REVIEW > IBANEZ
IBANEZ
GERALD VEASLEY
GVB36 SIGNATURE BASS
BY STEVE COOK
Ibanez has a long and respected history, and while at times the company gets
stereotyped because of instruments they
manufactured during the “lawsuit era” of
the ’70s, that stigma continues to fade.
Today Ibanez produces a wide range of
well-crafted instruments, ranging from
entry-level to upscale. Though best known
as a guitar-centric manufacturer with a long
list of big-name endorsees, the craftsmen
at Ibanez have been working closely with a
number of renowned bassists in creating a
line of signature models to go along with
their numerous other bass offerings.
Gerald Veasley is one such Ibanez
signature artist, and his instrument
has taken him around the world sev-
eral times over. Backing such luminaries
as Grover Washington, Jr. and Omar
Hakim, Veasley has also shared the stage
with legends like Miles Davis and Dizzy
Gillespie. And while the prominent jazz
bassist already has a signature model built
to his exacting standards with the Ibanez
GVB1006, its hefty price tag just north of
$5,000 is out of range for many players.
Inspired by the budget-minded times in
which we live, Ibanez recently rolled out
a less-costly version of Veasley’s signature
6-string bass with the GVB36. Though I
wasn’t familiar with his initial signature
model, I knew instantly that I was seeing
something special when I opened the
GVB36’s hardshell case.
All that Jazz
I noticed some beautiful refinements right
out of the gate when looking over the
GVB36. First of all, the honey finish on
the flamed maple top and matching headstock is simply gorgeous. Moving down the
instrument from the cosmo-black Gotoh
tuners and past the pair of passive Bartolini
pickups (more on those in a moment), the
simple yet elegant bridge caused a double
take. Dubbed the Mono-Rail IV by Ibanez,
this bridge is made up of six individual
pieces that house each saddle independently.
14 mm string spacing at bridge
Bartolini MK1 pickups
154 PREMIER GUITAR JUNE 2012
premierguitar.com
