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Wood&tronics 5 string fretless


mcgraham
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Spoombung, alas, it is not in my hands yet :) I've not heard any clips either. It'll ship sometime in the New Year. Erik and Enrico never let a bass leave unless it's in perfect playing condition, so they're tweaking it to be [i]just[/i] so. As you can imagine they are very pleased with this particular bass, and want to make sure they send it off in the best form that they can.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Umm... anytime now? :)

Basically, they're just finishing everything up. As I mentioned, they are restringing with slightly higher gauge strings because they feel this will contribute to and enhance the overall sound of the bass (which I was contemplating doing for tonal reasons anyway, seeing as I won't ever be bending on this bass). Once they've made sure everything is as it should be, the bass will be shipped! This should be by Jan 10 (give or take). I'm pleased it's happening in January rather than over the Christmas peak - makes it less likely that the bass will be sat in a cold shipping port for a long period of time.

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Here's some shots of the back and the beautifully carved heel for you to feast your eyes on :)

[attachment=39460:Zoid_33_...less__7_.jpg]
[attachment=39461:Zoid_33_...less__8_.jpg]
[attachment=39462:Zoid_33_...ess__10_.jpg]

Remember that this is a chambered body, extra deep (60mm), with a cutaway to access a 3 octave fretboard... and they still made it look absolutely stunning!

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[quote name='mcgraham' post='702470' date='Jan 6 2010, 09:22 AM']Umm... anytime now? :rolleyes:

Basically, they're just finishing everything up. As I mentioned, they are restringing with slightly higher gauge strings because they feel this will contribute to and enhance the overall sound of the bass (which I was contemplating doing for tonal reasons anyway, seeing as I won't ever be bending on this bass). Once they've made sure everything is as it should be, the bass will be shipped! This should be by Jan 10 (give or take). I'm pleased it's happening in January rather than over the Christmas peak - makes it less likely that the bass will be sat in a cold shipping port for a long period of time.[/quote]

Awesome news mate :)
Did you see what I picked up on Monday?...

Eude

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mark

Your bass will be in the shop next week, I can't wait to see it in the flesh, it is coming with a rather stunning Chronos 5 - [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/WT_Stock_Chros_5_b_o.html"]HERE[/url]

The guys at WT are raising the bar with every bass that they make.

Mark

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[quote name='poptart' post='722237' date='Jan 23 2010, 03:23 PM']Mark

Your bass will be in the shop next week, I can't wait to see it in the flesh, it is coming with a rather stunning Chronos 5 - [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/WT_Stock_Chros_5_b_o.html"]HERE[/url]

The guys at WT are raising the bar with every bass that they make.

Mark[/quote]


Glad to hear both of those things :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

The bass arrived at Bass Direct earlier this week. I am going down to pick it up tomorrow morning. If anyone is going to be around you'd be very welcome to try out this new bass :rolleyes:

Mark

P.S. I believe there's also a new Chronos in that would be worth checking out if anyone was thinking of visiting Bass Direct sometime soon :)

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[quote name='mcgraham' post='736061' date='Feb 5 2010, 12:33 PM']The bass arrived at Bass Direct earlier this week. I am going down to pick it up tomorrow morning. If anyone is going to be around you'd be very welcome to try out this new bass :lol:

Mark

P.S. I believe there's also a new Chronos in that would be worth checking out if anyone was thinking of visiting Bass Direct sometime soon :rolleyes:[/quote]

Congrats Mark. Good luck on the featureless topography of that seeminly endless neck ... :)

I'm Gas-free now :lol:
My Woody is wonderful :lol:

Edited by OldGit
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[quote name='OldGit' post='739083' date='Feb 8 2010, 04:36 PM']Come on Mark, Spill the beans ....[/quote]

He's too busy playing :)
I struggle to eat, wash or even function as normal when I've taken delivery of a sexy new bass...

Eude

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I played for about 5 hours over the course of the weekend. Needless to say, it is stunning in the flesh. So understated, yet so beautiful. It is also the lightest bass I've ever owned despite being an extra thick body. That's obviously due to the chambering. I'm particularly keen on the preamp. Much simpler and significantly more subtle than the preamp in my Klimt.

I'll give you guys a proper debrief once I'm home this evening :)

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I was playing for about an hour last night. What a bass.

Build wise, this bass is a work of art. The fingerboard is amazing as it is a completely black continuous piece of ebony. I don't know how they managed to get a single piece this large, but it's great! The body is an extra thick acoustic chambered piece of bubinga, with figured curly bubinga top and back. The neck is a 3 piece neck made all from ash. There are also two ziricote/bocote stringers lining the very outer edge of the fingerboard. It is extremely light due to the chambering, and the neck seems slightly thinner than my Klimt. All in all it balances well and is extremely wearable for long periods.

Tonewise, this bass is the best fretless I've ever played and exactly how I hoped it would sound, even though I had no way of guaranteeing the tone. I'm a fan of fretless tone without too much 'mwah' and the slightly higher action on this bass helps me get that sound. The attack is very Michael Manring sounding, but the tone is much woodier and warmer. I've not used it in a band situation yet but I will be sure to do report back once I have done.

With regard to features, I really like the preamp. Much more subtle and very useable. It's not as extreme as the one in my Klimt but does just what is necessary, i.e. eq to taste rather than fundamentally changing the character of the bass. The extended fretboard is fantastic, and is presenting the challenge and potential I hoped it would. I'm spending much of my practice time getting used to playing in that last octave to try and build my muscle memory. Also need to work on getting a good tone from that high up the neck. With such a fantastic tone, and the range and expression of this instrument, I've got a lot to work on :)

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I didn't say 'no mwah', just less mwah :) I prefer a cleaner tone, too much mwah irritates me. Whilst I normally prefer lower action, the slightly higher action suits this bass. The E string is a tad high at the nut, but nothing serious. We'll see how it goes over the coming weeks/months before I decide if it needs a slightly different setup.

I love how the whole instrument requires a high level of precision of touch both for tone and intonation.

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