Rayman Posted May 1, 2011 Posted May 1, 2011 Prosebass/Lakland 5, Ibanez SR505, Ibanez GWB-35, Clover Xpression 5. Fab basses one and all. The Clover really is a sight to behold, and a sound to beheard. Quote
Rayman Posted May 2, 2011 Author Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) It's really great. It has a voice of it's own. Much more laid back than the others, but then it [i]is[/i] passive. FABULOUS slap tone, probably the best of the bunch for that IMO. I had the existing pots pulled out, and two stacked vol/vol bass cut/treble/cut put in, which made a vast difference to the tone. The only issue with it is a small split behind the headstock where the truss rod has obviously been ragged up a bit tight and has strated to crack the neck. Only very minor, but I didn't spot it when I bought it. So far it hasn't made any difference to the performance of the bass. Edited May 2, 2011 by Rayman Quote
Gust0o Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 You've got some lovely basses there, Rayman. What was the decision to release the ESP over any of these? At a look, I'd guess at string spacing - the ESP looks a lot narrower than the basses you've kept. Quote
Rayman Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Indeed so. Plus if I'm honest, it was just a bit [i]too[/i] pointy for me. Although it wasn't [i]that[/i] pointy, everyone who came to gigs were saying....."what's with the heavy metal bass?"........which was getting me down a tad. I have to say, it was capable of any tone you liked, certainly not just rock, but never the less...... Yeah, when the Clover came up for sale, I just had to have it I'm afraid. Edited May 3, 2011 by Rayman Quote
Gust0o Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I think it's the cachet of the ESP brand - they've always been a little heavy metal; still, don't half the metallers use Ibanezes? I love the Clover. The MM near the neck reminds me of my MTD. Great position, right where the strings are most taut. Quote
Rayman Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 [quote name='Gust0o' post='1218766' date='May 3 2011, 04:14 PM']I think it's the cachet of the ESP brand - they've always been a little heavy metal; still, don't half the metallers use Ibanezes? I love the Clover. The MM near the neck reminds me of my MTD. Great position, right where the strings are most taut.[/quote] Yes indeed, the Ibbys do get branded as rock basses, but they're a bit more generic and acceptable looking I guess. Strangely the "Rockest" looking bass I now have is an Ibanez, but not the SR505, the GWB-35. Everyone who sees it expects it to be a [i]monster[/i], and are rather deflated when I tell them it's the sig bass of a jazz fusion player. The Clover's just fab. I did look into the MTDs after you mentioned them before, but then this Clover came up, and that was that, and yeah I'm tending to play over the MM pup most of the time for a nice tight punchy tone. Quote
Gust0o Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 [quote name='Rayman' post='1218781' date='May 3 2011, 04:25 PM']The Clover's just fab. I did look into the MTDs after you mentioned them before, but then this Clover came up, and that was that, and yeah I'm tending to play over the MM pup most of the time for a nice tight punchy tone.[/quote] Horses for courses - sounds like it's doing just the job I thought the MTD might do, and looks a stunner to boot! Nothing wrong with a bit of Gary Willis, eh? Quote
Chris2112 Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 [quote name='Rayman' post='1218010' date='May 2 2011, 08:24 PM']The only issue with it is a small split behind the headstock where the truss rod has obviously been ragged up a bit tight and has strated to crack the neck. Only very minor, but I didn't spot it when I bought it. So far it hasn't made any difference to the performance of the bass.[/quote] Is that something you'll be getting a luthier to look at? Quote
Rayman Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 Nah. Not a lot of point. It doesn't affect the bass at all and has obviously been like it for some time as it looks like someone has tried to fill it previously. My long term plans for the bass were to pull out the pups and mybe make it active, but it sounds so fantastic as it is I've shelved all that. Long term now I'll be thinking about a new neck, maybe a custom job, ebony board type of thing, but for now it's just great as it is. It's funny, I have 3 other basses sat here, but the Prose has become my go to bass at home. Quote
chrismuzz Posted May 6, 2011 Posted May 6, 2011 The Clover looks the most inviting to me too! Always liked that pickup layout, and I bet it sounds the balls! The sexy looks are just a bonus Quote
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