ACG Recurve S build thread

mikezimmerman · #1 07-05-2011, 02:07 PM

I've kept quiet about a new project that I have Alan Cringean (ACG - A.C. Guitars - Hand Crafted Basses & Guitars ) building for me, but now that it's starting to look like a bass, I thought some others might be interested to hear about it.

I've been an admirer of Alan's designs for a while, and a fan of his filter-based preamps. A couple of years ago I had him build me a 5-string version of his Harlot model. It turned out beautifully, and the craftsmanship was wonderful. I wound up needing to sell the instrument when some unexpected household emergencies came up, but I couldn't get the idea of ordering another one out of my head, with a few changes to make a it feel a bit more like the Curbows I'm so comfortable with. Finally I bit the bullet, pushed over the edge by a beautiful batch of rose myrtle top wood that Alan got. The end specs wound up being:

5-string Recurve S bolt-on single-cut
Wide 20mm spacing at the bridge and wide 50mm nut width, 34" scale
7-piece ash/purpleheart/wenge neck
Acrylicized ebony fretboard with purpleheart accent layer
Swamp ash body with wenge and purpleheart accent layers
Rose myrtle top and headstock
ACG FB pickups and EQ-01 filter preamp
Black hardware

Originally the body and neck were just going to be ash and wenge, but after thinking about it a bit more, I decided to add a little more color with the purpleheart to tie everything together. Alan was even able to add some black and purpleheart veneer to have matching layers under the headstock facings when they're added:

Eventually, the rose myrtle was ready to be cut, and this piece grabbed me:

When Alan put it all together, the top looked even more amazing!

:

After seeing the body, I mentioned offhand that my one regret was that some of it would be covered up with pickups and hardware. Alan responded by pointing out that he was now able to supply wood-topped pickup covers, and mentioning that he'd saved enough wood from the top to use that on the pickups if I wanted. Of course, I said yes!

So now, I'm just patiently (or not so patiently!) watching for the next update...

emjazz · #2 07-05-2011, 02:15 PM

This'll be fabulous Mike. Congrats.

I have a question for you. Have you ever found a bass with a neck that reacts in a similar way tonally that the Curbow rockwood necks do?

Spino · #3 07-05-2011, 02:22 PM

Ahmmmm? Is that the same piece of wood .The one at the bottom is a burl and the other is not or am I goin crazy ?

mikezimmerman · #4 07-05-2011, 02:27 PM

The closest to Rockwood that I've played is probably Moses necks. They're solid graphite/resin, so they feel a little different from the Modulus/Zon/Status necks. It's been a long time since I tried one, though...

I know that there's at least one Bee bass out there with a neck made of solid acrylicized wood, which would be very similar to Rockwood.

emjazz · #5 07-05-2011, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

I know that there's at least one Bee bass out there with a neck made of solid acrylicized wood, which would be very similar to Rockwood.

I've always wondered if that would be similar. Thanks Mike. Best of luck with the new bass!

mikezimmerman · #6 07-05-2011, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spino

Ahmmmm? Is that the same piece of wood .The one at the bottom is a burl and the other is not or am I goin crazy ?

It is the same piece of wood (as far as I know!), but remember that the blank is fairly thick and is getting sliced up into several pairs of bookmatched pieces. In the un-cut picture you're only seeing one side of one of the pieces, and what's inside the block can look somewhat different.

No Malarky · #7 07-05-2011, 02:34 PM

Spino, you are not crazy, Those are different, or am I blind?

No Malarky · #8 07-05-2011, 02:36 PM

Hmmm.........

Skelf · #9 07-05-2011, 03:08 PM

I can assure you that the top on the bass came from that billet.

mikezimmerman · #10 07-05-2011, 03:26 PM

Thanks, Alan!

Skelf · #11 07-05-2011, 03:46 PM

Had me doubting myself so I went out and checked. I have the remainder of the billet which as you can see from the first picture is a fair size.

No Malarky · #12 07-05-2011, 04:19 PM

How cool is that!

mikezimmerman · #13 07-06-2011, 02:43 PM

Just got an in-progress picture of the neck, too!

You can't see from this angle, but it has a 2mm purpleheart layer under the fretboard, and black/purpleheart veneers under the headstock facings.

tombowlus · #14 07-06-2011, 03:06 PM

Wow, that looks spectacular!

And I love that body shape!

mikezimmerman · #15 08-14-2011, 07:44 AM

The neck, nearly finished:

with the back, showing the black/purpleheart veneers to match the neck and body layers:

mikezimmerman · #16 08-23-2011, 02:39 PM

More updates, for anyone interested. Should look great with the myrtle pickup covers--I can't wait to see it with some finish on!

tombowlus · #17 08-23-2011, 02:46 PM

Looking sharp! You're making me want to go and play mine...

mikezimmerman · #18 09-02-2011, 10:09 AM

The bass is coming along wonderfully! Alan's been busy doing contours, and sent a few in-progress pics that really show off the wenge and purpleheart accent layers:

joeyl · #19 09-02-2011, 10:12 AM

looks awesome, but then again, so is all of Alan's work!! Love it.

spade2you · #20 09-02-2011, 10:48 AM

Looking good!!!