Hey all,
So in the span of one week, I've sold my old bass and acquired my two new basses. It's been delightful. The first bass I got was a Shen SB90, the second was an Upton Brescian. Both have Spirocores on (Spiro club, yasss!); Weich gauge. Both of these are D necks - the Shen is 41.25" (according to the site) and the Upton is a 42" string length - which is a big change for me as I've been playing on a 42.5" Eb neck since my first bass. I'm noticing a lot of intonation issues that I'm gonna have to work on. Anyways, onto the basses.
The Shen: I've put a Krivo Magnetic pickup on this beautiful blonde bass, because this is my motown/soul/funk bass (what can I say, I don't like playing electric bass. lol). It's played through a pedalboard with tuner, compressor, volume, octaver, envelope filter, and a slight overdrive, going into a MarkBass Little Marcus 800 and a 2x10. The amplified sound has got that P-bass vibe but with a hint of acoustic... I like it. Objectively speaking: it's not phenomenal, but it's definitely not bad - the big plus is that it tends to sit well in the mix from what I've played around with so far though the Krivo's poles are a bit finicky. Why a "blonde bass"? Honestly, because it was different and you see it so rarely. Why the vinyl sticker? All the sound is coming from the mag pickup so the loss of sound doesn't impact me and this symbol is what I gig under. Love it or hate it, this is what I wanted. The Shen sounds decent un-amplified, nothing to write home about. As for playability, it's got a really really comfortable body as it sits against me - that's obviously very subjective. However, it's got a darn thick neck - I'm not used to it so getting around has taken a bit of getting used to! But let's be real, it's an entry level instrument that I bought for gigging in basically a rock band with - I'm happy with it and it gets the job done. Some pics of Romi (after Hiromi Uehara).
Next up: The Upton Brescian.
Wow. Just... wow. It's so big. It's so loud. It's so brash. I love it and it scares me. I ordered it a year and a bit ago and it's finally been delivered. This is gonna be used for straight ahead jazz stuff. As you can see it has a Fishman pickup on it. This'll be going into an Acoustic Image Clarus and then a DoubleShot (whenever I save up to get them as that's another $2.5kCAD and I am not a rich boy). As you can see, I got the sex swoop on the fingerboard for extra saucyness (I don't know what this actually means, but I'll stick with it). I love the colour that they came up with from my description of what I wanted for the varnish (wine red/purple underneath, with a chocolate brown on top). This is the hybrid (I couldn't afford the fully carved one.... nor do I really need one for my level of playing) - so plywood body with carved spruce top. The neck on this thing is unbelievable - it just begs to be played. I'm sure everyone has preferences, but dang, this fits me well. Speaking of fit, the body and shoulders are VERY different from what I am used to, so that'll take some adjustment - I can't say anything negative or positive regarding it at this point. The sound is rich - dark and warm and loud overall, the lower tones have a nice growl to them, the highs are nice and defined but still... chocolatey(?), the mids are smooth and clear. Ugh, so lovely. I really want to get someone to play this so I can hear it from far away. I also can't wait to get this in the studio and hear what it sounds like with a good mic. I also purchased a Messina cover for the Upton. It's really really great - thinner than my Bobelock, but definitely seems just as sturdy, as it's quite form fitting to the bass. Anyway, some pics of Stella.
so that's it.
It's been a crazy week and I'm looking forward to mastering my new instruments.
So in the span of one week, I've sold my old bass and acquired my two new basses. It's been delightful. The first bass I got was a Shen SB90, the second was an Upton Brescian. Both have Spirocores on (Spiro club, yasss!); Weich gauge. Both of these are D necks - the Shen is 41.25" (according to the site) and the Upton is a 42" string length - which is a big change for me as I've been playing on a 42.5" Eb neck since my first bass. I'm noticing a lot of intonation issues that I'm gonna have to work on. Anyways, onto the basses.
The Shen: I've put a Krivo Magnetic pickup on this beautiful blonde bass, because this is my motown/soul/funk bass (what can I say, I don't like playing electric bass. lol). It's played through a pedalboard with tuner, compressor, volume, octaver, envelope filter, and a slight overdrive, going into a MarkBass Little Marcus 800 and a 2x10. The amplified sound has got that P-bass vibe but with a hint of acoustic... I like it. Objectively speaking: it's not phenomenal, but it's definitely not bad - the big plus is that it tends to sit well in the mix from what I've played around with so far though the Krivo's poles are a bit finicky. Why a "blonde bass"? Honestly, because it was different and you see it so rarely. Why the vinyl sticker? All the sound is coming from the mag pickup so the loss of sound doesn't impact me and this symbol is what I gig under. Love it or hate it, this is what I wanted. The Shen sounds decent un-amplified, nothing to write home about. As for playability, it's got a really really comfortable body as it sits against me - that's obviously very subjective. However, it's got a darn thick neck - I'm not used to it so getting around has taken a bit of getting used to! But let's be real, it's an entry level instrument that I bought for gigging in basically a rock band with - I'm happy with it and it gets the job done. Some pics of Romi (after Hiromi Uehara).
Next up: The Upton Brescian.
Wow. Just... wow. It's so big. It's so loud. It's so brash. I love it and it scares me. I ordered it a year and a bit ago and it's finally been delivered. This is gonna be used for straight ahead jazz stuff. As you can see it has a Fishman pickup on it. This'll be going into an Acoustic Image Clarus and then a DoubleShot (whenever I save up to get them as that's another $2.5kCAD and I am not a rich boy). As you can see, I got the sex swoop on the fingerboard for extra saucyness (I don't know what this actually means, but I'll stick with it). I love the colour that they came up with from my description of what I wanted for the varnish (wine red/purple underneath, with a chocolate brown on top). This is the hybrid (I couldn't afford the fully carved one.... nor do I really need one for my level of playing) - so plywood body with carved spruce top. The neck on this thing is unbelievable - it just begs to be played. I'm sure everyone has preferences, but dang, this fits me well. Speaking of fit, the body and shoulders are VERY different from what I am used to, so that'll take some adjustment - I can't say anything negative or positive regarding it at this point. The sound is rich - dark and warm and loud overall, the lower tones have a nice growl to them, the highs are nice and defined but still... chocolatey(?), the mids are smooth and clear. Ugh, so lovely. I really want to get someone to play this so I can hear it from far away. I also can't wait to get this in the studio and hear what it sounds like with a good mic. I also purchased a Messina cover for the Upton. It's really really great - thinner than my Bobelock, but definitely seems just as sturdy, as it's quite form fitting to the bass. Anyway, some pics of Stella.
so that's it.
It's been a crazy week and I'm looking forward to mastering my new instruments.
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