Carl Thompson

[Dr. Cheese]

A big fan of CT here. I was in his shop once ~25 years ago and was clinically insane for three weeks after that. Amazing stuff.

Presuming that "what you see is what you hear" I always enjoyed Rick Laird's CT sound...

That is really nice! Rick Laird has always struck me as a subtle bassist. This makes me think of Steve Swallow.

 

[ajkula66]

That is really nice! Rick Laird has always struck me as a subtle bassist.

Somewhat OT...

Mr. Laird's book "Improvising Jazz Bass" is the single most important piece of bass literature I've ever come across for my own needs. Sadly - given what his daughter has posted on reddit a few days ago - he seems to be nearing the end of his journey on this planet.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Somewhat OT...

Mr. Laird's book "Improvising Jazz Bass" is the single most important piece of bass literature I've ever come across for my own needs. Sadly - given what his daughter has posted on reddit a few days ago - he seems to be nearing the end of his journey on this planet.

He made his mark in this world. There is not really anymore a person can do beyond that.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Here is another cool Carl Thompson video.

 

[Flaked Beans]

Amazing video. yep Doc!

 

[rick0link]

Lots of great info and experiences here. Love it! Carl makes amazing instruments and i’m proud to own the two i have and one on it’s way. I’m also proud to know the man and visiting his shop was a bucket list item for me.

 

[kellogc]

What I can say about bass sound in videos is that most bassists unfortunat

For lack of a better word, I Carl Thompson basses as idiosyncratic. They certainly seem to be expertly crafted, but the tone does not make a strong impression on me.

I'll jump in real quick just to say that this is not the proprer way to demo a bass' sound. So that is not a good reference. In the end one needs to understand there are a lot of variables that influence how a bass will sound. The player being a key component in the chain...

From experience I can tell you a Carl Thompson bass is not only good looks (which are stunning, and pictures don't make them justice). A CT bass feels and sounds like no other.

We all have our internal reference of how we like and want our bass to sound. CT basses are also very flexible and organic sounding. That helps when you want to explore and experiment different timbres and sounds.

My two cents on this.

Kello Gonzalez

 

[Erithon]

I feel Carl’s tonal pallet in his basses are for those of an upright player.

CTs basses achieve an organic sound like no other bass in my opinion. But you either like it or you don’t. It’s that simple.

From experience I can tell you a Carl Thompson bass is not only good looks (which are stunning, and pictures don't make them justice). A CT bass feels and sounds like no other.

I concur with Chris and Kello. The CT sound is unique and appeals to my double bassist background. I find the longer scale of CT basses very comfortable because I play with a Simandl technique in my left hand (1-2-4) in the lower positions. And I simply love the definition and clarity that extended scale length brings to the open E string.

As others have noted, they are also very light instruments. My previous CT was about 6.25 lbs. and my current one is 7.5 lbs. Balance is central to Carl's build philosophy so they also sit perfectly. You never feel like you are fighting the instrument.

 

[kellogc]

I concur with Chris and Kello. The CT sound is unique and appeals to my double bassist background. I find the longer scale of CT basses very comfortable because I play with a Simandl technique in my left hand (1-2-4) in the lower positions. And I simply love the definition and clarity that extended scale length brings to the open E string.

As others have noted, they are also very light instruments. My previous CT was about 6.25 lbs. and my current one is 7.5 lbs. Balance is central to Carl's build philosophy so they also sit perfectly. You never feel like you are fighting the instrument.

These are instruments designed and built with the sole purpose of being played. Indeed, they are light and comfortable. Even on the longer scale versions you really can't tell the extra lenght when playing them given how well they fit.

 

[cosmicevan]

Popping in on Carl's 82nd bday! Happy Birthday Carl...still swinging like a teenager!

I'm a crazy fan of Carl and his work. I currently own a pair and have been waiting more than a few days for a third (32" 5 string E > C). I've had the amazing fortune of getting to play hundreds of different "handmade" basses and I've owned more than I care to admit, but it all went away when I laid hands on one of Carl's basses. Being local, I was fortunate enough to live close enough to the shop to buy strings and have my instruments set up and was even more amazed by the man behind the instruments.

The thing about Carl's basses are they are an expression of the man. The design...it's years of trial and error...it's years of keeping your eyes and ears open and not only being a musician, but also interfacing with the greatest and most working musicians of the time. He has a deep understanding of what the player needs. His instruments balance...and by that I mean, you can rest it on your lap and not touch it with your hands and it won't fall on the floor (go ahead, try it with your bass now...and apologies for the new ding that you are about to add when it falls to the floor). Beyond that, Carl's basses have simple improvements that make them more ergonomical so they don't get in the way. All those folks who are amazed that 36" feels easier than their 34" is not by chance. Carl makes his instruments thin and light and the neck angle is more where your hands naturally go, even the strap buttons are placed so the bass sits on the body correctly. The football design on the input jack because the input jack is thicker than the basses body...I mean, cmon...this stuff is BRILLIANT!!!! Mix that with the carpentry and other aesthetics (I get it, not for everyone...but VERY much for me) and you've got yourself the best instrument money can buy (speaking of which, very affordable if you consider what some other builders are charging these days).

As Carl would say...If you can get up and do it, get up and do it!!!

Here's mine...

Basses 2019

• cosmicevan
• Mar 1, 2019
• 2
• 32" scale 36" scale carl thompson medium scale rob allen

 

[Jeff Sarsippius]

I saw the vids and am an instant fan: changed my perspective on ordering and buying an instrument.

I already inquired about getting one....Am originally from Queens and hope when I fly back from Osaka to see family (when COVID isn’t an issue by then) I could meet him, at least.

 

[CutlassI]

Osaka is awesome.!

 

[WallaceThrasher]

You can hear him play his own basses and talk about his craft.

This is my video! I uploaded it almost 6 years ago but the last few weeks have seen a huge explosion in views for some algorithmic reason. Carl is an amazing craftsman and more importantly an amazing person, one of these days I will get around to uploading the raw footage from the time I spent with him. We talked for at least an hour on camera and there were some really interesting things that I couldn't fit in the video due to time limitations (it originally being a school project). If you look in my profile it says sold but I still have the Moon fretless which Carl modified for me, he has a special touch for sure.

 

[Bass Viking]

its a Hilton.. Pete Hilton is a former Carl Thompson apprentice.. In my book Pete's basses are on pair with Carl's.. Absolutely amazing quality..
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That’s impressive! I especially like the one at the front.

 

[CutlassI]

That’s impressive! I especially like the one at the front.

6 string SK8 Bass.. the surface from and back are literally veneer made of sliced SkateBoards..

Bass Viking.? Danish by any chance.?

 

[Bass Viking]

6 string SK8 Bass.. the surface from and back are literally veneer made of sliced SkateBoards..

Bass Viking.? Danish by any chance.?

Yes, I am Danish (born in Canada).

 

[Bass Viking]

A CT bass feels and sounds like no other.

And that's when it's worth spending the extra $$!

 

[CutlassI]

Yes, I am Danish (born in Canada).

Me too.. Currently living in NE OH..

 

[Bass Viking]

Me too.. Currently living in NE OH..

I went to Denmark in 2019. Had a great time! Was supposed to go last year.

 

[dylanjohnson]

@ElMon This song from the Garnett album definitely has some low Eb's etc.

Also, I just found this show from Roberta Flack's 75 tour that definitely has Anthony on it, but he is basically off camera the entire show. He is set up behind the background singers and is facing Idris Muhammed (how's that for a KILLER rhythm section?_.
I haven't listened through to hear if he plays the 6 on it, but he definitely has the Fender in some shots.


I just found this. I had read that article, and

The Bass Book | Carl Thompson | Fine Handmade Instruments


From the article:

It was difficult to find a maker willing to transform the idea into a guitar. Jackson had not yet climbed the heights of the session world that he would later reach and could not afford to experiment wildly with many expensive custom-made instruments. But Thompson agreed to go ahead and make a stab at the extended six-string bass – even though Jackson states that Thompson’s initial reaction was that it was “a dumb idea”.

Jackson says he left the details largely to Thompson, who recalls suggesting an extra-long scale-length but that Jackson opted for the 34in length he was used to from his Fender. Finding pickups wide enough to extend under all six strings proved almost impossible, but Atilla Zoller, a jazz guitarist with a flair for pickup building, was hired by Thompson to wind some custom units especially for the six-string. Thompson also had trouble finding a suitable bass string that would facilitate the low-B tuning, but the Addario string company eventually came up with a specially wound suitably fat string.

The first extended-range six-string bass guitar finally appeared from Thompson’s workshop early in 1975. Jackson was immediately disappointed by the string-spacing, which he had assumed was going to be wider. Later, into the 1980’s, five and six-string basses would become more popular and their string-spacing would become wider to suit the finger-style technique of bassists rather than the plectrum-based styles of guitar players. However, in 1975 this was a new field, and no one was sure what to do. Jackson knew, however, that this first attempt at the contrabass guiatar wasn’t quite right.

On a tour with Roberta Flack, laying down his Fender to play the new six on a couple of songs, “But I didn’t have a chance to put it through it’s paces until I did the first session with it,” he says, “which was for the Panamanian saxophone player Carlos Garnett. We did an album called Let this Melody Ring On in June 1975, and on one particular tune I used the contrabass. I was absolutely adamant that Carlos should put in the credits ‘Anthony Jackson bass guitar and contrabass guitar’, which he did. I was very proud of that.”

But Jackson abandonded the bass after that one tour and one recording session – primarily, he recalls, because he found the string-spacing restricting, and he returned to his Fender. Jackson and Thompson made some more experiments around 1976 including a fantastic 44in-scale trial bass guitar and a 36in-scale four-string that Jackson did not keep for long. The musician and maker drifted apart, but Jackson continued to dream about the musical usefulness of an extended-range instrument.

Kind of want to hunt down that album. Being an AJ completist.