NBD! Ode to Donald "Duck" Dunn

New (used) Bass Day!

Last Friday I took delivery of a gently used G&L SB-1 bass.  It was posted to the musicians online marketplace, Reverb, by Downtown Music located in New Orleans French Quarter.

Downtown Music's store front (via GoogleMaps)

For several weeks I had been looking for a used, American made Fender Precision style bass fitted with a maple fingerboard that was within my very limited budget.  Of course the limited budget was the big hurdle.  

Why was I searching for that particular style of bass?  As a tribute to one of my all-time favorite bassists. Donald "Duck" Dunn became my favorite bass player after seeing him in the 1980 movie, "The Blues Brothers." When I discovered that he and Blues Brothers guitarist Steve Cropper were members of Booker T & the MG's I began digging deeper into old Stax and Motown records.  

Donald "Duck" Dunn: King of the Electric Bass

Duck Dunn was one of the main reasons I moved to playing the bass.  As part of my 108 Days of Practice I decided to undertake an in-depth study of Dunn's playing style by learning and analyzing some of his more popular songs.  Using a bass similar to that which I associate most with Dunn would psychologically take my study to the next level; sound logic and reasoning I recon...

When I found this SB-1 it was priced out of my budget, but there was a "Make an Offer" button below the listed price-- so I did.  After a very pleasant email conversation with one of Downtown Music's employees, the bass was on its way to me!  Once it arrived, our security officer insisted on inspecting the shipment before anyone was allowed to open the box.  Once satisfied, he returned to squirrel patrol and I was free to liberate the bass from its shipment container.

Opening the case revealed a beautiful bass that was in need of a little TLC.  The frets were somewhat oxidized, and the bass overall required a good scrubbing.  After cleaning, polishing and installing a new set of D'Addario XL strings, the bass was ready to catch the Katy.  

How does it sound?  Like a P-bass with... more!  More of everything.  With the volume full-up it sounds powerful, meaty, and clear.  A little tweaking of the volume and tone knobs gets easily into the zone of classic Fender Precision tone.  

Compared to a typical Fender P, the SB-1 has a slimmer body, and a more comfortable forearm relief.  Since I normally anchor my thumb on the pickup corner the SB-1 is the place I want to be as it is rounded and slightly textured, where the Fender is sharp and uncomfortable after a short while.  There is a real mojo to this bass that few others have, which must be attributed to its time in the French Quarter... it sounds so sweet that it is tough to stop playing.

On of my favorite aspects of this bass, is the quartersawn neck; not only is it a little stiffer than a flat sawn neck, the grain stands out in a really nice way!  G&L offers several different neck sizes and each feel great in the hand; this one is called a #12 which is slightly wider than a typical Fender Jazz bass, yet slightly narrower than a Fender Precision, and is rounder (meatier) in the back.  Frets are medium-jumbo, the body is alder and the neck is fitted with six countersunk bolts.  For being such a straight forward, no-frills bass, this baby offers a lot of flexibility in sound and plays effortlessly.  

For anyone looking for a wonderful, American made bass built to last a lifetime, be sure to add G&L to the top of your list.  Even without a lot of money, one can follow my example and buy a used model for about the same, or less than an Indonesian import.  

Now with the appropriate instrument at my side and a Blues Brothers album cued-up, it's time to hit the practice room and get to business...

Stay tuned, and in-tune...!