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ACG Finished Work.

#321
mikezimmerman said:
Gorgeous, Alan! We've been looking forward to seeing that one completed.

The color on that Holly top is just amazing, and the bloodwood accents tie everything together very nicely. It seems like most of your instruments end up with black hardware, but the chrome definitely works on this one.

I notice this one and the chambered leopardwood Skelf you finished a few months ago have matching truss rod covers, which look really nice. Is that something you do by customer request, or for particular types of basses? I don't see any screws--how are they held in place?

Mike
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Yes, I had to "twist" Alan's arm on the black hardware - I think he mentioend that he always goes for black hardware. I think the chrome is more subtle against the colours of the wood - the black made it look a little too "red, white and black" whereas the chrome highlights the white agaisnt the red.

I have only had the bass for an evening, but it really plays wonderfully and the tone of all three pickups is fantastic. I think the chambering is really noticeable on this bass, it reminds me a lot of my MTD Marilyn.
 
#322
absolutely beautiful.....what tones do these wood choices give? How heavy is it if it's chambered?

Skelf said:
Holly top with Bloodwood accent and Black Limba body.
Body is chambered.
3 piece Northern Ash Neck with an Acrylic Impregnated Bloodwood board 32" scale tuned E to C.
Bloodwood pickup covers on the RFS and SB pickups. Bridge pickup switchable with Hipshot/Graphtech piezo bridge.
ACG EQ01 pre-amp.
Standard ACG satin finish.

Pickup covers were made by Haydn Williams.


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#323
That 32" Holly top fiver is just the kind of bass I could kill for!:D
I couldn't agree more than the chrome hardware was the best choice for this bass, it sweetens the instrument whereas black hardware could look a bit "harsh" here (IMHO).
Congrats Mark, you should consider joining TBs "Official Medium Scale Bass Club" :cool: !!... and if you ever ever consider selling this bass (an absurd idea I guess) please shoot me a PM first!!!:hyper:
 
#325
Mark Latimour said:
Yes, I had to "twist" Alan's arm on the black hardware - I think he mentioend that he always goes for black hardware. I think the chrome is more subtle against the colours of the wood - the black made it look a little too "red, white and black" whereas the chrome highlights the white against the red.

I have only had the bass for an evening, but it really plays wonderfully and the tone of all three pickups is fantastic. I think the chambering is really noticeable on this bass, it reminds me a lot of my MTD Marilyn.
Click to expand...

Black hardware might have looked good as well--heck, it'd be hard to make that beauty look bad!-- but it would have been a rather different look.

Did you have to supply the holly to Alan? It's not something many wood suppliers seem to carry...
 
#326
Mike
I did the trussrod cover on the Skelf to keep it as clean looking as possible same with the Holly bass. It is held on by a magnet in the body and one on the underside of the cover.

I had one top left which I have just sold and I am trying to source some more with help from Larry. It is very hard to find in pieces wide enough for a top and clear of knots. But if anyone can find some it will be Larry.
 
#327
Skelf said:
I had one top left which I have just sold and I am trying to source some more with help from Larry. It is very hard to find in pieces wide enough for a top and clear of knots. But if anyone can find some it will be Larry.
Click to expand...

A knot or two might not be so bad, actually--I'd be curious to see a few pieces like that. As it is, the color is elegantly beautiful, but it's so uniform that almost doesn't look like wood.

Does Larry ever get buckeye burl? I know it's a PITA, but for some reason I've always loved the color and look...
 
#329
Again, gorgeous bass, one of my favorites.

I'd love to see an ACG "tuxedo" bass some day. Holly top and back, ebony accent layers and a swamp ash or sycamore body. Maple ebony neck with an ebony board and ebony pickup covers with black hardware.

As a side note, I once asked Chris Stambaugh about a Buckeye Burl top for a bass. It was a very short conversation.

He thought it was soft enough to negatively impact tone but more importantly he hated working with it.
 
#331
Skelf said:
Having just done two basses with a burl full of holes I have no ambition to work with Buckeye. The wood in those two was at least solid just full of holes. The buckeye is full of holes and pulpy wood so I am in total agreement with Chris.
Click to expand...

That's what I've heard about buckeye, so I wouldn't want to inflict that on you, but some examples are definitely striking...
 
#336
I've commented about this bass in other threads, but I love the way it turned out, with the finish warming up the colors just bit. Very rich and elegant but not over the top...one of my favorite Recurves so far! :)

It's a subtle point, but I really like the way the thicker accent layer emphasizes the outline, especially on the Recurves.
 
#338
Skelf said:
Rather pleased with this one myself.
Click to expand...

No suprises there - it's stunning, and even more so in the flesh than in the pictures where some of the really subtle figuring gets "flattened" out somehow.

It only took me five minutes to choose the woods and decide the specification for this one as it all seemed to make such perfect sense right from the word go. I pulled the timbers out of Alan's woodstore and it was like "yeah, that'll work; Job done".

I picked the woods for the five string Recurve single cut on the same day and that only took another five to ten minutes. It was a really quick visit to Alan's that day... but if that one works out half as well as this one has I'll be VERY pleased.

While I can claim some credit for the wood choices, that's as nothing compared to Alan's incomparable luthiery skills. I'm actually in awe of the bloke to be frank as I honestly don't think I've ever met someone before who has a skillset I could never hope to achieve regardless of how hard I tried.

I'm a tenacious little sod and I can try my hand with some success to most things but Alan's skills are on a completely different plane. I've incredible respect for him as a craftsman and an incredible liking for him as a friend.

Thanks once again for all the basses, mate.
 
#339
Way to kind Dave. You have a pretty impressive skill set yourself my friend.


Blue Gum Burl top with an American Cherry body. Wenge/Mahogany neck with Pale Moon Ebony board.
Hipshot tuning unit and custom ACG headpiece.
RFS triple coil in the bridge with a FB humbucker in the bridge switchable with the Graphtech piezo in the bridge.
ACG EQ01 pre-amp and East low battery indicator and kill switch.
Satin finish.


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