For those that don't know, I was (and still am) one of the local LGM Schector Geeks. Constantly promoting the bass to all those who are unfortunate enough to have never played one and only have "hear say" to judge it by.
Long story short, I got a
SMOKING[/color] deal on a used Carvin LB75 and decided to put it in the ring with my trusty Schector. Who's the winner?! The faithful standby, or the new kid in town??? Let's get it on!!!
The Contender:The previous owner of my LB75 was also a lefty but he played the bass strung like a right-handeder. I started off playing this way a few years ago but later switched to "true" lefty style and needed to do a setup on the bass before being able to play it. Be warned!!! The following is not a "HOW TO" guide but more so the method that I used to set up my bass. I figured that if I goofed up severely, the worst that could happen would be a mandatory trip to GC or Sam Ashe to get a new nut installed.
First I popped the nut off, cleaned the area that it was mounted on and flipped it around.
Next I used some lemon oil to polish up the bass and man is it gorgeous...the wood grain is simply beautiful. Let everything sit for a few hours to give the super glue on the nut some time to dry as well as giving the body some time to soak up the lemon oil.
The action is still way too high for my tastes (haven't moved ANYTHING since flipping the nut/strings around) but I'm loving the bass already
These are just my preliminary thoughts but I'll come back with more info after lowering the action some and getting more comfy with things.
The Defending Champ:For about the past year, I've been quick to sing out compliments for Schector basses since IMO (along with a few other
) they are highly under rated basses due to a simple lack of available knowledge. Having spent plenty of time with this bass, I've come to enjoy it's sound and consider it to be an excellent "bang-for-the-buck" bass. I bought my Stiletto Studio 5 used (with case) for about $460 last summer and since then have come to love it's incredable sustain and flexable tone. For the money, I don't believe I could've found a better bass.
Thus far, my only complaints are that the bass can become a bit neck heavy if played standing up for a long period of time and the string spacing is a little tight for slapping as well. IIRC, spacing between strings is 16mm at the bridge and often times it's difficult to play a clean slap line unless you're used to the tight spacing. One final thing that I'll add is that I'm tuned down to Bb and the B string can get a little muddy at times. I don't really consider this to be a real "issue" since most people will use standard tuning but it's still something to consider if you also tune flat.
Blah, blah, blah, Where's the Sound Clips?[/u]
For now, here's a quick comparo between my Schector Stiletto Studio 5 and the Carvin LB75. The Studio 5 has the bass and mids at full boost, the treble is flat. The volume on both pickups is set at ~25%. FWIW, the LB75 is on a fresh set of strings while the Studio 5's strings are about 2 monthes old.
The EQ on the Carvin is set FLAT through the entire recording….needless to say I am nothing short of amazed at the colorful tones this bass is capable of when dialed in.. The coil split switch was in the “down” position and the blend knob was set at 50/50 with the volume at ~25%.
I'll get some pics of each bass tonight but for now, here are the teaser clips. Enjoy, and let me know what other clips you’d like to hear from each bass!
Schector Stiletto Studio 5Carvin LB75God Bless,
-J
