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Carl Thompson vs. Pete Hilton basses.

#21
Just thought I'd provide a link so you have a face to put with this thread. Here's a link to Pete Hilton's own MySpace page, where he's posted pix of the bass I own:

Link Removed

It's a stunning combination of bloodwood, lacewood, and indian rosewood. It still puts a smile on my face every time I open the case!
 
#22
so after hunting for a while to replace my CT no frills 4 string, i decided to take a chance on the final Hilton that brian had in stock...the Cocobolo 32" fretted 4 string (which in my opinion is sharper looking than the reverse scrolls). i was a bit nervous being that i'm not a short scale guy, but after chatting with pete (SUPER COOL GUY) about the bass, i knew that it had all the trappings of the CT that i dearly missed. i figured with a 5'er on order with Carl, maybe some variety wouldn't be such a bad idea so i took the plunge.

let me just say WOW! not only does the bass have all the things i loved about the no frills CT (neck angle, thin body, light weight, armstrong pickup with similar passive circuit, and playability for ages...oh yeah, and PERFECT BALANCE!!!!), but it is a FRILLS bass!!! the carving is to die for on this bass. it is essentially a carl thompson bass, but with pete's body design. pete definitely learned a lot from carl and applied what he learned to his basses. this bass just blows me away every time i touch it.

the strings were a bit low for my touch, so i raised them about an 1/16" at the bridge and now it is butter!!!

i'm due for a propper photoshoot, but here are some of the photos from lowend (which don't do this baby any justice):

CIMG7380.jpg


CIMG7381.jpg


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CIMG7384.jpg



i LOVE this bass!!!
 
#23
Congrats, man! I wondered who nabbed that custom from The Low End. I was tempted myself - my only concern was that the upper horn might dig into my chest/ribs a little when playing. Unlike the reverse scroll, this upper horn has a bit of a point to it that looks like it could be a bit painful.

Apparently it's not an issue for you, though, huh?

Yeah, I'm still enjoying my own Hilton Reverse Scroll - it remains my main go-to bass and one of my favorite instruments of all time.

Enjoy!

P.S. - what's the word on the no frills CT bass? Haven't you been waiting forever?
 
#24
When I spoke with Pete about the Cocobolo bass that I ended up buying, he said that he isn't involved in the ordering process with the basses, he just works on them. He said that at this point, he thought all of the necks for the No Frills were carved (and that's the bulk of the work on these)...so he figured they'd all be wrapped up soon. He did mention that there were 2 others which will be done at the end, and I'm pretty sure mine falls into the 2 one-offs that will appear once the regular run semi-frills are done. I'm cool with the wait, you really have no choice and I figured this would happen when I ordered mine (although I really wanted to believe Carl's estimation of 6 months). It is now just over a year and a month since I ordered mine. Hoping to get that call before the new year...

The horn on the Hilton is fine...not in the way at all...definitely helps the balance. This bass balances just as perfectly as any Carl I've played. Since the body is sooo thin, it doesn't have the upper body carving you find on the back of most basses which makes it not sit perfectly with my normal sized strap. Fits perfectly when seated though. I've gotten around this by using a different strap for the Hilton which is fine since the shorter scale makes it feel different and require a different height on my body than the others I have.

At first, I found that when I played seated in a slouch (which was my favorite way to play the no frills), I'd get some buzz on the instrument. The action was way lower than what I prefer, so I raised all the strings a bit at the bridge and now there are no issues. It is common for me to need to make a few adjustments to an instrument when I first get it though. I seem to prefer a higher action than most luthiers send their instruments out with anyway, so this was no surprise/disappointment.

The work on the bass though, is breath taking. It was really cool also when Pete pointed me in the direction of some vids of Carl checking out the bass and commenting on the work. This bass is a Carl approved instrument!!! That's no easy task!!!

Also really cool to have a matching cocobolo bass to my guitarist's custom Alembic being built now. We're thinking about changing the band name to "Cocobolo" if we can convince our drummer to pick up a Cocobolo kit. Lol.

REALLY impressed with Pete's work and he's a super guy to deal with. I love that he's local too so anything I need done on the bass I can have Pete do.
 
#27
Congratulations Evan for your new Hilton, makes me so very green with envy!:p Been wanting a Hilton myself for some time since I first saw them at Brian's.
A CT and custom Alembic on the works... man you're crazy!!!
 
#30
EduardoK said:
Congratulations Evan for your new Hilton, makes me so very green with envy!:p Been wanting a Hilton myself for some time since I first saw them at Brian's.
A CT and custom Alembic on the works... man you're crazy!!!
Click to expand...

not THAT crazy. The custom alembic is my guitarist's...the CT was purchased over a year ago as a 30th bday present to myself and the Hilton (and Pavel) came as a result of the sale of my Fodera and Acacia.


Bastard said:
I've been staring at that Pete Hilton for god knows how long, but I could never think of a good enough excuse for me to buy it. Let me know when you get bored with it and I'll trade you my Antoniotsai 5 string for it.:D
Click to expand...

slip into your pj's, cause you dreamin! :spit:
 
#31
cosmicevan said:
so after hunting for a while to replace my CT no frills 4 string, i decided to take a chance on the final Hilton that brian had in stock...the Cocobolo 32" fretted 4 string (which in my opinion is sharper looking than the reverse scrolls). i was a bit nervous being that i'm not a short scale guy, but after chatting with pete (SUPER COOL GUY) about the bass, i knew that it had all the trappings of the CT that i dearly missed. i figured with a 5'er on order with Carl, maybe some variety wouldn't be such a bad idea so i took the plunge.

let me just say WOW! not only does the bass have all the things i loved about the no frills CT (neck angle, thin body, light weight, armstrong pickup with similar passive circuit, and playability for ages...oh yeah, and PERFECT BALANCE!!!!), but it is a FRILLS bass!!! the carving is to die for on this bass. it is essentially a carl thompson bass, but with pete's body design. pete definitely learned a lot from carl and applied what he learned to his basses. this bass just blows me away every time i touch it.

the strings were a bit low for my touch, so i raised them about an 1/16" at the bridge and now it is butter!!!

i'm due for a propper photoshoot, but here are some of the photos from lowend (which don't do this baby any justice):

View attachment 1493453

View attachment 1493454

View attachment 1493455

View attachment 1493456

View attachment 1493457


i LOVE this bass!!!
Click to expand...


I think I just bought this bass?
Hilton 4-String Fretless Bass Natural | The Music Zoo | Reverb
It used to be owned by @ursusaltered He said he pulled the frets off 5 years ago plus or minus.
I should get it in the mail monday. Really looking forward to it.

Edit nevermind I think its a different bass. The back is different.
 

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