symcbass

I've had a Shen SB100 I bought from the now ceased trading Norton Customs in the US. Brent's basses were beautiful Light weight, very well made bass. Nicely finished, has good bottom end, and projects well. Very happy with mine, made in 2003 and still going strong after being gigged for years. Only upgrades I made were a new thick endpin and a Pecanic tailpiece, strung with Innovation RAB E and A strings, and Gotz gut G & D. Lovely bass to play. for those of you not familiar with Brent's work, www.nortoncustoms.com

Check out Rockabillybass.com for good feedback ideas. I've got 2 laminates and a carved top, through the years I've tried everything, from high density foam between the tailpiece and body, to sealing the f-holes with foam too. Now It's careful EQ'ing, choice of pickups and a good preamp. I'm using the D-TAR Solstice as a pre, and as much as It sounds nice, the Realist does not like volume. I still use my Underwood, much louder than the Realist, more aggressive sounding, also the Rev Solo 11 is about the same output as the Underwood, just a bit more natural sounding. Just my two cents..........

[quote name='Clarky' post='264738' date='Aug 18 2008, 05:12 PM']Can I ask if you think the E and A are better than on Weedwackers (if you have tried them)? I have put a set of Weedwackers on my DB and after a month or two of settling in they are still too quiet and undefined for my liking. Thx[/quote] I love the sound of plain gut E and A, not so much the weedwacker E and A. Just more fundamental with the guts, but for me, I find they just don't have enough sustain, and I can't dig into them. They are OK amplified, but not for me when played acoustic. I use Innovation Rockabilly or Silver Slap E and A strings with plain gut G and D strings(weedwackers are very similar) to get a balance I like.

If you like them, they're great for the money. poor man's gut strings. They behave quite like gut, once they are stretched in they hold their tuning a little better than gut, especially at a hot humid gig and they don't need the same care as guts to make them last. I just find the E and A a little flubby, but if they amplify well, a great set of strings for the dosh. They don't snap easily, as long a your nut and bridge are neat with no sharp edges etc. I used similar Rad Dragon strings in the 90's and they lasted for years.