Clover bass guitars - Quality?

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

I don't know much about bass outside the usual suspects, and I came across this brand just today.

The Apeiron H5:



It looks wonderful, and the price is alright too, £1450.


Now, how would this compare (build wise, I understand sound is subjective and all that) to a Fender 5 Jazz at £1413:




Or my dream bass, a Musicman Stingray 5 double humbucker at £1700ish.


Is the clover up to scratch build quality wise against these 2 USA basses? How do the parts compare? How does it sound?

My bass amp is a Markbass Mini CMD121p.

Thanks to anyone who can help

[thodrik]

I haven't played one myself but a guy I know changed from playing a five string Musicman Stingray to a five string Clover Avenger. He said that the Clover quality is pretty top notch for build quality and compares wellwith pretty much any US brand.

I would suggest trying one to see if you like it. Once you get over a certain price point when buying new, pretty much all basses are going to well made with decent parts and electronics. After that what sounds 'good' is a matter of personal preference which can vary wildly. Try doing a search for 'Sadowsky Metro' on this site to see examples of this!

My personal feeling is that the active tone circuits and pickups made by Fender are not of the quality as other 'souped up' Jazz bass designs like Sandberg and Clover etc.

Sorry for any thread derail but is there/was there any connection between Sandberg and Clover? I only ask because the Fender-based designs look really similar, right down to the Delano pickups.

[ezbass]

I haven't heard anything but really good things about Clovers and the one I played (a five string) was brilliant. I've often wondered about the Sandberg/Clover connection, but other than both makes being German and top notch I don't know. FWIW I adore my Sandberg, the Glockenclang preamp is really natural sounding without any unusable sounds, I don't know if these are the same as fitted on the Clovers though.

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

I can't try one, which is annoying, but that cream/shell 5 string looks hella nice.

[Musicman20]

I did look into these a year back when looking for a new 5 string bass.

As nice as I think they are in the aesthetics, I knew all I wanted was either a good 5 string Jazz, or a Stingray 5. Ive wanted a Ray 5 for 15 + years, so I took the plunge.

Probably the best decision Ive made for a while, but its all subjective.

I went for white/brown tort (not red)/rosewood. HS pickups give lots of sound options, but the traditional MM H...well, its awesome. The B is clear, easy to get used to (as I was learning) and doesnt override the other strings.

If you want a Jazz, then it would have to be a passive with active option Jazz for me...or pure passive. Anything with a H? In my eyes, Musicman!

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1337846' date='Aug 12 2011, 04:23 PM']I did look into these a year back when looking for a new 5 string bass.

As nice as I think they are in the aesthetics, I knew all I wanted was either a good 5 string Jazz, or a Stingray 5. Ive wanted a Ray 5 for 15 + years, so I took the plunge.

Probably the best decision Ive made for a while, but its all subjective.

I went for white/brown tort (not red)/rosewood. HS pickups give lots of sound options, but the traditional MM H...well, its awesome. The B is clear, easy to get used to (as I was learning) and doesnt override the other strings.

If you want a Jazz, then it would have to be a passive with active option Jazz for me...or pure passive. Anything with a H? In my eyes, Musicman![/quote]

it's got delano's hybrid system.... it either does passive single coils, and also can switch to a active humbucker mode.

[Musicman20]

Sounds greats, but for me, I've never heard a H pickup as good as a Musicman.

[clarkpegasus4001]

They look great to me. As anyone here tried a Clover Apeiron Classic 4?

[JTUK]

For that sort of money you really don't want to have to get into how well it is made..that should be a given, but sadly it may well still be factor.

That Clover looks very nice but you are getting into Overwater territory and SH Sei..both of which will be TOP notch in terms of build.

You chould also add a Metro Sadowsky which again you will know the build just will not be an issue. Value for money is another thing though.. so I would say
SH Sei Jazz (£1400-ISH) is about the best thing to come up on here, pretty much, if you want a Fender type clone thing.

That block and bound Fender J5 needs a closer look and play as well, IMV....

I can see why you have picked both of them from a visual POV.

[ThomBassmonkey]

Clovers remind me very much of Sandbergs. Similar price, same shape and pickups, both look great IMO. I've never played one but from seeing them up close they look well made.

[Chris2112]

I wish they would make the Slapper bass again!

[thodrik]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1339759' date='Aug 14 2011, 04:51 PM']I wish they would make the Slapper bass again!

[/quote]

Is that a graphite/carbon-based neck? That is pretty cool.

If so its funny that they would shift from those designs to the more standard wooden neck designs they have now. Mind you I really like the look of the XP basses, which kinda look a bit like Wals on a budget. Anybody have any knowledge of the history of the company? I'm guessing that there was a takeover of some kind, or there has been a change in designers.

[alanbass1]

I had a Clover Avenger 5 and the build quality and sound is as good as anything out there. The only reason I passed it on was that it was my final attempt at getting into playing 5 stringers which (predictably) failed. The Delano pick-ups and switching options on the Avenger were superb giving what seemed unlimited sound options. I would hughly recommend.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='thodrik' post='1339910' date='Aug 14 2011, 07:12 PM']Is that a graphite/carbon-based neck? That is pretty cool.

If so its funny that they would shift from those designs to the more standard wooden neck designs they have now. Mind you I really like the look of the XP basses, which kinda look a bit like Wals on a budget. Anybody have any knowledge of the history of the company? I'm guessing that there was a takeover of some kind, or there has been a change in designers.[/quote]

Yes, that is a carbon fibre neck, although that picture doesn't show it. It's a shame, as German luthier Schack was doing the same sort of thing at the same time, namely great headless designs with carbon graphite necks. Both companies sort of moved away from that although Schack stayed with the high end of the market, making handmade basses of a more conventional design whilst Clover went down the 'super jazz' route. I'd say a change of designer or even owner seems likely, as they completely overhauled their business model from small, artisan items to these more mass produced basses we see today.

[yelees]

Hey y'all, I can attest to Clover's being amazing build quality, amazing sound and super easy to play. I have a Clover Aperion H4 which is absolutely gorgeous, I sold my Rickenbacker to buy it (the Rick was a POS in comparison, would you believe it).

If you're into 5 stringers, then I would absolutely not hesitate to buy one **except** I am both a multi-instrumentalist (guitar mainly) and also have a lot of other hobbies and now I have a job with very long hours so I hardly get to touch my bass and as such, I'm selling it (I'm also moving to the US in a few weeks and don't fancy shipping it ). What I've found frustrating is that there are only a few select people that know the quality of these basses and so I'm having trouble selling it - I've come to realise that unless I'm 99% sure I want to keep something for life, I shouldn't buy boutique, I should make do with the crappier mass-produced stuff (like the Rick which sold in about 10 hours!).

Here's my FS thread, in case you're interested: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/127567-fs-clover-apeiron-h4-london-uk/ if you are, let me know soon as I'm going to take it to Camden Bass Gallery, North London to sell it on commission (ugh).

If you want to buy a 5 stringer or something, I can highly recommend Mark Stickley at Bass Direct, he normally has a couple in stock and he sells them below RRP - usually around £1250ish. Nice dude, too.

Peace!

Peace

[Chris2112]

Hmm, they're still not making the Slapper bass! Bring it back!

[Stinky]

the original Clover brand was founded by German luthier Reinhard Jedanzik in the Eighties and built high end modern basses centered around SKC manufactured graphite necks. The same necks as used by Shack and Slapper basses btw.

the modern Clover company was started by an ex-employee of Reinhard and has dropped the graphite necks all together and concentrates on Jazz clones and a couple of proprietary designs. all wood, no graphite.

i recently sold a Clover Basstard 5 string with graphite neck that i'd played for a couple of years because it became redundant since i bought my Fbass BN5 and that was a really good solid bass with all the characteristics you'd expect from a graphite bass.

i've also tried a couple of the modern Apeirons and the quality is still top notch and if had to chose between a Sandberg or a Clover i'd have a hard time choosing.

[TheGreek]

I played a Clover at the LBGS earlier this year which I feel rivals any of the current ctop of "superjazzes" - it compared well to my Overwater J4 which you can see in my avatar. Build quality was up there, tone was superb..for the money you're planning on spending you would expect to get something of top quality..

[thodrik]

[quote name='Stinky' timestamp='1320067594' post='1421785']
the original Clover brand was founded by German luthier Reinhard Jedanzik in the Eighties and built high end modern basses centered around SKC manufactured graphite necks. The same necks as used by Shack and Slapper basses btw.

the modern Clover company was started by an ex-employee of Reinhard and has dropped the graphite necks all together and concentrates on Jazz clones and a couple of proprietary designs. all wood, no graphite.

i recently sold a Clover Basstard 5 string with graphite neck that i'd played for a couple of years because it became redundant since i bought my Fbass BN5 and that was a really good solid bass with all the characteristics you'd expect from a graphite bass.

i've also tried a couple of the modern Apeirons and the quality is still top notch and if had to chose between a Sandberg or a Clover i'd have a hard time choosing.
[/quote]

Thanks for the information. I thought that there had to be some kind of change of designers for there to be such a change.