Cat Burrito Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I did a search on these a while ago and found we'd only had a couple of threads. Last months Bass Guitar Magazine had Les Claypool with a couple of bass oddities - a banjo bass and a resonator bass. Whilst not being a Primus fan, I was impressed with Les Claypool's taste in junk basses. Spending a couple of hours searching around Google and nothing. Ozark and Johnson has brief runs in the UK but I guess it was too gimmicky. Anyhow, I found a US seller based in Houston knocking them out around £150 so thought I'd get one. I checked the tone via YouTube... Amazingly for a cheapie it has a great tone, quite unique as you'd expect. It's neck is straight and the frets are well finished. A bit of hiss in the background with the pickup but what do you expect for a cheap bass? I'm really impressed. I especially like the sound when played with a pick - sounds very clacky and punchy. Now if I can just find that banjo bass... *pics of mine attached. I assume it's from the Bluegrass Republic of China (or similar) although there is no logo or no made in markings. I'd be surprised if it was assembled in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Get some lemon oil on that fingerboard. There was a chap selling a bass banjo locally, could chase up, see where it went. Was made out of a drum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I've got an old resonator g*it*r sitting around waiting for a neck joint repair. I've also got a nice P neck that's not earmarked for anything in particular. Hmm - I wonder... Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Very cool Is it louder than a regular acoustic bass guitar? I love the reso guitar sound and bought one a couple of months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 [quote name='7string' post='599810' date='Sep 16 2009, 12:57 AM']Very cool Is it louder than a regular acoustic bass guitar?[/quote] No, it's not. It's quite unique sounding as stated. It has some volume to it but isn't all that loud. Good enough though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='599630' date='Sep 15 2009, 09:28 PM']Get some lemon oil on that fingerboard. There was a chap selling a bass banjo locally, could chase up, see where it went. Was made out of a drum.[/quote] Interested in the bass banjo if you can do some digging. PM me if there are any developments. These pics are straight out the box so the lemon oil will be happening - I've seen worse so I'm not too worried. It'll look cooler when the fretboard darkens up too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I'm sure I've seen a picture of Les Claypool with a banjo bass no?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Yeah, here he is: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I saw that article too, some very interesting stuff - the resonator sound is very unique, at least to these ears! Cracking price, only £150? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Does that have a proper Dobro/National style resonator, or just something that looks vaguely like it? I used to own a Shaftesbury Resonator Guitar. The resonator itself had only a visual passing resemblance to the real thing. Constructionally it wasn't anything like the same. Consequently it didn't sound like a normal acoustic guitar, but it didn't sound like a real resonator guitar either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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