Skywalker83

[quote]I've seen one bass by Ursin at BassCenter in Helsinki, I think. It was a good one.[/quote]

Did it have a darkstar pickup? I think Marko builds quite a few basses using those pickups.


[quote]Would be interesting to see and hear your bass in person once it is complete...[/quote]

sure no worries, missä suomessa sää asut? (i'm presuming you are finnish)

[quote]Who would this be? I'm not sure I'd expect Fodera tone, because not all Finnish builders will have the highest quality woods available to them, which is a factor of some importance. The workmanship will not doubt be good. Will you get the Pope pre-amp for your bass? There is at least one luthier here in Turku who has a great reputation but who sure as f*** didn't give me my money's worth.* But I was young and gullible. Don't get a 'Musitec' by T.K. if you can avoid it![/quote]

The name of the luthier is Marko Ursin, he's not a full time luthier,it's more a hobby for him. But i've seen and heard two Fodera(ish) copies he's made and they look and sound very good. Unfortunatley i wont be betting the Pope preamp, due to the fact that they cost so much.(one came up on Talk Bass which i would have snapped up had i not already ordered the Aguilar) My bass is more Fodera by looks than sound, i've gone for a more MTD sounding bass, just because i like Bartolini pickups and Auguilar pre amps.

here is the spec for my bass:

[b]Design:[/b] 6 string ,Single Cut (Fodera Imperial Elite Shape) Thru Neck

[b]Scale:[/b] 33 inch

[b]String Spacing:[/b] 18 mm

[b]Frets:[/b] 24



[b]Woods:[/b] Body – Figured Walnut top (bookmatched) with Alder body
Neck – Wenge neck with Figured Walnut headstock veneer
Fingerboard – Birdseye Maple with custom dot markers (black with brass rings)
Initials Inlay on fret 12
Finish – Matt laquer

[b]Hardware:[/b] Bridge – Schaller 2000 (black/gold)
Tuners - Gotoh (Black and Gold))
Nut - Brass Nut
Stap Locks – Dunlop flush mount strap locks
Strings – Warwick Black Label M Gauge (0.25-0.135)

[b]Electronics:[/b] Pickups – Bartolini G6 soapbars
Preamp - Aguilar OBP-3 (18v, 2 x Batteries)
(Stacked Bass & Treble, Mid, Mid Select Switch, Blend, Vol)



[b]
Other Design Aspects[/b]

Wide pick-up spacing with curved top Wenge ramp
Walnut truss rod cover (on body, like an MTD bass)
Wooden electronics cavity covers (Alder and Wenge)
Tuners angled like Warwick tuners
Jack socket front mounted (like a Fodera)

Problem solved, had a chat with my luthier and we're going to loosely base the neck dimensions on a Warwick broadneck,which is 55mm at the nut for a 6 string.

Out of Interest Mike, does your Sei use a Schaller 2000 Bridge? i was just looking at pics of it on your site.

Can anyone recommend a nut width that is common for a 33" 6 string with an 18mm string spacing?

I'm getting a 33" scale 6 string made for me, i just wondered is 18mm too wide for a bass of this scale? Is it going to give me a huge wide neck? Also can anyone estimate what the width at the nut would be, on a 33" scale with 18mm string spacing?

[quote]Couldnt resist checking this out so stripped all the external metalwork off as you suggested. Mines the 500W version and it has no fan

After taking off the top and bottom punched plates, and the side panels, and front handle, I weighed the lot. All that extra baggage weighs 2.6kg or about 6lbs ohmy.gif

Thanks for the suggestion guys[/quote]


No worries,

Mine does have a fan, but to be honest i've never seen (or heard) it going on.

I'm thinking (if i get the time) of tring to construct some sort of bracket that will allow the stripped Superfly be rack mounted. But at the moment i'm just happy to have an amp that i can carry around in a laptop bag!

For those of you who are interested here's a pic of my Superfly with my PJB cab, a glowing 300W in a package that comes up to your knee....

[quote]once you take off the metal casing, what do you put it into??????[/quote]

Well, there's a choice...

1. Take all the metal casing off have a lighter, more heat repellent efficient amp that you sit ontop of your cab(s)/Rack

2. Keep all the casing on, have an amp that will go in rack, that will constanly overheat and break down.

Whats it gonna be?

Ok, not sure if someone mentioned it (i didn't read all the posts) or if you have already done this.

I have a Superfly, one of the very rare 1000W versions.

When you by a Superfly the first thing you do is.....Take ALL of the outer casing metal off, it's all added material for show, and all it does is make the amp heavier, and also stops the heat being able to escape, probably why yours over heated.

The casing of the Superfly is a major design flaw, the cooling fan is situated of the top of the amp, and then it's covered with the outer casing which is metal plate, which stops all the heat being able to escape.

The Superflys always had a reputation for being noisey and overheating, but this was mostly due to the outer metal casing.

It also might be worth looking into luthiers outside the UK. I'm getting a bass built,which is more or less a replica of a Fodera Imperial Elite 6 string, by a Finnish luthier (ok , yes i live in Finland), but the price is much cheaper than a Fodera, all in it's costing me around 1500€ , which is a great price. The guy is a great luthier too.

There's a whole bunch of luthiers in Europe, who i'm sure would be willing to come close to meeting your requirements.

Remember we're in a recession...work is slow these days in some parts

I'm pretty sure this is the old "stick a Fender Precision decal on a Squire" trick, it's so badly done as well. It doesn't even line up like a Fender Precision does. And also the "C" in the word "precision" is squint.

I have one of these basses, if i get the time i'll draw out the wiring set up for it this week.

Possible Venues in Glasgow to try:

The Arches
The Garage
The Cat House
Glasgow School of Art (Union building) they have their own club upstairs
Strathclyde Uni Union
ABC


Also there are loads of bars in Glasgow that put on live bands and some have in house sound engineers etc.

Good Luck

The guy who is building my bass is not a full time luthier, he just does it most of the time at weekends. So i dont think he can get better deals and waiting time on parts (i will check with him) all of the parts i'm getting apart from the bridge i was going to order from bestbassgear.com in America, the only problem is that as im in Finland i'll have to pay customs on top of the purchasing price.

2 x Bartolini G6 pickups (6 string version)
Aguilar OBP-3 preamp (4 knob/switch) (Stacked Basic kit, includes pots, jack, battery clips, switch etc)
3 x black gotoh tuners (bass side)
3 x gold gotoh tuners (treble side)
gold pickup screws
black pickup screws

All in this comes to around $375 (265€ or £227) with shipping

plus custom tax which is around 20% then in it comes to just over 300€

Am i likely to get these cheaper from the UK?

[quote]why are you sourcing your own hardware if you having the bass built with a Luthier?[/quote]

It's just the way he rolls. i buy the hardware i want and send it to him, he builds the bass and puts the hardware on.

My question is more aimed at the tuning pegs, i'm definitely going for a Schaller bridge, i would want a really good quality bridge, it's something i wouldn't want to cut costs on. but the tuning pegs is there such a huge difference in quality that is noticeable? between an import and a branded part?

Ok, so by the end of this year i will have my first custom bass built. At the moment im sourcing hardware to send to the luthier.
I'm going to be having a two-tone black and gold hardware set up.

3 black tuner, 3 gold tuners, black and gold bridge and possibly black and gold knobs or wooden knobs.

Ok, so im really keen on getting this schaller bridge

[url="http://gitarrenwissen.de/hp193253/Bass-Bridge-2000.htm?ITServ=C5006682bX1221dfedc79XYbe5"]Schaller bridge[/url]

and also the kind of Warwick styled tuning pegs.

The thing is with the tuning pegs is it really worth spending around £100+ for the two sets of coloured tuning pegs form Schaller or Gotoh when the likes of places like bassguitarpartsuk do import parts for a fraction of the price?

[url="http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/bassguitarpartsdirectuk_Import-Bass-Machine-Heads_W0QQ_fsubZ170485013QQ_sidZ795398863QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322"]bassguitarpartsuk[/url]

I have a westfield 5 string that probably uses jap/chinese/tawain made parts and the tuners on it are solid enough.

So are you paying for a name, or are you actually paying for a product that is much better quality????

ALSO

Does anyone know anywhere that stocks the Schaller bridge that im looking for??

Yeah , here is a couple of pics with sound clips as well of 2 basses that Marko built for a guy i know in Northern Finland.

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=547355&referrerid=128975"]5 string single cut[/url]

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=487862&referrerid=128975"]6 string single cut[/url]


theres a couple of changes(again ) to my spec after Marko had a look at it. im not getting the wenge block inlays, or the pick up covers. Also im going to go tfor a cheaper preamp than the John East (sorry John). i will probably upgrade the preamp later.

The quote he gave me for the bass is around 1600€

Thanks for all the input! I'm definitely going for a 33" scale! The luthier says its not a problem for him to build, and also he has found a supplier for the birdseye maple fretboard!

So here is my bass specs:

[b]Strings:[/b] 6
[b]Design: [/b]Single cut Neckthru (body shape like a Fodera Imerial elite)
Birdseye Maple pickup covers with Walnut Ramp

[b]Frets:[/b] 24
[b]Scale:[/b]33"

[b]Woods:[/b] Crotch or Figured Walnut Top and Ash or Alder Body
[b]Neck:[/b] Wenge Neck with walnut topped headstock
[b]Fretboard:[/b] Birdseye Maple with Wenge block inlays

[b]Hardware:[/b]

[b]Colour:[/b] Gold

[b]Tuners:[/b] Warwick or Gotoh Tuners
[b]Bridge:[/b] 17.5mm spacing , not sure which make yet.
[b]Nut: [/b]Brass Nut
[b]Strap Locks:[/b] Flush mount

[b]Electrics:[/b]

[b]Pickups:[/b] 2 x Bartolini G6 narrow Soapbars
[b]Preamp:[/b] John East U-retro Deluxe

Well the luthier has said that the only problem with the spec at the moment is the birseye maple, because he's not sure if he can get a big enough piece to use for a fingerboard.

This was something else i wanted to ask, does anyoe know of any sources for bidseye in Europe?

Yeah i guess 17mm might be better, i think it also means that i can use the bartolini G6 soapbars (have a look here see what you think) [url="http://www.bartolini.net/information/bass/6st_bass_pu_s.htm"]Bartolini pickups[/url]


[quote]Sounds like a fine choice of woods! I like walnut over ash, but thats just me.[/quote]

Its taken me quite a while to decide on the body woods, i went through a whole array of really fancy woods before settling for two very simple woods, which look great together! and will give a nice sort of MTD tone.

Thanks for the replies!

The luthier i'm having my bass built by is a finnish luthier named Marko Ursin, i've seen a couple of basses that a friend of mine has had built and they're pretty nice basses.

The current spec of the bass is:

Fodera Imperial elite shaped sigle cut 6 string thru neck
33" scale
Ash or Alder body with a crotch or Figured Walnut top
Wenge Neck
Birdseye maple fingerboard with abalone block inlays
18mm spaced Gotoh bridge
Gotoh tuners
flush mount strap locks
birdseye maple pickup covers
Walnut Ramp


I'm having a bit of trouble trying to decide on pickups and preamp for the bass, i'd really like a set or Bartolini G6's but i'm not sure if they will work with the 18mm string spacing. Does anybody know? or recommend other pickups and a pre?


I think the 33" would be good for me because all the basses i've had have been 35" and i've sometimes found them a little uncomfortable to play for long periods. I'm 5 ft 6 and my arms are quite short.

Getting my bass build started in the Autumn and just finalising the design and specs to give my luthier. Its going to be a string single cut. I was thinking about a 33" scale for my 6 string. Is this do-able? whats the pros and cons? What's the availability of strings like for a 6 string of this scale? Are there any makers of 33" 6 stringers. i once heard that Fodera commonly make 33" 6 stringers.

Any input would be appreciated.

Ok final price drop to [b]£55[/b],

anyone in the Ayrshire / Glasgow area can pick it up this week.

The dimensions i stated above are wrong , they 're too big, the actual internal dimensions are 900 x 600 x 225 mm

The touch screen unit also has a gooseneck lamp fitted.


Here's a couple of pics.




[url="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/3454514861_fb11c2d74f.jpg"]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/345451..._fb11c2d74f.jpg[/url]

The case has 3 handles, 1 either side, and one on the top.

There are a few scuffs on the case, and also i had spray painted 2 arrow on the side of the case so people would know which way up to sit it.

Anyone interested fire me a PM.

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='463442' date='Apr 16 2009, 12:02 AM']OK I'll be going to the studio tomorrow so will try to measure the desk up.
Will let you know tomorrow evening if that's ok?

thanks buddy
Andy[/quote]



sure no worries.

The internal dimenmsions are

1100mm x 600mm x 225mm

It also comes with a few extra pieces of foam inside

The inside is fully foamed.

Price drop[b] £60 for both[/b]