fronobulax
Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
- Joined
- May 3, 2007
- Messages
- 24,806
- Reaction score
- 8,933
- Location
- Central Virginia, USA
- Guild Total
- 5
My favorite of the pre-sale cell phone camera pictures. I will eventually take and post some of my own. 1982 B-50 bass with Guild case and after-market Baggs I-Beam pickup installed. The seller's description said "the arched back and sides are mahogany and the top is vintage toned AAA sitka spruce. The fretboard and bridge are rosewood and the neck is mahogany. The silver plated tuning machines are Guild." and that is correct as far as I can tell. One of the things that I appreciated about LMG 2010 was learning to appreciate an acoustic guitar as a finely crafted work of art and this bass definitely rates high on that standard.
I bought it as an upgrade to my B-4 based upon the opinions of Grot and Smithfield Fair and an understanding of physics that suggested bigger would be louder. They were right.
Compared to the B-4 the B-50 is huge with the biggest difference being depth. It is almost awkward in comparison although that is probably just because I am used to smaller instruments. I have already noticed I look at the fingerboard a lot and I actually cannot see all four strings in some playing positions.
I can feel the back of the B-50 vibrating while playing which was not true of the B-4. The tone of the B-50 is sweet and it rings. In fairness to the B-4 I could be comparing strings of dubious age and origin as well as the instruments the strings are on. It seems louder although the acid test will be to see what happens with someone else playing with me. The B-4 could just barely hold its own in a living room against a D-25 cannon so I will repeat that experiment as soon as I get a chance.
I plugged it in to an amp and almost immediately got feedback. I'm going to have to remember that is a problem. The PU reproduces the sound of the bass well but in a dining room with a 5 foot cord it isn't being amplified too much before feedback kicks in. More experimentation is called for.
I'm really happy with it.
Part of the pre-purchase negotiations with Mrs. Fro. included an understanding that the B-4 would get sold. I'm not yet organized but one picture is here. There is a black B-4 that has been offered, but unsold, for about a year on eBay and other places. Its current price is $775. I believe my B-4 is in better condition and will be offered for less. I'd love a preemptive PM. :wink:
Time to go play it again.