Post by GKon on Jan 25, 2016 19:39:39 GMT
There is a brand of bass that I play and love, called Carlo Robelli. It's mostly unheard of outside of the U.S.
Carlo Robelli was an Italian instrument manufacturer. He made guitars and basses. In their heyday they had a decent reputation,
and their "vintage" instruments sell for a moderate price. In the late '90's, the Carlo Robelli brand name was sold to a large music store chain
here in the States, called Sam Ash. At that point, their production was farmed out to China. Carlo Robelli was known to be
the "cheap, house brand" of Sam Ash, as Harley Benton is the Thomann house brand.
At that point in their history, many people started to look down on them. I have been told, but don't know first-hand, that their guitar quality
fell quite a bit, but their bass quality was still darn good! This I can attest to because I own 2 of them. Actually, if you want to get specific,
I've owned 4. More on that later.
My first and favorite Carlo Robelli bass, the one that I have been using as my gigging bass since roughly 2005, is called the
Carlo Robelli UBD-410, 4-string, Flame Bass Guitar.
Some of the specs:
Korean Made 4 string bass
34” scale, satin finished bound maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard with pearl block markers;
Individual bridge and saddle assembly per string for ultra precise setup.
Features: volume, bass, mid and treble controls;
Active electronics.
Alnico style bass humbucker pickup;
Gold hardware.
Flame graphics on a super gloss black finish.
This bass cost me under $200 brand new, in 2005. Since buying it, I have only ever had to change strings on it.
I currently am using Aurora brand, red colored strings. They feel and sound great to me. I am thinking about changing
them soon to gold colored strings, to match the hardware on the bass.
I also bought and installed dice knobs. These are dice actually used in Las Vegas and then sold as knobs. You choose the
number to be shown on top. I chose 3 6's.
The bridge position of the p'up requires some fiddling to get a nice, boomy tone but, once I dial it in, it's crisp, loud and
clear. The pre-amp is DAMN good, considering the price of the bass.
Some pics:
My other Carlo Robelli bass is an 8-string version, called the: Carlo Robelli UBD-510 8 String Bass Guitar
The specs:
Korean made 8 string bass.
34” Scale, 24 frets, rosewood fingerboard
Maple neck
Single, active, alnico humbucker style pickup
Volume, hi, mid, low boost/cut controls,
Separate bridge and tailpiece configuration
Brass nut
Side dot position markers
Silver "sparkle” finish.
It has the same pre-amp and p'up as the 4 string. Sounds GREAT! Stays in tune, I've gigged and recorded with this
bass. The only thing I've done to it is add decals on the fretboard, as there were no markers on it, only side dots.
I feel the playing card motif fits well with the silver metalflake paint.
Some pics:
As mentioned before, technically speaking, I own(ed) 4 of these basses. I had owned both of these basses and played them
regularly. In 2009, I decided to move from NY to Greece and had the bright idea to sell of some of my basses and equipment
to lighten my load. Stupid move. As soon as I got to Greece, I regretted it.
So, I went online, found another flame bass for sale on craigslist in NY, and another 8 string for sale on Talkbass.
I bought both, then had one shipped to me in Greece, and the other I carried back to Greece after a visit to NY.
So, for two "cheap" basses, I spent a lot of money and time, because they are that good to play and mean that much to me.
Today on ebay I found a "vintage" Carlo Robelli Rickenbacker copy for sale $399 + $35 shipping, including a hardshell case.
I'm not working at the moment, so I didn't buy it but, if I had the money, I would have. I don't necessarily like Rics that much
but I do like CR's that much!
Here are some pics of the CR Ric clone:
Carlo Robelli was an Italian instrument manufacturer. He made guitars and basses. In their heyday they had a decent reputation,
and their "vintage" instruments sell for a moderate price. In the late '90's, the Carlo Robelli brand name was sold to a large music store chain
here in the States, called Sam Ash. At that point, their production was farmed out to China. Carlo Robelli was known to be
the "cheap, house brand" of Sam Ash, as Harley Benton is the Thomann house brand.
At that point in their history, many people started to look down on them. I have been told, but don't know first-hand, that their guitar quality
fell quite a bit, but their bass quality was still darn good! This I can attest to because I own 2 of them. Actually, if you want to get specific,
I've owned 4. More on that later.
My first and favorite Carlo Robelli bass, the one that I have been using as my gigging bass since roughly 2005, is called the
Carlo Robelli UBD-410, 4-string, Flame Bass Guitar.
Some of the specs:
Korean Made 4 string bass
34” scale, satin finished bound maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard with pearl block markers;
Individual bridge and saddle assembly per string for ultra precise setup.
Features: volume, bass, mid and treble controls;
Active electronics.
Alnico style bass humbucker pickup;
Gold hardware.
Flame graphics on a super gloss black finish.
This bass cost me under $200 brand new, in 2005. Since buying it, I have only ever had to change strings on it.
I currently am using Aurora brand, red colored strings. They feel and sound great to me. I am thinking about changing
them soon to gold colored strings, to match the hardware on the bass.
I also bought and installed dice knobs. These are dice actually used in Las Vegas and then sold as knobs. You choose the
number to be shown on top. I chose 3 6's.
The bridge position of the p'up requires some fiddling to get a nice, boomy tone but, once I dial it in, it's crisp, loud and
clear. The pre-amp is DAMN good, considering the price of the bass.
Some pics:
My other Carlo Robelli bass is an 8-string version, called the: Carlo Robelli UBD-510 8 String Bass Guitar
The specs:
Korean made 8 string bass.
34” Scale, 24 frets, rosewood fingerboard
Maple neck
Single, active, alnico humbucker style pickup
Volume, hi, mid, low boost/cut controls,
Separate bridge and tailpiece configuration
Brass nut
Side dot position markers
Silver "sparkle” finish.
It has the same pre-amp and p'up as the 4 string. Sounds GREAT! Stays in tune, I've gigged and recorded with this
bass. The only thing I've done to it is add decals on the fretboard, as there were no markers on it, only side dots.
I feel the playing card motif fits well with the silver metalflake paint.
Some pics:
As mentioned before, technically speaking, I own(ed) 4 of these basses. I had owned both of these basses and played them
regularly. In 2009, I decided to move from NY to Greece and had the bright idea to sell of some of my basses and equipment
to lighten my load. Stupid move. As soon as I got to Greece, I regretted it.
So, I went online, found another flame bass for sale on craigslist in NY, and another 8 string for sale on Talkbass.
I bought both, then had one shipped to me in Greece, and the other I carried back to Greece after a visit to NY.
So, for two "cheap" basses, I spent a lot of money and time, because they are that good to play and mean that much to me.
Today on ebay I found a "vintage" Carlo Robelli Rickenbacker copy for sale $399 + $35 shipping, including a hardshell case.
I'm not working at the moment, so I didn't buy it but, if I had the money, I would have. I don't necessarily like Rics that much
but I do like CR's that much!
Here are some pics of the CR Ric clone: