eude Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 (edited) Hey guys, I had a hugely enjoyable visit to see Alan (Skelf) of ACG fame on Saturday and just thought I'd share my thoughts and a few shoddy photos, plus some good ones robbed from Alan's site, with permission of course... I've popped in on Alan a couple of times in the past, once just to say hello and once to let [b]AlphaDave[/b] have a shot of my 33" 6er but this time I was there to try out some of the newly finished Stock Basses for Bass Day, especially the Harlot 6 string, check out some wood porn and discuss some details of a possible future project. First things first, I tried out the Harlot Six String with a pretty extreme pickup layout, here's some not so good pics >> [attachment=15282:harlot_01.jpg] [attachment=15283:Harlot_02.jpg] This bass has very sexy Goncalo Alves top and back with a butternut core and a 7 piece neck Mac Ebony/Maple/Black Limba/Maple with a flat Rosewood finger board and Alan's asymmetric neck profile, oh and a 34" scale. The bass was simply stunning, mere photographs could never do it justice. The flat fingerboard and the asymmetric neck profile made for a very comfortable left hand, having only ever played radiused fingerboards before, it was a really nice change, and although it's never made sense to me on paper, in actual application it works, I think I may well be converted. The bass hung perfectly on a strap, was pretty light for a 6er and was fairly comfy sat down too, although the short lower horn might not be to everyone's taste. Electronics wise there's a RFB (Musicman style) Pickup at an extreme neck position and a SB (Single Coil) Pickup at an extreme bridge position combined with ACG's EQ01 filter based preamp - this was the bit I was really looking forward to. The combination of a fat humbucker at the neck and a single coil at the bridge, to me is really the best of both worlds. You can get a nice think, dark and mellow tone from the neck pickup, more mellow than I was expecting, by making use of the preamp you can get a really solid dub tone right through to a very convincing P Bass tone. The bridge pickup was a real surprise - my experience of bridge position single coils is usually a little disappointing, lots of sizzle and punch but not enough guts to stand on it's own. This single coil was something very different though, it sounded like it was supposed to, however it just had so much more weight and growl to it. If I had been playing the bass blindfolded I would have sworn the pickup was a lot closer to the neck position. Another thing to note, the pickup was virtually noiseless in operation apart from when using extreme treble settings on the preamp, however that is to be expected. Over all I think this bass is capable of producing almost any tone you could ever hope for, those pickups in conjunction with the EQ01 preamp is just so versatile it's almost dizzying! One hell of a bass! After that I had a go of [b]dontcarebear[/b]'s ill fated Skelf 5 string which was dealt a terrific mauling by a courier company, to such a degree that it was returned and he ordered another bass. Well Alan has managed to resurrect this bass into a thing of beauty with a new Pale Moon Ebony fingerboard and it'll be off to it's new owner very soon I believe. I affectionately called this one Lazarus (sorry for the bad photo, and check out the size of the neck of 7string's upcoming 9 string ACG) >> [attachment=15284:Skelf.jpg] This bass looked good enough to eat up close, the wood combo of a Mac Ebony top, flame sycamore veneer, wenge body, another sycamore veneer and a wenge back was gorgeous. Add to that a 7 piece neck made up of flame sycamore and mac ebony with a pale moon ebony board and you're in heaven. You do come back to earth with a bump when you pick it up though, as it's a heavy beast, not a surprise given the wood combination, but it wasn't so noticeable once you've got it on a decent strap, it also balanced very nice when sitting. The Skelf body shape wasn't one of my favourites as I always thought it looked a little big, however, like all of Alan's basses, it's very compact. The offset body, the opposite way from almost every other bass type, actually suited my build quite well, being a short arse, as it shifts everything a little towards the right hand side of your body and as a result the reach to 1st position on your left hand isn't quite as far, which I really appreciate (the reason I sold my Thumb Bass and why I play a 33" bass...) This bass has two FB (Soap Bar) pickups and an EQ01 preamp, which i should add, so I don't continue to repeat myself is standard on all of Alan's basses. As with the Harlot and all of the ACG's the variety of tones available is almost overwhelming, not to everyone's tastes arguably, if you're a P Bass, plug in and play kinda guy, probably best leave well alone, but if, like me, you're a bit techy it's pure bliss. Just for the record the EQ02 is a little more simple, with just one low pass filter for both pickups rather than one for each. Anyway, in the time I had with the Skelf I dialed in a few really nice tones, which had a tendency to lean towards the more aggressive (might be something to do with all the dense woods involved) including a very convincing Flea style slap tone from the bridge pickup, very nice. Next on the menu was the stock Recurve 4 string (photo stolen from Alan's site) >> [attachment=15285:recurve.jpg] It has a lovely Camphor Burl top with, I think a Tulipwood accent and a Cedar body matched with a very tasty Santos Rosewood (or Pau Ferro)/wenge neck with an Acrylic Impregnated Black Limba fingerboard. This bass was very lightweight, and as a result very comfortable to play. The body shape of the Recurve is incredibly compact while still feeling solid, a bit of a design triumph. Electronics where the same as the Skelf and as expected there was again a vast range to tones available, but with leaning towards a sweeter, softer tone than the Skelf, again possibly down to the woods involved. Last but by no means least was the Finn Fretless Prototype 4 string (you can see [b]GreenKing[/b]'s [I think] Harlot S Type 4 string there to the right hand side) >> [attachment=15286:Finn.jpg] ... and a much nicer pic from Alan's site >> [attachment=15287:finnFretless.jpg] This bass is quite simple in construction, an Alder body with figured maple bolt-on neck, with black veneers and an unfigured ebony fingerboard. The body and headstock are finished in a luxurious gloss black which just oozes class. The difference with this bass is the electronics. There's a single RFB (remember the Musicman style pickup, keep up...) in the "sweet spot" and a Ghost Piezo system matched to the EQ01 preamp. This combination really opens up a world of possibilities tone-wise, particularity for a fretless. The output from the Piezos was enormous and full ranged. The over the top high end sizzle you can get with piezos is easily tamed or entirely removed using the treble filter on the preamp. I liked the sound so much I almost forgot about the RFB pickup. It too had a nice range of tones, all well suited to a fretless bass. The combination from both pickups was very useable, as you could really bring out the "mwah" and hear the wood in every fretted note. When I tried this bass it wasn't even properly set up and it still played brilliantly! Like the Recurve, the Finn body shape is surprisingly compact and very comfortable. I know Alan doesn't like this comparison, but to me it's a bit like an evolution of the Jazz Bass. It's certainly the most traditional of all of his designs anyway. There's some of these being built at the moment, including a single-cut version, can't wait to see these ones come along. I got sneak peak at one other stock bass while I was there, I hope Alan doesn't mind me sharing my picture >> [attachment=15288:Harlot_R.jpg] It's a Harlot R Type 5 string. I had always preferred the S Type shape to this, bit in the flesh it was really really sexy. Just a shame it wasn't quite finished Anyway, after all that I got to dig through some very sexy bookmatched tops and acrylic impregnated fingerboards, the mango ones caught my eye in particular. Then we had a bit of a chat about a 6 string headless idea I'd like to get off the ground next year, I was originally planning on a single-cut Finn, but I'm starting to think a Skelf might make more sense. More news on that when I have it though ..... Anyway, sorry for the length of this "reportage", summarising things like this is definitely not a strong point for me, oh and apologies for any typos. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank Alan once again for being so generous with his time and so welcoming. If anyone has any questions just give me a shout. Cheers, Eude Edited October 28, 2008 by eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I would love to visit one day. It must be fascinating. Lazarus looks just amazing. That shape is incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedontcarebear Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Glad you appreciated my choice of wood for it's cosmetics on the Mac Skelf, didn't even consider what it would sound like, just concentrated 100% on looks, haha, think the thicker accents definitely look awesome, turned out better then I thought they would even. Did you see my housemates Wenge top one there? I think it's built, cannot remember if the finish was applied though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelf Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 The wenge Recurve was up stairs in it's case so Eude did not see that one. Just like to thank Eude for a good day loads of chat and a second opinion on all the basses. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small_lump_of_green_putty Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Looks like quite a few people here own these basses! The wood tops look lush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Yes thanks I reckon that'd be my Harlot hanging up there Nice to see the beast is taking shape. Glad you had a good day, Alan's a star! Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonster Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 lovely stuff, nice to another lefty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 [quote name='ped' post='316819' date='Oct 28 2008, 04:14 PM']I would love to visit one day. It must be fascinating. Lazarus looks just amazing. That shape is incredible.[/quote] It was a brilliant day and yeah, and that Skelf is a peach [quote name='thedontcarebear' post='316890' date='Oct 28 2008, 05:36 PM']Glad you appreciated my choice of wood for it's cosmetics on the Mac Skelf, didn't even consider what it would sound like, just concentrated 100% on looks, haha, think the thicker accents definitely look awesome, turned out better then I thought they would even. Did you see my housemates Wenge top one there? I think it's built, cannot remember if the finish was applied though.[/quote] Well you sure picked a gorgeous combination dude, albeit a little heavy [quote name='GreeneKing' post='316971' date='Oct 28 2008, 06:42 PM']Yes thanks I reckon that'd be my Harlot hanging up there Nice to see the beast is taking shape. Glad you had a good day, Alan's a star! Peter[/quote] Your Harlot was gorgeous in the flesh, amazingly the back is as hot as the front! It's gonna be a hell of a bass once it's done... Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedontcarebear Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I didn't mind the weight for the few hours I had it for! I guess they could always be chambered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 [quote name='thedontcarebear' post='317145' date='Oct 28 2008, 10:41 PM']I didn't mind the weight for the few hours I had it for! I guess they could always be chambered.[/quote] Well I didn't really notice when it was on a strap, so it wasn't that bad, just heavy compared to some of the other ACGs. Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassplace Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 That Harlot R type does look good, as do the rest of them. Very nice reviews. I don't know that it helps me decide what I would like since there are so many good options! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Sir Robin Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) I went with a recurve SC, it's gorgeous, and well balanced, aesthetically and physically. It's also pretty light, and the body is small and fits well. It's got a bookmatched top and back with accents. There'll be more pictures in three weeks, after the bassday UK Manchester, hope that will help you more with your (in)decision Oh yeah, they look really good in the flesh, better than in pictures (for me, like some of the warwicks). Edited October 29, 2008 by Brave Sir Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 [quote name='Brave Sir Robin' post='317216' date='Oct 29 2008, 12:46 AM']I went with a recurve SC, it's gorgeous, and well balanced, aesthetically and physically. It's also pretty light, and the body is small and fits well. It's got a bookmatched top and back with accents. There'll be more pictures in three weeks, after the bassday UK Manchester, hope that will help you more with your (in)decision Oh yeah, they look really good in the flesh, better than in pictures (for me, like some of the warwicks).[/quote] Yeah, it was a shame not to get a shot of a Recurve Single-Cut, however as it's Alan's most popular model, I feel the others deserve a bit more publicity. I'm always a fan of the underdog... Cheers, Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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