Actually, no, but now you got me thinking - that's a hell of an idea!
The only ornament right now is a Turkish Blue Evil Eye, about the size of a dime, hanging from the E-string below the bridge.
Ever see those purses made with real kangaroo scrotums? I KNOW the Aussies out there have seen them. If I could get my hands on one of those, now THAT would be an ornament.
I just picked up an Epi Viola bass yesterday. New, $264.99 out the door. I'm not a bass player (although I play one on TV), but I wanted a bass to add some bass lines to some stuff I'm recording.
The Epi had a sound that I thought was pretty damn good for that price and of course it has the looks. I haven't even removed the foam cloth from underneath the floating bridge yet and it still sounds good. I'm pretty impressed with the fit/finish, especially for the price. The only other basses that I considered were a real Hoffner and of course a Gretsch. Unfortunately, this is one time when I couldn't come up with any justification whatsoever to spend that kind of $$.
Zigracer
Let us know how it works out. It was a great lookin bass!
I've got the Rogue bass. It is really lightweight, and a breeze to play. I got it so I could lay down some simple bass ideas in the home studio.
I too put Labella flatwounds on as soon as I got it, and it captures a "thumpy" sound. With the right EQ you can get a wide variety of sounds in the studio - it isn't limited to a Beatles-type sound.
The pickups aren't the best, neither are the controls - but the get the job done.
So far I'm completely satisfied with the Epi Viola bass. The quality and detail on mine are great. The bass intonated quickly and properly after I removed the piece of foam from underneath the bridge. It has good sound to me. Right now I'm playing it through an old Ross keyboard amp that I have lying around. Probably will last me a lifetime.
I played for years with a guy who had an original Hofner from the 60s. I got very used to that sound, for better or worse. A few weeks ago I began working with a guy who plays the Turser bass and as soon as we started up I recognized THAT sound. So if that's what you're going for, I can attest that the Turser will get you pretty close.
Thanks for the update Zig and George I am leaning towards a Turser...just waiting on the e-Bay deal if you know what I mean.
The Turser and Rogue are a lot less for basically the same thing as the EPI, but if I recall Zig you got a really good deal.
Ah well, my Turser-playing bassist showed up with an Epi violin bass on Monday night and he now likes that one better than the Turser.
