Chapman MLB1

[Rayman]

Are these any good?

 

Simple as that really!

[NikNik]

For what? Metal?

[40hz]

Never tried one, so my opinion is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike, but their spec is *excellent* Shame the looks don't follow suit. They look like they were drawn by me, aged 15, then magicked into reality. 

[bigsmokebass]

Tried one of a friend's a few years back (when they first released), good specs on paper but seemed lacking in my hands for quality and tone and one style, one finish didn't offer much ( I know we like having some options too 😉) . Cool if you can find one for a good price and that's your thing but ideally, as ever, try before you buy. 

 

I always had high hopes for (Rob) Chapman to create a range of guitars and basses given his experience and knowledge but the basses are no longer made and the guitars have seem to have lost their sparkle. 

 

Chapman guitars only seem good if you're close friends with Rob and fancy a signature 😂

Edited March 27, 2022 by bigsmokebass

[Rayman]

Hmmmm yeah, I saw one on Reverb, and wondered about a punt, but aesthetically I'm not sure.

 

Not for metal at all, I was wondering if it was an all rounder or not....

[gafbass02]

I owned the MLB1DH I thought it looked gorgeous. It played well and sounded ace, but really needed a preamp. The fretting wasn’t the best quality and even my go to guy couldn’t fix the buzz on one fret. It was lovely, but something about it felt off. Like it was made more cheaply than it appeared. That said, I’d own one again. 

[bigsmokebass]

15 hours ago, Rayman said:

Hmmmm yeah, I saw one on Reverb, and wondered about a punt, but aesthetically I'm not sure.

 

Not for metal at all, I was wondering if it was an all rounder or not....

I get you bro. On paper, I couldn't fault it as I'd love nothing more than what it listed and had potential to be: passive basses, exotic woods with hipshot tuners, monorail bridges, humbuckers and may had that fancy Spector/Warwick look for a lot less 😉😂

but alike @gafbass02said about the overall QC and flaws just really took the shine for all they could had been (not that cheap either, especially the Dave Hollingworth!) but QC had always been part of the Chapman brand. I was one of those unfortunate few who purchased the ML-2 which was a huge flop and disappointment. If they weren't returned due to poor craft, they were being sold by thomann (and I believe Andertons) as "decorative items" in the end at a knocked down rate, for potential luthiers to buy, repair and sell for profit or just to null these items being returned and costing the store/supplier/manufacturer more money. 

 

Again though, try before you buy. You might be the lucky one who finds one that passed QC or had someone repair the faults 😉👌🏻

 

 

 

[Rayman]

I think I’ll keep looking, I’m not sure it’s what I need right now.

[fretmeister]

I've not played one, but the bridge placement put me off.

Seems too far forward and the upper horn is quite short. Screams "awful balance" to me.

 

It seems to want to be a cross between a Streamer (or NS) and a Thumb. If it was dirt cheap I might give one a try, but it would have to be really really cheap.