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Bass conception day! Be the GAS.

tb-player

tb-player

Why so serious?
Mar 6, 2019
6,706
29,954
East Coast, USA
#1
For months I have been trying to fight my GAS, but to no avail. I buy. I sell. I buy some more. I tell myself it’s time to stop. I’ve tried everything, but basses always seem to find me.

So I asked my wife about it. She said, “Why don’t you just build exactly what YOU want?”

Wow! Don’t have to tell me twice.

I immediately went to the Fodera, Elrick, MTD and Sadowsky websites to see what’s out there. After a lot of investigation, I have decided to lean into my GAS and build my ultimate custom unicorn bass. Here’s what I’m ordering:
A Sadowsky 24-fret jazz bass— Transparent navy blue on a swamp ash body with a quilted maple top; a quarter-sawn maple neck/fingerboard with pearl block inlays and a white pearl scratchplate.

I’ve never had a deep blue bass & as a lifelong Yankees fan whose favorite color is navy, I’ve always wanted one. This ones gonna be epic. What’s interesting is, it will take 10 months to build. So it’s just a little longer than having a baby.

But good things come to those that wait, right?

I mean, I’m currently in the middle of an Upton Bass upright build, which will be ready just in time for Christmas. My Bluesman took 6+ months. My Overwater took about 8 months. So I’m no stranger to needing patience. And I learned a lot about my preferences through those build processes.

With all that in mind, I wonder... now that I have to wait, will my GAS will be quelled for the next 10-months, knowing that my perfect bass is on the way?

I guess we’ll see.

Anyone else ever wait that long for a bass? If you haven’t, would you?
 
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#2
tb-player said:
Here’s what I’m ordering:
A Sadowsky 24-fret jazz bass— Transparent navy blue on a swamp ash body with a quilted maple top; a quarter-sawn maple neck/fingerboard with pearl block inlays and a white pearl scratchplate.
Click to expand...
You should order a pickguard instead of a scratchplate – might save a few bucks. ;)

In all honesty, best wishes on your order.

A friend of mine is in his sixth month of waiting, with 2-3 months still to go, so I definitely get the gestational reference. Over the years, I have been tempted many a time to order a custom build, but I've developed an irrational fear of possibly not loving the finished product, and then being forced to deal with the financial/emotional repercussions. However, Dr. Roger seems to deliver some exceptional babies.
 
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#3
tb-player said:
For months I have been trying to fight my GAS, but to no avail. I buy. I sell. I buy some more. I tell myself it’s time to stop. I’ve tried everything, but basses always seem to find me.

So I asked my wife about it. She said, “Why don’t you just build exactly what YOU want?”

Wow! Don’t have to tell me twice.

I immediately went to the Fodera, Elrick, MTD and Sadowsky websites to see what’s out there. After a lot of investigation, I have decided to lean into my GAS and build my ultimate custom unicorn bass. Here’s what I’m ordering:
A Sadowsky 24-fret jazz bass— Transparent navy blue on a swamp ash body with a quilted maple top; a quarter-sawn maple neck/fingerboard with pearl block inlays and a white pearl scratchplate.

I’ve never had a deep blue bass & as a lifelong Yankees fan whose favorite color is navy, I’ve always wanted one. This ones gonna be epic. What’s interesting is, it will take 10 months to build. So it’s just a little longer than having a baby.

But good things come to those that wait, right?

I mean, I’m currently in the middle of an Upton Bass upright build, which will be ready just in time for Christmas. My Bluesman took 6+ months. My Overwater took about 8 months. So I’m no stranger to needing patience. And I learned a lot about my preferences through those build processes.

With all that in mind, I wonder... now that I have to wait, will my GAS will be quelled for the next 10-months, knowing that my perfect bass is on the way?

I guess we’ll see.

Anyone else ever wait that long for a bass? If you haven’t, would you?
Click to expand...

Congrats! Will Lee used to play a deep blue with white pearl guard Sadowsky years ago on Letterman. I always thought it was a ridiculously good looking bass.
 
#4
garp said:
You should order a pickguard instead of a scratchplate – might save a few bucks. ;)

In all honesty, best wishes on your order.

A friend of mine is in his sixth month of waiting, with 2-3 months still to go, so I definitely get the gestational reference. Over the years, I have been tempted many a time to order a custom build, but I've developed an irrational fear of possibly not loving the finished product, and then being forced to deal with the financial/emotional repercussions. However, Dr. Roger seems to deliver some exceptional babies.
Click to expand...
I got familiar to the term scratchplate when I ordered an Overwater from the UK. It stuck with me because I don’t play with a pick. I’ve (mostly) used it ever since.

What I love about this process with Sadowsky is their 7-day policy. I’ll have 7 days to play it. If I’m not 100% pleased, they will take it back & sell in their shop, as long as it’s not personalized. That’s a pretty amazing return policy.
 
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#5
two fingers said:
Congrats! Will Lee used to play a deep blue with white pearl guard Sadowsky years ago on Letterman. I always thought it was a ridiculously good looking bass.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when I showed it to my wife & kids they all said, “That looks like you.”

This bass was the color/wood inspiration. I’ll do 24 frets and 60s hum-canceling jazz pickups.
6FF204A6-E0A2-4554-9E37-76FE42593B60.jpeg
 
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#6
That blue looks really great, I seem to be attracted to blue and this is no exception. Weirdly my guitars are blue but none of my basses.

I haven't had to wait, but I can imagine that I would if I felt like it was going to be the perfect instrument for me. Congratulations on yours.
 
#7
thabassmon said:
That blue looks really great, I seem to be attracted to blue and this is no exception. Weirdly my guitars are blue but none of my basses.

I haven't had to wait, but I can imagine that I would if I felt like it was going to be the perfect instrument for me. Congratulations on yours.
Click to expand...
Thanks. It’s a long wait. That new upright will hopefully hold me over for a while... lol.
 
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#8
I used to have a GAS problem and in my case it was me trying to compensate for being a "meh" bass player. I would buy a new bass hoping to get "that tone" and eventually I found out that the tone I was lacking wasn't because of my bass, it was my poor skills. Of course different basses sound different, but an amazing bass player can make any bass sound amazing and the signature of said bass players sound will still shine through no matter what they play.

I ended up going full circle. I started playing as a teenager and then in my early 20s gave up, sold all my stuff. Later on in life I decided to buy a MIA Fender P because it felt right. I was pretty middle of the road as a player but I sought greatness by buying a bunch of basses, hoping one would make me sound better. One thing lead to another and I ended up with over a dozen basses, but still I was pretty terrible. This is when I did an ego check and realized that the problem is me. I started taking it seriously and focused on my playing and improved. Now I only own two basses, I sold all the rest. One of those two basses is the one I originally started with, the MIA P. The other is another MIA P, but the only reason I have it is so I can have one strung with flats and the other strung with rounds because I love both tones.

I'm happy to say that my GAS has subsided. I remember constantly itching to buy new gear but anymore I have no desire to do such. I have everything I need to become an amazing bass player, the only remaining gap is my actual ability to play the bass.

All this being said, I'm not trying to crap on people who have GAS and buy loads of bass guitars. Everyone has their reason for doing such, some just love all of the tonal options, some are collectors, and some are like me.

Not trying to poo-poo OP at all! I think it's awesome that you are building what you want!
 
#9
basslicks said:
I used to have a GAS problem and in my case it was me trying to compensate for being a "meh" bass player. I would buy a new bass hoping to get "that tone" and eventually I found out that the tone I was lacking wasn't because of my bass, it was my poor skills. Of course different basses sound different, but an amazing bass player can make any bass sound amazing and the signature of said bass players sound will still shine through no matter what they play.

I ended up going full circle. I started playing as a teenager and then in my early 20s gave up, sold all my stuff. Later on in life I decided to buy a MIA Fender P because it felt right. I was pretty middle of the road as a player but I sought greatness by buying a bunch of basses, hoping one would make me sound better. One thing lead to another and I ended up with over a dozen basses, but still I was pretty terrible. This is when I did an ego check and realized that the problem is me. I started taking it seriously and focused on my playing and improved. Now I only own two basses, I sold all the rest. One of those two basses is the one I originally started with, the MIA P. The other is another MIA P, but the only reason I have it is so I can have one strung with flats and the other strung with rounds because I love both tones.

I'm happy to say that my GAS has subsided. I remember constantly itching to buy new gear but anymore I have no desire to do such. I have everything I need to become an amazing bass player, the only remaining gap is my actual ability to play the bass.

All this being said, I'm not trying to crap on people who have GAS and buy loads of bass guitars. Everyone has their reason for doing such, some just love all of the tonal options, some are collectors, and some are like me.

Not trying to poo-poo OP at all! I think it's awesome that you are building what you want!
Click to expand...
I don’t take that as a negative (poo-poo) comment at all. It’s an important thing to take into consideration. Many times we try to create a false sense of progress by moving gear around instead of actually progressing on our instrument.

I played the same honey burst Stingray 5 for 10 years before I bought another bass. That was an important bass for me because it replaced a much more expensive Tobias Classic 5 that I had no business buying, because I was young and thought it validated me as a player. I spent 10 years working it all out on that SR5.

These days, I speak about GAS with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, but it doesn’t actually bother me. It’s just about achieving specific tones, flipping basses for fun, playing lots of different basses and affording a bucket list bass that I’ve always wanted. :thumbsup:
 
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#10
Not the kind of post I was expecting! By "bass conception day" I thought you were either drawing/building a bass yourself, or going the full custom route (i.e. "from scratch" design) with a luthier.

I went the "full custom" route 2 years ago and had myself a passive headless PJ built by a local luthier. It's a pretty special feeling to hold a bass on which you've spec'ed just about everything: body shape, woods, neck profile, pickups, controls and layout etc. It feels like someone built me a "signature" bass, even if I'm a nobody! :roflmao:

Regardless, the finish on that Sadowsky is stunning! I'd have a hard time waiting on that! :drool:
 
#11
Frank77 said:
Not the kind of post I was expecting! By "bass conception day" I thought you were either drawing/building a bass yourself, or going the full custom route (i.e. "from scratch" design) with a luthier.

I went the "full custom" route 2 years ago and had myself a passive headless PJ built by a local luthier. It's a pretty special feeling to hold a bass on which you've spec'ed just about everything: body shape, woods, neck profile, pickups, controls and layout etc. It feels like someone built me a "signature" bass, even if I'm a nobody! :roflmao:

Regardless, the finish on that Sadowsky is stunning! I'd have a hard time waiting on that! :drool:
Click to expand...
That photo is just to give an idea of the color scheme. This is actually my 5th full custom build. Every time I learn a little more about what I like.
 
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#19
bass12 said:
After going down both the Sadowsky and MTD roads multiple times I can tell you that your GAS is likely just beginning... ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, it’s already rough. I got an email this afternoon from Michael Tobias himself about a gorgeous, lightweight NAMM 535-24 that is available through a dealer I’ve been speaking with.

Ugh! I want all the basses!! :roflmao::laugh::roflmao:
 
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