EBS_freak Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='birdy' post='506044' date='Jun 5 2009, 02:13 AM']^^^^^^^^ That's why it is worth the money - Case Closed [/quote] Damn right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozbass Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Mark Latimour' post='503694' date='Jun 2 2009, 12:30 PM']However, on a bass that I will post pics of soon (after I get it), the cost of the finish alone is more than the cost of a Sadowsky.[/quote] Hmm...apologies if this is a little off topic...are we about to see an addition to the Alembic thread...or a Ritter perhaps? Edited June 5, 2009 by lozbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='506034' date='Jun 5 2009, 01:44 AM']Better than US Lakland, Nordy, Sadowsky, Celinder... and actual Fender.[/quote] Have you played Sadowsky and Celinder? What about GB - is it better than your GB's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='Toasted' post='506167' date='Jun 5 2009, 10:30 AM']Have you played Sadowsky and Celinder? What about GB - is it better than your GB's? [/quote] I have... and they are all good instruments, they just don't float my boat as much as the GBs. I can appreciate the quality of the instruments but for me, the Sadowsky doesn't have the range of tones that I am craving for... but it is a superb instrument for a band situation. Put it in the context of a band it really cuts through - no matter what the gig. The voicing of the Sadowsky is great for that and it makes it a great dependable bass that would sit well in most bands - a real workhorse bass. Celinders are fantastic instruments. Built well, fantastic playability - a great bass... but again, the ones that I have played, the sounds out of them are great but not quite what I am looking for. If you are looking for a hand crafted boutique jazz clone, they are definitely there - no question. I remember playing Kiwi's Celinder and being very, very impressed with the playability. Again, I couldn't complain about the craftsmanship but for me, it didn't feel [i]quite[/i] right - but I'm sure there are loads of people for whom it would be perfect. For me the GB has both. The build quality is absolutely spot on and I love the preamp and the tones that I get out of them. It does everything I want and more and they feel exactly how I would want a bass to feel. The first time I held a GB, it just felt [i]right[/i] for me and when I plugged it in, it was as if the sound I was trying to get (which until that point was in my head) was immediately under my fingers. I ended up selling pretty much everything I had and changed it all for GBs. I'm not saying that GBs are everybody's cup of tea but they really speak to me where other instruments have failed. Of course, I understand that everybody's preferences are different. They will be as many people who don't like the activeness of the GBs as those that do... and some people won't want anything that is not jazz bass shaped. The Spitfire is obviously influenced by the jazz, but it's not exactly the same shape. And that's fine. The Alleva Coppolo is the first instrument I have played since the GBs that I have not wanted to put down at any point. Steve lowered the action down for me (I play with a really low action) and not many basses will go that low without buzzing and choking out... and only a severe fret dressing will sort it out - not the case with the AC. Wherever you put the action, it was happy and sounded great. I actually took my Lakland 5 to birdys as a benchmark. We've compared our Laklands before - and we agree there is a significant difference in the Skyline Laklands and the US Laklands (Steve = US and mine = Skyline) but the playability of both Laklands are very similar (although the quality seemed to ooze from the US one over the Skyline one - it just felt more substantial if you know what I mean). Again, my action is spot on for me and although it doesn't get much action (I bought it used as a bass to take to those "places" with chicken wire etc) I love it. Picking up the AC, the action again (especially when birdy lowered it) was great but like the US Lakland, immediately it felt more substantial and a much better quality instrument (as you would hope). On playing the Lakland, it has a perfectly good sound... very jazz like and it will go into Marcus territory no problem... however, when the AC was plugged into the amp... completely different ball game. The sounds out of the AC were far, far superior... and again, the thing that really surprised me - no matter how much you boosted on the preamp, that AC remain very, very quiet... unlike the Lakland which showed the normal single coil interference (and they are split coils on the Lakland). Very impressed. And the B on a 34 inch scale? Quite possible the clearest B on a 34 inch scale. Compared to the Lakland (which is 35 inch scale), it was audibly better - which was a nice surprise. That AC preamp is really nice... Whilst talking basses over some food, (yeah, I put it down at that point) we specifically talked about GB and AC (Steve of course, is familiar with both brands) and we said that we thought they shared alot of similarities. Both are of exceptional build quality and both have very, very strong preamps. I don't know if the view is shared on here but I think the preamp and pickup combinations is the single most important factor in determining the sound of a bass. If you imagine a spectrum running from old school to ultra hi fi modern, we agreed that the GB covered a very wide spread of the spectrum but didn't quite get down to the true passive old school sounds. Conversely, we agreed that the versatility of the AC was also very good, but it was focused more on the other end of the spectrum - it would get that old school passive sound and cover the modern hifi sparkly stuff - but just not to the same extent of the GBs. I like think that I have a wide experience of playing many basses - and in live situations - and I've got to know what I like. The AC and GBs sing to me. Status sing to some guys, Sadowskys works for other guys. I've played/had a lot of them... and I'm settled on what I've got. I'm still a GB man through and through... but I would more than entertain an AC. It really did sing to me... and not many basses do. If I was going to say one thing that I didn't like about the AC - it was the nitro gloss on the back of the neck. It's too sticky at the moment. The GB finish is an off the gun satin finish - it's shinyish but not at all sticky. I like that. Steve said the same thing - but as we both agreed - the nitro on the neck is not going to be hanging around for long. 6 months down the line and that AC will be played in nicely and the stickiness of the neck should be gone. If you ever come up to Brum to see Steve and his AC, let me know and we shall have a big bass gathering where we can try them all out. GBs, ACs, Sadowskys... whatever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Detailed answer. I'm going to spend some time reading. It's great to get into this detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Birdy - isn't it time you started thinking about things like these...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 As BGM says: "Plus: The LG5 is a top quality instrument that boast a fantastic range of bass sounds matched with faultless construction. Minus: The four figure price tag may keep the LG-5 out of reach for many players." Me: Lovely looking and it appears, sounding bass but it's a bit more than four figures....! Just thought, I'm not in breach of any of the new Basschat T&C's I signed up to, by quoting from BGM ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='yorks5stringer' post='506459' date='Jun 5 2009, 04:21 PM']As BGM says: "Plus: The LG5 is a top quality instrument that boast a fantastic range of bass sounds matched with faultless construction. Minus: The four figure price tag may keep the LG-5 out of reach for many players." Me: Lovely looking and it appears, sounding bass but it's a bit more than four figures....! Just thought, I'm not in breach of any of the new Basschat T&C's I signed up to, by quoting from BGM ?[/quote] Here we go... we can share the blame... "Plus: The LG5 is a top quality instrument that boast a fantastic range of bass sounds matched with faultless construction." Shouldn't that be boast[b]s[/b]? Mind you, knowing BGM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 No, you can't blame BGM for that: it was my shoddy proff-reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 [quote name='yorks5stringer' post='506472' date='Jun 5 2009, 04:44 PM']No, you can't blame BGM for that: it was my shoddy proff-reading![/quote] I was going to sya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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