era single pickup model in the sub $1300 range. That’s a configuration you can’t get from Eppi or Gibby. If the Gibby NR and the Greco II were both for sale at the same price in the $1500 or higher range I’d probably very reluctantly go for the NR and second guess myself to death. I just have a hard time seeing the justification for asking prices north of $1300 on Grecos. They sound great, but don’t really play or feel or look any better than an Epiphone CP, which can be had for sub $800 pricing and sounds almost as good as a Greco and every bit as good as an NR (as long as you get the one or two year run CP with the special pup placement).
If you send it here, I promise I'll play it in live situations and report back. It might take a few dozen gigs to really get a good read though.
