So I decided to pick up an inexpensive 5 string to add to my German Corvette and my US made Fender Deluxe Jazz. I absolutely love my Corvette standard and almost everyone I play with prefers how it sounds over the Fender.
I've seen some really fine examples of offshore craftmanship lately by various manufacturers so at this price point I decided to take a chance and buy online. First I found a screaming deal on a Hamer Cruise bass and tried that. Nice looking guitar, beautiful finish, but the electronics were absolutely crap. Did not like the sound at all and figured it wasn't really worth retrofitting....especially when I saw another deal on a Rockbass Corvette with active electronics, trusty MEC pups and 'hand rubbed' honey violin finish. So after reading a bunch of positive reviews and telling myself that it was not going to be the equal of my German made Corvette, I went ahead and ordered.
Well it just came and I've spent the last few hours setting it up and playing it. Here's a few observations...
At a quick glance the finish looked nice, but looking closer I'm thinking the body could have been sanded alot more with finer grits - curved surfaces showing coarse end grain, etc. Had I seen it first I would not have bought it for that reason alone. But that's the chance you take and I figured if it sounds good I'll live with that cosmetic issue.
After setting it up I started playing around with it. First impression was that it sounded REALLY good (way better than the Hamer) - except for the B string. The low B had a weird clanky, dead sound. Tried all the usual things to no avail. I noticed that the slot in the saddle for the B was actually a bit too narrow and the string was pinched and not bottoming in the slot - I could see light underneath it. So I took a small round file and opened up the slot a tiny bit. Tried it again but didn't help. So in desperation I switched B strings with the Hamer. That made ALL the difference... so first thing I gotta do is get a new set of strings.
Bottom line - it sounds great, has similarities to my German Corvette but a bit different. But I gotta say the finish of the body, even for a budget instrument is pretty weak in my opinion. Even still, with how it sounds and plays, I will probably keep it.
Anyone else feel this way about the Chinese oiled finishes?
I've seen some really fine examples of offshore craftmanship lately by various manufacturers so at this price point I decided to take a chance and buy online. First I found a screaming deal on a Hamer Cruise bass and tried that. Nice looking guitar, beautiful finish, but the electronics were absolutely crap. Did not like the sound at all and figured it wasn't really worth retrofitting....especially when I saw another deal on a Rockbass Corvette with active electronics, trusty MEC pups and 'hand rubbed' honey violin finish. So after reading a bunch of positive reviews and telling myself that it was not going to be the equal of my German made Corvette, I went ahead and ordered.
Well it just came and I've spent the last few hours setting it up and playing it. Here's a few observations...
At a quick glance the finish looked nice, but looking closer I'm thinking the body could have been sanded alot more with finer grits - curved surfaces showing coarse end grain, etc. Had I seen it first I would not have bought it for that reason alone. But that's the chance you take and I figured if it sounds good I'll live with that cosmetic issue.
After setting it up I started playing around with it. First impression was that it sounded REALLY good (way better than the Hamer) - except for the B string. The low B had a weird clanky, dead sound. Tried all the usual things to no avail. I noticed that the slot in the saddle for the B was actually a bit too narrow and the string was pinched and not bottoming in the slot - I could see light underneath it. So I took a small round file and opened up the slot a tiny bit. Tried it again but didn't help. So in desperation I switched B strings with the Hamer. That made ALL the difference... so first thing I gotta do is get a new set of strings.
Bottom line - it sounds great, has similarities to my German Corvette but a bit different. But I gotta say the finish of the body, even for a budget instrument is pretty weak in my opinion. Even still, with how it sounds and plays, I will probably keep it.
Anyone else feel this way about the Chinese oiled finishes?
In all the pics I've seen so far (and I'm not talking about the official ones) the new RBs' finish looks stunning. Even the few old RBs I've seen & played so far had a very decent finish...