allighatt0r Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 That looks absolutely awesome, I'm glad you're settling in with it. How long did the build take from start to finish in the end? Do you charge up the luminescence under bright lights before a gig? or just leave it outside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks! I ordered it beginning of June and the sketches etc started but Heath made a proper start around August I think and I picked it up at the beginning of November. If it was one of his designs he would have finished it in 3-4 weeks, but my constant inference delayed things! It was being designed as it was being made and so decisions made along the way. A flow of emails regarding standy-uppy ideas etc tried his patience, I'm sure, but also there was a delivery wait for imported gear (Hipshot) to arrive and to get the pickups made into the wooden cases. Yep, I bought a little led torch from the pound shop, charge them up and they lose most of the glow in a few minute but smoulder away for quite a while. From daylight it holds a glow for quite a while, but gigs are usually evenings and out the case it needs a charge. In fact, now I've been thinking about it, I've discovered I've not seen the dots due to bright lights in my eyes (disability glare) rather than it being too dark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Oh man, that is one stunning bass! I'm delighted for you. You had a specific Utility brief with an overlay of pure custom, and you stuck to it throughout! Hats off to you 4 Strings! The build, colour, wood figuring, and hardware are awesome, really awesome. Congrats man! I've loved every post of this thread. Thank you for sharing. RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks again! Well, here is the Utility Bass being utilised: [URL=http://s1341.photobucket.com/user/4Strings1/media/IMG_1102_zpsb11ad1b6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o760/4Strings1/IMG_1102_zpsb11ad1b6.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverickwood Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Theres a brown 5 string on Heaths Facebook page - I purchased this from him earlier in the year. Lovely bloke, lovely bass. Whenever I need a five, that one does a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Heath is great fun, and a really nice guy. Hope you're as pleased with the Brown 5. I'd be happy to place another order with him (if there was any way I could justify it!) for something similar, but with a couple of lessons learnt from this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverickwood Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 [attachment=150765:ruach.jpg] He brought another one along when I got the brown one, but I had to make a choice. I think another guy on here purchased it - it was very cool and red!! I'm so descriptive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 [quote name='steverickwood' timestamp='1387629361' post='2313954'] [attachment=150765:ruach.jpg] He brought another one along when I got the brown one, but I had to make a choice. I think another guy on here purchased it - it was very cool and red!! I'm so descriptive. [/quote] Very nice! Seemed like a choice you couldn't get wrong either way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 My baby has gone back to the womb. Heath popped by and now has the Utility Bass in his workshop for the tuner to be fitted and it's final finish. You may remember it got a bit rushed in the end as I wanted it for certain gigs and we were waiting and waiting for bits to arrive from the US. He'll mainly be adding the tuner, changing the pup switch to a 'Superswitch' which has more terminal combination options to allow the pups to be wired and selected as we wanted in the beginning. The very helpful Aaron Armstrong kindly supplied this and the wiring diagram. He'll also dress a couple of frets and have a look at the quiet 'D'. Lastly, I have run a battery down by not pulling out the jack so, in the name of utility, Heath is going to look at squeezing a battery switch in that cavity. He offered to look at sanding the sides of the pups a little, so they can tilt in their cavities, but they're fine at that now. Bye bye, Baby, Baby, bye bye. <sniff> Didn't realise that I would miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skej21 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 [quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1387582954' post='2313686'] Thanks again! Well, here is the Utility Bass being utilised: [URL=http://s1341.photobucket.com/user/4Strings1/media/IMG_1102_zpsb11ad1b6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1341.photobucket.com/albums/o760/4Strings1/IMG_1102_zpsb11ad1b6.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] This photo is amazing. The bass looks great. The look on your (bass) face suggests that there is someone just off stage loudly questioning the utility of the utility bass! (Or a group of yoofs have just kicked a football into your garden!) Be gone, utility doubting heathen!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 [quote name='skej21' timestamp='1391944369' post='2362784'] This photo is amazing. The bass looks great. The look on your (bass) face suggests that there is someone just off stage loudly questioning the utility of the utility bass! (Or a group of yoofs have just kicked a football into your garden!) Be gone, utility doubting heathen!! [/quote] Haha, probably not far wrong, skej21! (Although it may also have been the result of thinking, "Rats, I thought there were only two repeats of that verse, hope no-one noticed!") Utility has been returned, all work done and gleaming in a re-wax. Heath has replaced the pup switch with the 'Superswitch' and wired it to a very complicated diagram supplied by Aaron Armstrong to satisfy my switching whims (which it does) and puts things in series where they should be, dressed all the fret ends, added a battery switch (and an led - in green of course!) and, ta-ta-ta-taaaaah - the tuner! Tuner works great! I'm now thinking it's becoming a Cortina with every conceivable extra bolted on! The tuner has been mounted between the pups on a piece of maple from the neck wood (same as the pup covers). Switchable by a pull-up volume knob. I know, no pics, no tuner so I will take pics and show you, it's the icing on the cake. (tbh though, I have lasted this long by very rarely ever using a tuner, always by ear. I'll continue in this vein as I don't want to lose that skill, but sometimes it needs a proper check (I have a recording with a flat 'D'!) and, bingo, no-one even knows I'm doing it!). Pics will follow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixingwithtom Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 This is a wicked looking bass!! Please can we see the tuner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 [quote name='wwcringe' timestamp='1410620567' post='2551342'] This is a wicked looking bass!! Please can we see the tuner? [/quote] Thanks, wwcringe! Yes, although the bass is away at the moment having that MM pup looked at. As soon as it's back I'll do some more pics of details etc. Hopefully will have something to say about the sound too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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