12-string Custom Build - Which Builder and Why?

[NancyJohnson]

9 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

The DI is mixed on the XB driver. Not that I'd get one at £600 when you can do that and a lot more with an HX Stomp. Or just get a Dug pedal which is much cheaper.

 

Or just order one from Sweetwater and get your brother in law to bring it home from a business trip in Texas.

 

The XB is a definite step up from the dUg pedal, but ultimately once you dial in your desired tone, you're not going to stray far from that.

 

[Edit] My main issue tonally with the Waterstone was that when plugging into any singular amp/stomp, this was shaping everything that the bass was outputting.  The lows might be nice, but the octaves were nearly always quite nasty (and vice versa).  The XB seemingly resolves this, in wrestling some tonal control out of the instrument, albeit out of one stomp.

Edited 14 hours ago by NancyJohnson

[Wolverinebass]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Or just order one from Sweetwater and get your brother in law to bring it home from a business trip in Texas.

Of course, had your brother in law been using a slightly bigger suitcase, he could have subsidised his trip by bringing another XB driver back from Texas for an X-Men sideburned bass player who would happily pay for his time and physiotherapy after carrying back a heavier suitcase. Ha!

[Wolverinebass]

10 hours ago, Sean said:

I've got an HX Stomp. I'll get investigating. 

Thanks for the steer. 

@Sean I've done plenty of parallel amp path patches on the stomp. Some for 4, some for 8 and some for 12 string. Some are stereo for Alembics and my Grainger Hades though they do still work in mono as well.

 

Happy to share if you wish.

[Sean]

3 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

@Sean I've done plenty of parallel amp path patches on the stomp. Some for 4, some for 8 and some for 12 string. Some are stereo for Alembics and my Grainger Hades though they do still work in mono as well.

 

Happy to share if you wish.

That would be fantastic, thank you. 

Shall I pm you an email?

 

I can learn a lot about signal paths with just a 4 but think that I'll inevitably end up buying an off the shelf, preferably 2nd hand 12 to fill the gap before a custom build is ready. 

[Sean]

On 01/08/2025 at 10:27, Sean said:

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. 

Waghorn lead time = 36 months. 

Rob's is very attractive. 

 

3cyears is just too far beyond my planning horizon.

 

Grainger and Jon yet to respond but they've not had the enquiries long.  

 

 

[Wolverinebass]

2 hours ago, Sean said:

That would be fantastic, thank you. 

Shall I pm you an email?

 

I can learn a lot about signal paths with just a 4 but think that I'll inevitably end up buying an off the shelf, preferably 2nd hand 12 to fill the gap before a custom build is ready. 

Please feel free to and I'll send some settings over. No problem my dear boy.

 

If I were going off the shelf I'd be getting a Schecter Dug. They're really good and I did almost get one myself. I eventually realised, having a Hamer, why should I get another one?!!

 

As regards the wait times. I remember Waghorn was reasonably long when I asked them too. It wasn't 3 years though. Maybe 18 months to 2 years. It was a while ago.

 

As regards Grainger, my Hades took 3 years to get. However, most of that encompassed covid and it's aftermath where both Darren and Gavin were ill for some time consecutively as were members of their respective families, so there was a great deal of time where nothing happened for the obvious illness and social distancing reasons. It's worth saying I specifically measured neck profiles and asked for circuit wiring they'd never done before and they did it flawlessly. Its also worth noting, they're the only people who have ever managed to set up a bass almost to where I have it which is so stupidly low action a lot of people struggle to play them.

 

Any one of Brookes, Waghorn, Shuker or Grainger will do you an amazing instrument. It's just down to what you want. 

[itu]

@Basvarken: what's the order of the strings? If I remember an old article right, playing with a pick or fingers defies the order. Is this true? With pick the downstroke hits the lowest first, and with fingers it's the other way around, yes/no? 

[Basvarken]

10 minutes ago, itu said:

@Basvarken: what's the order of the strings? If I remember an old article right, playing with a pick or fingers defies the order. Is this true? With pick the downstroke hits the lowest first, and with fingers it's the other way around, yes/no? 

It's really a matter of personal preference.
Most 12-string players prefer the octave strings above the bass strings. This has become the standard over time.
When playing downstrokes with a pick, you hit the octave strings first.
But not a lot of players use only downstrokes when playing with a pick.

 

And there are some players who prefer it the other way around; the octave string below the bass string. It is called reversed triplets.
When you play finger style you'd hit the octave string first. But the difference is hardly noticeable. Since you really hit all three strings at once.





The biggest difference you'll notice between the two is actually on your fretting hand.
Pressing three strings down with your finger feels quite different when they are reversed.


 

[warwickhunt]

2 hours ago, Basvarken said:

The biggest difference you'll notice between the two is actually on your fretting hand.
Pressing three strings down with your finger feels quite different when they are reversed.

 

This ^^^

 

I've owned a couple of 12's and the Musicvox I had was reversed... it was truly awkward/uncomfortable to play.