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So, if I was going to build a bass


Northfield

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9 hours ago, 0054 said:

It was printed in Trumbull, CT Arnie Z area, the place was known in the print trade as "Trumbull Prison" 

I got a lot of guitars from there, and I credit the bargain news for people having called me to sell me their old jrs (they were so unpopular in the early 80s, they would literally beg me to take them, I got at least three that way.

Lived in Fairfield for many years. Have Sisters-In-Law in Monroe and Sandy Hook. 

Any of you remember Select Guitars on the Post Road in Norwalk? Oddball store, oddball owner, but got a couple of gems there over the years. 

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On 5/2/2018 at 4:13 PM, Studio Custom said:

king-4-coco-side.jpg

 

Have two of these (fretted and fretless) and love them. 

Interesting.

These are made 2 miles from where I live.  A friend of mine went to school with the main man there.

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9 hours ago, HAMERMAN said:

Impact body shape in 4 or 5 string neck thru, done up like this one:

Impact 5 string neck thru

He's not going to do a Hamer body design though.

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8 hours ago, cmatthes said:

He's not going to do a Hamer body design though.

Just like he didn't do a Studio or a Monaco, Mike will find his way from old to new, past to present, vintage to modern. 

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I've actually been thinking about this and would like to offer a positive contribution. 

I could see a bass version of a Super C style with a wenge or solid rosewood neck, or a bass version of a Cobra/DC with neck thru construction and wings (kinda like Pedulla/Spector).  High mass(solid brass?) bridge, active electronics with push pull defeat. Volume/Blend/Active tone controls, possibly a series/parallel switch depending on the PU configuration. Both get a 4 or 5 inline headstock with the bevel (headstocks with tuners on both sides get weird with a 5 string). Fretless option (lined or unlined). 

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Mike and I have discussed this a few times.

Single cut shape but sized up about 2" or so all the way around, 32" scale (or 30.5" if it's for me!), 1.65" at the nut (1.75" if it's for me) - pickups could be anything. I can definitely see Single Coil P, Dual Coil P,  or Jazz bass pickups working here. I'm getting my stuff straight with Thunderbird pickups now (finding the right parts for this has been a pain) and am doing investigative work on having some custom, solid top/no holes P90 covers made specific for bass pickups for a custom bass builder so those could soon be an option too.

If it's a double cutaway, some Shishkov'd variation on the Epiphone Jack Casady/LP bass would would fit in with the Shishkov style perfectly! Those Hamer DC basses are cool but for a tall fella like me, they look stupid when I wear them so that body shape gets a thumbs down.

An "Ultimate" bass tho: 34" scale. Please. And thank you.

Tuners: Hipshot or Schaller

Bridge: Hipshot or Babicz. Side-to-side string spacing adjustment is a must.

My .02

:)

 

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Oh, Electronics. East preamps for those that want active battery-powered tone shaping onboard because that's the best stuff out there, period. For purist guys like me tho, I'll stick with 250/500k pots passive because that's how I roll.

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OLD SKOOL!!

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The more I think about it: a Jack Casady-esque shape, 32' scale, 12" radius rosewood fb, chambered mahogany with 'hog top, two Thunderbird pickups - or even a single one in the middle, and a nice tobacco burst or black would be truly outstanding.

Mike, please send the prototype asap!! 😎

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Josh - I think we're in similar turf with our thinking here.

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On 4/30/2018 at 4:22 PM, Northfield said:

I’ve been asked when am I going to build one and have some ideas rolling around in my head but I’m curious what hardware, pickups etc those of you that play bass like and why. 

This is a tougher question than it seems on the surface.

For better or worse, bass DNA varies all over the map, apparently much wider than guitar DNA.
How many strings? My preference is five with a low B.
Scale lengths swing from sub-30" to 37.5"; multi-scale, which is just now gaining some acceptance in guitars, has been available for nearly 30 years.
You can go fretted or fretless. Ibanez has a model with both on the same fingerboard!
Pickups are all over the map. Onboard electronics vary from a single volume knob to 4-band EQ.

I guess my contribution to all this is, pick a theme or market segment and let the components sort themselves out.

 

My ideal bass is one of these - a F-Bass BN-5 (I have both fretted and fretless versions😞

s-l640.jpg

Two things make these winners -the ergonomics and the electronics.
I play this all night because it's comfortable and it offers me a wide range of tones from the EQ (necessary in the cover band I inhabit).

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On 5/10/2018 at 11:34 AM, JGravelin said:

The more I think about it: a Jack Casady-esque shape, 32' scale, 12" radius rosewood fb, chambered mahogany with 'hog top, two Thunderbird pickups - or even a single one in the middle, and a nice tobacco burst or black would be truly outstanding.

Mike, please send the prototype asap!! 😎

This.  I friggin love my my Jack Casady bass, especially after adding better/lighter tuners and a bone nut.  If I could get this bass, more or less, but with Shishkov quality and Josh's special winds, I'd be in bass heaven.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was actually thinking about this the other day...   4 string, Classic double cut LP Jr/Hamer Special shape, medium scale, hot passive pick-ups, thin neck - 1.5” or maybe 1 5/8” at the nut, Blue or Blueburst flame maple top.   Okay, yeah, I basically want a 4 string, passive “Not Steve/Not Chris” bass.  There, I said it.  🙂

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1 hour ago, Cary said:

I was actually thinking about this the other day...   4 string, Classic double cut LP Jr/Hamer Special shape, medium scale, hot passive pick-ups, thin neck - 1.5” or maybe 1 5/8” at the nut, Blue or Blueburst flame maple top.   Okay, yeah, I basically want a 4 string, passive “Not Steve/Not Chris” bass.  There, I said it.  🙂

Something like the one in the middle which was inspired by the brothers basses, It's 1.5" at the nut. It would have had the split fork headstock if I would have known it was available when I ordered it.

I put in my request almost 4 years ago for one like it and an Ultimate bass. I never heard back. I think the Shishkov headstock would look cool on a double cut bass.

DSC04137.JPG

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8 hours ago, marcnorth said:

Something like the one in the middle which was inspired by the brothers basses, It's 1.5" at the nut. It would have had the split fork headstock if I would have known it was available when I ordered it.

I put in my request almost 4 years ago for one like it and an Ultimate bass. I never heard back. I think the Shishkov headstock would look cool on a double cut bass.

DSC04137.JPG

Yep. like that but with passive pickups.  Very cool bass!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

All of my basses are Carvin and Music Man, both of whom make their own preamps as well as pickups.

However, when it comes to pickups, most serious bass players I know who replace their pickups, use Aguilar or Bartolini electronics. Both produce pickups and electronics. Some higher end brands also use Nordstrand pickups.

For bridges, I'm a big fan of Hipshot bridges. Many have the option for either String through or top mounted use. They have a variety of different patterns and string spacings. They also have single string bridges for those who like the idea of string vibration isolation.

Speaking of that, String Spacing can be a kinda big deal, especially on 5 and 6 string basses.  The standard "Fender" 4 string spacing at the bridge is 19mm (3/4 in), which most Fender 5 strings have as well. However, many 5 string designs instead have a 17.5mm (11/16 inch) string spacing at the bridge. That's the spacing that Music Man has always used, and many other makers as well. Some even have 16.5mm spacing.

Scale length would depend on the player I guess. There are some people who LOVE short scale gasses around 30 inches. If you have small hands, a short 4 can be perfect.

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On 5/1/2018 at 10:26 PM, Northfield said:

One of my favorite HAMER bass styles is actually the Chaparral 12 string. Basses in general are all over the place, but if I build a prototype, I’d probably take the same approach I’ve done with the DC and SC customs - start with a platform that hits the basics but leaves room for customization.  The challenge at this point is what qualifies as “the basics”.  I appreciate the feedback- keep it coming. 

I know jack sh*t about basses, but a 12-string sounds amazing to me (or a 15????). Why not do something totally different than the rest?

 

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Wow. I don't want to think about how many truss rods a 15 string would need.  A 12 would be nice though. Such a unique sound.

One thing I did not chime in on: neck width at the nut. My favorite 4 string basses are somewhere between a P-bass and a J-bass. I think the MusicMan stingray got it JUST right, with 1 5/8 at the nut, half way between the 1 3/4 of a P bass and the 1 1/2 of a J bass.

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For Pickups, I'm partial to Aero Type 1's for passive basses - only J-set which had a full low-mid response... extremely clear and pronounced; had type 3's in my guild pilot which had a nice slightly overdriven-type growl to them...aggressive without being too aggressive... For "active systems" absolute favorite are the Delano JC4 HE/M2 split coil humbuckers with the Nordstrand NJ4SE Vintage Noise Cancelling pickups a very close second.

For onboard preamps: My go-to upgrades are the Audere 4-band 3ZB preamp and the John East U-retro (now upgraded as the Uni-Pre) preamp... diverse tonal pallet on both preamps... east may have a bit of coloration to it which might not agree with everyone...

Bridge: always a sucker for the 2-tek, but loved the Babicz bridge... had one on my old Gamma P-Bass...

Gears: Schaller M4's or Hipshot... great ratios with no string slippage... no elephant ears please, time to retire them to the zoo...

 

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