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Brook Guitars "Otter" 5 string Acoustic Bass


franzbassist
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Hello all

Up for sale is my incredible “Otter” five string acoustic bass, made by the wonderful team at [url="http://www.brookguitars.com/"]Brook Guitars[/url] down in Devon and finished in September 2008.





It is the first fiver they ever made, so they really took their time to make sure they got it right. The build quality is fantastic, from the detailed purfling to the slight bow in the back of the body to give extra strength and projection to the sound, it really does exude quality all over.

It’s quite loud acoustically, especially played with a pick, easily coping with one strummed guitar and not doing too badly against two, and plugged in it becomes a total tone monster. It's set up with a low action, much like a typical electric bass, so if you want to dig in acoustically I'd suggest a tweak of the trussrod to raise the action a touch.

Specification:[list]
[*]European spruce top with flame myrtle back/sides and walnut/rosewood/maple/ebony purfling
[*]34” scale mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard and headstock veneer
[*]Ebony bridge with bone saddle
[*]Hipshot Ultralite tuners
[*][url="http://www.lrbaggs.com/EAS.htm"]LR Baggs Element Active[/url] piezo pickup
[*]Elixir strings
[/list]
The neck is incredible, 1 ¾” wide at the nut with 18mm spacing at the bridge (same as a Ken Smith 5 string), it feels really skinny and is very fast.

The LR Baggs pickup replaced the original Headway Snake that I felt was a bit too harsh, and also a bit uneven in string balance, to my ear. The Baggs has the added advantge of volume and tone controls inside the soundhole, which are very useful for adjustments away from the amp.

The original ABS case is also included.

And now for some more pictures…

The following were taken with flash so they aren't the best, but they do show the fantastic attention to detail and finish on the bass.















Obviously, a high end, hand made acoustic bass is going to have a limited appeal in the market place, so I am not expecting people to rush at me to buy this.

To buy the same bass new would cost you around £2195 today (and to show what a good deal even that is, a 4 string made by Fylde would cost you a shade under £2900!). This one is in superb condition, with just a few nicks in the edges and a shallow dent on the top, and is available for [b]£1750[/b].

No trades thanks.

Collection from NE Hampshire or Central London preferred, but will post at cost if required (and I can find a suitable box!).

Cheers

Gareth

Edited by walbassist
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[quote name='Schnozzalee' post='990127' date='Oct 16 2010, 12:41 PM']Why are you selling this? Probably one of the nicest basses on the site[/quote]

I know. It's stunning to look at and just as much fun to play, but my requirements have changed as I am upgrading my EUB and don't have the spare readies to keep this too.

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I still think it's a good idea to get the Brook guys to put it on the 'Shop' part of their website; they'll be very happy to help. I'm sure it's more likely to sell there than here, in all honesty... and it would be a shame to undervalue it here. You've got it for a very low price considering it's a world class instrument.

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[quote name='Spoombung' post='990978' date='Oct 17 2010, 11:24 AM']I still think it's a good idea to get the Brook guys to put it on the 'Shop' part of their website; they'll be very happy to help. I'm sure it's more likely to sell there than here, in all honesty... and it would be a shame to undervalue it here. You've got it for a very low price considering it's a world class instrument.[/quote]

Thanks for the comments guys. I agree that the price is ridiculous, but I guess that's the market right now.

I've spoken to Simon and we'll be putting it up on the site in due course. He also said he felt [b]£1600[/b] was about right for it, so I'll leave it at that on here for now. Not that it looks like anyone will be buying it soon anyway.

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[quote name='walbassist' post='992487' date='Oct 18 2010, 05:29 PM']I've spoken to Simon and we'll be putting it up on the site in due course. He also said he felt [b]£1600[/b] was about right for it, so I'll leave it at that on here for now. Not that it looks like anyone will be buying it soon anyway.[/quote]


Trust me... you'll sell it there.

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