Bass Culture Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I am now an officially signed up 'liker' of your FB page. Being 5'4" tall and having hands somewhat smaller than is ideal for a bass player I look forward to the development of the production model bass with interest. Pip pip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks for the feedback. After browsing the photo album showing off the gorgeous work of Mr. Eastwood, I was reminded of an alembic, like the Stanley Clarke arrangements: I guess the SWB-1 is using the short scale, reasonably light headstock and neck, broad and uncontoured body - and crucially, a fairly heavy bridge - a little like the alembic arrangement. Come to think of it the SWB-1 has a double cutaway body like the alembic - but unlike the alembic it has an extended upper horn - the strap button is a at least 3 frets closer to the headstock... Given the alembic has different woods and dimensions (The stanley clarke is usually 30.75" scale) the comparison isn't perfect. P.S. FWIW, I'd have the Kahler as a £200 ish custom order option - most customers will be happy with a simpler, cheaper, high mass bridge. Of course if you can find a great trem for £150 (or less!) that you'd be proud & confident to put into what is, after all, a bass with your name on it - well it's your call isn't it. I know nothing about bass trems so I'll let those who do discuss the specifics. I have only heard good things about that kalher unit however. Here's a nice vid I remember watching of a trem enthusiast who's a kahler fan: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYfihKzF7j0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYfihKzF7j0[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All thumbs Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 (edited) [quote name='ikay' timestamp='1426683160' post='2720689'] Thanks for reply re the issue of balance. I guess that depends on having quite a dense body then. Out of interest what does your custom SWB-1 weigh? On the question of reach though, with so much neck to the left of the upper strap button doesn't it feel much the same as a 34" for the left hand? Sorry to labour the point, I'm not trying to be awkward. I really like the idea of the SWB-1 but one of the things that attracts me to a short scale is having to stretch less for the lower frets. [/quote] No worries - thanks for the questions. In reality it certainly feels to me the 1st fret is still much more in reach than on most long scale basses, but there's easy access to upper frets too! A few of my fav' short scale basses I have to physically push out of the way to play high up. You can see this shifting the bass around shenanigans going on at about 38 seconds in on this video [media]http://youtu.be/YHrre8loZi8[/media] Although not obvious, I'm pretty much pushing the bass to my left with my right elbow MOST of the time! None if this pushing the bass around is needed with the SWB-1 lol. If you (or any other bass chatters for that matter) would like to come and try the SWB-1 you're always more than welcome. I have a decent coffee machine here to :-D Edited April 1, 2015 by All thumbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All thumbs Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Well today is the day I send the full detailed plans off for the first SWB-1 Standard sample to be built! Below are detailed the main differences between the existing hand-built SWB-1 pro and the planned production model. As I said earlier, there will be several options available in terms of pickups/bridge etc. More concrete details to follow. The 'base' of the SWB-1 Standard will be the same exact body shape & dimensions as the original hand-built SWB-1 Pro but a simpler construction of solid ash with a figured maple cap. The neck will be maple (no matching cap) with the same shaped headstock as the SWB-1 Pro. The neck profile is near to 'D' shaped. Nice & narrow but not too slim. The bridge will be a solid hipshot-style affair rather than than the Kahler Tremolo. On production models of the Standard, the Kalher will be offered as an option. The pickups will be passive in the first sample leaving me free to try other options here. Again, when in production active pickups will be an available option! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Cool stuff, best of luck with the project. I can see a growing niche in sort scale basses - largely driven by ergonomics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Re the balance/reach thing, I've just got a Gibson Les Paul Junior DC (EB 11) and it is much better for balance and reach to the lower frets than my SG re-issue. I compared the relative positions of the top strap button and it's 2 frets further down the neck on the EB 11 (from memory, F15 versus F17 on the SG). Obviously, there are a number of other variables but the improvement in feel/playability is considerable. Scott, glad to hear that you're making progress. May even consider selling my lovely black SG in favour of a MIC SWB-1!? I'd prefer the MIB original (Made In Bacup) but sadly funds won't allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Great to see some enthusiasm and real development in the short scale world (I've been playing short and medium almost exclusively for the past few years). Great too to see some investment in a really professional and reasonably-priced short scale and much credit to SW for getting this off the ground. I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing the result. Very impressed if some of the balance and positioning problems can be addressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlapbassSteve Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Liked! It's an exciting time to play SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All thumbs Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) Well there has been a lot going on over the past few months with regards to the SWB-1 Standard. After the first samples arrived (which I was delighted with) I started playing bass with Big Country. I've done almost all the shows using the passive SWB-1 Standard bass and couldn't be happier!! It's standing up to the road really well and the band, fans and sound engineers keep commenting on the tone it's producing. One very busy and experienced engineer said it was the best bass sound he'd ever heard and had the eq on the desk completely flat (which was nice lol). I've used the 'Standards' on numerous recording sessions too, again with nothing but good comments on the tone of these things. Chris from Parr Street Studios in Liverpool was all over it! :-) Some more great news you can nowpre-order them in the affiliates section with a substantial discount here... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/273879-scott-whitley-swb-1-standard-short-scale-bass-pre-order-now/page__pid__2915705#entry2915705 Here's a video of the passive version live with Big Country.... https://youtu.be/KiB4UJX4D0Q And here's the active version on a live studio recording I did recently.... https://youtu.be/8ZQUn0ijTOY Edited November 26, 2015 by All thumbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) [quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1426685951' post='2720760'] Thanks for the feedback. After browsing the photo album showing off the gorgeous work of Mr. Eastwood, I was reminded of an alembic, like the Stanley Clarke arrangements: I guess the SWB-1 is using the short scale, reasonably light headstock and neck, broad and uncontoured body - and crucially, a fairly heavy bridge - a little like the alembic arrangement. Come to think of it the SWB-1 has a double cutaway body like the alembic - but unlike the alembic it has an extended upper horn - the strap button is a at least 3 frets closer to the headstock... Given the alembic has different woods and dimensions (The stanley clarke is usually 30.75" scale) the comparison isn't perfect. P.S. FWIW, I'd have the Kahler as a £200 ish custom order option - most customers will be happy with a simpler, cheaper, high mass bridge. Of course if you can find a great trem for £150 (or less!) that you'd be proud & confident to put into what is, after all, a bass with your name on it - well it's your call isn't it. I know nothing about bass trems so I'll let those who do discuss the specifics. I have only heard good things about that kalher unit however. Here's a nice vid I remember watching of a trem enthusiast who's a kahler fan: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYfihKzF7j0"]https://www.youtube....h?v=aYfihKzF7j0[/url] [/quote] I'd say that's pretty much the ultimate tone monster if you have a hefty budget for a shorty. Edited December 3, 2015 by jazzyvee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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