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GAS Dilemma - Semi's


Skybone

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6 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said:

I have to give a special mention to Hofner's Verythin long scale bass. EVERY time I play it, I get compliments. You get a lot of bass for the money and I took mine on two UK tours and a European tour earlier this year.

Verythin.thumb.jpg.e6f1eb7fad938a0d39e1d1889d37bb7c.jpg

Definitely cool pic of the day award there......:i-m_so_happy:

As foregoing posts show there are some really nice semis in production now - clearly been a resurgence after a couple of decades of deep unfashionability.  Epi Jack Casady tops the list for me.

I have a few vintage ones I love: a couple of Gibbo EB-2's (a '58 and a '69 "D"), a mid -'60's Vox Wyman bass, and a late '80's Steve Smith Custom "EB-2" (long scale / Bart MM pickups).   One I used to have and stupidly moved on was a Gordon Smith Galaxy; anyone sees one please let me know!

 

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  • 6 months later...

Call me an aesthete (and I'm not normally) but there are two deadly faux pas relating to F-holes that I simply couldn't tolerate;

1) wiring showing in the lower one

2) pale, untreated wood showing through the hole. Paint it! Preferably black.

Otherwise, I'd quite like one. But I'm not sure what for! 🤣

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On 23/12/2019 at 15:39, Skybone said:

The 4 string Rockbass Star's are all medium scale from what I've seen.

Yes, the Chinese ones all are but the earlier Korean Pro series are 34" on both the 4 and 5 stringers. Incidentally the Chinese Lee Sklar Starbass  at c.£940 is also 34" .

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If I had the cash to splash, I would personally go straight for a @Chownybass CHB in sapphire burst just to hang on the wall, because they look utterly gorgeous. The finish comes completely alive under lights. The fact that they also sound great is a bonus, I was ready for it to be a bit wumphy and woolly but was amazed by the versatile range of tones available.

image.png.57c57ae7c525fdaca509c412dd5eb541.png

 

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Might be worth having a look at this new model from B&G guitars.  They have two levels of guitars, the more expensive ones are hand built in Israel.  They then have a far eastern version, and this bass is the newest addition.  They should be orderable from The North American Guitar in the uk

 

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2 hours ago, Rich said:

If I had the cash to splash, I would personally go straight for a @Chownybass CHB in sapphire burst just to hang on the wall, because they look utterly gorgeous. The finish comes completely alive under lights. The fact that they also sound great is a bonus, I was ready for it to be a bit wumphy and woolly but was amazed by the versatile range of tones available.

image.png.57c57ae7c525fdaca509c412dd5eb541.png

 

The Chowny's are very tempting, the only thing putting me off them is that the pickups are humbuckers, where I much prefer single coils. The downside of a Semi is changing the pickups, as all the pots need to come out via the treble soundhole, which frankly sounds like a right PITA. Not sure if they have a push/pull for single coil either. Plus I'd need to find some single coil pickups that'd fill the holes.

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I'm here just to fuel you Star Bass craving. Got this for 600€ a month ago (2001, Korean Pro Series). Can't tell much of a difference with the Chinese RockBass versions I had tried before, maybe it's just little finish details (and RockBass' rosewood instead of wenge), I'm sure those will be virtually equally nice to grab.

STILL, I must say the Star Bass is cheating. I chose it because I've owned an Epiphone Viola (and played several Jack Casadys) and decided I don't like real semihollow "spirit" much (mocrophonics, most of those mini humbuckers sound horrible). It feels and plays like a solid body (just sounds louder unplugged). And it sounds like a Jazz Bass with humbucker lows, more delicate/detailed highs, and INSANE SUSTAIN (yes, more than my Stingray5s, mostly I can tell the lows keep pushing the preamp longer, real nice). It can still sound decently hollow with flats.

Only drawback I can think of (not inherent to the StarBass but to most semi hollows/hollows) is the POOR choice of strap pin location (at the heel). I know this is for the sake of "classic authenticity", but couldn't care less, I want my basses to play and hang right and this not only worsens neckdive (much less of a problem in this bass than almost any other bass of the kind) but it also creates a further, even worse, issue: the bass body tilts forward, facing to the floor, SUCKS. I changed the pin location on mine 2 days after getting it (solidifying the top of the upper horn with some epoxy flooding), easy, cheap, and damm solid. It hangs like it should now (facing front) and it also helped neckdive. Except for that the bass is light years away from any semihollow IME. You can grab one used one for what many other of your mentioned choices (Chowny, Gretch, the Jack Casady) cost new or less, and it's definitely a lot more bass for the dough.

Edited by andruca
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2 hours ago, andruca said:

I'm here just to fuel you Star Bass craving. Got this for 600€ a month ago (2001, Korean Pro Series). Can't tell much of a difference with the Chinese RockBass versions I had tried before, maybe it's just little finish details (and RockBass' rosewood instead of wenge), I'm sure those will be virtually equally nice to grab.

BTW you say your's is a 2001. don't you mean 2011? Mines 2012.

2 hours ago, andruca said:

STILL, I must say the Star Bass is cheating. I chose it because I've owned an Epiphone Viola (and played several Jack Casadys) and decided I don't like real semihollow "spirit" much (mocrophonics, most of those mini humbuckers sound horrible). It feels and plays like a solid body (just sounds louder unplugged). And it sounds like a Jazz Bass with humbucker lows, more delicate/detailed highs, and INSANE SUSTAIN (yes, more than my Stingray5s, mostly I can tell the lows keep pushing the preamp longer, real nice). It can still sound decently hollow with flats.

Only drawback I can think of (not inherent to the StarBass but to most semi hollows/hollows) is the POOR choice of strap pin location (at the heel). I know this is for the sake of "classic authenticity", but couldn't care less, I want my basses to play and hang right and this not only worsens neckdive (much less of a problem in this bass than almost any other bass of the kind) but it also creates a further, even worse, issue: the bass body tilts forward, facing to the floor, SUCKS. I changed the pin location on mine 2 days after getting it (solidifying the top of the upper horn with some epoxy flooding), easy, cheap, and damm solid. It hangs like it should now (facing front) and it also helped neckdive. Except for that the bass is light years away from any semihollow IME. You can grab one used one for what many other of your mentioned choices (Chowny, Gretch, the Jack Casady) cost new or less, and it's definitely a lot more bass for the dough.

Secondhand ones only come up very rarely in the UK, I'd been looking for a Korean Pro Series for some time and one only popped up last month that was sensible money.

Edited by yorks5stringer
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4 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

BTW you say your's is a 2001. don't you mean 2011? Mines 2012.

Secondhand ones only come up very rarely in the UK, I'd been looking for a Korean Pro Series for some time and one only popped up last month that was sensible money.

Yep, sorry for the typo, 2011. Same thing here in Spain, only ones seen (rarely) are the RockBass version, and for no less than 700€. I got mine from Italy. Don't know why but Star Basses show up way more frequently used over there, some you can find in Reverb (usually from stores) and there's also mercatinomusicale.com, which is where I spotted mine.

Edited by andruca
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