12-string Custom Build - Which Builder and Why?

[Sean]

Hi all

 

I've had a 12-string itch for years and I used to gig a Dean Rhapsody back in the day and loved it. I've never really found a 12 that suits me, The dUg, The Stargazer, 30/32" scales dont cut it. I know in my head what I want. 

 

I'd like to get a 12 built that essentially follows the Spector recipe of 34", maple thru-neck, weight-relieved maple sandwich wings, ebony or maple board, inays, EMGs and HAZ-clone (easy). 

 

The contenders could be Shuker, Overwater, Sei, Yarde, others.

 

Do any of know someone who's into 12s and can build them? 

 

Have any of the top British builders done one before? 

 

What does the collective think and advise on this one? 

[warwickhunt]

There's a guy on BC, based in Holland builds @Brookes basses, they are top notch.  I'd have to say that the cost of a custom build might come as a bit of a shock!  I priced up with several luthiers and most were talking about having to get custom parts as very little is off the shelf.

[Sean]

Thanks for that. They look the business and he's got loads of experience of doing it.

What are we looking at GBP 5-6k? Or are we into double figures?

Edited Wednesday at 19:57 by Sean

[Schnozzalee]

You could try H J Williams too (Ex Overwater).

[itu]

@Basvarken is the man! You have to check his works here. 

[AndyTravis]

46 minutes ago, itu said:

@Basvarken is the man! You have to check his works here. 

This…

 

he’s just done w2 for Tom Peterson…(1 is MIA 😟) but TP is gigging the other one.

 

as @warwickhuntsays, @Basvarkenis Brooks Bass guitars.

[Sean]

Thanks for the recommendations. 

I've emailed Rob. 

[Skybone]

Seen pics on Facebook of some of the Brookes 12 strings, and they look amazing. 

 

Overwater recently posted a pic of a custom 8 string they were building, and that one looked really cool too.

 

Doesn't help my itch for an 8 string one little bit!  

[Wolverinebass]

Brooks would be a good choice. I'd also recommend Grainger as Darren and Gavin are excellent, plus have an engineering background so making bespoke parts won't be a big deal.

 

I'd also suggest looking at Waghorn. I got a quote for a 12 string from them just before I actually got a Hamer 12 string. 

 

You could also try Koenig in Australia. He makes some really good 12s and I've conversed with him via messenger. 

 

Off the shelf, I'd get the Dug Pinnick Schecter. Avoid Gretsch as not only is it stupidly expensive it uses a 4 saddle bridge. Good luck with intonation.

Edited 21 hours ago by Wolverinebass

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

Brooks would be a good choice. I'd also recommend Grainger as Darren and Gavin are excellent, plus have an engineering background so making bespoke parts won't be a big deal.

 

I'd also suggest looking at Waghorn. I got a quote for a 12 string from them just before I actually got a Hamer 12 string. 

 

Off the shelf, I'd get the Dug Pinnick Schecter. Avoid Gretsch as not only is it stupidly expensive it uses a 4 saddle bridge. Good luck with intonation.

Waghorn guitars are the bomb. Lovely guys.

[NancyJohnson]

I was considering at one point about asking Rob to manufacture a 12-string neck for my Lull 5-string.  Pretty certain the neck pocket would be wide enough to go from 5 to 12 and the two part bridge could be swapped out to accommodate the extra strings. 

 

Obviously it would just be something that could be changed back to stock if necessary.  I am think the oversized NR Thunderbird body would work brilliantly.

[Rolf]

Warwick has built custom 12 string Streamers, Doug Wimbish used to have one, and Jason Newsted too. May be the closest if you want something Spector-like.

[Sean]

I've now put out enquiries to Waghorn (Bristol), Grainger (LE15), and Shuker (Hope Valley) as UK builders that are easy to visit. The Brookes basses are stunning and I have a response from Rob. I'm not rushing into this, just going through all the options before pushing the button. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Sean

[Sean]

17 minutes ago, Rolf said:

Warwick has built custom 12 string Streamers, Doug Wimbish used to have one, and Jason Newsted too. May be the closest if you want something Spector-like.

I see the Warwick Streamers are 6 courses of 2 strings (6x2). Unusual. I couldn't see any with 4 courses of 3 (4x3) variants. 

[Rolf]

There are probably more Streamers in the 6x2 configuration, but they've done some in 4x3 too.

 

This is the one Doug Wimbish played:

[NancyJohnson]

Just by way of advice, when you land the 12-string, buy yourself a Sansamp XB driver.  It's a bi-amp system in a single unit.

[Sean]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Just by way of advice, when you land the 12-string, buy yourself a Sansamp XB driver.  It's a bi-amp system in a single unit.

How are you using it?

[NancyJohnson]

4 minutes ago, Sean said:

How are you using it?

 

The beauty of getting as much out of a 12-string as possible is allowing the instrument to push the signal through a pair of amps.  I owned a Waterstone Tom Petersson a few years back, simply pushing things through a single amp/processing wasn't the way to go.  For me, I was always chasing a TP/dUg kind of tone, so a crossover was essential at the time (I used a Rolls unit) and pushed two feeds into a stereo poweramp and two cabs.  The lows were pushed through something that could deliver a fairly robust phat tone (Sansamp BDDI) and the highs went through something that would deliver dirt (I went with a Sansamp GT2 which is effectively a guitar pedal and way more suited to the octave strings).

 

Moving forward, the XB Driver pretty much emulates the above (and more).  It's got a quite beautiful phat-sounding clean stage and a VERY gnarly drive stage; there's low/high filters on each of the channels (which are more suited than a regular crossover) which are engaged when the Crossover button (just below the red 'BASS' knob), which really brings the unit alive.

 

It's a fantastic unit.

 

 

 

 

 

[Woodinblack]

Didn't brookes do a 15 string bass once? That would be my dream one