Tanglewood Canyon II

[Lew-Bass]

What is everyone's opinion on them? And what is the scale length, every website just says 'long' ?

[BassBus]

I don't have any experience of them but here's a link to the BGM review some months ago.

[url="http://bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102:tanglewood-canyon-i-ii-and-iii-four-string-basses-issue-29&catid=37:bassguitars"]http://bassguitarmagazine.com/index.php?op...=37:bassguitars[/url]

[BarnacleBob]

Nice Canyon lll here and at less than the list price of a ll

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tanglewood-Canyon-3-4-string-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200352740913QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2ea5f43631&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A200"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tanglewood-Canyon-3-...3A1%7C294%3A200[/url]



BB

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='517045' date='Jun 18 2009, 12:01 AM']Nice Canyon lll here and at less than the list price of a ll

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tanglewood-Canyon-3-4-string-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ200352740913QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2ea5f43631&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A200"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tanglewood-Canyon-3-...3A1%7C294%3A200[/url]



BB[/quote]

oh thats pretty!!!! I shall be watching that!!

[steve-king]

I was in Denmark Street last night trying the Canyon II 5 string.

It is, of course, very light as a result of the body size. I think that the neck might droop with a smooth strap, but you should be ok with a suede one.

The quality of the finish was disappointing - there was dust in the laquer giving a noticably rough feel to parts of the body.

The sustain seemed to be really good to me (but I am a novice, so your mileage may vary!), and it was certainly easy to play - everything seemed to fall into place for me at any rate.

As an engineer (albeit a civil engineer!) I like the through neck, and the neck/body join is well shaped.

Hope that helps!

Steve

(BTW, I am about to start a thread asking for opinion on the Canyon vs the SR505 - perhaps some members might make comments there that help you)

[4 Strings]

Don't know if anyone is still interested in this thread, my lad needed a good bass and wanted one of these for Christmas. We found one in as new condition from the dreaded ebay for >£100 less than new price.

I must admit I was worried about the finish adn build qality, the pick-ups and the general quality. The specs are elite and the materials, on paper at least, seem from the top drawer. So what's it like? Well I can give first impressions, maybe I'll come back in a while with a longer term view.

First impressions were of an immaculate finish. Perhaps one guided by laser and computer aided technology in Korea than by a craftsman's hand in the Midlands. Either way, perfectly smooth transitions between the woods, beautifully smooth maple top with that 3D effect in the grain which has been shaped into a bowed top with a smooth ridge around the edge which gently blends into the cutaways. 5 piece through-neck again with perfectly smooth transitions into the body and to the small headstock. It is an amazing piece of work. Makes Fenders look crude and clumsy.

Playing it is, of course, a little odd at first with that small body and amazing access to all 24 frets. After some orientation and getting the gist of where the neck actually is (seems more the left than, for axample, a Precision) it plays perfectly well. No buzzes, reasonably low action and allows a fast movement around the frets. The strings are closer than that Precision, which is fine by me, but not too close by any means. Hopefully the lad will change to some lighter strings (can never see the point of anything heavier than a 35 on the G) which will make it easier still. I'll certainly hope to be back on this issue.

Sound? None at all to start with. Pulled off the back panel and saw some bare twisted wire joints and soldering done by a 4 year old. There had to be a snag and I found it. Soldered up the joints, wrapped it all up nicely with insulation tape and it worked. What was that about? Had the previous owner had a go at this or was this factory work? I'll never know. Half the soldering looked fine but half was awful.

So, now it works, the sound varies between thin to huge. Crank up the bass and treble controls, leave the middle on flat and flat eq on the amp gives a massive sound. Very detailed and bright - excellent for slap - with some real weight. Couldn't find a middly Jaco sort of sound though, but its early days. Haven't tried for Precision type sounds yet, perhaps because we had so much fun with 'active' sounds.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this bass, the lad is delighted. At the moment its a recommendation. Its not a character-filled vintage Fender, its a modern bass with a modern sound for a younger generation.

Perhaps with (plenty of) use and time, it will begin to attain character.

[Gray]

Hi,

I have recently aqquired a Canyon II. I got it as a swapsie from a retailer as it wasn't outputting any meaningful signal.

Finish is lovely, I like the weight and balance, after a quick setup plays very nicely.

However...

Quote
''Sound? None at all to start with. Pulled off the back panel and saw some bare twisted wire joints and soldering done by a 4 year old. There had to be a snag and I found it. Soldered up the joints, wrapped it all up nicely with insulation tape and it worked. What was that about? Had the previous owner had a go at this or was this factory work? I'll never know. Half the soldering looked fine but half was awful.''

Same deal with mine and despite my efforts to tidy it up - still no sound. Eventually rang Tanglewood (EMC) and got them to supply a new active circuit (active circuit itself is sealed in epoxy, so no chance of diagnosing possible problems) and wiring diagram. To their credit they supplied one. Wired the new circuit and pots in and got a sound. However, I then decided I would replace the rather poor supplied jack with a higher quality one and took it to a local shop to have the part fitted (I had a busy week and figured this would be an easy option).

[b]3 weeks later[/b] and the local shop return it - now [b]not working[/b] with a bill for £30 of their time - I suspect they have somehow shorted the active circuit. They have lost my future custom, but thats another story...

To cut a long story short - its a lovely bass but the stock electronics have given me a headache. I'm going to rewire it passive when I get a spare hour and buy an EMG when I have a few quid handy.

[4 Strings]

How frustrating, especially to get it back from an 'expert' not working!

The jack is a little strange in that I had made up some leads using stereo jack plugs (all they had) and soldering the two 'stem' tags together. They work perfectly on all our guitars, except the Canyon. No idea why. It works fine with all the other leads are fine so must be something different about the jack socket.

Hope you can sort it out without too much hassle,

Its still being played everyday and the lad is becoming more enthused as time goes by. The lighter strings part will be solved on Christmas morning(!)

[Gray]

Just as an update - I had a spare hour yesterday and rewired mine straight to jack (bypassing vol / tone / actives). Its got quite a pleasing 'woody' sound to it. Pickup has a rather low output but shoudn't be a real issue.

Its also half the weight of my Ibanez Musician - I'm going to gig it in the new year and see how it fairs.

[4 Strings]

Yep, nice 'woody' tone.

Pickup output would have been boosted by the active circuit. Be good if you could rewire it through the circuit and get it working properly, be worth it in my opinion.

Lad still plays it daily - I'm getting worried!

[Spook]

Tried the Canyon III, (with the spalted maple top, very pretty), the other day and liked it a lot - I have small hands, and I'm a short- arse, so "Normal" 5 - strings can be tiring for me to play over, say, a two hour set.

I had two basses built to solve this problem, but I think I may buy one of these as a spare.

All round, I'd say worth the money

Edited January 13, 2010 by Spook

[4 Strings]

Don't know if anyone else has tried or even bought one of these Canyons, comments invited. A friend of mine has extremely expensive tastes and is very knowledgeable about feel, sound, construction etc, and he loved it. My lad is becoming obsessive with the thing, playing at every opportunity and becoming more and protective about it, he truly loves it.

I can understand they aren't everyones cup of tea and are completely unfashionable and, as a result, can be seen going for a song but sound great and a real pleasure to play. Anyone else have any experiences?

[WalMan]

I was looking at a Canyon 2 Spalted f/less today, but its probably more than I want to pay for something to get back into f/less bass and that will get minimal gig use, possibly a bit more at home recording.

In my searches what I have found interesting is to see the fairly distinctive design show up on the

[url="http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/products/default.asp?cID=26463376&sID=26465328"]Tanglewood Canyon[/url] cant seem to get the Tanglewood image to show

[url="http://www.cort.co.kr/english/products/common/view.asp?product_id=91"]Cort Curbow[/url]

and
[url="http://www.cranesmusicstore.com/hudsonpsb4flnop4stringfretless-p-275.html?zenid=h0n94ptmk76qtrr8mvneeefjt7"]Hudson ProjectBass[/url] from Cranes

Presumably all made at the same factory on the same jig with different electrics stuffed in depending on whose name's on the headstock/body that day

[tom1946]

Hi, I'm selling this:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=75829&hl=cort+curbow"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=cort+curbow[/url]

It's great!

[4 Strings]

"Presumably all made at the same factory on the same jig with different electrics stuffed in depending on whose name's on the headstock/body that day"
[/quote]


Not quite, I believe this to be true of the Tanglewood and Hudson basses but the Cort basses are proper Curbow designs made from synthetic materials (for example, luthite for the body, whatever that is). The Tanglewood is completely redesigned to be of exotic woods (even an ebony fingerboard) with the resulting different manufacturing processes.

They are honestly great basses, keep an eye on the dreaded ebay for cheap ones or make offers as they don't seem to be selling (I have no links!)

[WalMan]

[quote name='tom1946' post='740585' date='Feb 10 2010, 07:16 AM']Hi, I'm selling this:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=75829&hl=cort+curbow"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=cort+curbow[/url]

It's great![/quote]
I know. I'm watching, just not sure how far to go for something I shall use infrequently. GAS and intense boredom while the arm is in plaster may still get the better of me

[superretard5]

I bought a Canyon1 because a) I love the shape and size b)It played really easy and c) I could get the right sounds from it. It was only after a couple of months of intensive use that I found the build quality was utter sh*te. Laquer started to peel, frets prematurly wore and the jack plug became dodgy. I took it back to the dealer and got me money back. Cut a long stry short I've ended up with the real thing......a CORT CURBOW. The Tanglewood is a copy of the Cort and DEFINATELY NOT made in the same factory. The electrics are much better including a Bartolini Pickup which is sooo much better than the East River one on the Tanglewood, the bridge is a beautifully crafted lump of alluminium and after over a year of intensive use......it still looks good as new. However I hankered after a fretless Bass and have fallen in love with the Curbow shape. Cort do a Fretless Curbow but I kinda wanted one in wood this time around.......(the Cort curbow is made from Luthite).....so my only option was to take another look at the Tanglewood. I looked and ended up with a Canyon 2 as the Canyon 1 was shocking quality. The Canyon 2 is a gorgeous lump of wood with a through neck and lovely finishing touches(like the inside of the electrics enclosure painted black etc). However the electrics and hardware are all the same as the Canyon 1. So my first job was to buy a Seymour Duncan Blackout pickup which fits straight in and (handilly) comes with a replacement jack plug......................sorted!

[JoeyLiv]

There is one on eBay here is the states but its black .... I really think this bass looks great in natural wood. It looks like a Cort Curbow bass from back in the day.

[betokupper]

one up for sale 

https://www.adverts.ie/electric-basses/tanglewood-canyon-1-cobalt-blue-bass/17822340

 

really cheap