11/9/17: Lefty trans nightburst Aries bass has arrived!

[Bob C]

The new bass is beautiful. No complaints. Just about exactly what I expected and hoped for. That said, I've played an LB70 for 18 years and the Aries does have its differences from that.

Feel: It is bigger and heavier than the LB70. The neck is wider- more like a Fender Precision, which is what I was going for. But it will take a week or two to get used to. Neck profile and string spacing *may* be the same as my other bass, but I think neck width might extend a bit farther past the outer strings. Action and relief were about perfect, even after travelling to Minnesota. I will probably tweak it, but not until after I've played a few gigs. It really is good, right out of the box.

Look: They did a good job on the gradual fade on the burst that I requested. The body is alder, so no wild grain to brag about. But I like it and I really didn't want to spend more money on fancy wood. I'm not crazy about the little knots on the front (the back actually has a more interesting grain), but they're not bad. The cool thing is that they look like they're way deep down, as if they're underwater.

Sound: I've only played it through my Fender Rumble practice amp, so far. It's clear, punchy and even. Biggest surprise and relief is that the single coil bridge pickup has only a faint buzz. I'm sure this will vary from room to room, but I was afraid that it might be unusable. Now I'm not worried about that.

Volume balance between the two pickups is very good too. Blending in the KRJ adds just a bit of "edge".

I was also learey of the Dunlop Super Brights, as I've used these strings before and had a love/hate relationship with them. On this bass, they do have a bit of "new string drag", but for now they will do just fine.

I may gig with this bass this Saturday - if not, next weekend for sure. More tone reports to come. One thing I haven't done yet is a side-by-side volume/tone/growl comparison with my LB70.

Loving the bass. My fiancee and all my facebook friends love it too. Thanks to Mike Jones and all of Kiesel!

[Greg Emm]

Congratulations, Bob C! That's one beautiful Aries bass. And your orderly review is really fantastic. Thank you for taking the time to compose such a great write up. You answered just about every question I had about this model. Enjoy!

[ElfDude]

Love it!

[Praiser]

VERY nice!
Similar to my X54 fretless in nightburst with stock woods.

Congrats and enjoy!!

[kdawg]

Love it. If it were a righty, I'd call it the perfect build.

[skully13a]

Awesome lefty bass, BobC. Some sweet birdseyes on that fretboard.

[Bob C]

Thanks guys. I can take some close-up shots if anyone wants. I just wanted to get a picture of the whole bass. It's not a birdseye maple board, but some cool grain snuck in there.

Greg Emm, anything else you want to know? I really planned this out and agonized over deciding some of the options. From the start, I was set on a basic workhorse passive bass. But I still wanted it to be tailor made for my wants and needs.

[pbass6811]

Most excellent, my man! That is a superb specimen...well played!

[Greg Emm]

Thanks guys. I can take some close-up shots if anyone wants. I just wanted to get a picture of the whole bass. It's not a birdseye maple board, but some cool grain snuck in there.

Greg Emm, anything else you want to know? I really planned this out and agonized over deciding some of the options. From the start, I was set on a basic workhorse passive bass. But I still wanted it to be tailor made for my wants and needs.

Thanks, Bob C. I was most curious about how this bass feels and sounds in the pickup configuration you chose, and your descriptions on those points are very informative. You provide a very clear sense of this bass's size and how it compares to other models, and how the neck feels compared to your LB70. The p-bass neck comparison gives a really good idea about how the Aries neck feels.

Thanks again for post. And thanks for welcoming questions and comments. More pictures are always cool, especially of those underwater knots.

Enjoy.

[MikeBass]

I’ve been waiting for this one
Came out great, I knew you’d like the Aries. Everything about the bass looks great, glad the singlecoil isn’t giving you trouble (mine have always been very quiet too) and plays well with the splitcoil.
I like the alder spots, gives the bass more character
Congrats and enjoy

[Bob C]

Here's a close-up of the body. The knots are maybe 1/8" in diameter. A couple are very close together.

MikeBass, I knew I'd like the Aries too!

Greg Emm, the neck isn't exactly like a P-bass (and they have more than one neck style too). But the Aries has that vintage vibe with a modern twist (eg, 24 frets) and the LB70 strikes me as straight-ahead boutique.

[gumbynotpokey]

LOVE IT.

Seriously, a great look.

Their split pu tones are SUPERB.

[Bob C]

My first gig with it will be tonight. I'll be bringing my LB70 too. As I just told a long-time friend who is a guitar player, I'm kind of nervous - mostly in a good way!