The Guitar Diaries part 18: Gretsch G5440 Bass (March 2021 - Present)

 It was February 2020, I was working in London and had a day to kill so went to Denmark Street to pass some time. We were beginning to hear about a virus that was coming to the UK from China and so the streets were already beginning to feel a bit quieter... either that or it was just because it was a miserable grey Sunday. I found myself in the bass section of one of the shops and saw this beautiful full hollow bass and asked the shop if I could give it a try. On closer inspection it was even more lovely and felt great. However, at £899 it was a considerable amount of wedge and I was unlikely to be spending that on something that wasn't my main instrument.

A year later I was in Melbourne Australia again for work. Near to where I was staying was a shop called The Bass and Acoustic centre, which unsurprisingly concentrated on these two types of instruments. Actually, it's a really great shop - without the need to mostly stock electric guitars they have a wide range of the more niche instruments. In there they had another on of these basses. I began to think about getting a new bass when I got home and although there were a few contenders, this was the one I ordered when I returned - and I have to say it's one of the best things I've ever bought.

Again, I must reiterate, this is an absolutely beautiful instrument, the nicest to look at out of all I own. It also feels better than any of the other basses I've owned or played, and I've really worked to improve my technique. As guitarists we can all fumble out way around on a bass when we need to but to do it properly requires some dedication.

I've used this on quite a few recordings at home over the past 18 or so months, but perhaps most importantly it's opened up the door to playing with other people. I've played with one of my mates on his demos (I used to be the lead guitarist in our old band), while I've joined another friend and some of his mates as bass player and I really enjoy that too. I'll probably expand on my thoughts about being a bass player in another post, but this is a really great instrument that I'm very glad I bought and wont be letting go.