Kiwi

Go with the luthier who already makes basses that are close to what you want. Also consider Martin Petersen and Sei basses - his necks are superb, as are Jon Shukers. However for 1500 quid you will probably need to stay with a painted body.

Are you looking for variations on the same sonic (i.e. single coil) theme or are you looking to cover musical situations? [quote name='skej21' timestamp='1400882417' post='2457974'] [url="http://www.fender.com/series/american-standard/60th-anniversary-commemorative-stratocaster-maple-fingerboard-2-color-sunburst/"]http://www.fender.co...color-sunburst/[/url] [/quote] Is it my eyes or does the dark sunburst look a little inconsistent as it follows the edge of the body?

'tis but a scratch!

[quote name='Acebassmusic' timestamp='1401011509' post='2458990'] Stunning colour and bass.......you taking orders? [size=4][/quote][/size] A minimum of 90 hours of labour at 40 quid an hour plus another 700-800 in parts and materials... Looking at the bass before I left (with another set of clear coats still to go) I thought the bass looked more Paul Reed Smith than D'Angelico, mainly because of the outrageous quilt in the carved maple top with the binding. [size=4]The string spacing will be 16.5mm which is nicely consistent with my Alembic. It kind of ended up that way after we aimed for about 17mm. [/size][size=4]However, I can live with both those deviations from the plan. [/size] I'll still be trialling the graphite necks BTW. and will replace with wenge if I don't get quite the sound I'm after. Also, Jon will no longer be holding classes as his order book is so busy that he's run out of time and has had to take on an assistant, Tim. Tim is an extremely interesting chap...for being part of [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZACBEW_B8s"]this[/url] band for starters. And for then going on to be an extremely prolific pop song writer during the late 80's to mid 90's thanks to his connections with Stock Aitken and Waterman. He was a source of many anecdotes...one of which was about a certain pop star still around today which I can't repeat for legal reasons...but I'll never think of them in the same way ever again.

Sterling Ball wasn't the first to use a preamp...Burns used active pickups in their basses in the 60's. Thanks for sharing though, I might learn a little more about bass related electronics through your generosity. I'm curious about attenuation, so many preamps have two sockets but companies like Avalon make DI's which only need one. How does Avalon achieve something that other manufacturers over look? Is it a cost thing?

Any pedal that can generate a triangle waveform can get close if you dial out all the bass guitar and leave just the wave form. The OC2 can get close but you'll need to play up the neck to compensate for the shifted octave and the sound isn't as hi-fi sounding as on that clip.

The final two shots I have are the first colour coat halfway through the bursting. The edge binding is again masked so you don't really get a sense of how sharp the final appearance will actually be...which does mean I get to save something for the final 'reveal'. [attachment=163492:DSC09951.JPG] [attachment=163493:DSC09952.JPG] Jon and I had extensive conversations about what blue to use. I was very specific but the colour Jon kept asking me to approve looked nothing like the colour I wanted to see. Eventually we trialled it (above) and it was exactly the colour I was looking for. The following day was a Saturday. We went into the workshop at 7am to get a couple of hours on the bass before Jon held a maintenance course. Unfortunately this wasn't enough time to get the hidden bridge mechanism sorted. There were also issues with getting the ebony bridge cover to fit the ebony string saddle Jon had made and the neck was sitting too tightly in the neck pocket because the steinberger neck is wider at the fingerboard than at the face where the bolt holes are. So I had to leave it with Jon to sort out as I had a train to catch. I haven't heard from him yet so I hope things are going OK...

[attachment=163499:DSC09940.JPG] This is the body after the stain has been sanded back. [attachment=163485:DSC09943.JPG] The next job was to mask the front and back using paper and some stretchy white plastic tape so Jon could spray the sides. The binding on front and back were each a different depth so I masked them to ensure the paint could cover the excessive depth on the back binding. Jon is trying to avoid being in the photo on this one. [attachment=163486:DSC09945.JPG] So this is the first stage in the finshing process before and after the mask has been removed. The precision shaped body in the back there is the new JJ Burnel prototype BTW. JJ has apparently made a special request for materials but my lips are sealed... [attachment=163487:DSC09946.JPG] After the mask is removed you can get a sense of where the body is going in terms of its appearance. Sort of archtop-ish. While all of this painting was going on, I decided to crack on with carving the top on the other body. [attachment=163496:DSC09955.JPG] [attachment=163497:DSC09956.JPG] I'm a bit handy with a pencil so drafted the limits of any arch and set to with a rasp to rough out the dimensions. As you'll have seen from the first body, the inclined plane will ultimately have a 5mm lip around the binding edge, the actual arch will be carved using the mini plane and the line at the high part of the arch will be rounded over. The lot will be finished with 40 grit and then 100 grit. No orbital sander this time as it chews too much wood away between inspections.

This reminds me I need to sort out some more pics... [attachment=163478:DSC09924.JPG] So this is the finished carved and reshaped heel. I was fairly pleased with the result. I also took the opportunity to drill control indents on the front of the body. The control cavity was a little smaller than I would have liked but it looked OK in the end...I was still unsure where the pickup coil split switches might go though. Ruby was barking quite a bit at the time. Rotties are known for being very protective but Jon thought she might be overreacting to campers dogs in the campsite over the other side of the estate. So he came up with a novel solution. [attachment=163473:DSC09926.JPG] Ruby was successful in managing to retain her dignity and, funnily enough, did stop barking. But anyways, back to the build. At this point we needed to go back and check on the neck heel. Jon did some calculations for how high the neck needed to sit and discovered that the steinberger neck was 3mm deeper than a standard Fender. So I went back and re-routed the neck pocket. [attachment=163475:DSC09931.JPG] [attachment=163476:DSC09938.JPG] Then it was time for the staining. Jon diluted some dark blue mixed tint he had saved from a previous job. The idea is that the tint soaks into the wood where the grain is at an angle to the finished surface and makes it darker. [attachment=163477:DSC09939.JPG] After staining, the wood was then sanded back so that the stain is removed from some areas while still staying in the dark areas. This shot is before the sanding.

Yeah I was aware of the discussion here: [url="http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/squawk-box/233626-1-watt-amps-sag.html"]http://www.mylespaul...t-amps-sag.html[/url] Although I haven't mentioned it to the tech yet...assumed he would need to see the amps internals first given Ibanez's distributor in the UK, Headstock Distribution, hasn't responded to my request for a schematic. I expect it will be sing Maybe I'm better off just sticking with the sag simulation in Guitar Rig.

I like graphite necks, in fact I have a small collection of graphite necked instruments that represent key points in the evolution of the technology. I chose Steinberger/Moses because they're a little warmer than the layered necks used by status, modulus etc.

This was very cool. I winced a bit when Will Ferrell fluffed his miming but it was all part of the tongue in cheek nature of it anyway I guess.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1398342651' post='2433150'] Fascinating reading, inasmuch as there's some huge assumptions being made about what are at the end of the day organic substances with large variations in consistency and makeup. All Indian Rosewood is 797kg/m3, then? Really? That's 'A Scientific Approach'? By that 'science', all Ash Precision bodies (for example) weigh the same...as they do... More Marketing than Science, methinks... [/quote] You seem very keen to undermine him too. "Fascinating" didn't mean I supported his approach, fascinating meant I found it... fascinating. Did you see that bit where he mentions wood has been measured by others? You'd have to research his references in order to prove that the work he's references isn't scientific. But he doesn't give those references so you aren't in a position to claim anything because he hasn't supplied you with enough information. Clearly the article is just meant to be an article and not an academic paper so should be interpreted in that context. I prefer to use my intelligence and take the article at face value. It is what it is.

Oh wow - vintage 10s? I'll have to seriously consider those although one is 16 ohms. The sound I'm looking for is very mellow and full - something bluesy or jazzy that can counterbalance the small cabinet size. I just tried the pair of them this morning with NI Guitar Rig. Specifically the tweed amp simulator with the sag dialled up all the way and that was my sound right there. The slightly spikey highs were very nicely tamed, so part of the solution could also be the sag mod I was already planning. It would be nice to see if a rotary control or pot could be fitted to vary the sag.

Not sure I'll be able to lay my hands on a G10L35 so easily if they're sought after and out of production. I'll also need two, given I have two combos. I played the amp again last night and if I was to be seriously picky, unless the tone controls are backed off, the combo can sound a little too bright. I can take care of that with various electronic doo hickeys at various points along the signal chain but it would be nice to just plug in and play. A 10 that sounds a bit more like a 12 might be what I'm looking for in that context. Maybe the [url="http://celestion.com/product/31/g10_greenback/"]Celestion Greenback [/url]could be a better alternative?

I've pulled the trigger anyway and bought two. I'm extremely pleased with them! Definitely a chimey, Fender-ish tone to be had from the wee beasties and they go about as loud as you'd ideally want for home practice without being disruptive. The tube screamer circuit does a nice job of providing gritty break up and overdrive tones but, contrary to the marketing blurb, metal tones are definitely not available without super hot pickups or a booster. More reviews here: [url="http://www.jemsite.com/compare-guitar-amplifiers/Ibanez-TSA5-Combo-Amp/reviews/"]http://www.jemsite.c...bo-Amp/reviews/[/url] One of the reviews talks about replacing the stock Ruby tube with an 'upgrade' but I have ruby tubes by choice in my Trace V8. They're a very reputable and warm sounding brand. Other suggestions involve replacing the stock Celestion Tube 10 speaker with an Eminence Rajun Cajun. Again - Celestion have a solid reputation and the Tube 10 gets five stars on Amazon and has been described as particularly impressive. But a youtube video here does a compare and contrast. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqr5AWJ5o80"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqr5AWJ5o80[/url] So I won't be replacing bits soon. But I'll be taking both to a local amp tech soon for a sag modificiation to the rectifier. All in all, I think these amps are outstanding value for money.

It was complicated Kev...sealer went down after I stained the wood with a light blue tint and sanded it back to give the grain more contrast. Then Jon sprayed the sides dark blue to hide the mahogany after I masked off the front and back. Then I took the mask off and then applied a new mask to the sides so he could do the blueburst on front and back. After the colour was down he put on 2-3 coats of clear for protection and we then started assembly of the hidden bridge.

Yesterday - there was just sanding. Lots and lots of sanding. 40 grit, 100 grit, 180 grit, 240 grit and finally soaking the wood and finishing with 400 grit...to a point where we're now ready for the finishing...

Tuesday we discuovered two issues. The neck heel which wasn't quite square and there was a dip in the top bout on the back facing where the orbital sander from last time had dug too deep. Old school is often better because although it takes longer, there is also plenty of time to reflect on progress and avoid over working areas. [attachment=162688:DSC09907.JPG] So I decided to recess the heel back to a greater depth than the dip and blend the carve back into the rest of the body. This was a trial and error process, it would have been easy to carve it smooth and just leave a straight line in, but I wanted there to be more flow connecting the top and lower bouts. So more determined carving was needed, again finishing with 40 grit to take the carving marks out. [attachment=162689:DSC09910.JPG] To take care of the unsquare heel I decided to resaw the heel so it reflected the angle of the bolt locations on the neck more closely. I fashioned some pointers out of old bolts Jon had lying around so I could locate the position of the neck bolt holes in the pocket without too much guess work. I pilot drilled the positions so I could see them on the other side of the heel. [attachment=162691:DSC09911.JPG] This was a bit awkward because the heel had already been bound and the new heel angle would need a new rebate for the binding. However we managed to peel back the super glued binding to make enough room for filing the heel straight and to let the router to carve the rebate. [attachment=162690:DSC09912.JPG] Despite my best efforts, the binding eventually broke off on the upper side but with some deft gluing and sanding, the join is almost invisible.

OK time to resurrect this thread. I've been at Jon's since Monday and I have the body to the point where its ready for staining. Monday was spent carving the arch into the top. By hand. Using a mini plane. I have blisters on my fingers but that's old school I guess. [attachment=162685:DSC09892.JPG] Then rough sand back with 40 grit to get rid of any edges. [attachment=162687:DSC09893.JPG] This had to be done for both the front and back of the instrument.

I spotted this on [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RTO-ES335-Type-Electric-12-String-Guitar-with-Patented-Relative-Tune-Tremolo-/251512896836?pt=Guitar&hash=item3a8f563d44"]Ebay[/url] and was curious. The sound is mesmerising. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioPcjG1pJPc

I'll stick a shout in for Michael Spalt too - some very innovative features in using aluminium frames for bodies and necks, adjustable body widths, sliding pickups etc. I haven't tried one but I understand they sound good too. [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1399717379' post='2446908'] I've seen Pedulla's for sale, was offered one in a trade once even... know very little about them - care to elaborate a bit more about them please? [/quote] My Pentabuzz is an extremely well made instrument with some very robust detailing - for example, the grain of the neck laminates are symmetrical, they use brass bushings even in the control cavity cover, the necks are super stiff which means I can achieve very low action. The only thing that lets them down a little are the woolly sounding Bartolinis. Apart from that, they're instruments that are designed to last a lifetime.

Ned is top of the list for me - his designs are an inspired combination of elegance and function. I think Ned stood on Leo's shoulders and took things a step beyond what Leo accomplished. Possibly because he was able to take advantage of technological developments in materials and manufacturing. But most of the stuff Ned has worked on would not look out of place framed on a wall and yet his instruments remain functional and innovative without being gimmicky. So there's some integrity and authenticity to his work. Honourable mentions: Michael Pedulla - for his buzz basses, beautiful and distinctive. The necks on his instruments are amazing. Geoff Gould - for his pioneering work with composites Rick Turner/Ron Wickersham - for pioneering neck laminates and studio quality electronics in Alembics