Godin A5

[johans]

hi guys,

im looking at a fretless bass for approx 700-850$ price range

on my mind i have a Godin A5 fretless, never played it, good review and famous too
any take on this? any experience? anyone ever use one? what's the good and bad parts on this bass?

 

[johans]

also ..

can anyone explain to me this

there's Fretless electric bass like stingray fretless, bongo fretless, ... there're also those Acoustic Fretless electric bass like the godin A5, carvin ACF ....

what are the pros and cons on electric and acoustic fretless bass actually?
soundwise? quality? tone wise? the resonance? the price?

let me know


thanks

 

[johans]

here are more details ...
Godin A5 Fretless ($900) - either cognac burst or natural finish
----------------------------------------------------------
Rock Maple neck
Rosewood Fingerboard on Fretted Version, Ebony on Fretless version
16" fingerboard radius
34 " Scale
1 13/16" nut width (5-String)
1 1/2" nut width (4-String)
Two-Chamber Silver Leaf Maple body
Solid Cedar Top
LR Baggs Ribbon Transducer and custom preamp
Volume, Mid, Treble and Bass controls
Natural Semi-Gloss


Carvin AC-50 ($829) ... some color will add price ..
----------------------------------------------------------
construction/scale
neck-through, 34" scale
body
Mahogany with AAA Engleman Spruce top
neck
Maple neck-through, graphite reinforced
neck width
1.75" wide @ nut, 2.75" wide @ 24th fret
fingerboard
ebony
inlays
standard dot
hardware
Chrome
bridge
ebony acoustic with strings fed through body & tusc saddle
frets
24 medium jumbo .103" wide X .048" tall
pickups
L.R. baggs ribbon transducer
electronics
Active w/ master volume, bass, treble
tuners
Carvin premium 20:1 ratio
standard colors
black, white, red, pearl white, pearl red, pearl blue, tung oil, clear gloss
guitar dimensions
46" long, 13.4" wide body, 1.8" thick body
weight
6.75 lbs

 

[jongitarz]

Get a fretless SUB

 

[johans]

is there a fretless sub??
never really seen one in store jon

 

[lowstrung]

I took one home for a day and tried it. Sounds good acousticaly if you could hear it. I pluged it to my amp and it was a feedback m@#$%er. Get a frettless SR. Thats my opinion. $800.00-$900.00 could be better spent. I really wanted this bass to work out for church.

 

[TSanders]

Godin?? I thought this was an Ernie Ball Musicman forum.

 

[Rayan]

Like Women & Cars - Good, Fast, Cheap - pick any 2

imho, Assuming Equal Playability ...
if $$$ is the issue, research past magazine reviews on entry level fretless 4 strings and then test your own short list ...
if sound is the issue, as above but be prepared to cough up more $$$ ...
if overall quality of construction, setup and sound are your issues, then maybe hold off, save more $$$, and diddle over what colour SR5 you want ... and since you're already in that price range, consider the Piezo bridge ...
Unless of course you know you're going to live and play bass on planet Earth more than once ...
~
The time I waited saving $$$ for my SR5 Fretless Piezo was more than worth the wait ... and I'm probably a better sounding fretless player now because I had the extra time to focus on listening skills, intonation and LH technique before those factors became absolutely critical ...
but then what would I know - I'm just an amateur /Rayan

 

[jongitarz]

Johans,

Yes there is a fretless SUB. There hasn't been a lot of them made yet, but there are more fretless SUB's out there than fretless Bongos.

 

[midopa]

I've seen a fretless SUB up for sale at BassNW.com. Doesn't look too bad! Check it out www.bassnw.com. It's somewhere in there.

 

[MingusBASS]

I'll let you know on monday. I was suposed to get my Godin in the mail today but I wasn't home to sign for it so UPS is coming back monday. I have played them before and I didn't get the same result as lowstrung as far as feedback goes. I got a pretty good deal off of the bay on a brand new Godin A5 fretless.

Andrew

 

[johans]

pm me mingusbass

thanksss
what you got?
a5 fretless?

 

[JB1]

I think an acoustic would be nice, but as mentioned before, they are prone to f/back (mine does!).

I agree with the consensus that a sub would be ideal.

Good luck.

 

[basspastor]

Godin?? I thought this was an Ernie Ball Musicman forum.

I was just thinking the same thing.
I have a SR SUB and it *********************, it is awesome.
However I want to sell it and buy a sterling, the sterling would serve my purpose much better.

 

[Rayan]

We ARE talking about fretless here right?

I have a SR SUB and it *********************, it is awesome.However I want to sell it and buy a sterling, the sterling would serve my purpose much better.

me = kurious and/or konfused by now /Rayan

 

[johans]

I think an acoustic would be nice, but as mentioned before, they are prone to f/back (mine does!).

I agree with the consensus that a sub would be ideal.

Good luck.

f/back?

 

[MingusBASS]

I would say he means "feedback"

Andrew

 

[johans]

ah
that's helps

thanks andrew
let me know about your review

how much do you got it?
where from?

 

[JB1]

Feedback indeed.

I don't have a Godin (mines a slightly cheaper 'Alliance' - cost about £400), but yep, get feedback if I'm not careful with the preamp.

I would suggest that as I do - use a solid body bass and save the acoustic for home practice.

Good luck.

 

[MingusBASS]

It all comes down to what kind of sound you want. Do you want an electric fretless sound or a more acoustic sound? I play upright also but I gotta say the Godin is the closest I've seen a bass guitar come to getting that sound. There might be others that cost much much more but feedback is just something you have to solve. How many acoustic guitar players perform live? The Potential for feedback is great but if you want that sound you deal with it.

Andrew