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The instrument is almost ready now! The body has been painted and the hardware installed and meister [url="http://www.matteorufini.com/"]Matteo Rufini[/url] is about to put a tasty P / MM [url="http://www.teslapickups.com"]Tesla pickups[/url] combo set on it. My color combination of choice is a correct daphne blue with cream pickguard. I’ve always wanted a daphne blue instrument, I find that colour very subtle, elegant and classic, but for some reason daphne blue instruments are very hard to come by. I’ve also quickly learned that it’s a shade of color that changes though the years and can fade to an almost seafoam green tint, so a bit of research went into that; Matteo and I both agreed that the best pickguard colour to go with it had to be vintage cream as it complements the whole vintage vibe quite nicely. This is also quite interesting: Yesterday night I was having a conversation with my pal Pat Harrington who lives in California. He’s an incredible bassist, a wildlife conservationist and a hard core Rush fan. My kinda guy. Well, he loves his cars and told me more about the much coveted Daphne Blue tint. It first appeared as a color option on the ’58 Cadillac! Story goes that Leo Fender would just pick the colours from the DuPont chip charts of the day so that they’d be consistent and, well, very cheap. Fender offered it as a colour option only from 1960 to 1965. So, my baby is going to be the colour of a vintage car. And yes, it’s relic’d. Heavily. The relicing of modern instruments is a delicate topic and never fails to heavily polarize opinions. Some think it’s a cool look and some others loathe it on the grounds of purism and age coherence. I personally find that an instrument needs to inspire the player to pick it up and make music with it and if a fake antique look does the trick (and in my case it does indeed), well, then let it be. Furthermore, guitar based music of any genre (rock, pop, blues, r ‘n b, etc..) is rapidly becoming a nostalgia business. A quick look into the charts reveals how little mainstream music is being made with traditional post 50s string instruments. I know I harbour quite an unpopular point of view but I truly believe that with the advent of the latest music making technologies, the electric guitar (or the electric bass) is rapidly becoming the new violin if you know what I mean. Sorry for the digression, that’ll have to be material for a new post on my blog. What I’m trying to say is that it’s my perception that a lot of what I play on nowadays draws so much from the tradition of pop and rock music, that my instrument needs to reflect that. It’s either that or I’m just getting old and grumpy and crave for a more conservative design. Take a look at how Matteo masterfully aged the hardware. Last but not least take a good look at that sweet flame maple neck that show off the signature Rufini Guitars fret markers. Man I can’t wait…

[b] [size=4]Rufini Vintage Custom Series build diary pt.3[/size][/b] August 2, 2014 When it came down to discuss neck measurements I had two requests: it had to have 24 frets and it had to be narrow because I have small hands / short fingers, so no P Bass style baseball bat profile. Of course Matteo laid a lot of great ideas on the table and I couldn’t help but keep saying “yes”, “that’s great” and “you’re so talented it’s not even funny”. I told him how I really enjoyed playing a Music Man Sterling that belongs to a good friend of mine and how its neck felt good and fast; he got that on board and delivered something better: he started from the classic ’60s Jazz Bass measurements but added, quite literally, a twist to it. The neck will sport a variable taper construction technique: it will be a C profile at the nut and will slowly morph to a flat D under the higher frets. On top of that it’ll gradually become asymmetric, so it’ll help the thumb to get in the optimal position to help accessing the top frets. I can’t wait to lay my hands on it! Another feature I always wanted on my dream bass is a flame maple fretboard just because, well, it looks gorgeous and feels really good under the fingers. I asked if we could keep the finish to the bare minimum as I’m not a fan of finished necks; it kinda bums me out a bit when I’m onstage, things are a little sweaty and the back of the neck ‘catches’ my thumb. It’s a minimal thing and it really is a borderline first world problem, but what the heck, you’re having an instrument built on your own specs, better address every nuance. Matteo explained to me that he employs a very interesting building techinque when it comes to fretboards. Instead of just gluing it to the neck and then shaping it, he sands down the neck shaft and then he glues the fretboard so that it follows the curvature he imparted to the main piece. He swears by this kind of approach and says it prevents dead spot problems. Lastly, here’s a couple of images of the instrument pieced together. As you can see a lot still has to be done, but you can start guessing what makes it stand apart from a traditional Fender style instrument!

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1406629841' post='2513131'] Ah I suppose you'd say I'm a bit of a trained observer (I did degrees in astronomy and then visual art LOL) [/quote] haha then it makes perfect sense!

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1406584474' post='2512835'] Double octave neck with the split P pickup further back than a standard Fender? [/quote] You, dear sir, know your stuff!

Hello Eude I'm with you there - new Fenders are "only" nice, expecially considering the price tag. Old ones are amazing, but then you are buying an instrument that existed for more than you did, probably. A lot of sweat, energy, vibrations, feelings went into it and made it larger than the sum of its parts. It'd be interesting to be around in twenty years from now when, say, soundgears will be prized vintage instrtuments!

Hey MoonBassAlpha, thanks for reading! Stay tuned, you'll see how this instruments differs from a standard P - bass. I don't want to give it away too soon, tho! I also believe that having a loving craftsman building a one off instrument imparts a certain energy to it. I think it'll feel different from a factory made bass; almost like eating a chocolate muffin versus eating a chocolate muffin a friend baked for you, if I'm making any sense.

[b] [size=4]Rufini Vintage Custom Series build diary pt.2[/size][/b] July 27, 2014 The baby is starting to take shape. Matteo selected a lovely piece of Alder which will be the tonewood of choice for the body. When we spoke about the neck/ body wood combination, he was very clear about the fact that an Alder body was the best choice to complement a maple neck / fretboard. We want to build an instrument that can deliver a warm, vintage tone as well as some modern rock grind. If we went for a harder body wood, say ash, the instrument response would have been too bright / snappy which is great if you’re playing in a rock band or funkying it up, but probably too much of a one trick pony. Of course I am sure there’s a million great instruments out there that are made of denser / harder woods and can deliver warm round tones, but building a bass from scratch is a one bullet operation and we did not want to take chances. Once it’s built it’s built and you have to deal with its inherent voice. In a nutshell the concept would be: maple neck and fretboard to give the sound brilliance, attack and percussiveness and alder body to mellow it out and give it sustain and roundness. Of course the woods are selected to maximize grain coherence and wood coupling once the parts are screwed together. Maestro Rufini then proceeded to hand carve the body to a familiar shape we all know and hopefully love. I had many a conversation with my colleagues about body shape and assumptions. It’s not a mystery that when you walk into a studio or onstage with an instrument that sports a less familiar body shape you can meet suspicion or the people you are working with / for might have a bias towards lesser familiar shapes and curves. I find this particularly true in the UK where Rock and Roll is becoming part of a tradition and MDs and musos have a more positive perception of the classic vintage vibe. Owning an instrument with a quintessential shape gives me more peace of mind that I won’t have to fight producers who want me to “put that away and use my Fender, thanks”. On a different note it’s also true that different instruments give the musician a different mindset, or at least that’s what happens to me. I believe that us electric string players have an almost pagan approach to playing music through our instrument. We need symbols and ‘mojo’. I find myself in a completely different mindset depending on the kind of instrument I got in my hands. Multi – laminate five string oddly shaped active basses scream “TWO HANDED TAP SLAP FUSIONY STUFF” to my subconscious, while classic instruments put me in a more pacate, song oriented mindset. This instrument will be a tradition – inspired beast with hints of modernism; it’ll basically say “groove first, idiot, but sneak in that double thumb lick if you can”. Again, thanks for reading and have a nice one!

Me too have a good one!

[b] Rufini Vintage Custom Series build diary pt.1[/b] July 23, 2014 During the past few years I gathered quite a small collection of nice instruments that serve me well when I have a studio session or a live gig. Being active on the London scene means being able to play a sweaty indie rock gig, a posh dinner jazz set, an intense New Orleans blues jam. On the same day. I started daydreaming about a bass that could be my go – to instrument when I need versatility for a studio session or during a function gig when I need to switch from Motown thump to Daft Punk zing to Summer of 69 grind at the drop of a hat. I feel I’m at a stage in my life and career in which I start to understand what I really need from an instrument. A bazillion hours spent on stage around Europe and the US plus all the studio time taught me a thing or two about me and my ideal instrument. In my head the guy should: [b]1) Have a simple and straight pick up layout and no more than the basic tone controls.[/b] Last time I touched an onboard eq pot was three years ago and I did boost it of a 20%. For two songs. No onboard preamp for me, but the good old Fender tone cut pot which I’ve been missing so much. Besides I always run in my head the catastrophe scenario that your battery runs dry during a set / your preamp fries out of commission. I go to gigs prepared (extra bass, extra battery, extra screwdriver)and service my basses regularly, but it’s a nagging afterthought that never goes away. I think that borders on OCD now I think about it. [b]2) It needs to be versatile and sound outstanding.[/b] I play swing and metal and everything in between. I need an instrument that delivers great tone and playability. One of the best days of my working life was when an engineer I recorded for took time to write me an email complimenting me for my sound. I want every single one of my studio sessions ending with a big grin on the client’s and the engineer’s face. There is no compromising on that! [b]3) It needs to look awesome[/b] While some of you might not agree, the looks of an instrument are a huge part of the whole deal. You need to be able to look at it and be inspired to give the best performance you can. On top of that, the way you look onstage or in a music video is part of who you are as a pro. You need to deliver a consistent performance AND look amazing in the process. I found that sometimes showing up with an instrument that’s not coherent with the vibe of the night can be a buzz killer. Picture BB King’s rhythm guitar player showing up onstage with a Jackson King V in metallic silver and you’ll get exactly what I mean. Now, I only needed somebody to make all this real. Enter [b]Rufini instruments[/b]. Let me start by saying that Matteo Rufini, who runs a one man business in the heart of sunny Italy is an artist and a man with a big heart who lives for his craft. I saw one of his instruments on his Facebook page (dude is revamping his website as we speak) and was captivated by the sheer beauty and perfection of his craftsmanship. It was not my kind of bass, but it radiated that special energy that only those instruments made with love and an obsessive attention for detail have. He was the man to make my dream bass a reality. I got in touch with him and we teamed up. We started throwing around ideas, discussing design and in general having loads of fun. And now he’s working on it, as we speak. I’ll keep you updated on the build, explaining the choices we made and the reasons why. And I’m excited like a kid! Thanks for reading, have a great day everyone

Dude's a legend! Super nice; I was late and he stopped watching the game to patiently wait for me while I was trying one of his cab and we also had a little "bass player" chat. The cab I bought was as stated in the ad and the price was right. Would do business with again in a heartbeat. Cheers

[color=#333333] Good morning![/color][color=#333333] Just to let you know... I'm trying to log in to the website with my FB account and this is what I get:[/color][color=#333333] This web page has a redirect loop The web page at[url="http://basschat.co.uk/interface/facebook/index.php?m=0&key=fdc9cb9ca372b74e476a1257a3d5a5a7&_reg=1&error_code=901&error_message=This+app+is+in+sandbox+mode.++Edit+the+app+configuration+at+http%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.facebook.com%2Fapps+to+make+the+app+publicly+visible.#_="]http://basschat.co.uk/interface/facebook/index.php?m=0&key=fdc9cb9ca372b74e476a1257a3d5a5a7&_reg=1&error_code=901&error_message=This+app+is+in+sandbox+mode.++Edit+the+app+configuration+at+http%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.facebook.com%2Fapps+to+make+the+app+publicly+visible.#_=[/url]_ has resulted in too many redirects. Clearing your cookies for this site or allowing third-party cookies may fix the problem. If not, it is possibly a server configuration issue and not a problem with your computer.[/color][color=#333333] Maybe there is something weird going on with FB? Have a good one and keep up the great work![/color]

Holy shoe!!! You are totally right! ..now I have to redesign the album art again... Anyway. Glad you like it, Mr (despite the avatar pic) Parsons

... well, that's the title of my new composition anyway Please enjoy and download for free. And let me know how you like it! [url="http://jordanbrown.bandcamp.com/track/alan-parsons-undercover-mission-to-africa"]http://jordanbrown.b...ssion-to-africa[/url] Have a great day everyone