# 11 string ERB by SVS Instruments



## ixlramp (Feb 1, 2015)

Just wanted to post my favourite photo from NAMM. Trying out the ERB is Wena Velasco, a 5 string metal bassist with a talent for tapping.
https://www.facebook.com/svsinstruments
Photo by James Patrick Reed (Reed James Custom Pickups).


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## octatoan (Feb 2, 2015)

That body . . . I think I'll pass. Hope she makes some cool music with it, though!


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## 77zark77 (Feb 2, 2015)




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## HaMMerHeD (Feb 2, 2015)

Yeah, no thanks. I can scarcely imagine a less practical, playable design.


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## Danukenator (Feb 2, 2015)

That may be the ugliest bass I've ever seen. I'd take a broken-ass Wish over that.


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## House74 (Feb 2, 2015)

Seems to not be too popular so far, but I am a sucker for weird body shapes, and have always wanted a Draco V, so I cant lie I love this thing and would be very interested to see someone playing it. And if for nothing else but the fact that it is literally bigger than her!


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## Necris (Feb 2, 2015)

SVS make garbage and all of their designs look like they were made by the hungry caterpillar.


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## HaMMerHeD (Feb 2, 2015)

House74 said:


> Seems to not be too popular so far, but I am a sucker for weird body shapes, and have always wanted a Draco V, so I cant lie I love this thing and would be very interested to see someone playing it. And if for nothing else but the fact that it is literally bigger than her!



It's the same maker as this turd:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ba...7-long-awaited-arrival-death-machine-nbd.html


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## Alex Kenivel (Feb 2, 2015)

Necris said:


> made by the hungry caterpillar.


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## jephjacques (Feb 2, 2015)

nice surfboard


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## Grief (Feb 2, 2015)

SVS seem to have some interesting ideas but awful body shapes and, from the linked example, don't seem to be up to delivering the goods.

The V in the body of that bass in the OP makes it look like and offcut from a giant wooden circumcised c*ck.


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## House74 (Feb 2, 2015)

oh snap yeah I saw that post about the green one before and wasn't aware that was the same company. I still stand by digging the body shape but like I said I know it's not for everyone. But the quality issues I saw on that green one, yeah i'd be out on this for sure.


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## asher (Feb 2, 2015)

Anything below fret 5 or 7 on that thing looks completely useless.


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## SD83 (Feb 2, 2015)

There's something seriously wrong with your instrument if there is (almost) more wood in the headstock than in the body, maybe that's just me. But there is something about huge basses and tiny women...


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## isispelican (Feb 2, 2015)

why


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## TemjinStrife (Feb 2, 2015)




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## Dayn (Feb 2, 2015)

Yeah, I don't like the look at _all_ but I love it anyway because the design behind it was '.... it I'm making this monstrosity and you can all shove it'.


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## GenghisCoyne (Feb 2, 2015)

Just to bring this more into perspective: the girl is 6 foot 13 inches


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## Hollowway (Feb 2, 2015)

It takes a lot to make an ERG that I don't like. But SVS has succeeded!  Good god, that is the worse proportioned body I have ever seen. Will those scrawny legs even support the body weight? Shame. 

Looks like Wena made her way around NAMM, that's for sure. Wasn't she the one in the Vik post with the unfortunate Vikism of the Day?


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 2, 2015)

Went to the builder's facebook page out of sheer morbid curiosity, and was almost taken aback at how thoroughly ugly literally everything he has produced is.


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## CaptainLuckeyBeard (Feb 5, 2015)

Despite the odd body shape, it's actually a really fun bass to play. I sat down and played every single bass SVS brought to NAMM, to include my 7 string multiscale. I saw a few people from this site that recognized the bass and made a point of having them try it for themselves. Literally every single one of them were blown away at how well they played. I'm not a fan of the stupid pointy shapes either so I'm not going to address that other than by saying they are some of the most solid bodies I've seen and are very surprisingly stable and balanced. 

To the address the shit talking on my personal bass, hopefully some of the guys I met will come forward to share their experiences as well. I made a point of bringing it down to the Kalium strings booth to jam a little bit and have Skip, Chris, and Morten (MFKitten on here) try the bass out. All the reactions were the same (mostly). They weren't fans of the shape (No biggie, tastes are subjective) and the fact it's a really heavy bass, (I have plenty of shoulders to manage that). They all agreed that it was one of the best playing basses they've played, incredibly comfortable especially with the aggressive fan, and the fact that it sounds like a freight train. 

So when it comes to all the shit talking about SVS in general, it's really uncalled for and petty. The guy builds for a niche market, obviously. That's his thing and he's actually damn good at it. I get that people don't like his body designs, I'm not huge on most of em either, but the constant complaining and shit talking about subjective designs is pretty childish, over done, and wholly unnecessary. Actually talk to the people that have played his instruments and go from there instead of spouting off with no real source to validate your "issues". 

I've been with companies like Etherial and seen how an amateur actually handles his business, SVS is completely legit. I've played everything from cheap chinese basses, S7Gs, high end ibanez 7s, and full blown, be-all end-all customs (Pratt, Bee, Marco, Benavente, etc) and my SVS actually holds tier (sound and playability wise) with the customs. That claim has also been validated and agreed up by all the owners of the customs mentioned and many others at NAMM. 

TL;DR. Actually play one and then we can talk. Looks are incredibly deceiving, especially when you're already predisposed to hate something purely based on shape alone.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Feb 5, 2015)

See, it doesn't matter if looks are deceiving. There are dozens of companies out there making awesome, high-quality basses. If I see an ass ugly bass and find out it plays well, I feel comfortable in my ability to go find something from another builder that plays just as well and _isn't_ ridiculously stupid looking. 

Obviously we know he's catering to a niche. We aren't retarded. We also aren't that niche, so it should come as no surprise that we think they're hideously repulsive. 

It should also come as no surprise that we're all mentioning it, because this is the internet. 

Welcome to it.


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## HaMMerHeD (Feb 5, 2015)

^ What Tim said. Also, it doesn't matter how comfortable you think it is, or how well you think it plays. Anyone with eyes that work reasonably well can see from your photos of your bass how much of a hackjob the whole thing is. And anyone can see, looking at the other photos of his work that his primary concern is how extreme the designs look. Ergonomics and quality may be a factor, but it's nowhere near the top.


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## asher (Feb 5, 2015)

^ what I was going to say but better.


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## Roland777 (Feb 5, 2015)

CaptainLuckeyBeard said:


> Despite the odd body shape, it's actually a really fun bass to play. I sat down and played every single bass SVS brought to NAMM, to include my 7 string multiscale. I saw a few people from this site that recognized the bass and made a point of having them try it for themselves. Literally every single one of them were blown away at how well they played. I'm not a fan of the stupid pointy shapes either so I'm not going to address that other than by saying they are some of the most solid bodies I've seen and are very surprisingly stable and balanced.
> 
> To the address the shit talking on my personal bass, hopefully some of the guys I met will come forward to share their experiences as well. I made a point of bringing it down to the Kalium strings booth to jam a little bit and have Skip, Chris, and Morten (MFKitten on here) try the bass out. All the reactions were the same (mostly). They weren't fans of the shape (No biggie, tastes are subjective) and the fact it's a really heavy bass, (I have plenty of shoulders to manage that). They all agreed that it was one of the best playing basses they've played, incredibly comfortable especially with the aggressive fan, and the fact that it sounds like a freight train.
> 
> ...


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## Konfyouzd (Feb 5, 2015)

Is she really short or is that bass REALLY that big?


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## Alimination (Feb 6, 2015)

That's the most metal harp I've ever seen.


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## Michael T (Feb 6, 2015)

CaptainLuckeyBeard said:


> So when it comes to all the shit talking about SVS in general, it's really uncalled for and petty. The guy builds for a niche market, obviously. That's his thing and he's actually damn good at it. I get that people don't like his body designs, I'm not huge on most of em either, but the constant complaining and shit talking about subjective designs is pretty childish, over done, and wholly unnecessary. Actually talk to the people that have played his instruments and go from there instead of spouting off with no real source to validate your "issues".



I think all the shit talking was based on the quality shown in the pictures NOT about the actual company in general and definitely not on how it sounds or plays.

If those flaws showed up in selective pictures you chose to share with the community there is no telling the flaws that could be seen/found in person. 

These would be more excusable if this were a hobbyist build or such but coming from a "custom shop" there is no excuse.


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## ixlramp (Feb 6, 2015)

I love ERB and extreme shapes and i love this ERB, although i'm perhaps a little unsure about the look of the long thin spikes.
I'm not too keen on the look of SVS' older designs but CaptainLuckeyBeard's one is an absolutely gorgeous design. I was a little disappointed by how negative that thread was and how focussed it was on the minor visual defects.
Essentially, SVS may be a new luthier slowly improving, or perhaps has an approach of working fast and not being overly perfectionistic, to keep instrument cost low.
What's really important to me is that there is now at last a luthier combining extreme shapes with extreme string count, something i have been waiting for since discovering ERB in 2004.
I deeply appreciate any luthier with innovative original designs and shapes, even if their work is a little rough i still appreciate them more than any luthier producng perfectly crafted but boring inoffensively-rounded superstrat/fender clones (think Schecter type superstrat shape).


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## MaxOfMetal (Feb 6, 2015)

ixlramp said:


> I love ERB and extreme shapes and i love this ERB, although i'm perhaps a little unsure about the look of the long thin spikes.
> I'm not too keen on the look of SVS' older designs but CaptainLuckeyBeard's one is an absolutely gorgeous design. I was a little disappointed by how negative that thread was and how focussed it was on the mostly minor visual defects, without appreciating the beautiful original design.
> Essentially, SVS may be a new luthier slowly improving, or perhaps has an approach of working fast and not being overly perfectionistic, to keep instrument cost low, or maybe he's just a little clumsy. What's really important to me is that there is now at last a luthier daring to combine extreme shapes with extreme string count, something i have been waiting for since discovering ERB in 2004.
> I deeply appreciate any luthier with innovative original designs and shapes, even if their work is a little rough i still respect them more than any luthier producng perfectly crafted but boring inoffensively-rounded superstrat/fender clones (think Schecter type superstrat shape).



I think your love of all things stringy have given you some mighty blinders. 

There is absolutely nothing original about SVS designs. They're simply taking designs pioneered by builders such as Moser, Monson, and even Jackson and then either adding a couple small cut outs along the outline or just not carving them as well or as detailed. 

It's like calling the PRS Singlecut an innovative design. It's just a Les Paul with slightly altered cuts. 

I would also question the use of the term "innovative" here. While a dictionary definition may fly, I tend to think innovative adds a level of increased function, from which these have none. 

As for ERBs with different shapes, Conklin has made 7 and 9 string ERB flying Vs, JD's standard shapes aren't exactly super strat derivatives. There are other examples if you search for them. 

These are cheap, showy, and above all shitty.


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## Ulvhedin (Feb 6, 2015)

I kinda like the color, but that's all.


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## vilk (Feb 6, 2015)

It should be played flat on the ground like a koto


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