Matte_black

Yes, a bandsaw is definitely needed to cut body shapes, neck blanks and fingerboard. I use a small one made by Valex and it's enough for me. But if you ever used one of those 200kg monsters with a 2cm wide saw you feel the difference
Today I ended up making some serious work on my last build: 30" scale, Ovangkol neck and body and Olivewood fingerboard (unlined fretless). The neck pocket is now ready. A couple of days of hard work and it will be ready to rock!

Thanx for your kind words... no, I never posted in that section but I could do it as I have the "in progress" pics of the fretless.
The Carl Thompson tribute body you see in my avatar is much larger than the "Bean bass" and it's good for 34"+ scale. It's a matter of taste... I like the Scroll but I literally fell in love with the 30" scale as soon as I completed this fretless. It's so easy to play and so light that you can play for hours without problems (only 3kg!).
I'll certainly expand my 30" scale basses line soon. In fact when I make a bass to keep it "in stock" I'm always going for that scale lenght 'cause it's really something you all should try. 10cm shorter than a 34", you have your first fret where a 34" has its 4th or 5th... go figure!
In the pics you can see the difference in size between the body shapes and the "Bean" shape next to a Jazz body (made by me, of course).

Hello! Sorry for the delay... thanx to everyone who commented my work.
The bass in my avatar was the first "ready for a sale" instrument I've built. I usually keep using the "scroll" on almost all the body shapes as I like it a lot and it really adds something to a body shape.
I must be completely honest: I like the fretless more but only 'cause I'm in a "fretless period"
The fretted one has really a nice bait if you pluck on the pickup and the dynamic range given from the single pickup is pretty wide.
Yes, I keep my instrument pretty clean and simple. This is the way I like it and I A/Bed them with basses that sell for 5 times that price...
I never needed an active preamp... you really have enough punch in passive with these woods and construction.
About a 5er in 30" scale: I'm probably going to make one soon and the japanese guy that bought the first bass wants a 7 strings 30" scale hollow body, he's probably going to order it in September. It could really be a nice building experience.

I'm actually working on a "Swan" fretless (30" scale) with Ovangkol neck and body and Olivewood fingerboard and controls cover and I think I'll start another build as soon as I get rid of a couple of University exams this month.
I mainly use Padauk, Afzelia, Ovangkol, Ash, Wengé, Ebony.
Oh, I attach pics of the back, so you can see the neck joint. On my newer builds I also use wood nails to make the resonance and strenght even better.

LOL!

Hello! With the "special permission" of Ped (thanx man!) I'm posting here a couple of my works...
I'm a young builder and, being a student, I don't build on a regular basis... not yet.
Let's talk about these puppies.

The first one has a 1 piece European Ash body, a quarter-sawn Ash neck and Padauk fingerboard with 19 frets. 2 actions truss-rod, Seymour Duncan soapbar and chrome hardware keep the thing pretty "clean" looking. The scale lenght is 30" and the bass is very easy to play and sounds pretty warm and funky if plucked while the slap sound is pretty crispy. The typical sound you'd expect from an Ash bodied bass.

The second one is a sort of "twin": 1 piece Okoumé body, quarter-sawn Padauk neck with Padauk unlined board, 19 "frets". Same 2 actions truss-rod, Bartolini "reverse-P" pickup and chrome hardware. This bass is very light, about 3-3.1kg. It's balanced and very easy to play. Lots of "mwah" everywhere. They both have my logo on the headstock and strap buttons... but they weren't on when I took the pics.

I called this body shape "Bean bass".
Both basses are finished with catalyzed oil (like Danish Oil but a bit tougher). The "standard features" on my instruments are:

1) Deep set-in construction;
2) Body without neck-heel (you can play all frets without ever reaching the body);
3) Thin finish;
4) Quarter-sawn neck and, on fretted, fingerboard;
5) Simple, straightforward controls (usually volume and tone) and one single pickup;
6) Oil finish;

I usually charge €600 (about £480) for a 4 strings bass (only for wood and work, hardware and pickups must be paid for separately) but the price for BCers is £500 each one SHIPPED WITHIN EUROPE. I'll give you a 24 hours approval period and if you don't like the bass you can return it, losing only shipping costs.
I've sold a bass to a nice guy in Japan and he wrote a review for Harmony Central...

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Prometeus+Guitars/Scroll+Bass+Fretless/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...s+Fretless/10/1[/url]

And my personal site is here: www.prometeusguitars.com while I keep the Myspace mirror updated more often: www.myspace.com/prometeusguitars
As you can read I keep prices very reasonable as I don't build full time. Drop me a line if you're interested in my work... even just for curiosity
Before starting my building adventure I've owned about 200 basses... don't let the price fool you, these puppies can beat instruments that cost 5 times more.

Got an offer for £1050 on the 'Bay but I refused it. So it's back for sale. I'm really amazed this axe wasn't bought in 24 hours!

Bump and price reduction. It's strange how things lose their value when we don't have an use for them...
Partial trade I could be interested in: Status Electro (expecially fretless), AI heads or combo.

Thanx
It sounds good but I must admit I never play it as I'm using the fretless in these days. The body doesn't look awesome but I hope it's priced accordingly.

Exactly. I didn't remember if it was against BC policy to post auction URLs... by the way, I've put a discounted price for BCers

The one on Loot is an Electro I (a bit cheaper than the new one). The Electro I had Maple neck, Rosewood board, piezo (no magnetic pickups) and didn't have the Rosewood top neither.
I'd buy this bass in a heartbeat if I wasn't a builder myself.

Bass sold on eBay.

Hello! Beedster, this isn't a preamp, it's a tone shaper. It's like having the eq. section of a Series II bass in a rack unit.
My SF2 was bought used but as far as I know all Alembic electronics (SF2, F2B and F1X) are made to work with both 220v and 110v without modifications
If you have other questions just ask. The SF2 COULD be sold as I've received a fair offer and a nice user was interested in it.
Oh, unfortunately I don't have the manual but Mica Wickersham would certainly help you if you needed one. The unit is extremely easy to work with so I never needed the manual. I have both the european and USA power supplies.

Small saturday night bump with price reducing!

Devinebass: I remember when your Benavente was for sale at the LowEnd. Brian Barrett was very happy about it. He wrote nothing but great things about it. I almost bought it!
Congrats, your band rocks and your playing is exceptionally tasteful. Keep grooving and good luck with the sale!

Thanx guys.

Still available! Heck, it's a pretty hard to find piece of gear... I'm a bit surprised it's still here.

SOLD!

Hello again! Sorry for the delay, my ADSL was dead...
I'd need someone not too far from Orkney, on the extreme North of the country. I know it's not easy. I'm willing to pay for fuel and hassle if some one wants to take a ride

Hello! I'm going to buy a bass from a private seller. She is in Scotland and I'm not in UK. Is there anyone in Northern Scotland that could help me picking up the bass in person? I'm obviously ready to pay for fuel, transport, hassle with money or beer
Please contact me by PM if available.

Hi guys... just send me a PM with a mail address

If you use good strings on a good bass and have it set-up for that tuning I'm sure it will work fine. Amplifier is another link of the chain you should take care of, though.

Hi guys... sorry if I'm not writing a lot but I'm in a really weird period...
After some money issues (after 4 months I'm still waiting for my last paycheck!) I need to get rid of my 3d instrument. Its' a bass completely hand built by me and there's no other one like it. I don't take measurements or templates of my body shapes so this is gonna be a one-off, really.
These are the specs:

1 piece European Ash body
2 pieces Padauk neck with two double-action rods, set-in construction
Padauk fingerboard with 24 frets
35" scale
19mm spacing at bridge (but the spacing is completely up to you, from 16 to 20mm)
2 custom (hand built to my specs, again a unique piece) J pickups with vol/vol/tone controls
chrome hardware
satin oil finish (hand rubbed)

The bass is actually tuned from B to high A# but can be tuned from Low F# or C# if you so desire. The spacing is the same of 4 strings basses so slapping is a breeze (if you're man enough to hold such a beast!). I never liked narrow spacing. The bass has a very sweet tone when unplugged and the pickups are made with the best Alnico magnets and the best wire available. I had them made by a finest artisan to my specs. They're passive pickups and they really deliver the warm, focused tone of this bass. The low strings really have a nice growl while the highest strings almost have the classical guitars warmth. I apologize for not posting the pics but I'm a bit jealous of this axe... it's my third instrument and I really want it to stay with me but money forces me to let it go
I'll send pics to potential buyers.
So if you're in the market for an extended range bass this could be a good buy. It's NOT a Ken Smith (it's not perfect when it comes to finish or things like that) but I can assure that it's really a sweet puppy. I'll consider offers in the region of £1000. I could consider partial trades for Acoustic Image amps, Demeter, Alembic or Avalon preamps but I need to get some cash out of the deal. I offer a 24 hours approval period. Please contact me for pics, specs or questions. The beast will be up for sale until I solve my troubles... in that case it will stay with me

I feel like I should put my 2 cents in this thread
If what a player does really moves me emotionally I think he can use 4 or 12 strings. If he has no groove and his soloing (IF he makes solos) is poor then even 4 strings are too much.
Sure, an 8-9+ strings bass is almost another instrument. But it's still a musical instrument, a tool for sharing and creating emotions and feelings. That's how I see it.


After that, I'm still waiting for my 8 strings set from Conklin

Hi Dave... sorry but I didn't get Basschat mails even if I subscribed this discussion...
Shipping costs don't vary a lot without the case. They could even be the same!
I had some interest locally, I'll keep you posted. Sorry again for my late answer!

I've owned the same model in the same color... it's AMAZING. The best action you can immagine and a slap to die for. I'll always regret the fact I was so nut to trade it with a 6er

[quote name='Rumble' post='77817' date='Oct 22 2007, 05:37 PM']Thanks for that John.

Everything about this bass is quality. Come on peeps, what ya got?

BTW John, the Shuker looks the dog's danglies!![/quote]

Nice bass! Anyway it's pretty clear that the body wood is Ash, not Alder. I bet it sounds amazing (like all Status do).