Post by Erik Rupp on Mar 3, 2012 11:48:16 GMT -5
In the late 1990's and early 2000's a new company started producing high quality bass guitars at fairly affordable prices. GR Basses was born out of the desire of bass player Greg Rupp to create the perfect bass - the one he always wanted to play.
Having built a couple basses previously (starting in high school as a wood shop project), Rupp spent over a year designing and researching what would become the basis for his new company.
The GR Classic series neck was designed with a side-tuning, open headstock inspired by upright basses, producing ideal string tension-not to mention a unique look. All GR Basses had a curved heel shape with matching neck contour, allowing greater reach and playability. Five individual bolts attached the neck to the body for the a solid feel and tone. The bridge for the Classic Series was custom designed to compliment the body shape. The large radius brass saddles increased resonance and harmonic overtones. GR took what was already out there and added these new design features (or in the case of the headstock, something of a retro design).
GR went with Seymour Duncan basslines pickups as Rupp felt that ther quality and consistency were unmatched in the industry. The basslines pickups helped give the GR basses great tone.
The basses looked and sounded great, and they were extremely playable. They had a great natural feel, and received glowing reviews in several bass magazines.
Another key point about GR Basses was the attention to detail. The kind of minor flaws that major production companies deem acceptable were not left on GR Basses. If the minor flaw couldn't be fixed, that part was replaced. GR Basses were immaculate and impeccable.
While GR Basses was unable to continue on past the mid 2000's (due in large part to a lack of the kind of financial capital required to compete in such a competitive market), there are still a couple dozen of these basses floating around - although they are almost never put up for sale as the owners are usually unwilling to part with them.
Billy Sheehan gave the GR Jazz bass extremely high marks for playability and tone when he tried one out...
Having built a couple basses previously (starting in high school as a wood shop project), Rupp spent over a year designing and researching what would become the basis for his new company.
The GR Classic series neck was designed with a side-tuning, open headstock inspired by upright basses, producing ideal string tension-not to mention a unique look. All GR Basses had a curved heel shape with matching neck contour, allowing greater reach and playability. Five individual bolts attached the neck to the body for the a solid feel and tone. The bridge for the Classic Series was custom designed to compliment the body shape. The large radius brass saddles increased resonance and harmonic overtones. GR took what was already out there and added these new design features (or in the case of the headstock, something of a retro design).
GR went with Seymour Duncan basslines pickups as Rupp felt that ther quality and consistency were unmatched in the industry. The basslines pickups helped give the GR basses great tone.
The basses looked and sounded great, and they were extremely playable. They had a great natural feel, and received glowing reviews in several bass magazines.
Another key point about GR Basses was the attention to detail. The kind of minor flaws that major production companies deem acceptable were not left on GR Basses. If the minor flaw couldn't be fixed, that part was replaced. GR Basses were immaculate and impeccable.
While GR Basses was unable to continue on past the mid 2000's (due in large part to a lack of the kind of financial capital required to compete in such a competitive market), there are still a couple dozen of these basses floating around - although they are almost never put up for sale as the owners are usually unwilling to part with them.
Billy Sheehan gave the GR Jazz bass extremely high marks for playability and tone when he tried one out...