Features: 9Brand new 2009 LEFTY bass model, made in China and assembled/set up in Australia; 34" scale (similar to the Epi Explorer reissues and not the original Gibson 32" Explorer basses); 3 piece basswood finish Gibson Explorer-style body in natural with gloss finish (Other available finishes are black, sunburst, white, and red), 20 fret 4 bolt satin finish maple neck with rosewood fretboard and 21st fret overhang at heel; Gibson-style "hockey stick" headstock, jumbo frets, "infamous" 3 point top loading bridge (Though personally I've never had a problem intonating or setting up action with one of these bridges), 2 Wilkinson passive soapbar humbucking pickups, 2 volume/1 tone knobs; black hardware; no discernable serial number; gig bag included. Overall features are not out of he ordinary, but I'm giving it a 9 for it's design aesthetics.
Sound: 9My music runs the gamut, as I play in a number of different rock, blues, and alternative bands. Upon receiving the bass, I instinctively thought about slinging it low and playing with a heavy pick, since it totally exudes that classic rock imagery. While it does excel in that style, for the purpose of my testing, I wanted to try it out with various playing styles/techniques. I currently play through an Eden Navigator preamp powered by a QSC amp through an Eden 410 cabinet - far from a heavy rock-style rig. I also ran the bass direct through my Behringer mixing board and tried it out through an all-tube Ampeg head as well. The obvious comparison to be made here would be how the Gaskell sounds/plays vs. a real Gibson Explorer or, better yet, a similarly priced Epi Explorer. As cool as they were, the Gibson Explorer basses (And Flying V basses) were never highly regarded for their tones, as they were known for being generally dull and blurry sounding. (I think a lot of that can be attributed to their shorter 32" scale). The 34" Epi Explorers are generally considered to be much better sounding basses, but since Epi never made a lefty I don't have one for comparison. My second option was to compare it to my rare lefty 34" Epi T-Bird, since I found them to play/feel/sound very similar with similar construction.
Pick-style playing with said heavy pick captured that classic driving dark tone we usually associate with a Gibson T-Bird bass, but also with added clarity/top end punch thanks to the difference of woods (maple bolt on neck, basswood body). Notes rang clear and piano-like, with that deep, dark, authoritive tone associated with these basses. I was particularly impressed with the clarity and punch of the notes when playing finger-style. On my Epi T-Bird, finger-style can sound borderline muddy and blurry. Slapping is passable, though these basses are not really built for slapping. Zero noise thanks to the excellent Wilkinson humbucking pickups, which is one noticeable improvement over the Epiphone instruments. I also found it to be a very forgiving bass, as notes rang clear and full yet there was little fret noise or clickety clackity pickup clipping to be heard. You only hear what needs to be heard.
Overall, whether or not it sounds exactly like a real Gibson Explorer or not is immaterial to me (Gibby owners love to debate the relevance of the Epis to the real deal too), as long as it sounds good on it's own merits. In that respect, it’s a better sounding instrument than both the original Gibbys and my Epiphone T-Bird.
Action, Fit, and Finish: 7 The bass arrived nearly perfectly intonated but with action a little high for my taste, so I adjusted it. It also comes with decent strings, which is nice because I was able to immediately hear and feel the instrument without wondering whether or not it badly needed better strings to sound good first. As mentioned, the extended 34" scale has it's definite tonal benefits - better clarity and sustain in notes, but the scale and the classic "futuristic" design based on the Explorer design comes at an ergonomic price. Consistent with the originals and the Epiphones, it is also prone to major neck dive. Luckily, the Explorer body style has a nice huge pointy back upper heel that acts as a natural forearm rest for your picking hand, thus counter-balancing the headstock weight and eliminating any notion that you've got to hold the neck up all night while playing. I actually found the bass quite comfortable to play strapped on and standing, and of all the quirky Gibson designs (Flying V, Thunderbird, Explorer) this one feels the most comfortable. It weighs in at about 9-1/2 pounds on the bathroom scale, but for some reason it feels lighter to me than my other 9-1/2+ pound basses. Also true to the original design is the lack of an upper horn, which can make the first fret seem far away. Again, you can easily adapt to it. The neck is a joy to play, very smooth and well dressed with no visible sharp edges. Construction-wise, there is some evidence of this being a Chinese made instrument, however. The nut slot had a slight gap on the right side, and there was also a slight gap where the neck heel meets the body. Inside the control cavity wires were assembled cleanly and there's no unnecessary debris or dust inside. Also typical of Asian manufacture, the tone and volume pots could probably due to be replaced, since there's no virtually no gradual taper from 0-10, they're just about completely off until you reach about 9 then they're fully on. Thus, pickup volume blending is not really and option, they're either fully on or fully off. The body is constructed of 3 pieces of basswood with beautiful woodgrain, if a bit uneven in match. I wish the plant had made a better effort to match the woods closer, as the wood used on the upper back heel is noticeably darker. had I bought one in a painted finish, you'd never notice. Still, from a distance, it looks striped, which looks pretty cool.
Gaskell claims that since most manufacturers are not set up for lefty tooling, a full CNC manufacturing is not possible on Gaskell's instruments, thus there is a certain amount of custom hand work required. On the whole, I'd say it's noticeable at least in the excellent neck construction, though overall construction is at least on par with my Epi T-Bird.
Reliability/Durability: 8Overall the bass seems well-constructed and built like a tank. An angled back headstock will always be a cause for concern, since one plunge to the floor could easily snap the neck (Ask any Gibson Les Paul or T-Bird owner) and these basses simply don't sit comfortably on your standard guitar stand, but keep it out of harm's way and I am confident it will keep on rocking. One caveat: the bass comes with a horrible gig bag equivalent to a wardrobe bag you'd get at the cleaners. No protection whatsoever. Gaskell has acknowledged this shortcoming and is looking into hard shell cases, though Kevin did inform me that a bass of this size would require such a large case that it would exceed shipping size restrictions within many countries. I can confirm this, as I once sold a Strat to someone in Australia and had to remove the neck to keep the guitar within size limitations.
Epiphone makes a case for their Explorer bass for about $89, and judging by the looks of the photos of it on Musician's Friend it doesn't look righty-specific, so it should work. This bass WILL NOT fit in an Epi T-Bird case, however
Customer Support: 10Gaskell Guitars is the brainchild of left handed guitarist/owner Kevin Gaskell and is based out of Sydney, Australia. Their product line is primarily based on classic Gibson designs such as the Explorer, the Flying V, and the Firebird, with one very important difference: they're made solely for LEFT HANDED musicians, as all these highly coveted designs were previously unavailable easily to lefties until now. The X-Bass is their first bass offering. (Gaskell states that lefty Gibson Explorer basses were made, but I've never seen one). In that respect alone, Gaskell deserves very high praise, since their efforts are obviously a labor of love. We lefties maintain that there are enough of us out there clamoring for more guitar choices than the typical crappy black finished Squire Strat, but most manufacturers don't see it that way. They claim they cannot justify retooling their machinery for what constitutes less than 10% of all their guitar orders. [Dear Greedy Pretentious Guitar Manufacturers (aka Gibson/Fender): Don't you think if you offered lefties more than said crappy black Squire Strat that there'd be more lefties coming out of the woodwork to order more guitars?! Build it and they will come!]. Luckily for Gaskell, nobody cares about lefties, so Kevin's got a golden opportunity to corner, what could be, a small but growing market hugely neglected by everyone else.
I communicated with Kevin about his guitars and specifically an Explorer-style bass a good year before Gaskell released the X-Bass, since they were not offering any basses in their guitar line yet. He was always responsive and quick to point out that a bass was, "In the works", and remained readily in contact with me throughout the rumor period right up to it's fruition and eventual delivery and shipping. Shipping took an incredible 3 days to arrive in the US from Australia! Better than many domestic shipping times. I also contacted him after receiving the bass to voice my opinions, and he wrote right back to clarify.
Overall Rating: 9I've been a musician now for over 25 years (How the hell did that happen so fast?), but more specifically a left handed one and a strong advocate for lefties and our neglected needs. I'm also a collector of lefty instruments and currently own over 50 basses, so I have a good strong knowledge base from which to review. A strictly left handed instrument manufacture is a rare and welcome commodity for us indeed, and Gaskell's mission is to reproduce updated classic guitar designs at an affordable price point. I'd say they succeeded. Lefties are often faced with instrument choices that run from two extremes with rarely any middle ground - you're choices are usually cheaply made, low end crap, or you're forced to spend serious coin on custom made, over-priced boutique instruments (Gibson WILL make a lefty custom ordered T-Bird...for over $6000!). Thankfully, Gaskell has succeeded in giving us affordable, quality instruments at mid-level as well as unique lefty offerings to be found nowhere else.
Price paid: $689.00US shipped
Contact: http://www.gaskellguitars.com
