Certainbass "Svelte Bass" Kickstarter

[Baird6869]

Like the concept of where the controls are laid out... BUT, I hate the shape.

See, I am the opposite....as long as it balances well and is ergonomic as it looks.

I think it looks really cool but I like my controls in Fender/Gibson position.

To each their own. ..... If we all liked the same things, we would all likely be playing P or J basses. And in black or sunburst only.

 

[Matt Dean]

I know... variety is the spice of life. Just as long as it looks like Fender P!

 

[DavidCertain]

I laid the controls and the pickguard across a Jazz bass shape, and it looked pretty cool. There is also room on the Svelte shape to put controls below like the normal realm. Everyone can be happy. Personally, the shape feels good wearing it.

 

[bholder]

Like the concept of where the controls are laid out... BUT, I hate the shape.

I'm ok with the body shape, but not so much the pickguard, and especially not the output jack plate - I don't know why, but the look of it just bugs me. I like the controls, though.

 

[scourgeofgod]

I like the shape and the pick guard, at first I was afraid that I would be constantly disturbing the controls based on their position, but after watching David play it again I don't think that would be a problem.

 

[Dradder]

The "sticking-up-ness" of the pickguard seems to be a real issue with a lot of people, and understandably so. It seems that the adjustability of the pickguard, up and down from the body, isn't coming across to people. Maybe in the next iteration of the Kickstarter, there could be a series of photos taken from the same angle, showing the pickguard at different heights, from all the way flat against the body to sticking up a significant bit. Or if you do another video, maybe you could show the adjusting of the pickguard up and down. Plus, of course, round off that dangerous pointy corner a bit!

 

[scourgeofgod]

The "sticking-up-ness" of the pickguard seems to be a real issue with a lot of people, and understandably so. It seems that the adjustability of the pickguard, up and down from the body, isn't coming across to people. Maybe in the next iteration of the Kickstarter, there could be a series of photos taken from the same angle, showing the pickguard at different heights, from all the way flat against the body to sticking up a significant bit. Or if you do another video, maybe you could show the adjusting of the pickguard up and down. Plus, of course, round off that dangerous pointy corner a bit!

He could even round off the top of the body on that side a bit, sink the knobs into the body a little more and have the pick guard sit down all the way flush with the top.

 

[Dradder]

He could even round off the top of the body on that side a bit, sink the knobs into the body a little more and have the pick guard sit down all the way flush with the top.

That'd be a good approach. In general, the up-&-down adjustability of the pickguard isn't a selling point for me, and I don't think it would be for most people. Supposedly, according to the Kickstarter, the feature is so that players could use the pickguard like a ramp under the strings, but I've never gotten the impression that ramps are really all that popular with bass players. Maybe make this an option for the few people who would want the feature, but for the default, leave it off and lower the production complexity and expense a bit.

 

[DavidCertain]

He could even round off the top of the body on that side a bit, sink the knobs into the body a little more and have the pick guard sit down all the way flush with the top.

That's what it does. In fact, in the middle under the strings, the pickguard is flat against the body. The body is carved or "radiused" while the pickguard stays flat, doesn't follow the curve of the body, to create that overhang on either side of the strings, but it's only 1/8". Pics, I'll take some pics showing that. Actually, the up and down adjustability was just a side effect of this design that had I not mentioned it, no one would freak out. When it's down all the way, it's like a normal bass.

 

[Dradder]

I think what this indicates is that a lot more photos are needed, from more angles, or maybe some close-up video shots. There's just a bunch of interesting stuff here that didn't come across in the original Kickstarter content.

 

[DavidCertain]

Take a look at the kickstarter now. Added those photos. People see stuff that isn't there, so I guess we have to show them what's there to prevent them from imagining some silly things that aren't occurring. To get a better feel for the shape, watch the video because it looks cooler in playing position, and you can also see how the knobs are a groovin' situation. This limited edition run is all custom basses, so any options discussed on this thread are available, knob placement, J or P body shape or any combination. These aren't eBay listings. They're for things that are to be made in the future. Anyone who wonders about the lutherie of our finished products, scroll all the way down. Proof IS in the pudding, and we've pudding'ed all we need to be pudding. Thanks so much everyone! If we sell 12-15 basses, we're funded.

 

[Dradder]

Take a look at the kickstarter now. Added those photos.

In Gilda Radner's Emily Litella voice: "Well, that's very different. Never mind..." The previous photo of the controls didn't really show that they're in a scooped-out recess under the edge of the pickguard. The new photos show the recess pretty clearly. Until I saw those, I was having a hard time visualizing how the pickguard could be screwed all the way flat onto the body with the controls still operational. All is revealed now...

 

[Dradder]

Looking at this Kickstarter photo
Svelte Bass Pickguard
the only quibble I'd have is that the scooped-out recess extends so close to the forward (closest to the neck) corner of the pickguard, that even with the pickguard screwed down flat to the body, some of the threads of the screw would be slightly exposed under the pickguard. Whereas if either the pickguard were positioned an eensy bit further toward the neck, or the control recess was an eensy bit further away from the neck, then that little bit of screw thread wouldn't be exposed under the pickguard. Or at least that's the way it appears to me; I could be wrong.

 

[Dradder]

Okay, one more infinitesimally small nitpick and then I'm done, I swear. In this photo
Svelte Bass Roller Knobs
let us label the roller knobs, from left to right, as A, B & C, with C being the one closest to the neck of the bass.

I'm assuming that when you built the body of the prototype in the picture, the roller knobs were installed equidistant from each other, i.e. the center of knob A is, say, 1.5" from the center of knob B, which is 1.5" inches from the center of knob C. If the top edge of the pickguard were laid exactly across the centers of all three knobs, then the knobs peeking over the pickguard edge would appear as though they were spaced equidistant from each other, which in fact they are.

The problem is that the pickguard is installed at a slight angle relative to the line of the roller knobs, so that half of knob C appears above the edge of the pickguard, then slightly less than half of knob B appears above the edge of the pickguard, then even less of knob A appears above the edge of the pickguard. I think that's visually attractive, but --

The result is that the apparent distance between knob A and knob B, sighting along the top edge of the pickguard, seems to be slightly greater than the distance between knob B and knob C, even though all three knobs are actually equidistant from each other. Judging from the Kickstarter photo, if you laid a ruler along the top edge of the pickguard and measured the distance from where the right side of the circumference of knob A appears above the edge to where the left side of the circumference of knob B appears above the edge, it would be just a tiny bit greater than the equivalent distance between the corresponding points on knob B and knob C.

To make the apparent distance between knob A and knob B the same as the apparent distance between knob B and knob C, I believe you'd need to install the roller knobs so that knob A is slightly closer to knob B, than knob B is to knob C.

Hope that makes sense. Is this a teeny, tiny point? Oh, yeah -- but then that's why it's said that the devil is in the details.

 

[bholder]

In Gilda Radner's Emily Litella voice: "Well, that's very different. Never mind..." The previous photo of the controls didn't really show that they're in a scooped-out recess under the edge of the pickguard. The new photos show the recess pretty clearly. Until I saw those, I was having a hard time visualizing how the pickguard could be screwed all the way flat onto the body with the controls still operational. All is revealed now...

Yeah, I haven't even looked at the new pics yet, and just reading this explanation really helps. That adjustability is interesting.

 

[bholder]

Okay, one more infinitesimally small nitpick and the I'm done, I swear. In this photo
Svelte Bass Roller Knobs
let us label the roller knobs, from left to right, as A, B & C, with C being the one closest to the neck of the bass.

I'm assuming that when you built the body of the prototype in the picture, the roller knobs were installed equidistant from each other, i.e. the center of knob A is, say, 1.5" from the center of knob B, which is 1.5" inches from the center of knob C. If the top edge of the pickguard were laid exactly across the centers of all three knobs, then the knobs peeking over the pickguard edge would appear as though they were spaced equidistant from each other, which in fact they are.

The problem is that the pickguard is installed at a slight angle relative to the line of the roller knobs, so that half of knob C appears above the edge of the pickguard, then slightly less than half of knob B appears above the edge of the pickguard, then even less of knob A appears above the edge of the pickguard. I think that's visually attractive, but --

The result is that the apparent distance between knob A and knob B, sighting along the top edge of the pickguard, seems to be slightly greater than the distance between knob B and knob C, even though all three knobs are actually equidistant from each other. Judging from the Kickstarter photo, if you laid a ruler along the top edge of the pickguard and measured the distance from where the right side of the circumference of knob A appears above the edge to where the left side of the circumference of knob B appears above the edge, it would be just a tiny bit greater than the equivalent distance between the corresponding points on knob B and knob C.

To make the apparent distance between knob A and knob B the same as the apparent distance between knob B and knob C, I believe you'd need to install the roller knobs so that knob A is slightly closer to knob B, than knob B is to knob C.

Hope that makes sense. Is this a teeny, tiny point? Oh, yeah -- but then that's why it's said that the devil is in the details.

Interesting as well, I think I'd have to see both options to decide which I liked the looks of better - I didn't mind the way it is now quite so much, as it kind of grabs the eye and implies another line and angle to see the actual symmetry, it's a curious "I know they're even but they're not" effect. Kind of like looking at an optical illusion or impossible MC Escher picture and trying to figure out "what exactly is wrong with this picture".

 

[Dradder]

In this pic
Svelte Bass Vertical
it's even clearer that the apparent distance between knob A (closest to the bridge) and knob B (the middle knob) seems greater than the apparent distance between knob B and knob C (closest to the neck).

 

[DavidCertain]

Oh lord. My head hurts now. And the "The problem is that the pickguard is installed at a slight angle relative to the line of the roller knobs...." No, the knobs were installed at slight angle relative to the pickguard. There IS a difference. The pickguard came first. As the text states, I first had it all lined up so the center line of the pots were parallel to the pickguard, then I put a little lean to the pots and liked it better, gave it more style over calculation. The knobs are equally spaced apart and staying that way.

 

[Dradder]

The knobs are equally spaced apart and staying that way.

No problem; not a deal-killer. But if it were me, I'd move the middle knob a smidge closer to the one closest to the bridge. Your call, though.

 

[Duplo42]

Sorry, with all the respect and as a my point of view, this is one of least appealing designs I've seen in a long time - if this would be your personal bass that you made for yourself, then sure, good job - but as a commercial line...it just doesn't do to me. I like the headstock somewhat (minus "logo"), but the rest has no visual balance, things are outta proportion, flow of lines is quite off...
Are necks handmade or are they bought, modified and assembled?
The control pots are...well, i like the idea, I have very similar controls on my 60's Eko bass, but why is the pickguard so raised? And I don't see any advantage of having controls at the top - "don't get bumped inadvertently"? I don't bump into my standard controls (or any of the friends I know), so dunno...
To me, this design lacks finesse, elegance, sexiness and appeal. I apologize for kinda harsh words, but the self-praise in the kickstarter description needs a big big counterweight and I have no problem providing it haha