I've been looking at (semi)hollowbodies lately and just bought one (an Italia Torino Bass) and thought I'd share my experiences with that bass so far and how I got to buy that one, as more of you may be interested.
When looking around for available lefty options, I got to four basses that are easy to get through dealers here in the Netherlands. I know there may be more options (like DiPinto and Davison) but those brands do not have dealers over here so I would only be able to buy them on the net without being able to give them (or even a righthanded version) a try. Turns out I did buy a bass without trying it in the end
The four basses I compared are the following:
The Italia Torino Bass:
I instantly fell in love with the Italia based on looks and specs alone. It's a British-designed and Korean-made semihollow instrument, with a solid maple sustainblock. The body has a bound laminated spruce top and back and laminated maple sides. The set neck is made of maple with a bound rosewood fingerboard and pearloid block inlays.
I loved the idea of having that big and fat Mudbucker in the neck position (as I like the sound of a Gibson EB-2 or Epiphone Rivoli) in combination with a bridge humbucker, and I like the big singlecut design. Individual volume and tone for each pickup also make a wide array of tones available, in theory. I was never actually able to give one a try, but looks and specs alone did it for me. I was also able to get it at 2/3 of the regular price (on eBay Germany) which made it even more tempting.
The Ibanez AGB200:
I have always liked Ibanez and have owned various. I currently have 3 ATK's, and an MC924 on the way. So I was really eager to give this one a try. The ABG200 has a bound laminated maple top, back and sides and a solid maple sustainblock. The laminated set neck is made of maple and mahogany with a bound rosewood fingerboard. The AGB200 has two minihumbuckers, one placed directly at the neck and one close to the bridge. Unlike the Italia, it only has a master volume and master tone control and a three-way pickup selector switch.
I had been warned by various owners and people who had tried the AGB200 that it sounded quite modern with regular roundwound strings. And indeed, when trying one, it didn't quite sound like the tone I was after. I wanted that big, warm and woody hollowbody thump and the Ibanez did not deliver, unfortunately.
The (obviously Gretsch-inspired) Eastwood Classic 4:
I have not been able to find this one in stores anywhere in the Netherlands, although a few stores do sell Eastwood. I have however seen a great video of Ed Friedland playing one and loved it.
The Eastwood has a bound laminated maple top and back and laminated maple sides and a set maple neck with bound rosewood fingerboard with pearloid sharktooth inlays. Everything about this bass reminds you of Gretsch, except the Eastwood Classic 4 has somewhat more conventional controls: it has a volume control for each pickup and a master tone control, combined with a three-way pickup selector. The pickups look very similar to Filtertrons. Unlike the Italia and the Ibanez it does not have a tune-o-matic-like bridge. The bridge is like that of a Höfner, and only the overall height and the intonation (although roughly, with sadles that can be positioned in four slots in the wooden bridge) can be adjusted.
What I have seen and heard of the Classic 4 was very much to my liking. Its sound was exactly what I was looking for: big, warm and woody. It looks great too. So this was a close second, behind the Italia.
The Höfner Icon Series 500/1 (and various Höfner-copies like for example Tanglewood):
The classic Höfner violin bass probably needs no introduction, it's the bass Paul McCartney made famous. The original was a full hollowbody design with flamed maple sides and back and a solid spruce top, a set maple neck with ebony fingerboard and two warm minihumbuckers (throughout the years some different types have been used). The quirky controlplate consisted of two volume controls, a rythm/solo switch and on/off-switches for each pickup. The design has frequently been copied throughout the years, and several of these copies have been available as a lefty. A few years back, Höfner finally replied to all the copycats with two affordable Chinese versions: the Contemporary series Violin Bass and the Icon series Violin Bass. Both have all the looks and the feel, but the Contemporary is closer to the original, with real German-made Höfner hardware, stapletop pickups and electronics. The Icon has Chinese-made hardware and pickups. Both share the same departure from the original design though: they have a sustainblock inside.
Still they're very close to the original in terms of tone: warm and woody, with a relatively quick decay. It's not for me though. Despite the sustainblock, I don't like the (lack of) balance of the bass, both seated and on a strap, I don't like the narrow neck and stringspacing and I was looking for something with a longer sustain.
I've also played a Tanglewood copy of the 500/1, which is a full hollowbody design. It had all the same quirks of the Icon I didn't like. This is not the bass for me.
So I turned to the Italia and bought a lefthanded version of the pictured Vintage Cream one. Italia offers some other great colours, including a green colour very similar to surf green and a very pretty silver sparkle and blue sparkle finish, but the vintage cream was readily available and I like the look of that too.
I instantly liked the bass when I took it out of the box upon arrival. The bass is very well made, is very easy and great fun to play and it looks great. It did have a terrible buzz at the bridge on the part of the E-string between the bridge and tailpiece (which is about 5 inches long), which resonated during playing. I resolved that with a little piece of foam underneath the strings at the tailpiece. Plugged in, it was everything I hoped for. The mudbucker sounds big and warm, and the bridge humbucker adds clarity and definition when required. Great bass! It is very heavy though, but with a good strap that can easily be resolved.
I hope this helps if anyone is also looking for a nice lefty (semi)hollowbody.
I have a longer review (in Dutch) on a Dutch bass forum. If anyone is interested, I could provide a translation.
Cheers!
