I know there's been some talk about Campellone basses on TB, but I was kinda surprised that I couldn't find a dedicated thread. So here's one.
Mark Campellone currently builds high end archtop guitars; some of the best in the world. Among other things, he was one of a handful of the world's top luthiers chosen to build one of the famous "Blue Guitars" for Scott Chinery back in the late 90's.
But Mark has a dark side
. Before building archtops, Mark built basses. High end custom basses. One of the pioneers in that field. Between 1977 and 1992, he built about 100 basses total - rare beauties that few know about and a lucky even fewer own. He clearly took his cue from Alembic and you can see a lot of that influence in his designs, but he also had his own thing going on too. Something that's clearly evident is the quality of materials and craftsmanship. Best of all, Mark was a working bassist when he was building these, and more than just pretty works of art, his basses are players.
Here's mine. Maple neck-thru, 34", african mahogany wings with cocobolo top, macassar board. The pickups are Bartolini soapbars with EZQ active electronics. Built around 1987. You can see the Alembic influence in the body style, but the ergonomics on this bass are better. It hangs more comfortably, the neck is right where you want it, and at just under 8.5 lbs it's pretty lightweight too. The EZQ is like Alembic Series II electronics, with filter sweep and variable Q; the big difference here being a single filter for both pickups. The sound of this bass is clear and huge; think Jimmy Johnson and his Series II.
Any more Campellones out there?
/rick
Mark Campellone currently builds high end archtop guitars; some of the best in the world. Among other things, he was one of a handful of the world's top luthiers chosen to build one of the famous "Blue Guitars" for Scott Chinery back in the late 90's.
But Mark has a dark side
. Before building archtops, Mark built basses. High end custom basses. One of the pioneers in that field. Between 1977 and 1992, he built about 100 basses total - rare beauties that few know about and a lucky even fewer own. He clearly took his cue from Alembic and you can see a lot of that influence in his designs, but he also had his own thing going on too. Something that's clearly evident is the quality of materials and craftsmanship. Best of all, Mark was a working bassist when he was building these, and more than just pretty works of art, his basses are players.Here's mine. Maple neck-thru, 34", african mahogany wings with cocobolo top, macassar board. The pickups are Bartolini soapbars with EZQ active electronics. Built around 1987. You can see the Alembic influence in the body style, but the ergonomics on this bass are better. It hangs more comfortably, the neck is right where you want it, and at just under 8.5 lbs it's pretty lightweight too. The EZQ is like Alembic Series II electronics, with filter sweep and variable Q; the big difference here being a single filter for both pickups. The sound of this bass is clear and huge; think Jimmy Johnson and his Series II.
Any more Campellones out there?
/rick
