Update now that I've played this thing - I'm really on to something here. I don't know how many makers are wedging two specific tone woods together like I did w/all that 'chambering' (hole-drilling). I know there are fancy multi-lam builds, but this is less about creating a cutting-board woody-wood-chuck sort of affair than effecting a direct vein to the tone core. I did it the hard way on this one (as is my nature) - next shot I will start w/2 blanks using the same tact.
What goes on; the bass sounds exceptional unplugged. Not expressly acoustic, but very audible and tone-full w/o amplification. This is the combination of primarily (aged) alder, wood that has already had musical vibrations rippling through it for years. (my 1989 Signature J-clone) It was planed, routed and drilled like a slice of swiss cheese. A 1/2" maple slab was grafted to it's top with mirror-matched holes. Envision honey-combed tube-shaped chambers throughout the entire interior of the body. Buried inside under the bridge, a brass bar was fitted tightly and epoxied into the alder, and level-capped with the maple slab. Essentially fused to the core. The thick HM bridge plate was sunken into the table of the body, and machine screwed securely and tightly into the brass block. All these things along with a maple neck creates the tone that it produces. I have to again plug Allparts necks here - they are top-notch. I got a raw one and used teak-oil and rub-on satin poly (multi applications of both) and I love not only the way it feels, but it looks great too. For a full maple neck - this is the only way to go. The natural beauty of the more pale maple really shines on this bass contrasted against the high-key finish. The frets are perfect w/edges nicely finished - a quality product.
Amplified, it has big bottom presence with chime-y definition. The more I play it the more I hear the acoustic-ness in the tone. I have a nice old hollow body and it naturally has that tone but nowhere near the solid-body low-end. I recently bought a (classic) 80's Ibanez chorus pedal and this bass was made for it! A really expressive sound. I can visit Simon Raymonde's (Cocteau Twins) tone which I'm a big fan of. With a pic and palm-muting (my preference these days) it's a three alarm fire -
hot! This bass sounds unlike any J you've ever heard - more like a really nice sounding Ric 4000 series. I've tended to favor the P in the blend, it offers more in this setting. This may be to offset some high-end due to the maple, but it also highlights why P/J's are so popular. The bass in any setting never sounds too treble-y or shrill, and any clang is supported by 'the beef'. I have J's that nicely state the J-thing, but this one is something else again. I haven't played it in a live group setting yet, but that will come. I have a feeling it will not disappoint.
Simon Raymonde in his CT days
