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ACG 9 STRING!!

#21
I've had that mahogany crotch wood in my personal stash for a very long time waiting for the right builder's project. Alan does such great justice to fine woods, this project was a no brainer for it. It's probably the most dense genuine mahogany I've every had......more like a rosewood. Can't wait to see it finished out and all the figure come to life under Alan's capable skills.

The acrylized spalted bookmatched board didn't come out to shabby either :D
 
#23
Larry thanks for the kind words, from you it really means a lot.
This would also be a good opportunity to say a huge thanks to Larry not just for the woods for this bass but to be honest for pretty much every bass I have made. He has been absolutely great with me not only in the supply of woods but answering my many daft questions with never once making me feel stupid for asking them. He is a really top guy and is a real pleasure to know and work with.

Mark
I trust all is going well with BD seems to be going from strength to strength. Trust the little one is well.
Alan
Alan
 
#25
Larry Davis said:
I've had that mahogany crotch wood in my personal stash for a very long time waiting for the right builder's project. Alan does such great justice to fine woods, this project was a no brainer for it. It's probably the most dense genuine mahogany I've every had......more like a rosewood. Can't wait to see it finished out and all the figure come to life under Alan's capable skills.

The acrylized spalted bookmatched board didn't come out to shabby either :D
Click to expand...

Huge thanks for sending the piece to Alan for my bass, Larry. I've never seen mahogany like this before. I always thought it was a bland wood only suitable for tables :D

For the 9, I wanted something unusual to really single this bass out from the crowd. Like yourself, I've seen a lot of basses (both mass-produced and custom) and there's so much quilt, flame and spalt figuring around that's it's difficult to be original.

As soon as I saw this piece I thought that it would be an original and highly dramatic statement. When it gets it's shiny suit on, the colours in the wood will really pop out!

The 'board is going to be fabulous as well. Just an awesome piece !!

Thanks again, Larry !!


poptart said:
Wow

7 String, your Sei was so wicked but I think this is possibly going to eclipse it!! Alan makes a great bass that's for sure - this one should be amazing.:hyper:

Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks poptart. The Sei is wicked and every time I pick it up, it reminds me what a special bass it is.

The ACG is going to be totally different, but no less special. There are a couple of firsts for me as well.

  • First 9 string (of course !!)
  • First single cut bass
  • First with piezos
  • First set-neck
  • First acrylicised fingerboard

So you see the ACG is a very different animal from the Sei.

With the Sei, I wanted a great sounding but simple bass with the woods which I'd always wanted to see on a bass, those being lacewood and birds-eye maple. I did end up moving away from a passive set-up to a Schack 3-band eq. Nevertheless, the Sei has 2 stacked pots and a tiny switch for the LED's, so it's still very simple in layout.

With the ACG, the aims are totally different. This time, I really wanted to stretch the boundaries a little. Luckily for me, Alan at ACG is all for that as well :D So we have a 9 string with a highly unusual top-wood and a cutting-edge acrylicised fingerboard. Add to that the piezos and it's pretty much fully-loaded (apart from the MIDI electronics which I didn't need in the end).

I really thought long and hard before committing to a 9 as it meant selling gear to raise the funds. From having the 7, I could really see how a 9 would work for me. It's important to say that the thought of getting a 9 came from playing the 7 and not just me wanting more gear :D

As with all ACG basses, this 9 string is going to be an extremely fine instrument and I'm proud to be an ACG customer. :bassist:
 
#26
Here's a pic of the necks ready for the next part of their build.

No prizes for guessing which one's the 9......

ACGnecks130608.jpg
 
#27
7 String, beautiful choice of woods that you can be assured Alan will make into one truly unique and amazing bass. You know how pleased I am for you and how much I am looking forward to seeing and trying the finished bass! :D

Keep those lovely progress pictures coming please.
 
#28
That mahogany does look awesome. I remember looking at the headless singlecut that Alan had at Bassday UK (and I also talked to him about the blue/violet fretless); I really, really wish I'd tried it, as looking at the pictures on the site it gets cooler everyday. One day, when I've paid off everything I currently own, I may have to talk to him about a similar bass. Although I may have one more Sei bass in me before then. We'll see....
 
#29
Thanks for the comments, guys!!

I'd been to see Alan a few times before the thought of a 9 came up and I've always been impressed by both his work and the amazing raw material he manages to get his hands on.

The first ACG9 was a really great instrument and the filter-based pre is just a ridiculously powerful piece of kit (and it goes down to 20Hz with no modification).

We really have thrown the kitchen sink into this bass and it was only because of a change in my recording set-up that we didn't go MIDI as well as piezos. The range of tones we're going to get from the instrument will be huge.

Rest assured, I'll keep this thread updated!!
 
#33
7string said:
Remember that the 9 is so wide it needs two boards :D

I'm looking forward to seeing how the two are joined to become one fingerboard!!
Click to expand...

You don't have to but bookmatched f'boards look freakin' fantastic though, especially that one! (you did realise that the board is already glued and bookmatched in the first page right?)

The timbers look really nice, I can't wait to see it all come together. :)
 
#34
Phil Mailloux said:
You don't have to but bookmatched f'boards look freakin' fantastic though, especially that one! (you did realise that the board is already glued and bookmatched in the first page right?)

The timbers look really nice, I can't wait to see it all come together. :)
Click to expand...

I'm with you. I love the look of a well-done bookmatch.

I have an idea for a top that has several book matches (sorta like an accordian unfolded)...get the right grain and it would look WILD!
 
#35
Usually Alan would just use one half for one fingerboard. As the 9 is so wide, he brought the other bookmatched half in to make the width.

We then decided that having the pair join down the middle of the 'board would look awesome, so we end up with a bookmatched 'board.

OK, so it cost a little extra as I need both halves, but it's going to look awesome !!
 
#38
OK, not the most exciting of pictures, but underneath the blue clamps lies the 9 string fingerboard.

ACG9boardglueup.jpg


Alan's been waiting for the truss rods to arrive, but he's not been idle in the meantime! He's also been looking at the electronics and control setup as well as there's a whole bundle of wiring to go in.

Exciting times ahead :D
 
#40
I received this pic earlier this evening of the slotted fingerboard :hyper:

ACG9slottedboard.jpg


Please bear in mind this pic of the 'board is taken before any sanding or polishing!!

I had an e-mail from Alan a couple of days ago about the pattern on the 'board. The original intention was to have the main part of the pattern centred on the 12th fret. When looking at 'board though, Alan thought it would be best to have the whole pattern visible rather than just going for something right on the 12th.

I was more than happy to go ahead with the idea of moving the pattern as far up the 'board as possible so that more of the good stuff was on the playing surface.

Also it makes this more confusing for anyone trying to find out what notes I'm playing :D
 

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