Custom builds - which body shapes?

[Jared Lash]

So I have put down a deposit on a pair of basses from Chris Stambaugh. My goal is to do a modern/vintage thing so I'm going with passive wiring and painted bodies and a pickguards rather than exotic wood tops.

But I'm rethinking my body shape ideas. My original thought was to use Chris' ODB shape for one bass (a sort of Roscoe Beck IV variant) and round that shape out a bit for the second (a variation on Chris' Fossil design) to keep them looking similar.

Now I'm wondering if I want to just use Chris' body shape for the Fossil and his Duality shape (with a Roscoe Beck like pickguard) for the other bass.

In either case one bass will be candy apple red with a black pickguard and ebony board and the other will be either transparent blue or Lake Placid blue with a pearloid pickguard and maple board.

Option 1 - the ODB shape and a rounded variant
Here are a couple pictures of the ODB shape and my sketches with pickguards





Option 2 - the Fossil and Duality body shapes:


and



Which pair do you prefer?

[bassingeorge]

Fossil ftw!

Very Vintage Modern...I wouldn't know what to do with 3 pickups though...I usually have 1! haha

[jbossolo]

Fossil all the way.
Good luck with the project.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by bassingeorge

Fossil ftw!

Very Vintage Modern...I wouldn't know what to do with 3 pickups though...I usually have 1! haha

Thanks for the opinion

I've never owned a three pickup bass either but I dig the idea and got a great review from a TBer that owns one of Chris' Fossil designs. They are three single coil pickups with the middle one reversed from the other two so it can form a humbucking pair. So the five position selector switch gives you a choice of the front pickup soloed, the front and middle together, the middle soloed, the middle and bridge combined or the bridge soloed. Rather than a tone knob it uses the Stellartone Tonestyler which I dig.

Originally Posted by jbossolo

Fossil all the way.
Good luck with the project.

I'm starting to lean that way myself. I love the look of the ODB shape but I'm worried it will look too modern, even painted and with a pickguard.

[ronaldpdbrandt]

I chose the first option, because I love the ODB/Fossil hybrid (in the second drawing).

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by ronaldpdbrandt

I chose the first option, because I love the ODB/Fossil hybrid (in the second drawing).

I definitely like both the original ODB shape and the variant. I think they look good in my sketches. My only real reason to go with the other shapes is that they are more traditional looking. My current pair of basses are fairly outlandish and I'm looking for these two to fit in everywhere.

[RED J]

I as a fossil dig the Fossil

[SallyGrowler]

I have an ODB - I do like the Fossil / Duality shapes.

Tell Stammy his octave coursed 8 he made me is doing fine - 13 years later!

[Jared Lash]

I'm still going back and forth.

Any other thoughts?

[smperry]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

I definitely like both the original ODB shape and the variant. I think they look good in my sketches. My only real reason to go with the other shapes is that they are more traditional looking. My current pair of basses are fairly outlandish and I'm looking for these two to fit in everywhere.

I voted ODB because I think it looks great with the pickguard; it almost has a pseudo-Rick vibe while having its own character. But given the post above, the Fossil shape might be the one for you.

ODB is way more interesting to me, but I understand wanting a bass with conservative looks. The Fossil is a solid choice.

[Woodsbass]

I think the Fossil with the duality pickguard would be oh so sexy.

[Kobaia]

why not just eat the 100 custom shape fee, and just get a jazz and P bass body.

but if i had to pick i'd pick the 2 bodies that are the same. switching back and forth would be effort less.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by smperry

I voted ODB because I think it looks great with the pickguard; it almost has a pseudo-Rick vibe while having its own character. But given the post above, the Fossil shape might be the one for you.

ODB is way more interesting to me, but I understand wanting a bass with conservative looks. The Fossil is a solid choice.

Yeah, you hit the nail square on the head. I like the ODB shape more. Even though Chris will build pretty much any type of bass, that shape always seemed the most original or the most "Stambaugh-esque" to me.

But I don't want it to stick out like a sore thumb or scream "boutique bass" when people look at it. I think the Warwick Fortress stradles the modern/vintage line fairly well and it's a similar shape so it might work but the safe choice is to go with the more traditional body shape.

Interesting to look at the poll. As of right now, carrots is actually in second place (thanks a lot jerks! ) but if I'm soliciting opinions I should certainly give them some weight and my TB brethren currently like the ODB shape by a 2-1 margin. That has to mean something.

Originally Posted by Woodsbass

I think the Fossil with the duality pickguard would be oh so sexy.

Interesting thought. . .

Originally Posted by Kobaia

why not just eat the 100 custom shape fee, and just get a jazz and P bass body.

but if i had to pick i'd pick the 2 bodies that are the same. switching back and forth would be effort less.

The thought has crossed my mind. Chris actually wouldn't charge me for a custom body shape since he's done a few P's and J's but I'm not sure I want to go all the way down the road of copping the Pbass or Jazz look. These basses are built around some pretty interesting passive electronics that are pretty different from a P or a Jazz and if I'm copping the shape I think it would be odd to have a distinctly different tone than those classics. But believe me, I've thought about it.

The Fossil shape already (IMO) looks like a cross between a Telecaster (guitar) and a early Precision or Telecaster bass. And the Duality obviously borrows from the Jazz and Precision. I think that's the appeal to me. They bear a resemblance to Fender basses without going all the way there.

[Woodsbass]

I did a quick sketch of the fossil with the duality pickguard, just to see if it would actually look good.

Damn you GAS, damn you.

[Jared Lash]

That's not a bad look at all!

I think I'm going to stay the course and go with the ODB shapes. What really struck me yesterday was that the Warwick Fortress Flashback (to me) pulls off the vintage/modern look well.

It's a bass with an cool but unusual shape, it has a wenge neck & fingerboard with brass frets, an oiled finish, the non-traditional looking Warwick headstock, three lipstick pickups and sometimes even the two piece bridge. And yet IMO it still has a look that could fit in pretty much anywhere other than when someone is demanding a Fender.

I think the twin ODB basses can cop a similar vibe.

Some Fortress Flashback pics for reference:

[Kano2864212]

I really liked the ODB with the Roscoe Beck style guard

[Flaked Beans]

This would be a very nice body shape for your new bass!

[Flaked Beans]

prototype #2:

[Jared Lash]

Nice photoshop and I really dig the Tele look. And Chris would build it in a heartbeat. But from experience I know I don't dig singlecuts.

But somebody should absolutely jump on that concept. I'd love to see it in a vintage Fender color. Maybe black or oly white with a tort guard.

[Flaked Beans]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

Nice photoshop and I really dig the Tele look. And Chris would build it in a heartbeat. But from experience I know I don't dig singlecuts.

But somebody should absolutely jump on that concept. I'd love to see it in a vintage Fender color. Maybe black or oly white with a tort guard.

Yeah, the photoshoped tele bass looks awesome to me! however, I'd like to have a singlecut version of the MM5 style bass, something like this: