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Chronicling My First Boutique Build
- Thread starter Mammoth_Bass
- Start date
Wow! Really nice work and total wood porn
Check out the Facebook/Instagram for more beautiful pics!!Wow! Really nice work and total wood porn
Neck and has been carved and fretted. Getting down to the wire!
Great jumping cats, that's gorgeous! And I'm diggin' the headstock design something fierce! drool 
Its an amazing feeling isn't it? There is one downside though...nothing in a store will satisfy you again for the most part. It turns into an addiction! I've had 3 built now.. She's a beautiful bass, my friend!Hi everyone, I never thought I would find myself purchasing a boutique bass but the day has come.
One of the guitarists in my band is an endorsing artist for Barlow Guitars. These guitars have been the first ‘boutique’ instruments I have found myself drooling over. Well Barlow extended an offer to join their roster so I decided to pull the trigger!! Barlow has historically focused on guitars but would like to enter the bass world. He is currently finishing up the first Barlow Bass.
First of Ricky Barlow does literally everything. The building, customer relations, etc etc. Also everything is done by hand except fret slotting. Build time is around 8-12 months. He is formally trained and has worked for PRS which is pretty cool!
Ricky was great educating me about different woods as I am more familiar with the basic maple/alder/ash. I picked a cocobolo top which has already begun to nicely darken. The body will be a nice hippy sandwich of cocobolo/primavera/ziricote over blonde mahogany.
He suggested a ziricote neck as well. I am doing 34” scale with stainless steel vintage frets. Schaller hardware and Ezi pickups. I have never heard of these pickups until now but they are really cool! Handwound in Israel encased in wood. I can do exposed rails or not but am leaning towards the rails.
So far the top has been sanded... only 7.5 months to go (more or less)
View attachment 3035087 View attachment 3035088 View attachment 3035089
This whole build is a work of art... and that's an understatement...
... I'd have to carry a can of mace, just to keep the riff raff away.
Seriously.... not sure my playing is up to par for this kind of instrument!
Dont be modest... I'm thinking your playing is fine...
... aaannnnddd, so is that instrument.
(Tell me, you've said that at least once, since the start of the build)
…and the first person to describe the sound as "Woody" wins a rolled-up newspaper upside the head.
(In deference to the Millennial crowd, a "newspaper" is that printed-on-paper thingie that lands on your grandparent's doorstep every morning and is a throwback to when the term "Journalistic Objectivity" actually meant something.
)
…and the first person to describe the sound as "Woody" wins a rolled-up newspaper upside the head.
View attachment 3328186
(In deference to the Millennial crowd, a "newspaper" is that printed-on-paper thingie that lands on your grandparent's doorstep every morning and is a throwback to when the term "Journalistic Objectivity" actually meant something.
I'll behave... for now.
