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Carl Thompson
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Figured I'd pop in and give my $0.02.
I've owned my CT for about 5 years now. It's the most expensive thing I've ever bought in my life. My honest opinion on CT basses is this:
As others have said, Carl's build quality is second to none. Flawless craftsmanship and fretwork. While they're unlike any other basses in the world, they're actually supremely comfortable, ergonomic and lightweight. I love the neck on mine; it's incredibly fast, yet has enough girth to give the proper hand support for my large mits.
... That said, the tone does leave something to be desired, for me. When I first got the bass and plugged it in, the first thing I noticed was the piano like tone/sustain of the E string, which is quite impressive. But overall, the tone is very dark and "wooden" sounding, without much focus on "tightness". I agree with the people who said it seems like he builds them to appeal to upright players. Sadly this is not what I desire for my basses. I've thought about either trying installing a preamp to add the "punch" and tonal clarity I desire, or just selling it off and buying a bass more suited to my sonic needs. On the one hand, it is a uniquely beautiful collector's item, plays amazingly and I've got immense respect for Carl and his work... On the other hand, for how much I could sell it for, I could buy several amazing instruments that sound better for my purposes, and have some money leftover.
I'm still mulling it over... but if it's possible to get the sound I want out of it with the right preamp, I'd 100% want to keep it. If anybody has any input on going this route, I'd love to hear it.
-BB
I've owned my CT for about 5 years now. It's the most expensive thing I've ever bought in my life. My honest opinion on CT basses is this:
As others have said, Carl's build quality is second to none. Flawless craftsmanship and fretwork. While they're unlike any other basses in the world, they're actually supremely comfortable, ergonomic and lightweight. I love the neck on mine; it's incredibly fast, yet has enough girth to give the proper hand support for my large mits.
... That said, the tone does leave something to be desired, for me. When I first got the bass and plugged it in, the first thing I noticed was the piano like tone/sustain of the E string, which is quite impressive. But overall, the tone is very dark and "wooden" sounding, without much focus on "tightness". I agree with the people who said it seems like he builds them to appeal to upright players. Sadly this is not what I desire for my basses. I've thought about either trying installing a preamp to add the "punch" and tonal clarity I desire, or just selling it off and buying a bass more suited to my sonic needs. On the one hand, it is a uniquely beautiful collector's item, plays amazingly and I've got immense respect for Carl and his work... On the other hand, for how much I could sell it for, I could buy several amazing instruments that sound better for my purposes, and have some money leftover.
I'm still mulling it over... but if it's possible to get the sound I want out of it with the right preamp, I'd 100% want to keep it. If anybody has any input on going this route, I'd love to hear it.
-BB
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Forgive the partially dressed band members in this video, but I’m only posting to prove that experimenting with the simple but expressive tone/pickup controls, and knowing what you want out of your amp, will give you whichever sound you want . I usually prefer active basses, but my CT gives me everything I need.
What sets my CT apart from other basses is the balance and playability, both possibly due to the 36” scale.
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What sets my CT apart from other basses is the balance and playability, both possibly due to the 36” scale.
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It sounds to me that the answer you seek is an active preamp. Which one will scratch the itch is probably the hardest question to answer. If I were you, I'd look for examples for the tone you seek and see what kinds of preamps or amplification is used. Might not be a bad idea to try some pedal preamps that have onboard counterparts. "Punch" is a hard thing to pin down as one persons punch is another persons "presence."
I am familiar with how various preamps sound, I'm generally a big fan of active basses. But to a certain degree, they'll only really accent the frequencies that are already resonant in the bass itself. If you lean too heavily on a preamp for your sound, it can make it feel too artificial. Like you're trying to get the bass to sound like something it's not.
I've tried using pedal/rack preamps to enhance the tone of my CT but it always sort of leaves me wishing I was playing my Sadowsky or my Modulus.
I never owned a Sadowsky, but I used to own a Modulus and a CT and Modulus are pretty apples and oranges when it comes to basses.
Amazing and influential builder for sure. I'd give him the Stradivarius of solid body basses. The differences in acoustic instruments can be huge when you're dealing with a master builder.
dblbass
Commercial User
- Mar 24, 2007
- 368
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner of MBJ guitars, Maker of fine sawdust for Carl Thompson Guitars
Hey @Ballin'bass
One quick fix you might wanna try before doing anything drastic is swapping the pots in the bass for 500k pots. Might brighten things up a bit for you and allow you to use outboard preamps more to your liking. Carl wires things a bit differently than many other folks, but your local tech should be able to recreate it easily enough, or just swap the wires over to new pots.
If you have time to kill, Ervin Somogyi is basically the father of modern luthier designs for acoustic guitar. I have a guitar built by someone who studied under him and it fills the room and is much more responsive than "store brand" designs, much of which is overbuilt to compensate for a lack of care by users.
dblbass
Commercial User
- Mar 24, 2007
- 368
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner of MBJ guitars, Maker of fine sawdust for Carl Thompson Guitars
@spade2you
Which apprentices guitar do you own? I’m good friends with and work next to Julian Gaffney who apprenticed with him about 6-7 years ago.
Which apprentices guitar do you own? I’m good friends with and work next to Julian Gaffney who apprenticed with him about 6-7 years ago.
I had always been put off by the price tag and the longer scale length of the CT basses. A few years back I was on a Broadway tour that went to Tokyo for three weeks. I fell upon a magical bass shop in Shibuya. They had everything you could want to try bass wise. Apparently they are the biggest seller of CT basses in the world. Just for fun I tried a 36" scale 5 string with LaBella flatwounds.......by note one I was hooked. It was so natural and resonant and woody sounding. I was completely floored. I wasn't making enough dough to go and buy a bass like that, but it's an instrument that I'll never forget playing. Because of how I play I need a shorter scale length, but that bass made a huge impression on me (have been playing LaBella flats since then). Whatever CT came up with all those years ago, and what they are making in the shop now, it's really unique and something incredibly special. Really glad I got to try one for myself.
Don Sharp. I have a dreadnought by him. Much more responsive than the average dreadnought, although not quite as responsive as something smaller. Brazilian rosewood back/sides also don't hurt the tone.
People always complain about the price, and the used market on CTs is pretty stupid, but new price is extremely fair and reasonable...especially compared to what others charge these days.
My question as well. Wow, super cool you are friends with Julian Gaffney! I have yet to experience one of his builds, but I am privileged to have played other apprentices like Matsuda, Kostal, Kraut, and Beauregard. Someday I'd love to try a Gaffney, Gaiero, Sands, etc.
P.S. My 2018 CT definitely had your hands on it so thank you, Joe
I've never heard of Don Sharp. Maybe he just took the one-week voicing class Ervin used to offer? I suppose that's technically "studied under," but then we'd have to say at least half of the luthiers out there have studied with ErvinDon Sharp. I have a dreadnought by him. Much more responsive than the average dreadnought, although not quite as responsive as something smaller. Brazilian rosewood back/sides also don't hurt the tone.
dblbass
Commercial User
- Mar 24, 2007
- 368
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner of MBJ guitars, Maker of fine sawdust for Carl Thompson Guitars
@Erithon
Julian and I met about 10 years back in the Sadowsky shop. I was working there part time on days I wasn’t in Carl’s shop and he had been there for years. Then he went off to study with Ervin for a few years. Now we’re neighbors at work in Beacon, NY. It’s nice in a pinch having an extra set of experienced hands available just a holler away!
Julian and I met about 10 years back in the Sadowsky shop. I was working there part time on days I wasn’t in Carl’s shop and he had been there for years. Then he went off to study with Ervin for a few years. Now we’re neighbors at work in Beacon, NY. It’s nice in a pinch having an extra set of experienced hands available just a holler away!
I've never heard of Don Sharp. Maybe he just took the one-week voicing class Ervin used to offer? I suppose that's technically "studied under," but then we'd have to say at least half of the luthiers out there have studied with Ervin
Probably. I didn't ask too many questions. I saw Brazilian rosewood, dreadnought, and didn't know much about Somogyi when I bought it. Got extremely lucky and have since learned a lot more about Somogyi design. Half tempted to buy his book and/or see if someone like Don Sharp could build me a very responsive nylon string acoustic.
