G5 Bass body-Black Korina;Deluxe 5 Neck-Flame Maple, Black Ebony Lined Fretless

[Jack Michaelson]

Very nice!

How ya diggin the tone?

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

That is one splendid lookin' machine!

strung with DR Black Beauties, look nice but too bright for me.

LaBella Tapewound Flats are the answer to that!  They have no "zing" or super high end of metal strings, but all the full midrange & bass of any other string with a steel core.  And they have a unique high end quality that seriously, honestly, no-snake-oilin' gets better with time.  Oh, and they'll last longer than you will if treated properly (ie - not playing with a stainless steel sharpened pick or a chainsaw).  I have a set on my Carvin fretless that is at least 5 years old, possibly older - they still sound great.

 

[baskruit]

Thank you Cagey. I still like the chrome tuners and black body hardware ... it somehow works for me. 

I agree. Lovely build.

 

[Corey P.]

The flame maple and Korina pair very handsomely, and I'm sure this plays great.  Did anything in particular steer you towards the G5 vs. the Gecko?

 

[Picard]

Hey Corey, If I remember right -  the Gecko was more expensive, I didn't visually like the way the neck connected to the body (on the front of the bass) , and  preferred the G5 body shape. No real deep thinking on that, just personal preference.

The flame maple and Korina pair very handsomely, and I'm sure this plays great.  Did anything in particular steer you towards the G5 vs. the Gecko?

 

[Picard]

Very nice! How ya diggin the tone?

Hi Jack,

So, as far as tone, the first words that come to mind are: defined, punchy, exact. The bass enunciates, it speaks clearly, if you will. The open low E string sounds great - very defined -  I think the 34" scale helps that. I mention that as the low E on my  '71 Fender Precision just lacks definition. The Seymour Duncan pickups give me great variance of tone. Maybe these next comments are obvious but the neck pickup with the treble turned way down on the bass and amp create a nice thumpy old school bassy tone. With the bridge pickup I can get a brighter punchy tone that still sounds, organic. 

Other comments on the bass:

This G5 is now strung with Rotosound black nylon bass strings. They give it a more organic bassy sound, less metallic. I am giving the guys at http://www.bassstringsonline.com/ some good business as I experiment with strings!

The neck plays really well. The close spacing of the 5 strings (I bought the neck with a nut width of 1 3/4")  - really helps me as a) I have smaller hands, and b) it is  is similar to my 4 string '71 Precision spacing (which has a 1 1/4" nut I believe).  Conversely my 4 string '66 Fender Precision has a 1 3/4 inch nut - I always struggled playing that one due to the wide string spacing.

Another thing I notice is the combination of neck size, nut width, and fret markers, allow me to play in tune much better. My '66 Fender fretless has dark fret filler, and the Warmoth 'white' filler, really helps me play in tune.

Picard