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Everything posted by grayn
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Congrats, a very cool bass. Nice that your persistance paid off.
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Very cool looking bass. Looks like a precision with a jazz neck.
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Looks cool. Is it a 30" scale?
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I honestly don't think you'll beat this: [url="http://www.promenademusic.co.uk/overwater-j-series-natural"]http://www.promenademusic.co.uk/overwater-j-series-natural[/url]
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If you want aa superb J or P custom, I don't think you'll beat an Overwater.
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Very cool looking. Not keen on the control layout. Could be a lot more comprehensive and versatile. Be interesting to hear it with a real player.
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How about this: [url="http://manchesterbasslounge.com/?p=1911"]http://manchesterbasslounge.com/?p=1911[/url] Tasty Sandberg.
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[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1374137831' post='2145613'] The new Gordon Smith Gryphons are great basses, really good pickups. [/quote] +1 to that. Here's what i think of mine: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/[/url] No wait either, there's a gorgeous blue one, at MBL.
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Why not use the classifieds for a trade. Make sure you get a good, balanced deal. Then, in the future, if you realise you've made a mistake, try another trade. Just a thought.
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I've had 3 Overwaters, 2x 4-stringers and one fiver. All in the jazz bass style. Really great tone and so playable. Top woods and finishing too. Good luck.
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You can't argue about how Fender pretty much invented the electric bass guitar and their designs have been the basis for everything that has followed. Whereas Gibson gave Fender a run for their money, in guitars, no one seemd to really challenge Fender's dominance with basses, in those early days. Most of it is down to getting that design so right. But I wonder is some of it down to us being essentially, really conservative. The 50s and 60s were a time of great change and an upsurge in new thinking. The new instruments and the music they played, were ground breaking. So, what's happened since? Have we just settled for refinements and minor inventions?
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Visit to Mayones Guitars and Basses, Gdansk, Poland
grayn replied to bjelkeman's topic in Bass Guitars
Excellent write up of your visit. Where are you going next? -
Just posted a review: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/[/url]
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I think, like the majority of bass players, I have to like the look of a bass, to want to buy it. And the looks of this Gordon Smith Gryphon, certainly appeals to me. The single colour body(in this case, a lovely Dakota Red), with a pearloid, white scratchplate and matching, red headstock, are rather classic. But all three are shaped in a more innovative, contemporary way. The head has a hint of Burns about it, which is very OK by me. The extended, upper horn, giving better strap balance and retracted, shorter, lower horn, giving better, high fret access are practical and quite beautiful. Also the head is sylish with a practical rake on it, to negate the need for string trees. And to top it off, a stunning, maple fretboard, with highly practical, wear-resistant alloy, Dutch frets. The hardware is all good stuff, with my favourite hardware company Schaller, providing the tuners and strap pegs. The bridge is a very classy Gotoh affair and the pickups are hand wound and made by Gordon Smith, themselves. A rather nice touch, is the brass nut, which is not only cut and fit to perfection but looks glorious against the red, with gold lettering, headstock. The body is heavily contoured, back and front. Which makes it feel very snug against your arms and body and gives a lovely balance and position, with the strap. The short, lower horn makes playing without a strap and balancing the bass on one's leg, a lot trickier though. The Gryphon came set up with very low action. It was still surpringly solid but I had to put the action up a little, for my playing style. It was nice to know it could go that low, though. The bass can get a great slap sound but with the strings being pretty close to the body and pickups, it may not suit players who specialise in that style. The neck is wideish, more P. than J. and is supremely playable. I felt immediately at home with the neck, even though it wasn't like any of my other basses. Access to all parts of the fretboard is easy and comfortable. Again, unlike my other basses, that have distinctive tones, with less variety, the Gryphon gives you a multitude of tonal options. With the usual, master tone and volume, comes 3, 3-way switches. One selects the 2 pickups, in the conventional manner. The other 2, 3-way switches (one for each humbucking pickup) give various coil tapping options. And so, each pickup has 1 HB and 2 S/C modes. So when you add the conventional 3-way pickup selector switch, there is a vast array of sounds to be got from the Gryphon. My favourites, at the moment, are the bridge pickup on HB mode, which is just so warm and yet punchy. And the middle pickup on either S/C mode, which gets a lovely P.bass tone. Both have a ton of definition and character. Nice to have so many choices but as usual, I tend to find 2 or 3 and stick with them. The only negative on this particular instrument's controls, is the 3-way, pickup selector switch, which is a little noisy, in operation. Oh yes, I nearly forgot, the tone knob is push/pull, to activate a treble boost. Which to me is totally un-necessary. Overall, the finish on this bass, is as you'd expect from a handmade instrument. Really excellent. I've really scrutinised it and can find no flaws. Purely on personal taste and being totally over picky, I think the 2 back plates (neck and electrics) finish too close to the edge of their respective parts of the body. My favourite things about this bass are: The shape, colour and contours of it's body. The total "at homeness" of the neck. And the 2 tone settings (previously mentioned) that I use the most. My least favourite thing about this bass is: Too many switches, just look unattractive to my eyes, practical as they are. For me, just HB and 1 S/C mode for each pickup would have been enough. Possibly activated by push/pull on the tone (lose the treble boost) and volume knobs. My other 2 basses (Epiphone Rumblekat & Gibson Grabber) are retro, with loads of period charm, in their tone and looks. The Gordon Smith Gryphon is very much a contemporary bass but sill with loads of nods to the past. Fortunately it's tonal versatility doesn't stop it from having some very characterful tones. It's definitely NOT a jack of all trade trades and master of none. More a jack of many trades and a master of some. The quality in design and manufacture of this bass is undeniable. And when you consider it's price, it's outstanding. To my eyes and ears, it is a high end bass, coming in at a higher-mid price range. Added to which, the more I play it, the more I love it.
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You might want to consider the Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat bass. It's a lovely, short scale semi, that is so much better than it's maeagre price would suggest.
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I would highly recommend the ESP Ltd B-205SM Amazing for the price.
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A follow on from this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210858-brand-new-production-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210858-brand-new-production-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/[/url]
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It's definitely not heavy and I've played far chunkier necks than this Grabber's.
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Following on from this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190884-new-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/page__p__1856434__hl__gordon%20smith__fromsearch__1#entry1856434"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190884-new-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/page__p__1856434__hl__gordon%20smith__fromsearch__1#entry1856434[/url] I can say that I am now the proud and first owner of a Gordon Smith "Gryphon" bass. I went to The Manchester Bass Lounge, this morning. They have worked with the long established English luthiers Gordon Smith, to start production of a bass line, called the Gryphon. The MBL have 2 prototype Gryphons, mentioned in the previous article and two production models, that have slimmer neck profiles and rounded off heels, at the base of the neck. As suggested by the guys in the former thread. This was my first visit to the MBL and it was an absolute pleasure. It's full of wonderful basses and amps and it's owner Drew, is a pleasure to talk to and do business with. I ostenibly went to check out the Gordon Smiths and was so glad I did. I agree with the remarks in the previous thread, concerning the prototypes. The production models, one black, one red, seemed to have taken the suggested improvements on board and I can't believe I've got such a classy, handmade, English bass, for not much dosh at all. Oh yeah, I got the red one. And I was double chuffed, when Drew told me I was now the very first owner of a Gordon Smith Gryphon, production model.
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I like the sound of this one - Ibanez ATK800E Premium
grayn replied to Grand Wazoo's topic in Bass Guitars
I think the bridge gives these basses their identity. Once seen, never forgotten. Love the finish and colour of the body and scratchplate. Looks and sounds a quality instrument. -
Oh come on, you've got to love that freakishly large, F-Vee head. I prefer ebony myself but what have you got against rosewood fretboards?
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Thanks [color="#282828"]umcoo.[/color] [color="#282828"]Though I live an hours drive from Promenade, I go there a lot. Great shop.[/color] [color="#282828"]That restoration sounds interesting, you should post pics.[/color]
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Review posted here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210732-gibson-grabber-3-70s-tribute-bass/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210732-gibson-grabber-3-70s-tribute-bass/[/url]
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I remember, back in the 70s, when the Grabber and it's cousin, the Ripper came out, I thought they were ugly. I hadn't given them much thought since then and so hadn't changed my view. Then, a couple of months ago, I saw this new version, with it's dark, honeyburst finish, black scratchplate and three, big single-coil pickups and I was very attracted to it. I wasn't in the shop looking for a bass and if I had been, it wouldn't have been a Gibson Grabber. But my eyes kept straying to it. After getting my Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat bass, I was really getting into the whole retro thing. And my mind went back to that Grabber, I'd seen. And after checking out a number of "retro" styled basses, I decided the Grabber 3 was the next bass for me. Now the looks of this bass are a little odd-ball. The body is wide with a lot of bevelling. Yet it's depth is relatively thin. The honeyburst finish is rather attractive and a little translucent, allowing some of the wood's grain to show through. Yet there is a large, black scratchplate, which covers alot of the body's front. Then there are the 3, large, rubbery single-coil pickups. And to top it all, literally, is a massive, triangular, Flying-V style headstock, with huge, clover shaped, Grover tuners. Yet somehow, all these attributes come together to give a very cool looking bass, IMO. With this American made bass, Gibson have used many tried and tested features, like the aforementioned F-V head, the traditional 3-point anchored bridge, the old Grover tuners. Then they went and added 3 S/C pickups, with the wackiest wiring/switching. Most other makes would have given the bass individual switches for each pickup. Or at least a 5 or 7 way switch, to get as many combinations as possible. What did Gibson give us? One tone, one volume and a 3-way switch. What!?! For a start, you cannot use any of the pickups on there own. There is a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup, that is always on. Ostensibly to cancel hum. So, this is what you get from the 3-way switch: bridge+middle / all 3 / middle+neck. Now, all this may sound a bit poor to you. It certainly surprised me. Stay with me though. This Grabber is made of just one species of wood and that is maple. Maple body, maple glued in neck and even baked maple, for the fretboard. I'm not sure if the baking hardened the wood or just darkened it, to look more like rosewood. Possibly both. Now maple is known to give a harder, attacking edge to tone. Possibly it may enhance the high-mid frequencies. Anyways, my point is the combination of wood and wierd/innovative pickup wiring does indeed come together to give the Gibson Grabber 3, a very distinctive sound. And yes, that sound could be described as reminiscent of the 70s. No, the wiring doesn't allow a huge variety in tone. But all the tones you can dial in, sound very good and in keeping with the bass's image. It is hard to describe tone but I think the reverse phase, middle pickup, always being there, gives this bass some extra space or width to it's sound. It's a rather lovely characteristic and in conjunction with the all maple construction, that keeps the sound nice and tight, the tone is a real winner. And there's just enough variation in the 3 pickup selection, to adjust to most situations. I don't know how many bassists out there are like me but I've had all singing and dancing basses, that had a huge variety of tones available through multi-switching, coil-taps and a variety of pickups. But almost always, I found a couple sounds I liked and just used my technique to alter things further. So the Grabber's approach is quite appealing and it's tonal range is just great, to my ears. It's very reponsive to playing technique and although powerful, it remains a tight sound, that won't boom all over your gig's or recording's mix. I've really enjoyed playing it with fingers, thumb and plectrum. And with a little palm muting, it's amazing, too. This Grabber is relatively cheap, for a US made bass. So what gives? Probably the cheapest thing about it, is the gigbag it comes with. It's large enough and has a Gibson logo but it's mediocre at best, with not much padding. The bass's knobs and 3-way switch are also nothing special. They work and seem reasonably solid. Only time will tell but they're not the best. Also the traditional, 3-point, Gibbo bridge is not the finest design. But it works and is a sturdy peice of kit. On the positive side, the construction is very solid. Everything fits and works well. The overall finishing is pretty decent too. There's nothing flash here, it's actually quite a workmanlike bass. Playing wise, the bass has a wide, comfortable neck. It does seem to stick out a ways, from your body but I soon got used to that. Mind you I had been playing my short scale bass, for a number of weeks before getting the Grabber. But I actually enjoy switching between the 2, now. Having very much it's own sound, it took me a couple of days playing to really appreciate what this bass can do and how it is very inspiring to play. Having said that the Grabber is such an individual instrument, I can however, see it being someone's mainstay bass. OK, it doesn't cover all the tonal bases but I reckon, with some thought, it could fit rather well, in most musical situations. This is a mid-priced bass and looking at it's parts, that's exactly what it is. But the sum of it's parts, come together to give you a little more than that. I don't know if the team that put this bass together knew exactly what they were doing, or if they just struck lucky. But if any of what I've said about this bass appeals to you, I'd strongly suggest finding one to try out. Not that easy in the UK but worth a try I reckon.
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[quote name='LeftyJ' timestamp='1371927771' post='2119788'] Saw Lefties Soul Connection performing last Saturday, their bass player used one of the original G3's with those white rail pickups through an Ampeg SVT + 8x10. Massive thump, sounded incredible! I also really like the look of Grabbers and Rippers, they're just massive! [/quote] Funnily enough, I used to think that Grabbers and Rippers were quite ugly. Now, I luv 'em. I've just moved from using Ampeg (got too heavy), to a GK head and MarkBass cab and the Grabber sounds awesome through them.