Custom bass idea. Opinions needed.

[Jared Lash]

I just posted this in the Stambaugh Club thread but I thought I'd start my own thread in basses to get a little more input.

So I've been taking a hard look at two of Chris Stambaugh's "stock" models.

Duality
Fossil

Both designs are really speaking to me right now. I've made up my mind to order another Stambaugh and now I'm thinking of possibly getting a pair. If I get one, I'd get a Duality with a second J pickup in the neck for the MM/70's Jazz vibe. If I get two, I'd add a Fossil style bass for more old school tones. But in either case I'm thinking of substituting Chris' ODB shape body.



No fancy top woods on either bass as I'd get them finished with poly and a custom pickguard. The Duality would be ash so translucent finishes would be an option. The Fossil would either be Alder (so solid colors or perhaps bursts) or Mahogany (solid color or cherry stain like the on Gibsons) but I'm not sure what colors I'd want to go with.

Here are my (admittedly awful) initial sketches for each design without pickguards (where I'm stuck right now):

Duality

Fossil


Good idea? Bad idea?

Opinions on the body shape or basic design?

Recommendations on colors?

Any ideas on pickguard shapes?

I've just started the planning stage so I'm curious to get some thoughts and feedback.

[Jared Lash]

For reference here are the standard body shapes for the Duality and Fossil basses:

Duality



Fossil

[Kwesi]

It's funny because I'm considering having a similar bass made by Kevin Brubaker. Personally, I can't get down with non-matching pickups in most cases. I would definitely get go with the Duality body and the three pickups. The outside pickups would be in 70s jazz positions with the middle one... well, in the middle, lol.

Pickguards on any of them would be a shame really. I mean, all of the ideas sound solid.

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

It's funny because I'm considering having a similar bass made by Kevin Brubaker. Personally, I can't get down with non-matching pickups in most cases. I would definitely get go with the Duality body and the three pickups. The outside pickups would be in 70s jazz positions with the middle one... well, in the middle, lol.

Pickguards on any of them would be a shame really. I mean, all of the ideas sound solid.

I just checked out the new NBP-4 at the shop today. It's P bass inspired but in execution much like a 4 string version of my JXB-6. Ridiculous.

On topic:
Good idea? Bad idea?
If you like whatever it is you're doing, it's a good idea. If Chris makes a recommendation on anything relating to your plans, I'd listen.

Opinions on the body shape or basic design?
You could do a pickguard on the ODB body shape or not. I'm sure there's a way to do an attracive one but it's also possible to do one that looks goofy. Again, I'd get input from Chris on that. He has a good eye.

The other body styles could easily work too IMO.

Recommendations on colors?
Sky's the limit. This should be about what you really like and if Chris can work your vision into a reality. Or you let him do what he does and see what the options are.

Any ideas on pickguard shapes?
Nope.

This was all likely of no help.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

This was all likely of no help.

When I saw that you'd responded to my thread I thought, "Oh good, Brad has a wealth of knowledge and will no doubt have some great advice".



There's obviously a lot of truth in what you said. It's my bass and Chris has the skills and willingness to build whatever I ask him to build.

I do have a lot of trust in Chris and have always taken his recommendations. Considering his skill and experience I'd be foolish to insist on my own notions rather than trust his judgement.

And like most people that start threads looking for advice I suppose what I'm really looking to do is justify what I'm already thinking. And what I'm already thinking is that I love the look and feel of Chris' ODB shape but that a more traditional look (translucent or solid body color, pickguard) will make it (them?) an instrument(s) that fit in easier in a variety of settings.

I'm not opposed to beautiful wood topped instruments (I've got a couple, including this one in the works from Alan at ACG) but considering both basses should have a very retro sound I think a sort of modern meets vintage look is appropriate too.

But I really am just in the planning stage and very open to thoughts, opinions and suggestions other than my own. I'd much rather hear criticism or different suggestions now than after the bass or basses are built.

Right now I'm digging this color scheme (including the blocks and binding) and I think it would work well with the ODB shape.

[J. Crawford]

I could definitely see a Brubaker Brute-esque pickguard on that.

[Internet Police]

So wait a second, what this boils down to is a pickup configuration?

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

When I saw that you'd responded to my thread I thought, "Oh good, Brad has a wealth of knowledge and will no doubt have some great advice".



There's obviously a lot of truth in what you said. It's my bass and Chris has the skills and willingness to build whatever I ask him to build.

I do have a lot of trust in Chris and have always taken his recommendations. Considering his skill and experience I'd be foolish to insist on my own notions rather than trust his judgement.

And like most people that start threads looking for advice I suppose what I'm really looking to do is justify what I'm already thinking. And what I'm already thinking is that I love the look and feel of Chris' ODB shape but that a more traditional look (translucent or solid body color, pickguard) will make it (them?) an instrument(s) that fit in easier in a variety of settings.

I'm not opposed to beautiful wood topped instruments (I've got a couple, including this one in the works from Alan at ACG) but considering both basses should have a very retro sound I think a sort of modern meets vintage look is appropriate too.

But I really am just in the planning stage and very open to thoughts, opinions and suggestions other than my own. I'd much rather hear criticism or different suggestions now than after the bass or basses are built.

Right now I'm digging this color scheme (including the blocks and binding) and I think it would work well with the ODB shape.

IMO that would look great in the ODB body style. Traditional with a serious twist. For pickups I like dual coils with switching set up to do outer coils where I'd put single coils. So far it's worked very well for me.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by Internet Police

So wait a second, what this boils down to is a pickup configuration?

Actually, pickup configuration is what I'm most certain about. If I do a single bass I'll use the concepts of Chris' "Duality" bass with the Delano Hybrid system to give both jazz bass and Stingray sounds. If I do two basses I'd add his "Fossil" concept with the 33 inch scale, three Aero single coil P pickups and the Stellartone Tonestyler.

What I'm unsure about is body shape (specifically whether the ODB shape is a good one for this project) and painting it a solid or translucent color and whether or not a pickguard is a good idea and in what shape. Mostly I'm just looking for opinions.

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

IMO that would look great in the ODB body style. Traditional with a serious twist. For pickups I like dual coils with switching set up to do outer coils where I'd put single coils. So far it's worked very well for me.

See, THAT is something worth considering. I dig the Aero Dual Coils quite a bit. And my main goal with the first bass is to cop a 70's ash/maple jazz vibe. I'd already planned on using a hard ash body for it with a maple neck and either a maple or wenge fretboard. The Delano's cop a pretty convincing tone, but doing the same concept with dual coils to give a more hi-fi tone and a switch for the single coil sound is a definite possibility.

I do like the concept of the Delano Hybrid though and being able to tap some Stingray type sounds as well. Of course, given where the bridge pickup is on a 70's jazz and where the "sweet spot" is for a Ray some compromise will have to be made. On the other hand, hard ash is the right wood for both vintage basses.

Lots to think about.

[smperry]

Good idea.

I'd ask to have the body edges/corners flattened so that it's not as curvy...meaning the shape is exactly the same from the top, but it's not as contoured where the top meets the sides (although, you might want a forearm contour like the jazz bass has).

Not sure about the pickguard (I'm not a pickguard person), but my inclination would be slightly slanted like a Jazz bass pickguard, but one piece like a Precision guard. One white or pearloid and the other black. Chrome Hardware. Hipshot vintage bridge. Colors, whatever you like.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by smperry

Good idea.

I'd ask to have the body edges/corners flattened so that it's not as curvy...meaning the shape is exactly the same from the top, but it's not as contoured where the top meets the sides (although, you might want a forearm contour like the jazz bass has).

Not sure about the pickguard (I'm not a pickguard person), but my inclination would be slightly slanted like a Jazz bass pickguard, but one piece like a Precision guard. One white or pearloid and the other black. Chrome Hardware. Hipshot vintage bridge. Colors, whatever you like.

Nice suggestions.

I definitely want a forearm contour. As far as flattening the body edges I'm a bit torn. The curves of the design do add to the comfort of playing but a little less rounding would add to a more vintage vibe.

I'm also on the same pages with pickguards - I was thinking black and pearloid as well. Well, I originally was thinking of doing one in Olympic White with a tort guard but I'm getting my wife's input on aesthetics and she used her veto power on the idea of a white bass.

If I use pickguards (and I'm leaning stronly that way) it will most likely be a one piece. Chris has cut his own control plates but custom ones never look exactly right to me for some reason.

I'm appreciating the feedback.

[Jared Lash]

Talked to Chris a bit today.

Long story short, he sold me on the Fossil concept (as did TBer poisonoakie) and dissuaded me from the Duality. Just as my own reading confirmed, the Delano Hybrid is more of a compromise between them than a setup that does both authentic jazz and authentic ray tones.

So now I'm rethinking what I want to do with the second bass.

Some possibilities I'm considering:

1) A pair of splittable dual coils with the outer coils in the 70's jazz position on a hard ash body with a maple neck and and preamp with an active/passive switch.

2) A second Fossil, but instead of single coils I'd go with three split P pickups but on single coil bobbins to keep the same look.

Thoughts?

And to Brad in particular, what ingredients do you consider key or essential to that 70's jazz bass sound?

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

Talked to Chris a bit today.

Long story short, he sold me on the Fossil concept (as did TBer poisonoakie) and dissuaded me from the Duality. Just as my own reading confirmed, the Delano Hybrid is more of a compromise between them than a setup that does both authentic jazz and authentic ray tones.

So now I'm rethinking what I want to do with the second bass.

Some possibilities I'm considering:

1) A pair of splittable dual coils with the outer coils in the 70's jazz position on a hard ash body with a maple neck and and preamp with an active/passive switch.

2) A second Fossil, but instead of single coils I'd go with three split P pickups but on single coil bobbins to keep the same look.

Thoughts?

And to Brad in particular, what ingredients do you consider key or essential to that 70's jazz bass sound?

Maple neck. Maple or Rosewood board. Other woods could work but I'd want something similar to either of these.

Ash body but not anything too lightweight. Maple with some weight seems to work as well.

A pair of pickups that line up single coils in the same area as a mid to late 70's Jazz. In particular the bridge pickup is oriented closer to the bridge than on earlier Fenders.

A good set of roundwounds.

That's it. I kind of shut down another thread when I made these same suggestions after a few people recommended specific pickups and the need for an onboard preamp. There is no need for an onboard preamp IMO IME... you can do the same stuff at the amp. And if you do want an onboard, go with something that's not heavily voiced like Bartolini, Aguilar or Sadowsky. And most decent single coils or splittable dual coils will get you in the zone so no need to narrow it down to one brand.

I have a few basses that nail that sound that's often attributed to Marcus Miller, one is my bone stock 78 Fender Jazz, another is my Maple body, Maple neck with Brazilian Rosewood board Brubaker JXB-6 with Bart dual coils installed to line up the outer coils like my Jazz. It's also 34" scale and achieves the sound with the preamp bypass and the coils split. Popping on a bass is where the 70's Jazz sound becomes really obvious IMO.

So there are a few ways to achieve this as long as you remember the basics. There may be others but I prefer taking the easy, tried and true route. And by all means I wouldn't want to depend on the electronics in the bass to get me there. The body woods and pickup location are the key. With what I've laid out it would be difficult to not get the vibe you're after. I know many people who change a key feature and miss and in many cases they seem baffled as to why.


In hindsight, one thing I didn't point out before because I'd hope it would be obvious but realize that's not always the case is to do a similar overall layout to a Fender Jazz. If I'd done a longer fingerboard on my six that could affect where I slap the bass and that can affect the results I get. So a 26 fret board may not be a good idea... unless you just plan on playing fingerstyle. Going with a different scale length will require factoring that into where the single coils should then go... they won't be in the same exact distances from the bridge/nut as a 34" scale.

It's actually pretty simple overall and very repeatable. You could go in another direction but I'd rather have something that gets there right out of the box vs. having to tweak it. And what I'm describing isn't the proverbial "Jazz bass on steroids", I'm talking about getting a real authentic 70's jazz sound. You'll have the big Crocodile Dundee knife, not the one the mugger had. Good luck.