Hi all!
Just thought I'd post some thioughts about the new Explorer that Uwe is graciously letting visit Seattle before making it's way to ze Fatherland (Yes, they'll be in Germany!)
First, it's big - Like Thunderbird size but the body is thicker and has a very solid feel to it, using one of my straps adjusted for a 'Bird I found the bass comfortable on my shoulder at about 10lbs and that while the headstock is small the neck will seek level if you let go. Shortening the strap really didn't change this either and I'm a bit surprised by it since the fin on the upper 'bout is so big, for me it would not be an issue because of how my right arm arm and hand rest on the bass when I'm playing - the headstock is smaller than a modern 'Bird. I found the neck to be a pretty comfy fit for my smallish hands, not quite as much taper from the high to low frets as a 'Bird, but same width at the nut and just a bit thicker in crosssection. With good reason we and others have slagged Gibson on QC, but this bass is really nice, the finish is flawless and nicely done, I've looked it over very carefully and found no bad spots - It just doesn't photograph too well, anyway, the craftsmanship on this example is notably good - Kudos Gibson! The factory set up is certainly acceptable even to my fussiness, were I picking this bass up and playing it in a store I'd be favorably impressed, a few small adjustments to suit my hands and I'd be happy. Fret ends are dressed nicely and all appear well seated too. So I finally had sometime to really enjoy playing this bass - what a pleasant surprise! Since I'm primarily a pick player I started there, with everything dimed using a .73 Dunlop the bass has a great tone - Think of The Fixx on "Red Sky at Night". The position of the neck pup gives it a nice bass tone without mudiness, while the bridge pup tends to accentuate upper mids. Soloing the pups with a pick left me knowing I'd never just use the bridge pup - too thin, not enough bass, a bit of the neck pup is needed for a useful tone. The neck pup solo'd was a nice surprise with good usable tone and variation based on hand placement, note decay is almost 7ender like, I suspect the set neck may have something to do with that too. Overall with a pick I like this bass a lot. I'm not much of a fingerstyle player, with the band only two songs require it, at home however I make it a point to keep my chops and strength up so I tried the bass seated on a stool with the lower bout on my right leg, it's very comfortable and handles well. I found that backing off the neck pup a little gave a nice tone and again a bit quicker note decay and the neck pup solo'd was again very pleasing, full rounded tone and good variations can be had by shifting your right hand position.
So what didn't I like? Well, first the mixed black and chrome hardware, I don't know the reasons since the bass could be done all one way or the other as Gibson is doing the chrome TB Plus, or conversly all black. I also think a pickgaurd would look great too, along with a pup selector switch . For most I think the bass's limitations would be based on it's outward appearance - it may not look like it belongs at church or country gig.
