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Money Downy on a Chowny


Frank Blank

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Well I have sold the Godin A4 (slight lip wobble) and on Saturday I put the money from the sale down as a deposit on a Chowny SWB Pro via my local music shop, hopefully they will put that order in with Chowny today. This is the first time I’ve ordered an instrument without trying it first so I’m a bit nervous but I’ve done all the research I can and I think it’s the right bass for me. I just happened to be driving past Bass Direct the previous Saturday so I dropped in because I knew they had an SWB Pro so I managed to see one but I didn’t get a chance to try it, let alone buy it, because the guy in the shop was tied up with other customers, so be it, I didn’t have long anyway but just loooking at it gave me some idea of the quality. So, the guy in the shop told me 6-8 weeks after phoning Chowny, now comes the wait. Hopefully I can sell my Fenders (fretless Modern Player and Aerodyne) so I can get an order in for an SWB-1 fretless and see if having all three types of bass in short scale will actually stop GAS?

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I've not tried a Chowny either Frank. But I must admit, they do look great. And besides, if they're good enough for Scott Whitely....... ;)
Don't forget to post piccies when it arrives....now you just need to nurture your patience
BTW. There is no cure for GAS... it might be abated for a while - but it's just dormant, and will strike again.....

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7 minutes ago, Marc S said:

Don't forget to post piccies when it arrives....now you just need to nurture your patience
BTW. There is no cure for GAS... it might be abated for a while - but it's just dormant, and will strike again.....

Patience isn’t something I have a lot of I must admit!

GAS is sticky isn’t it, I’m beginning to realise that actually finding the correct bass isn’t the end of it.

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23 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Patience isn’t something I have a lot of I must admit!

GAS is sticky isn’t it, I’m beginning to realise that actually finding the correct bass isn’t the end of it.

As you say, it's a more complex thing than just finding the "right" bass.....
I mean, there are ones in pretty colours too.... and fretless ones, and medium scale ones, and upright ones.... and..... ;)

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I must admit, as well as looking pretty damn good, they do look quite small and light, and a bit less bulky to cart about.
They also sound great, from Scott's (and others) videos I've seen. They sound like they certainly don't lack any "heft"
... unlike the Musicmaster I owned back in the day...
I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it, when it arrives now :)

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  • 2 months later...

Heh, I sent an email to @Chownybass yesterday asking for an update on delivery of the latest batch of SWB Pros and I was sent a link to the Marine Traffic website so I could see where the container ship carrying the consignment was. Fantastic, I can now see just how slowly these ships move, ha ha. I have, like the sad trainspotter I am, downloaded the Marine Traffic app and I can report that the bass is in the Indian Ocean south of Oman heading this way at 13.5 knots.

I'm beginning to love this company and I haven’t played one of their basses yet!

Edited by Frank Blank
Grammar error
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I live in Norway, and ordering instruments untested is getting to be a habit. :-)

I ordered the Chowny SWB-1 (standard, as this was before the Pro was introduced) untested, and got the deal with the fretless neck added for a small upcharge in price. It is a great instrument, there's no doubt about that. It's made in India, actually (that's a first for me). I don't know how the weight of the Pro is, I guess it might depend on the woods used, but my mahogany bass is by no means lightweight. Not too bad, either, but it's quite heavy. I like it, though. It sits well and it plays beautiful, and with the Pro-version featuring EMG pickups, I'm positive it will sound even better. :-)

Enjoy the wait, those Pro-models really have the looks, too! Mine is just natural mahogany, and I think it's sweet as well... but some of those Pro models look stunning. Which finish did you order?

My experience with Stephen and Chowny company is truly great. So much so that I did add a CHB-1 to my arsenal, as well. It's getting new strings, too, one of these days. I have a vintage Hagström Concord C-1 from 1967, and I'm hoping that the Chowny can recreate some of the thumpiness from this bass with the right strings. ;-)

Let's see photos when you get it! :)

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4 hours ago, MrWalker said:

I live in Norway, and ordering instruments untested is getting to be a habit. :-)

I ordered the Chowny SWB-1 (standard, as this was before the Pro was introduced) untested, and got the deal with the fretless neck added for a small upcharge in price. It is a great instrument, there's no doubt about that. It's made in India, actually (that's a first for me). I don't know how the weight of the Pro is, I guess it might depend on the woods used, but my mahogany bass is by no means lightweight. Not too bad, either, but it's quite heavy. I like it, though. It sits well and it plays beautiful, and with the Pro-version featuring EMG pickups, I'm positive it will sound even better. :-)

Enjoy the wait, those Pro-models really have the looks, too! Mine is just natural mahogany, and I think it's sweet as well... but some of those Pro models look stunning. Which finish did you order?

My experience with Stephen and Chowny company is truly great. So much so that I did add a CHB-1 to my arsenal, as well. It's getting new strings, too, one of these days. I have a vintage Hagström Concord C-1 from 1967, and I'm hoping that the Chowny can recreate some of the thumpiness from this bass with the right strings. ;-)

Let's see photos when you get it! :)

Thanks for this. I ordered it in ash/walnut. If I like it I'm hoping to get the standard in fretless, unless they would do a fretless pro..? I must ask. I will post pics as soon as I get it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The swb1 is a fab little bass,i asked chowny a few months ago if they could upgrade the innards of mine to pro spec and how much it would cost, they said their guitar tech guy would contact me with details but never did:-(  I eventually put dimarzio model j pickups in it which has improved it,Can anyone recommend a pre amp upgrade please? Thanks x

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10 hours ago, tubbybloke68 said:

The swb1 is a fab little bass,i asked chowny a few months ago if they could upgrade the innards of mine to pro spec and how much it would cost, they said their guitar tech guy would contact me with details but never did:-(  I eventually put dimarzio model j pickups in it which has improved it,Can anyone recommend a pre amp upgrade please? Thanks x

Ah crap! Sorry man. Too many balls in the air. 

EMG BTC Control is what we use. Replaces one of the pots and there is space in the body cavity for it. You can get them pretty reasonably online (Thomann etc)

 

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4 hours ago, Chownybass said:

Haha. It takes about 3 days to unload btw. And then a day or two to get to me. Then I can start dispatching basses. :)

I'm pleased that in lieu of you *actually* having your bass already, I can provide such entertainment tracking it.

I am a bit of a train spotter so the Marine Traffic app is excellent anyway, I have a couple of questions about a fretless SWB so I’ll PM you.

Edited by Frank Blank
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2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Can I just say how relieved I am that it is "Underway using Engine".

It would be quite worrying if they were using the oars ...

As environmentally friendly as the oar might be, I too am relieved at the use of an engine in this case.

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Well the boat bringing my Chowny SWB Pro docked in the very early hours of this morning and left for Rotterdam in the last hour so I am assuming my bass will soon be on its way to Steven and then to me. I took delivery of the Gator GC-ELEC-XL case this morning, odd how frustratingly light it feels!

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