BigRedX Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Well after spending a good 18 months looking at web sites of just about every custom bass builder and lurking on this forum plus TalkBass, I've finally made a decission and put down a deposit on a Sei. I had two visits to the Gallery and spend plenty of time putting together the specs with Martin. I had a good idea how I wanted the bass to look and sound, and just needed Martin's expertise to put these two things together to give me a working bass. I picked the Flamboyant offset shape as a like that look, plus I wanted the extra acces the offset version gave to the upper register - in fact we're going for just a bit more cutaway than normal to give even more high note access. Colour-wise I really like the look of [url="http://www.nordstrandguitars.com/assets/images/gallery/Leo%20Kishore/leo1.jpg"]this Nordstrand[/url]. Sound-wise my fretless hero is Mick Karn so something that will get plenty of full lows, while being able to 'sing' in the upper register. So based on that, here's the specs that Martin put together for me: Flamboyant Offset fretless 5 -string strung E to C Body: Flamed Sycamore full facings front and back Bubinga wings Neck 34" scale: Flamed Maple and bubinga with a Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard Orange LEDs in the side, and descrete black dots on the face between the G and C strings. The fingerboard is going to extend all the way to the 'neck' pickup and depending on it's placement will give me between 26 and 30 'frets'. Pick up covers and ramp in matching Brazilian Rosewood. Pickups and electronics still to be finalised, but at the moment I'm contemplating the J East/ACG filter pre-amp with Bartolini Gary Willis pups (I played the Ibanez GW sig at the Gallery to audition the pups, and if I hadn't just paid the deposit on the Sei I would have been quite tempted...) Martin says there'll be something more substantial than just bits of wood to look at in about 4 months... I'll keep you all posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha-Dave Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Excellent, will they be able to make the ramp and p'up covers from the same piece of rosewood so it looks seemless, or is that too tricky as they'll have to be leveled differently? The ACG pre is excellent for fretless, I'd highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 [quote name='Alpha-Dave' post='38474' date='Jul 29 2007, 01:59 PM']Excellent, will they be able to make the ramp and p'up covers from the same piece of rosewood so it looks seemless, or is that too tricky as they'll have to be leveled differently? The ACG pre is excellent for fretless, I'd highly recommend it![/quote] I'm hoping that Martin will be able to use the Fingerboard wood to get all the bits out of so it looks like a single piece. It will depend on the position of the 'bridge' pup and what Martin deems to be the usable portion of the board as there are a couple of imperfections he wants to avoid in it. However he has got a second almost matching piece so it could still be possible. Thanks for re-enforcing my provisional choice of pre-amp! Any recommendations of pups to go with it? - I have plenty of time to check them out until I have to make the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Excellent Red - look forward to seeing your bass progress - it'll take a while but it goes a lot quicker than you'd imagine - your design choice and specs sound very exciting - keep us up to date as things progress - good have another Sei basser round these parts. Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha-Dave Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 The facility to 'tune into' the frequency range I'm playing in is a huge bonus for fretless for the ACG pre, so it works well with both humbuckers in series (punchy mid-hump), and parallel (flat response) I have actually hard wired my neck p'up in parallel and the bridge in series, and then set up a good but very different tone set on each, then adjust the pan knob during different parts of the song for added texture. The possible down side is that I'm not sure if Alan is supplying the preamp to other UK luthiers as it's one of his major selling points (other than ace build quality and communication!), still he may be willing to negotiate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassjamm Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Nice choise kind sir...i've seen that Nordstrand a few times before, it's a beast isn't it!!! I'm loving the idea of E - C too, i had my fretless like this for a while, but now favour B - G on it, however, my Smith is E-C and it's awesome!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugden Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) The bass looks like its going to be great I love those offset sei's. I dont think you will get the option of the ACG pre though, Im sure Alan said he wasn't supplying other luithers. He is only selling them for fitting in standard bass's to be fair it would be abit like shooting himself in the foot, it's what sets his basses apart from alot of others. He's spent alot of time and money on the pre and selling to other luithers might be seen as a bad move. But Im not sure maybe worth a nice email the pre is stunning. Edited July 30, 2007 by Sugden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 According to [url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/News/63/"]this page on the ACG site[/url] the pre-amp is available for sale separately. I hope this is still the case, as I really want to go for this filter-based design. Bassjamm, Once I'd seen the Nordstrand, I was sure that was how I wanted my bass to look color-wise. There some great looking basses on the Sei site, but a lot of the ones with the more outragous tops I think can be a bit hit or miss in relation to the wood patterns interacting with the body shape and what gets covered up by the pups and other hardware. I like the simplicity of the flamed sycamore (although we spent a bit of time selecting a piece with the right fanned flame pattern. Plus grey and orange is an awesome colour combination, yet not particularly common. (expecting to see lots of links for grey/orange basses now...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 I was in London over the weekend and managed to fit in a visit to the gallery on Monday where I could see the neck laminations for my bass glued up... Unfortunately Martin and Alex were having to deal with a potential disaster in the shape of a burst water main 100 yards up the road that was fountaining water up through the pavement and showing signs of wanting to drain into the basement workshop of the Gallery, so I quickly grabbed a couple of shots of the neck and then got out of the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 What..........you mean you aren't having a Shuker made !. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 [quote name='6stringbassist' post='81877' date='Oct 31 2007, 06:38 PM']What..........you mean you aren't having a Shuker made !.[/quote] Yeah - nutter eh? M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Unfortunately Shukers just don't "do it" for me. And to be honest, if I hadn't gone for a Sei, it would have been a Ritter or a Spalt or something else from my [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5525"]Weird And Wonderful[/url] thread. However I didn't think I was quite ready to commision a bass from outside the UK where going to catch up on the build progress and have a chat about how we are going to achieve all the features I want wouldn't be quite so easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 I was in The Gallery last Friday, but unfortunately didn't have the time to have a look around at the 'builds in progress'... I can say though, that I miss really do miss my Sei and it's only been 6 days !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringbassist Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) Your Sei is going to be special, looks really nice. Edited February 22, 2008 by 6stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 A quick update: I just spoke to Martin and the wood shaping is almost finished on my bass! He said to give him a call in a week or so time and arrange to check the feel of the neck. I was planning to be in London mid-March but I may have to try and arrange something even sooner now. Getting dizzy with anticipation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 (edited) Great to hear of the progress I really enjoyed seeing my Sei after the wood shaping. I'm sure you know this already, but be prepared for your bass to look a little pale. Martin will no doubt but some thinners on it so you can get an idea of what it'll look like after it's been to the finishers. Here's how my bass looked at the same stage as yours and then after it came back with a shiny coat on It is incredibly exciting to hold the bass and get a real feel of what it's going to be like Edited February 8, 2008 by 7string Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Final had time to get to London on Friday and check on the progress of my bass... And wow! Everything I had hoped for and then some. It's looking amazing and going off to the finishers for the grey stain on the light woods and then the super gloss finish. The fingerboard wood is just astounding, none of these photos quite do it justice. shaping the body revealed an imperfection in the facing wood, but it's on the back and once the grey stain has been applied it'll be hardly noticeable. Discussed pickup options with Martin and we're going for a pair of Gary Willis Signature model Bartolinis. Martin was saying that if everything goes to plan the bas could be ready in two months time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 wow, that's a beauty. I'm looking forward to seeing it when the finishings been done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Is that pup routing just one of an eventual two? Or are you opting for a single pickup at the end of the fretboard? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am beyond happy the way this bass is turning out. Looking forward to seeing it with the grey stain and then the gloss bringing out the orange of the darker woods. The route is for the neck pickup. Normally on a Sei the pickup routes are done after the finishing but because of the placement of the neck pickup in relation to the extended fingerboard (it's 30 'frets') and the fact that the end of the fingerboard isn't being shaped in the traditional Sei style this one has had to have been done now. The second route will be done at the more conventional (for Sei) time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Looking amazing Red - it'll be absolutely stunning when it's back from the polishers - M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotnwhy Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 i really like the way the colours work at the moment, i with what you say the finish will be doing (with the orange and grey) it's gonna be something REALLY special looking forward to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 That's just awesome !! The grey tint is going to look fabulous. I bet you're counting down the hours, let alone the days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Now that it's bass-shaped rather than some nice-looking pieces of wood, the anticipation is much more real. Especially since it's off to the finishers in the next week or so. The grey and orange look was inspired by this Nordstrand bass: The moment I saw this I knew that's how I wanted the Sei to look as it would combine a colourful look with some impressive wood figuring. I've told Martin not to rush it. The bass is looking great and I'll be happy for it to be ready when it's ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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