Browne basses..I pulled the trigger! (pics inside!)

[Matt Power]

Hey guys....
Just pulled the trigger on this today....I spoke with Mike Browne of Browne Basses....a really nice cat! I have been kicking around the thought of getting one of his basses. I played one a few years back at the Anaheim NAMM show...he was sharing a booth with Carey Nordstrand and Darrin Huff. I LOVED the way it played, but it was a 32" scale bass. It felt too small to me, but it was the tightest feeling 32" scale I'd ever played. DEADLY playabilty.
Well, today I officially got my order in. It's gonna be:

Gnome body style
4 string
33 1/2" scale
29 frets
heavy northern ash body
q-sawn maple neck
orangey-colored cocobolo top with a centerpiece of flamed maple
pau ferro board
small vintage frets
MOP dots on the fingerboard face
Hipshot hardware with an A bridge in aluminum
J neck taper
Nordstrand single coils under ebony covers in the "Tom Kennedy" position
maple knobs
Aguilar 3 band preamp
Levy's bag

Really, Mike is VERY accomodating, has GREAT communication, and is willing to make his customer happy....really a nice experience so far. Talked to his wife, who works with him...very sweet gal, and really knows her woods!

It's only a three-month build time, so I should have it for Christams (what a present, huh?)

Here's a pic of what it'll look like (except this bass has different pickup positions, and has a canarywood centerpiece, instead of the flamed maple).

Whaddaya think? Dig it?
Link Removed

 

[Fealach]

The input jack reminds me of a Wishbass, but other than that it looks ferociously awesome. Is there a web site, and more importantly price list?

 

[Rowsdower]

wow, that bass is going to look great, make sure to post plenty of pics come christmas time

 

[west*coast*bass]

Awesome!! PM sent with questions...

 

[hawaiianbass]

Very nice! To me it looks a Carl Thompson.

CK

EDITED to end the flaming about my opinion.

 

[coolrunner989]

Awesome man, love the body and the features.

I want a bass with 29 frets...

 

[Matt Power]

Very nice! To me it looks like a cross between a Carl Thompson and a Wishbass.

CK

WISHBASS????!!!!????
Yikes! It must be the wooden input jack thing. It's just like a Wishbass....except for the woodworking, finish work, playability, tone, design, and setup!


The website is brownebasses.com. Check it out...some of the pics in the Forum section are killing! He has 3 available now....2 fretted and a fretless. If I wasn't looking for a 33 1/2 scale, I'd snag one in a heartbeat!

 

[west*coast*bass]

To me it looks like a cross between a Carl Thompson and a Wishbass.

CK

Huh????

 

[BEADG]

What a beauty and I would never associate a wishbass with a Browne bass! Congrats and get some more pictures up as soon as you get her.
Cheers

 

[FrizzleFry]

Dayyyum that should be hot, What's the string spacing on the bass you posted there?

 

[Rick_no7]

Very nice! To me it looks like a cross between a Carl Thompson and a Wishbass.

CK

OUCH

Careful, comments like that have gotten Luthiers to leave the profession.

 

[Thunderwood]

OUCH

Careful, comments like that have gotten Luthiers to leave the profession.

Well, It says on the website Mike sort of "trained" under Carl so I don't think he will be too broken dealing with the truth. Carl had a huge impact of luthiers to date, I don't see that as a bad thing by any means.

as far as the wishbass thing.......uh?.....

I am not seeing it.

 

[ThumbyAche]

Very nice! To me it looks like a cross between a Carl Thompson and a Wishbass.

CK

My first thought is that Mike Browne would not want to hear his bass looks like a Wishbass....CT is a complement though.
Nice basses, I wouldn't mind checking one out.

 

[Rick_no7]

I was talking more about the Wishbass thing.

I knew Browne trained under Carl and actually like his new take on the Carl type.

 

[Cliff Bordwell]

Nice wood combination.

 

[hawaiianbass]

Thanks guys for making me feel so welcome in the bass forum. I was just stating my opinion. Edited my first post. You happy now?

CK

 

[stingray56funk]

Wow...that is going to be a super sweet bass!!! Great score on what seems to be an awesome builder...best of luck!

 

[bryan bailey]

looks like a parker fly CT hybrid, wicked cool.

 

[Charles Farley]

I've spent a fair amount of time with Mike's AG bass, and it is a killer instrument. Congrats on the new order jacochops.

The only thing that I'd add is that I see you've elected for the 29 fret model, which is cool. The AG bass is a 29 fret 32" scale, and as you see from the below diagram, there's only about 6 inches for your right hand between the bridge and the last fret. For a Fender Jazz bass (34" scale with 20 frets), this space is nearly 11 inches.

I have 32" scale instruments with both 29 and 24 frets. If I was to order another one, I'd go 24 frets. I just find that I never go above two octaves, because the spacing is too narrow to sound good (in my hands), so I'd rather have more right hand room. That's my 2 cents (Canadian - which is now the same as American). Either way, I'm sure your bass will be a killer so congrats.

 

[Matt Power]

My bass will be 1 1/2' longer scale than that one, but I'm pulling the neck pickup back so it will sit right next to the bridge pickup, so there should be room, much like Tom Kennedy's Fodera. I'm strictly a fingerstyle player, so if I need to do some thumb work, I'll use my Nordstrand or R Bass!
He does some sweet work....