Aluminum Neck Club

Just came across this thread. Here’s my Aztec Rust XKB-10

 

Yo, if anyone here’s near or in Knoxville TN, there’s gonna be a ton of aluminum necks at The Pilot Light tomorrow night— New Brutalism is playing with June of 44.
Come check out some Obstructures in action!
Including an obligatory post of mine for good measure. Gonna bring it along for a buddy to check out.

 

Wait....June of 44 are out playing again? And to stay on topic....your Obstructures bass is magnificent. Wish I was near TN to catch the aluminum and June of 44!

Thank you and have fun!

 

They’re doing a short run of 3 shows, I think tonight’s show is gonna be in Louisville. Apparently their practice space burned down a few days ago so they were playing through some of New Brutalism’s Obstructures gear (sadly, not the bassist though.) It’s gotta be a bummer losing all their gear like that, but they sounded amazing last night!
Got a group shot with my bud’s 6 string before driving home:

 

That is rough....sorry to hear that about their gear....

Got an email yesterday that June of 44 are playing a show here in NYC in May...but unfortunately it's on my wife's birthday and she's more of a Radiohead/Cure fan than my musical taste which includes June of 44. Hoping they play somewhere else within driving distance that weekend.

Cool pic of the guitar and bass together! Thanks for sharing!

 

Is there no radius on the fretboards?

 

Zero radius

 

Is it just an aluminum neck thing to have no radius? it seems like every aftermarket neck is being made with 0 radius, and all of the vintage kramers I've seen also have no radius. I wonder if wood neck builders have ever tried making necks with 0 radius? Just some random thoughts. Any word if New Brutalism is set to tour the west coast?

 

I don’t think it’s strictly a metal neck thing. I’ve played a few basses over the years that’ve had little to no radius, but it’s more commonly seen in the 6 string market.
Milling a radius into an aluminum neck would yield a significant amount of waste, which would drive up the cost of materials.. easy to see why manufacturers like Travis Bean simply glued a regular wood fretboard onto their necks instead.
As far as NB & touring, I’m pretty sure that their Knoxville show was a one off reunion deal. Maybe they’ll do another one in 5 years or so?

 

I recently put together this Bass VI. I ordered a 30" VI neck from EGC then waited until a loaded Squire VM VI body showed up on Reverb. It plays and sounds fantastic. Punchy and articulate with sustain for days. Here it is with my beloved TB-2000.

 

Very nice! Out of curiousity, did you order this neck directly from EGC or grab it from Reverb/elsewhere? I've been contemplating buying a bass neck from them to build an instrument around, but honestly I've heard that EGC can be spotty when it comes to delivering custom-ordered stuff, from a few recent stories I've heard.

Maybe the necks are a different story than the full instruments though, as they're not custom and significantly less work. Just wanted to ask before I drop $800 on a bass neck!

 

I ordered the neck directly from EGC. I saw on their instagram that they were making them and taking orders. I missed out on the first batch. They were already spoken for. I put a deposit down on one from the next batch. They said a few weeks but it took a couple of months. They emailed when they were done and shipped it right out after I paid the balance. I think it was $750. It fits perfectly in the Squier neck pocket.

 

Artsy Friday

 

This evening watching some TV...while I was not paying attention...

Mrs. Mc900ftj: Hey. Isn't that a Kramer?
Me: (looking up to the TV) umm, yeah. Wait...ummm....wuh...umm...

 

There’s something you don’t see every day. Interesting bridge setup!

 

Is it a bridge or a mute?

 

I originally thought it was a mute, but this shot shows the details...bridge and a (sort of) tailpiece. Unusual.

 

do you remember what band this was by chance?

 

Sure....I'm not that old and forgetful. It was Algiers.

 

Looks to be one of those more-than-affordable russian made basses with a Kramer neck retrofitted to it. Really interesting stuff

Sidenote, could very well be an Eastwood RI. the bridges seem to match