FT/FS: Russ Laggan 32" 5 string fretless "connected horn" bass (relist)

[LouBass]

Relisting to highlight that I'm interested in trades for 5 string fretted basses. Prefer 35" scale and neck through or set neck. Will consider other types of basses so just ask me if you're interested in this Laggan. Will also consider amps/cabs plus cash. Markbass, TC Electronics, Euphonic Audio and the like.

I also could really use a nice set of PA mains...

$1,800 shipped CONUS

Original thread is:
Russ Laggan 32" 5 string fretless "connected horn" bass

This is a short scale bass that Russ Laggan built for me and as it's getting the least amount of use, it's the one I've decided to sell. I received this bass from Russ in March 2011 and the bass has seen so little use that it's in as-delivered condition. It's spotless. The specs are:

• Fretless, unlined, side dot markers
• 32" scale
• Hipshot tuners
• Hipshot monorails (through the body)
• 17mm spacing
• Laminate through the body neck of maple and paduk
• Single truss rod accessible at the headstock
• Body top is big leaf maple burl
• Body core is iroko
• Back back is quilted maple
• Fingerboard is vera wood (2 octaves and a fifth)
• Nut is bone
• Bartonlini pickups
• Passive electronics in copper lines cavity
• Volume, blend, treble cut
• Straplocks
• Satin finish
• Weight is less than 9 pounds
• Will ship with gig bag

The neck seems a little thick compared to modern ultra-thin necked basses, but after comparing at GC, it seems pretty average. Overall, it's very comfortable to play. I think the thickness helps with the stability as the B-string is as tight if not tighter its 35" brothers.

The tuners are set high in the headstock and with the through-the-body monorails, you can use long scale strings which is nice as there's more options then having to shop for short scale strings.

I have two sets of photos. These are from Russ of the build process:

http://telperion.com/bass/russ3.zip

These are from me and were taken from an iPhone so not of the best of quality:

http://telperion.com/bass/bass.zip

Misc pics:

[Moe Monsarrat]

I like this bass & have some trade bait. Interested in an American Precision V or Jazz V?

[LouBass]

@Moe, PM'ed.

[Moe Monsarrat]

Back at ya.

[MarkA]

Lou, do you have any sound samples of this bass?

Also, with it being such an unusual shape, it might be helpful to see it pictured alongside something more familiar -- a picture of it next to a 34" scale P-bass, for instance, would give people (myself included) some frame of reference.

I know that the scale length is 32" (2" shorter than the 34" I'm used to), but the bridge looks to be several inches from the end of the body (i.e. pushing the nut further "out"). With that, I wonder what the reach to the first fret is like. Comparable to a 34"? (Again, a P-bass is what I'm most familiar with.) Further out? Still shorter somehow?

Finally, I'm guessing that with the almost-three-octave board, slapping is out of the question. Or is it?

An interesting bass, for sure, and looks to be well-made. It's just different in pretty much every way to the basses I've played, and I wonder how disorienting it would be to go back and forth!

Best of luck selling the bass.
-Mark

[LouBass]

@Mark, thanks for the suggestions. I'll see what I can do on the comparative pics and on sound clips.

The bass is basically the same body size and overall length as Russ' 35" scale basses. So first position is where it would be on a regular, long scale bass. The bridge position shortens the scale. The advantage being that you have a lot more range, approaching 3 octaves if you've got the fingers for it. It's like playing a cello up there. I'll have to try slapping out on it ... not something I usually do on fretless.

[LouBass]

I'd forgotten that I had made some measurements for another person who was interested in the bass:



I'll work on getting some comparative shots with some well known basses.

[MarkA]

Thanks for the reply and for the picture with the measurements, Lou! I'll have to get a tape out and make some comparative measurements on my P-bass.

Re. the measurements, there's one more I'd like to see, if you could add it: from the bridge to the end of the body, measured at the center-line.

Re. slapping on fretless, I didn't think I would, either, but it works great on my fretless P-bass (but then, that has a 20-position neck, not 35).

-Mark

Originally Posted by LouBass

@Mark, thanks for the suggestions. I'll see what I can do on the comparative pics and on sound clips.

The bass is basically the same body size and overall length as Russ' 35" scale basses. So first position is where it would be on a regular, long scale bass. The bridge position shortens the scale. The advantage being that you have a lot more range, approaching 3 octaves if you've got the fingers for it. It's like playing a cello up there. I'll have to try slapping out on it ... not something I usually do on fretless.

[LouBass]

OK I've "tested" the fingerboard with a tuner while playing the last comfortable position and it's exactly 2 octaves and a fifth. So E-E-B on the E string and G-G-D on the G, etc. So that makes it a 31-position neck. (Not sure who plays up that high, I'm certainly not good enough.)

I've also updated the picture with some additional measurements. You may have to refresh your browser cache to pick the new image up however.

[MarkA]

Lou, thanks for the measurements and for double-checking the range of the fingerboard. Two octaves and a fifth on each string is a lot, but it's more manageable than the almost-three octaves I was thinking earlier. Also gives me a little better idea of where the notes will lie on the bass. Btw, that should come out to 31 positions/half steps (two octaves = 24, + 7 for the fifth).

[LouBass]

37? Ha... My bad. Thanks again man. (editing the above)

[jakeopolis]

my god that thing is gorgeous. any interest in a spector rebop 5-string beauty?

FS: Spector Rebop DLX-5

[jakeopolis]

hey lou, were you able to get some recordings done?

[LouBass]

Not yet Jake. Sorry man.

[MarkA]

Bump for the most interesting-looking fretless on TB right now. I can't tell if it would be the best/most easily navigable fretless I'd ever play or just the most "different," but there it is, unlike anything else on here. If you were within driving distance, I'd come out and play it -- I think it would answer a lot of questions for me, and not just about this specific bass, but about what I like and don't like in terms of how an instrument's laid out.

Meanwhile, I think a photo of it next to any "regular" 34" scale and/or 35" scale basses would help give folks some perspective. (Thanks much for the earlier measurements, btw -- they helped comparing it to my Fender.)

[LouBass]

OK I'm posting this out of feeling like a slacker for not getting any recordings done or a comparison pic. I've been really busy as of late. Still no recordings, but at least here's a cell phone comparison pic. It's a side-by-side with an Ibanez BTB-1305e (which is not a small bass and is bigger than your run of the mill Fenders and also has a wide neck). It's what I had ready access to so here it is:

[Moe Monsarrat]

I still like it.

[LouBass]

OK the unthinkable has happened... I've managed to make a recording. I played some scales and some other things that all sounded just too damn lame, so I just let my melancholy mood ramble away (I am not a solo player so be warned). Recording details are:

Bass is flat through an RH450 and 2, RS210s. No EQ, Tube Tone, etc. Recorded using a Senn 602-II direct into Logic 9 on a Mac. Track is un-eq'ed or otherwise mixed down.

Recording is here and it's enabled for downloading:
http://soundcloud.com/loubass/somber...ng-bass-ramble

The sound at the very end is the 5th position harmonic on the E string. It'll ring for about 5 minutes, but I cut it off after a bit.

[LouBass]

Bump