[quote name='geoffbassist' timestamp='1356087128' post='1906576']
Great rig! I used the GK combo for years and you still can't beat it for weight and size. With the extension it sounded even better. I also love obligatos and often think about revisiting them. I think they sound great when they are new. Also lovley under the bow. A lot of people didn't like the string roll but I actually quite liked it.
5-8 mm is a great string hight and I'm guessing it means your bass is set up really well.
Are you happy with the Shen?
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Yes, I love the Obligatos, and I switched to them originally because they do bow beautifully. But then I found that I also loved the very traditional pizz sound too.
All my bass work, including this set up, is done by Robert Ross, a master luthier here in Colorado area. He makes his own basses, which are incredible, but alas, beyond my budget.
I have been very happy with the CK set up when combined with the extension cab. It was only adequate prior to getting the extension cab, but that cab boosts the power to 150W and also adds a lot of room on the low end. The cab is 12 pounds, and the combo is 35 pounds, or something. Can't beat that.
I like the Shen a lot. I played it in Robert's showroom and was amazed at the punch and round openness of the sound for a new factory bass. And especially at that price point! The craftsmanship is very nice, and of course Robert did a great job with the set up on the nut, bridge, and scooping the fingerboard. He also, as a standard practice, upgrades the endpins and modifies the tailpiece, which helps.
The bass which is really amazing to me is that Eminence portable. Check out the youtubes of Marc Johnson playing his with John Abercrombie, or Esperanza Spalding, who also frequently travels with one. It is not an EUB. It is a fully acoustic bass, with the exact same construction, only a reduced size body. But it is fully acoustic - soundpost and everything. Wonderful invention for the traveling bassist that can be placed in its flight case in the overhead compartment of the airplane!