Any love for the Grainger?

[theDeepender]

I never see anything about the Grainger bass. Almost bought one a while back. Anybody wanna brag up on them?

 

[László]

I wanted one when I needed a bass for a project, but couldn't find one, so I got a Music Man. It's a nice bass, but I LOVE the way the Grainger sounds. If you're a real-deal bass player, it's a worthy axe.

I'm a secondary bass player, I hire bass players for lots of projects, so for me the MM is fine.

 

[JasonE]

I like them and wish I had one. I just can't justify the cost of buying one. I don't play bass that much and I have a really nice Fender Deluxe P Bass that I have had for a long time that does everything I need a bass to do. It has active electronics with the P pickup as well as the humbucker like an Ernie Ball bass. It has separate adjustments that boost or cut for High, Mid and Lows. It is a really nice bass. If I didn't have that, I would probably have had a Grainger by now.

 

[alantig]

Grainger the bass? I don't play bass enough - or well enough - to justify one. I suspect a lot of the nuance would be lost on me. I've seen them online and at Experience, but I've never laid hands on one.

Grainger the bassist? Oh yeah...

 

[Malloc]

I had one and it sounded very good *if* one was looking for a very modern tone. Realized I was spending too much time trying to make it sound like an F bass and “downgraded”. Some other minor nitpicks: the battery compartments were rather fiddly, didn’t care for totally non standard pickup sizes since I’m a swapper, and the string spacing was wider than my average sized hands cared for.

 

[GuitarJammin]

I considered one...but the price sent me to Music Man BFR. I play bass sparingly for projects and lend out my bass for projects. I may still get one if I ever see a good deal on one. If the MM hadn't of done the trick I probably would've bought a PRS...but the MM just did everything I wanted.

 

[ViperDoc]

When I started playing in bands in high school, I became then (and am still today) the bass player in my high school rock band (we've been playing now for over 30 years). Perhaps less than many, but I've played a lot of bass. I do not own a Grainger, but I wish I did. The only time I've ever played one was at Experience in 2013, and it was unplugged inside the open warehouse where they had rows and rows of guitars and basses lined up inside that main great room. When I played the bass in my hands, you could hear the unplugged tones bounce around the warehouse. The sustain was incredibly long, the fundamental was broad, dynamic and punchy. The tone was unreal, I would have played the hell out of it if it weren't an Experience display at the time. I'm a set-it-and-forget-it player when it comes to bass controls, but that's what I like about the 5-knob layout. It allows you to tailor the speaking voice of the bass tone at the instrument to get that fundamental exactly where you want it to start. So the Grainger is a win for me. If I didn't have all the basses I've ever needed already, I'd buy one.

 

[theDeepender]

I had one and it sounded very good *if* one was looking for a very modern tone. Realized I was spending too much time trying to make it sound like an F bass and “downgraded”. Some other minor nitpicks: the battery compartments were rather fiddly, didn’t care for totally non standard pickup sizes since I’m a swapper, and the string spacing was wider than my average sized hands cared for.

Some of those were issues for me that made it an “almost” when I was ready to buy. Money in hand and willing to lay it down. But the test drive had me looking elsewhere.

 

[shinksma]

My wife has one, it's her main gigging & practice-away-from-home bass, because it lives in the gig bag. At home she's play her Kingfisher, typically.

We both really like it - the neck width seems just right - and we both have smaller-than-average hand sizes for our genders.

the battery compartments were rather fiddly

Which reminds me, the batteries need replacing...been playing in passive pup mode...

 

[alantig]

"When I started playing in bands in high school, I became then (and am still today) the bass player in my high school rock band (we've been playing now for over 30 years).

You still haven’t graduated?

 

[ViperDoc]

You still haven’t graduated?

What can I say, I’m a work in progress. Never rush a masterpiece.

 

[alantig]

What can I say, I’m a work in progress. Never rush a masterpiece.

I can see that, but this is reaching Boston's Third Album/Chinese Democracy levels of not rushing.

 

[DISTORT6]

You still haven’t graduated?

Oldest Guy At The Prom Award winner!

 

[ViperDoc]

Oldest Guy At The Prom Award winner!

"I'd like to thank my homeroom teacher for believing in my potential, helping me keep my cubby clean, and letting me have extra juice at recess."

 

[Alnus Rubra]

"I'd like to thank my homeroom teacher for believing in my potential, helping me keep my cubby clean, and letting me have extra juice at recess."

Looks like Leslie Phillips “ding dong”

 

[MonningerForPresident]

I started in high school too. Now 51 but current band may as well still be in high school. We don't feel tardy, but I bet we are.

I have one, my gift to me as a congratulations to me for being me and not selling out all these years and going off and making loads of money playing music, but instead sticking to my roots as a completely unheard of grungy dinosaur rock hack to being a completely unheard of jammy dad rock hack. I thanked myself profusely at the awards show for my sticking to my principles against having lots of money and freedom and pretty ladies by the ocean, and they had to turn the power off on me.

I really love it. 35 of years of playing good music badly has given me time to appreciate it for what it is. It is an extraordinarily stunning instrument to look of course, but this tone is exactly what I am after, and the neck/weight/proportions all fit me like a non-OJ glove. "The bottom's low and the treble's clear." I get enough variation with pick vs fingers, the pre-amp and tone shape it enough for me for everything except slap. People would likely pay me NOT to slap on the best rig invented for that, so no loss. The only beef I have about it is that the body shape does dig in to my right forearm, but never fear. I know about a guy named Phil and his thrifty yet patriotic solution.

I love it. Hugely expensive, but it wasn't about raw value for me. I just saw it and had to have it before I died. It was only after purchasing it from Eddie's Guitars and getting it actually in my hands that I realized what an excellent decision I had made. Nailed it.

 

[theDeepender]

I started in high school too. Now 51 but current band may as well still be in high school. We don't feel tardy, but I bet we are.

I have one, my gift to me as a congratulations to me for being me and not selling out all these years and going off and making loads of money playing music, but instead sticking to my roots as a completely unheard of grungy dinosaur rock hack to being a completely unheard of jammy dad rock hack. I thanked myself profusely at the awards show for my sticking to my principles against having lots of money and freedom and pretty ladies by the ocean, and they had to turn the power off on me.

I really love it. 35 of years of playing good music badly has given me time to appreciate it for what it is. It is an extraordinarily stunning instrument to look of course, but this tone is exactly what I am after, and the neck/weight/proportions all fit me like a non-OJ glove. "The bottom's low and the treble's clear." I get enough variation with pick vs fingers, the pre-amp and tone shape it enough for me for everything except slap. People would likely pay me NOT to slap on the best rig invented for that, so no loss. The only beef I have about it is that the body shape does dig in to my right forearm, but never fear. I know about a guy named Phil and his thrifty yet patriotic solution.

I love it. Hugely expensive, but it wasn't about raw value for me. I just saw it and had to have it before I died. It was only after purchasing it from Eddie's Guitars and getting it actually in my hands that I realized what an excellent decision I had made. Nailed it.

That’s good to hear. I never see anyone talking about them, and I was curious.