Specs:
--60-61-style Jazz
--Stacked-knob, vintage caps and standard wiring
--Nitro blonde/Mary Kay (definitely my favorite color--damn variety)
--Swamp Ash body, stained to highlight the grain through the trans MK finish
--"Killer looking" (Ben's description but he's not telling me why/how) nitro-finished, maple, medium "C" neck
--Dark Rosewood slab board with clay dots
--Traditional tort (T-M-B-M) Pickguardian PG dark, red with a lot of character
--Fralin p'ups, slightly overwound
--'60 J-style tuners, hardware and chrome covers
--6130 (I think) frets, same width but a little lower for TI flats
--Aged to played-but-cared-for state (4 or 5 on a 10-scale)
Story:
I have had the bug for about a year--ever since my son (now 12) started getting really serious about guitar. Started gearing up and taking lessons to remove rust, develop actual skill (jury's still out
), and spending quality time jamming with my boy (the best).
Years ago, I owned a few nice basses: the first was an MIJ Jazz, followed by a beautiful neck-through Alembic, equally sweet early 90s Warwick NT Thumb, and finally a terrific AV Reissue '62 Fender Precision. All good basses--much better than my garage-band playing--with the Fender AVR surprising me by becoming my favorite of that group.
Since that early phase, under the GAS influence, I've had the chance to play many more basses and settle in on what I like best (again, just what I like--YMMV and likely will), which turns out to be Leo Fender designs built, enhanced or finished and set up by others. For me, the must-own include the right P, J and Stingray. (For some reason, never fell for a G&L and don't know why I haven't).
(Please search my other posts if you'd like to see pictures of my EBMM Classic 'Ray or Nash P.)
And, after talking to a few TB'ers, seeing some great pictures of Ben's work, and doing a fair bit of research, I decided to ask Ben ( no business affiliation; just seems like a great guy who does great work) to build the "last" bass I need to "cure" my disease. If there's interest, I'll see if I can get/post some pics of the build & finish process, and will post pics and a review of the finished bass in about 3 weeks.
My son Noah and I can't wait--me because I want to play my J; he because he wants Ben to start working on a special Strat. If the J is as I expect, I'll need a second job but the Strat should get to my kid before summer vacation.
--60-61-style Jazz
--Stacked-knob, vintage caps and standard wiring
--Nitro blonde/Mary Kay (definitely my favorite color--damn variety)
--Swamp Ash body, stained to highlight the grain through the trans MK finish
--"Killer looking" (Ben's description but he's not telling me why/how) nitro-finished, maple, medium "C" neck
--Dark Rosewood slab board with clay dots
--Traditional tort (T-M-B-M) Pickguardian PG dark, red with a lot of character
--Fralin p'ups, slightly overwound
--'60 J-style tuners, hardware and chrome covers
--6130 (I think) frets, same width but a little lower for TI flats
--Aged to played-but-cared-for state (4 or 5 on a 10-scale)
Story:
I have had the bug for about a year--ever since my son (now 12) started getting really serious about guitar. Started gearing up and taking lessons to remove rust, develop actual skill (jury's still out
), and spending quality time jamming with my boy (the best).Years ago, I owned a few nice basses: the first was an MIJ Jazz, followed by a beautiful neck-through Alembic, equally sweet early 90s Warwick NT Thumb, and finally a terrific AV Reissue '62 Fender Precision. All good basses--much better than my garage-band playing--with the Fender AVR surprising me by becoming my favorite of that group.
Since that early phase, under the GAS influence, I've had the chance to play many more basses and settle in on what I like best (again, just what I like--YMMV and likely will), which turns out to be Leo Fender designs built, enhanced or finished and set up by others. For me, the must-own include the right P, J and Stingray. (For some reason, never fell for a G&L and don't know why I haven't).
(Please search my other posts if you'd like to see pictures of my EBMM Classic 'Ray or Nash P.)
And, after talking to a few TB'ers, seeing some great pictures of Ben's work, and doing a fair bit of research, I decided to ask Ben ( no business affiliation; just seems like a great guy who does great work) to build the "last" bass I need to "cure" my disease. If there's interest, I'll see if I can get/post some pics of the build & finish process, and will post pics and a review of the finished bass in about 3 weeks.
My son Noah and I can't wait--me because I want to play my J; he because he wants Ben to start working on a special Strat. If the J is as I expect, I'll need a second job but the Strat should get to my kid before summer vacation.
Keep in touch..
