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Shergold is back.....


Low End Bee
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I stumbled across this [url="https://www.shergoldguitars.com/"]https://www.shergoldguitars.com/[/url]

My first 'proper' bass was a black and maple Marathon I bought new in 1978. I loved that bass. I got carried away with branding and replaced with a '68 P bass which I didn't like as much. Anyway it looks like they're re-imagining the Shergold line as a kind of hipster tw*t accessory. Apart from the Shergold'ish body shape I don't care for the guitars much. They really need a maple neck for a start. I wonder if basses are on the agenda?

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[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1487176908' post='3237796']
I wonder if basses are on the agenda?
[/quote]

From the FAQ:

Q. Will you make Shergold basses?
A. Give us time! We’ll get there.

I'll reserve judgement until I've had a chance to actually play one, but based on the photographs and descriptions on the web site I can't help but agree with the comments above. Design-wise they appear to have little of the quirkiness that made the originals so interesting and appealing.

I wonder if they are going to make any modular double-necks?

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[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1487182042' post='3237859']
I like that in the FAQs they make clear about the working practices of the manufacturers and decent ethics. I feel that's important and would draw me to their products.
[/quote]

I do very much support this but unfortunately I was so repulsed I never made it to the FAQ.

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I think there is quite a lot to like, the rosewood neck, decent pickups, locking tuners, and those inlays are a nice touch.
If the quality is along the lines of the Faith acoustics, or they play like the Eggles from the '90s, they should be really decent instruments.
If they had just been replicas of the original, they could equally be criticized, like many do of Fender and Gibson, of simply 're-hashing decades old ideas and designs.
Maybe the logo should be a guy standing next to a cnc router :)

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Yep i had the first 8 string they did. Because they hadn't made one before they suggested adapting the 6 string they had and here it as my twin neck 4 & 8 from circa 1978 -1980 if memory serves me right. Might have been a bit earlier.

[attachment=238279:old photos_0004_NEW (2).jpg]

Dave

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[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1487196053' post='3238040']
Yep i had the first 8 string they did. Because they hadn't made one before they suggested adapting the 6 string they had and here it as my twin neck 4 & 8 from circa 1978 -1980 if memory serves me right. Might have been a bit earlier.

[attachment=238279:old photos_0004_NEW (2).jpg]

Dave
[/quote]

Any idea what the serial number was on that one Dave?

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[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1487234571' post='3238172']
Any idea what the serial number was on that one Dave?
[/quote]

Afraid not. Not sure if the photos have a date as they were taken as soon as i got it. Checked and photos aren't dated but looking at reference points from other pics i have and when i started playing i think this might be 78. It was my 2nd bass after a Columbas Jazz. I started playing in 76 and would have had the Columbas about 2yrs before buying the Shergold. Latest would be late 78 / early 79.

It was so long ago and a bit heavy for me. Traded it for an Aria SB1000. Cost me £630. That bit i can remember LOL
I remember the conversations with Shergold (not sure who i was talking to) and they said they didn't make 8 strings altho they were looking at the possibilty. At that time Mike Rutherford was a big part of it and he played an 8 string bass and i think they wanted Mike to use one they had designed along with the twin neck he had.
They suggested to me that they didn't have their systems set up for one as they didn't make full custom basses but could adapt their existing 6 string neck if that would be ok to me.
Being young and naive i went with it.
It was a great bass to play. The necks were fantastic and they had that distinct Shergold sound.

Dave

Edited by dmccombe7
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[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1487236251' post='3238190']
Afraid not. Not sure if the photos have a date as they were taken as soon as i got it. Checked and photos aren't dated but looking at reference points from other pics i have and when i started playing i think this might be 78. It was my 2nd bass after a Columbas Jazz. I started playing in 76 and would have had the Columbas about 2yrs before buying the Shergold. Latest would be late 78 / early 79.

It was so long ago and a bit heavy for me. Traded it for an Aria SB1000. Cost me £630. That bit i can remember LOL
I remember the conversations with Shergold (not sure who i was talking to) and they said they didn't make 8 strings altho they were looking at the possibilty. At that time Mike Rutherford was a big part of it and he played an 8 string bass and i think they wanted Mike to use one they had designed along with the twin neck he had.
They suggested to me that they didn't have their systems set up for one as they didn't make full custom basses but could adapt their existing 6 string neck if that would be ok to me.
Being young and naive i went with it.
It was a great bass to play. The necks were fantastic and they had that distinct Shergold sound.

Dave
[/quote]

Interesting story Dave, thanks for sharing. My 4/8 double neck had a great 4-string neck, exactly what you'd expect from Shergold. The 8-string was a bit difficult though. The serial number was 8401, following their convention for the first two numbers being the number of strings per neck. The -01 doesn't necessarily mean it was the first one, as your story supports, but it's a curious theory.

As far as I can remember Mike Rutherford is credited with using an 8-string on Wind & Wuthering and Seconds Out, but the songs it's used in aren't mentioned. The only overlap between those two albums is Afterglow, which doesn't sound like an 8 to me. Happy to be proved wrong though!

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[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1487176908' post='3237796']
Anyway it looks like they're re-imagining the Shergold line as a kind of [b]hipster tw*t[/b] accessory...
[/quote]

This is something people seem to be accusing me of more and more often recently...

To be fair I do have a large beard and selection of flannel shirts, but in my defense I have a job, no trust fund and my girlfriend doesn't wear her grandmothers clothing...

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