angle.jpg

For sale Ken Lawrence Brase 5

Sold
$6,000.00
Strings
5
Status
This item has been sold and is no longer available!
Status
8 members are watching this classified ad

Details

For sale is my Ken Lawrence Brase 5 string bass. The specs are as follows:
  • 5 Strings
  • 34" Scale
  • 19mm spacing
  • Ash Body
  • Maple Neck
  • Birdseye Maple fretboard
  • Cocobolo top
  • Cocobolo ramp
  • Black Hardware
  • Nordstrand B J Blade pickups
  • Nordstrand 3B-5B Pre
  • 9.9 pounds on scale
  • Unsure on strings. Might be DR Hi beams. I don't remember what I last put on there exactly.
This bass is a work of art and is a bit painful to let go, but I am not playing much these days and I am going to be thinning the majority of the herd. This bass had a refinish done as well as the cocobolo ramp added in the last two years or so by Ken himself.

The neck is a bit on the thicker side IMO, but the 19mm spacing and ramp allows one to play lightning fast. For a good idea of the sound I would check out the Nordstrand site with the J Blade demos. B string feels great with plenty of note definition.

List on these new as of 2022 was about 9000, but Ken is not taking orders at the moment, or in the near future either it seems. On top of that, Ken no longer works with cocobolo, so this top is not even an option. It was by pure luck (and his generous nature) that he was able and willing to make the matching cocobolo ramp.

It felt hard to capture the accurate colors of what the bass looks like in the photos, but the "no ramp" picture seems to do the best job. Also included in the photos are pictures of the bass in Ken's shop and in the Nordstrand shop when the electronics were updated.

This is for sale only. No trades.

Any other questions please feel free to ask. The bass will ship out via fully insured FedEx Ground and is included in the price. It will ship in a nice gig bag as well. Thanks for looking. :)

full_01.jpgangle.jpg full_side_2.jpg full_side.jpg back.jpg headstock.jpg top_angle.jpg KL_shop.jpeg nordstrand_shop.jpeg no_ramp.jpg

Edit: The colors of the photos were bugging me a bit because I didn't think they were accurately reflecting the look. Managed to get a few more shots and didn't bother editing them this time, but I think it's ok. It shows what the bass looks like much better. :)

KL2.jpg KL1.jpg IMG_5038.jpg

Comments

Oct 18, 2010
510
153
One of my favorite basses of all time. You bought this from Station Music, right? I watched it sit for about 10 years, and when I finally had the disposable income, it sold. :D
 

BassSaxMan

Supporting Member
Jul 11, 2008
391
250
One of my favorite basses of all time. You bought this from Station Music, right? I watched it sit for about 10 years, and when I finally had the disposable income, it sold. :D

I did, imported it from Germany. Liked it so much I went to get one of their fretless KL basses and someone stole a bunch of their stuff including all their entire KL collection. So this one was basically saved from being stolen too.
 
Oct 18, 2010
510
153
I did, imported it from Germany. Liked it so much I went to get one of their fretless KL basses and someone stole a bunch of their stuff including all their entire KL collection. So this one was basically saved from being stolen too.

Right, I remember hearing about that. That's awful.

If I didn't have two customs on order, I'd buy this in a heartbeat. Hopefully, you find a good home for it!
 

nick333

Inactive
Nov 3, 2012
287
143
It is easy for me to say , but IF you can afford this bass and you want a great 5 , I urge you to grab this bass.
These come up rarely and Ken is building very few basses these days.
On the slight chance you do not like this bass, sell it and never wonder what if.
 

Frampton

zero point zero
Supporting Member
Oct 9, 2010
547
950
NY
So much attention to detail. I love the headstock and the transition of the neck and body on the backside. The cocobolo is stunning and rare in that size (it's typically used in smaller pieces like knife handles and inlays). Sometimes, indy basses look too much like an art project for my taste, but this is beautiful.
 
Nov 16, 2021
13
19
Wow! This bass is beautiful! These are very hard to find, what's the tone like with the Nordstrand electrics and pickups? Do you have any sound clips of this instrument?
 
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BassSaxMan

Supporting Member
Jul 11, 2008
391
250
I missed that this was even getting responses. I would check out the videos on the Nordstrand site for the j blade demos to get an idea of the sound.

I might make a video demo if people want it.
 

BassSaxMan

Supporting Member
Jul 11, 2008
391
250
Gettin' cold feet on this one too. Closed for now. :)

Edit: opening it for now …
 
Last edited:

Classified ad information

Posted by
BassSaxMan
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Category
For Sale: Bass Guitars
Views
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Watchers
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Comments
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