Emilé Gillet, (carved basses under $3k)
We are currently sold out of our EG basses and will no
longer be able to offer them. For a short while we
tried to substitute the EG's with "The Affordable Bass" model
that we bought from a trusted distributor. Shortly thereafter,
we came to the conclusion that these basses were just not made with
high enough standards that we are known for and so we had no choice
but to discontinue them.
Now what? It's going to be difficult to
find a fully carved bass any longer under $3k that you can safely
buy without it falling apart afterwards. Remember what our
Moms and Dads told us: "If it sounds too
good to be true....it is!" The problem here that
most players and customers don't always understand is that while you
may first think that you can easily find and buy a fully carved bass
for under or around $3k, once you get it home, they will almost
always develop issues: tops cracking, backs shrinking and bursting
past the rib edges etc... repairs all of which can quickly and
easily surpass your initial total cost of the bass. These repairs
are expensive.
If you simply cannot or do not want to pay more than $3,000 for a
bass, then your best bet would to simply buy a good hybrid bass,
which has a fully carved spruce top, but with laminate sides and
back. They sound almost (very close) to a carved bass, but
hold up incredibly well. Look towards our Thompson
RM-200 Hybrid basses, or we will also often substitute these for a
nice Shen SB-150 when we're out of the Thompsons. Sometimes
players will (wrongly) think that a fully carved bass will always be
better than a bass that isn't fully carved (hybrids), but when a
hybrid is set up professionally, they have a very similar complexity
of tone and response, without the worry and/or future costly
repairs.
Still want a fully carved (dependable) bass? We
love the Shen SB-200 Willow flat back model. They are made quite
well and have a very good track record with wood stability. We do
not post prices on these, but please call us for the best price.
All of the Shens we sell will have our own special, professional set
ups, upgraded bridge with the special Delrin bridge adjusters as
well as a new cover. They will feel and play great! All
included here in our one stop shop, low price.(480-785-5491 shop
line)
We'll leave our old script here
in case anyone still wants information about the Emile Gillet
basses.
One of the basses that we sell here now more and more are the
Shen SB-200 Willow flat back basses. While they used to be
totally solid wood, Shen is now making all of their 'fully carved'
basses using laminated ribs. For them and at this (lower)
price range, we cannot really hear any real difference in tone
or sound with the different ribs. They do it, not to save
money, but to make their basses stronger and more hearty.
Again, it's that North American extreme seasonal change that can be
hard on a bass. Again, for this price range, you simply cannot
do better than the Shen SB-200 Willow Flatback. We sell these
with a nice hinese padded cover (included) with the bass, with the
customer's choice of strings he wants (included in the price) ,
upgraded maple bridge and Delrin bridge adjusters and of course with
our revered, professional set up we do here.
Emile Gillet basses. If you have ever tried
looking for a new carved bass under $3,000 before, you know that it
is next to impossible to find something that is high quality, well
made, includes a professional set up and at the same
time....dependable. These basses are made by the same people that
make our famous Emilé
Gillet fine cellos and are specially made for us. They are fully
hand carved basses. (Even the back is carved!) The Gillet
upright bass is modeled after an Amati bass and is a
normal, 3/4 size bass. The top is made with quality spruce. The
neck, sides, and back are all solid maple and have nice ebony
fingerboards. The bass plays with a warm tone and it is amazing at
any price. This bass (like our
Wan-Bernadel
upright basses) is recommended to only ship by air cargo. See
more about trying a bass at our How to Try a
Bass page.
(We've taken as many photos of this bass so that you can see
every angle. Click on any smaller image below here for a greater,
detailed view)
Emilé Gillet upright basses ($2,950) plus
shipping:
Who buys these? For the money, the new Emile Gillet
basses (pronounced Jee-Lay')
are actually even cheaper than some expensive plywood basses being
offered elsewhere. They are made just as well or better than the
expensive hybrid upright or carved upright basses much more in
price. The Gillet basses have quality workmanship, a
beautiful appearance and sound. They also come with a 2 year
warranty to assure our quality. Again, our reputation for quality is
unrivaled and is our first priority.
New!
Check out our new, special
Amazing Bass Packaged Deals page where you can add a pickup or
any other accessory that we offer here.
Bass measurements: length of back
43 3/4", width across shoulders (upper bouts) is 19", lower bouts 25
1/4" and the string length is 42".
Email us.
How we are able to get the prices cheap? The wood is well
seasoned and aged (fully warranted), but is a simpler more plainer
wood grain. There is naturally some flame and grain in most of these
basses, but because it is a plainer wood grain, it helps keep the
price down. Keeping in mind that about 95% of all the early 20th
century German carved basses used only plain maple. The varnish is a
beautiful hand applied spirit varnish. While the tuners are German
Rubners, we use their cheaper plate tuners which are still really
nice tuners, but not the most elaborate. All other accessories used
are specially approved for quality and workmanship. We let the
customers choose any brand strings that we offer. (For gut strings,
a little extra is charged.) We even include a good, deluxe padded
bass tuff-Bag cover with the bass. Lastly...why the cheap price
tags? We wanted to offer a good, solidly built bass, that will
easily rival any other bass in price and quality.
The Emilé Gillet upright check list:
- All hand carved, bass
- carved top, carved back (not flat)
- hand rubbed spirit varnish (beautiful amber brown)
- ebony purfling
- Rubner (German) plated tuners
- good quality ebony fingerboard
- French imported Despiau bridge, with Delrin adjusters
- nice, deluxe padded
Tuff-Bag bass cover included in price
- 2 year warranty
(this means, if the bass cracks or opens or anything related to
premature shrinkage or quality workmanship defect, we repair the
bass free of charge)
For more information you can call or email us at
basses@stringemporium.com
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