grayn Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 What a beauty Love the little flag on the pick guard, the red really sparks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Unbelieveable value too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 [quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1381819256' post='2244043'] Unbelieveable value too [/quote] Did I miss what the price was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I saw a review in Bass Guitar Magazine and I'm pretty sure it came in at a bit under a grand - considering this is hand made in the UK I think that's pretty good value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayn Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Just to confirm, the Gryphon did come in at under a grand. Such good value IMO, that I couldn't resist another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 The batwing headstock puts me in mind of a burns, another Brit maker. The neck plate is quite a practical shape, allowing the body edge to be chamfered away by the neck joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayn Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Apart from the obvious differences, of having a rosewood fretboard and being blue, this second Gryphon has a Hipshot, instead of Gotoh, bridge and a slightly wider headstock. Both are a joy to hear and play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Just looked on the G-S website, prices from £1425! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayn Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 I got my 2 from the Manchester Bass Lounge, who helped with the Gryphon's design. Both were under a grand. Drew who owns the MBL said they may go up in price. He does still have one at the lower price and some earlier versions of the final Gryphon design. If I'd paid 14 or 15 hundred quid for my basses, I'd still be happy but glad I didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengreen49 Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 What a lovely looking thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebenezer Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 saw two of these at the NE guitar show.....quite nice,but the neck joints(pockets) were poorly machined(just my opinion tho) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flat Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) I do own one of the first Gryphons: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:150930] Well, im thinking about trading the bass, because i prefer jazz bass necks... Edited January 22, 2014 by flat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisc671 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Very interesting to see how Gordon Smith have improved over the years. I bought one back in the late seventies/early eighties. No idea if it had a name but it was a purple colour and had a serial no. of 000037. I was told at the time that it had been made for the bassist with Billy J Kramer, but that may have been salesman bullshit. Would love to know who has it now and what they think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I'm on the fence with the looks of these basses, although that blue one looks great. The long upper horn/short bottom horn and carving looks a little Curbow esque to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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