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GWB35 vs SRF705


Woodinblack
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I have a VM fretless Jazz, which is ok but I am a 5 string player so it is not as useful as it could be an I am cutting down on my 5 strings.

I would really like a SRF705, but I have neither seen or played one, so it is just down to reviews. However, i don't use fretless much so I thought I could just get the GWB instead, as they come up all the time in the £300/350 range, I have never seen an SRF705 come up second hand! I did think of trying to trade my SRFF805 for one, but not sure.

I just noticed that the SRFs are down to mid £600s new, whereas the GWBs are more expensive, which is the other way round to what I assumed would be the case. Are SRFs just unusual to buy or do people just hang on to them when they have them?

The SRF seems like it would be more versatile with the pickup options and the longer neck - has anyone tried both?

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I've had both, and I still have the SRFF. :)

The GWB is lighter, has a nicer neck, has the funky GWB tuners, and seems to balance a little better, plus it has fret lines. But the tone isn't too good and the rudimentary active electronics are noisy and don't really enhance the sound much. The SRFF is a much better-built instrument (through neck, higher quality finish, etc), plus it has the piezo bridge for added thump. It also comes from the factory with flatwounds, which suit it pretty well. The only downside with it is the electronics - the Bartolini Mk1's sound pretty good considering they're basically cheap, stock OEM pickups with a boutique pickup manufacturer's name on, but the tone controls are pretty ineffective, and, even with roundwounds on, it's more difficult than it should be to coax the classic fretless 'mwah' or the classic Jaco sound out of it - one thing this bass really needs is a midrange control. The piezo works well if you want that thumpy upright-style thing (which, with the flats, is pretty easy to achieve), but is pretty useless otherwise as it's either too thumpy or too bright and zingy, with not much in between.

So, I'd pick the SRFF, but the tone may not be for everyone.

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I have the Portamento, and I think it's the bee's knees! Strung with La Bella black nylon tape wounds, the piezo absolutely sings, and those strings sound great with the Bartolini's, too. A hugely versatile instrument.
The neck pup sounds just like a Precision, the bridge pup sounds just like a Jazz, and the two together are tone nirvana!
Buy one, go on, do.

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I treat it like a passive instrument, leave it flat, just cut the treble a bit when on the back pickup.
I also took the finish off the back of the neck, and I think I might be convinced it improved the tone. Certainly improved the feel, anyway...

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