franzbassist Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) Having been old school and played just P basses for the last couple of years, I recently started hankering to go back to a 5 string, and then something with active EQ, and then I ended up purchasing this wonderful ACG from the guys at Great British Bass Lounge (whose photos I have used, along with a couple from the ACG site, I hope they don't mind). I have to say, for a hand-made bass for just over £1k it's quite something! So, first things first, the spec:[list] [*]Three-piece body of white Limba [*]Neck is Ash/Bubinga/Ash with ebony fingerboard - zero radius fingerboard and asymmetrical neck [*]Pickups are ACG FB with the East P Retro EQ, plus a 4-way rotary pickup selector [*]Hardware is Hipshot Type B bridge (18mm spacing), Hipshot Stringtree, Gotoh GB720 tuners, and Dunlop Dual Design straplocks [/list] First impressions: The bass weighs 8.8lbs, which is right in my comfort zone, and balances perfectly. The body shape is really ergonomic and it's a delight to fly around the neck. Effortless access up top! The asymmetrical neck is lovely. Again, it seems to make playing so effortless, as the thumb sits more naturally behind the lower strings and there's no temptation to grip the neck. The flat fingerboard is a great idea too, and it makes me wonder why we bothered with radiused boards in the first place? The EQ setup is terrific. You can run it passive, with just volume and tone on the first stack knob, or activate the active circuit, based on the East P-Retro, which adds a push/pull ‘bright’ function (pull up knob on the first tone stack), a bass boost (pull up knob on the second tone stack) and boost either the mids or treble and bass (both with variable frequency, all set via the second stack knob). The 4-way rotary pickup selector (third knob) offers: bridge only/bridge and neck in parallel/bridge and neck in series/neck only and gives quick changes to EQ very easily. So, a beautiful, easy to play, and superbly put together British bass.... Edited October 26, 2015 by walbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Congrats, beautiful bass. Welcome to the fold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Preaching to the converted here...congrats on seeing the light.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Beautiful, congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Congrats mate, that really is a beautiful bass! The EQ set up on these basses is a real eye opener, I have the same in my 4 string ACG and you can get a massive variety in passive using just the pickup selector. The active controls are really powerful too. Enjoy the bass, I know I would! Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Very nice! One of these days I would very much like to try a fretless 5 with the filter EQ and the MC pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Nice. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zawinul Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I saw this on bass lounge looks wonderful but way over £1000 unless you talked them down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 [quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1445888030' post='2895112'] I saw this on bass lounge looks wonderful but way over £1000 unless you talked them down [/quote] Way over? Not really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zawinul Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Just jealous wish id snaffled this beauty!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Welcome to the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 The more time I spend on this bass, the more convinced I am it's the best playing fretless I have ever had, which given the number I've owned is quite the compliment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 [quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1446913694' post='2903476'] The more time I spend on this bass, the more convinced I am it's the best playing fretless I have ever had, which given the number I've owned is quite the compliment! [/quote] Alan knows how to put a fretless together, not sure how he does it, but fretless ACGs really are something special. Really glad you're enjoying the bass mate! Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 Alan is a huge fan of fretless bass so its understandable that he get them right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zawinul Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 [quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1446913694' post='2903476'] The more time I spend on this bass, the more convinced I am it's the best playing fretless I have ever had, which given the number I've owned is quite the compliment! [/quote] i\ve only had my alan for a few hours and only played on it for a few minutes... its special...I feel honoured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Lovely bass Alan's got a real talent for making beautiful basses which sit perfectly and play themselves IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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