SOLD Citron AE6 Swallow Bass (New Large)

Citron AE6 Swallow Bass (New Large)​

$6800 (shipping included)
​

Why I am selling this bass

• This is the bass I thought I would never sell. Alas, decades wear and tear on my hands from martial arts training and the passage of time have led my hands to ask for fewer strings and short scale. I bowed out of double bass playing a couple of years back for this same reason. The time has now come for me to once again scale back in order to continue making good music. And so it is time to find a new home for this majestic bass.

• This Citron AE6 Swallow New Large was handmade by Harvey Citron – one of the great masters of bass luthiery. This bass is the result of many years of evolution and refinement from the creative collaboration between Harvey and Steve Swallow. Harvey is a one-man show and produces a very limited number of instruments each year. I waited around two years to receive this beauty.

The tone of this bass

• The tone is majestic, deep, rich, powerful. This is the deepest and richest bass tone I’ve ever heard. At the same time, it is clear and articulate.

• Rather than relying on my words, enjoy some good listens to the many youtube sound clips I’ve linked below. Among them are some good fidelity recordings within a range of band contexts so that you can hear how this bass truly sounds in action.

• My bass is the same model and design as Steve’s with only a few obvious differences in specs which I note below.

• Note: You can find on youtube other clips of Steve playing an earlier model of this bass and a later model – both of which have smaller body sizes and commensurately smaller tone. Steve’s newest model was made smaller for him as he is getting quite up there in years.

The Specs

• Woods
  • Body
    • Honduras Mahogany --- carved from a single huge piece
  • Neck
    • Honduras Mahogany --- one piece
  • Fingerboard
    • East Indian Rosewood
  • Top
    • Spruce
• 35” scale
• 17mm string spacing
• EMG 18v active preamp & EMG bridge saddle piezos
• Each bridge saddle is individually intonation adjustable
• Internal preamp configuration
  • (See attached photos of sheet which explains preamp adjustments)
    • String volume balance adjustment
      • There are three independent volume adjustments
        • B string
        • E-G string
        • C string
    • Bass and treble tone adjustment
      • Treble frequency point adjustment

Comparing the Specs --- this bass and Steve’s bass

• Because the sound clips below all feature Steve playing his bass, I’ll point out here the differences between this bass and his.

• This bass has …
  • Six strings (rather than Steve’s five)
  • 35” scale length (rather than Steve’s 36”)
  • Darker gloss finish color and gold hardware (rather than Steve’s lighter satin color and black hardware)
  • 17mm spacing (I believe that Steve’s is the uncommonly narrow spacing of 14mm)
  • the bridge is designed to accept both through body super long scale strings and top loading strings (Steve’s only does through body)
    • I currently have this bass strung with La Bella Deep Talkin’ roundwound through body strings (the same as you hear on the Steve Swallow recordings linked below).

Dings & Scratches

• Please note the two close-up photos below in which I’ve drawn a black circle around the only two marks on this bass.
• Only one of them shows up clearly in the photos. My tuning fork (from back in double bass playing days) got bumped off of my music stand and dinged the top. The other circled photo is a small scratch that is only visible when the light shines on the gloss finish under bright lighting when viewed from a few angles. It was hard to get a good picture, but I needed to include some kind of photo in the interest of honest and full disclosure.
• Those two photos indicate the only two blemishes I could find. I have handled this bass with great care. It is in excellent health.

What comes with this bass

• Glenn Cronkite custom gig bag
  • This bag was specifically designed and proportioned for the Citron AE Swallow New Large bass. The quality is as good as a gig bag can get.
  • The design is very similar to this.
    • Bass Guitar Bag – Taylor AB2 Acoustic Bass – Glenn Cronkhite Custom Cases
• Custom flight case by caseextreme.com
  • CaseXtreme - Fly it Safe Guitar Cases
  • I realize that some people may feel they don’t require a flight case. However, as this case was custom made for this bass, it seems right to pass it along with this bass. In fact, this case was previously owned by Steve Swallow (note the photo of the case with his signature) before he switched over to a carbon fiber case.
  • I am including the cost of shipping with the price of this bass so as to remove any reservations you may have about paying shipping cost for the additional weight of this hard case.
  • This flight case is very sturdy, surprisingly light, and has roller wheels that make it easy to move around. I have flown several times with it and have never been asked to pay oversize charges.
• X2 additional sets of the super long through body La Bella Deep Talkin roundwounds

I’ve attached my purchase invoice below.


I will pay the shipping cost (shipped from here in St. Louis to within the continental US). I will ship by FedEx.

Harvey Citron

Price List : Harvey Citron​

… And now for the sounds. Enjoy.​

Steve Swallow Quintet feat Carla Bley - Jazz à Junas 2013

Christian Muthspiel 4 feat. Steve Swallow: Happy Tears

Mogensen/Ulrik 4 feat. Steve Swallow



ECM Records

• 

​

 

nbsipics ---

When I have played this bass I have mostly played it fingerstyle, though I have also used a pick. The bass works well either way. I work better fingerstyle.

I do not know what bass he played on that Scofield album. Speaking of good music made by John Scofield and Steve Swallow, this clip is one of my favorites. In this video Steve is playing the older, smaller-bodied build of this bass I have for sale, so I did not feature this link among the videos above. However, it does give a great example of how rich and powerful this Citron bass tone can be.

 

Thank you for your kind words. As you say, this bass tone is indeed very much not like any other.

 

A deposit has been received and sale is now pending.

 

Thank you for your kind words cosmicevan. These Citron basses are indeed both rare and something special.