Yes, they will. Thanks! Man those are some SWEEET basses... especially now that I know how good these are.
The honeymoon is increasing on my Ball5. Every time I play it I like it more. Just feels and sounds SOOO good.
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The honeymoon is increasing on my Ball5. Every time I play it I like it more. Just feels and sounds SOOO good.
Ok, details of it with just a little playing.
The B is amazing. Not sure how Cliff does it in 32" scale, but it works. I know TB's #1 pick for the low B is the Stingray 5, but it's not even remotely in the same league as Cliff's low B. Basically sounds almost identical to my Rami's 34" scale low B. That being said, the fanned 7 will probably be 36" to facilitate B and dropped A.
It arrived set up well, which made it easier to plug and play. I'll probably do somewhat of a setup, but it will be fine tweaks.
I'm really in love with the bridge pickup. I'll play around, but this bass might be left on the bridge pickup.
The only weakness of the bass is that the high E has a bit of a sitar sound to it. More than likely not a build flaw, but the nature of the beast. I had no clue what it would sound like or how it would work. I could potentially play with the setup and see if this helps. My other option would be to try a .020, but I have a feeling this might not solve the problem. Overall, the high E is still good. I knew this was a risk going into it, but what's the fun in not taking any risks?
I know what you mean.
The B is amazing. Not sure how Cliff does it in 32" scale, but it works. I know TB's #1 pick for the low B is the Stingray 5, but it's not even remotely in the same league as Cliff's low B. Basically sounds almost identical to my Rami's 34" scale low B. That being said, the fanned 7 will probably be 36" to facilitate B and dropped A.
It arrived set up well, which made it easier to plug and play. I'll probably do somewhat of a setup, but it will be fine tweaks.
I'm really in love with the bridge pickup. I'll play around, but this bass might be left on the bridge pickup.
The only weakness of the bass is that the high E has a bit of a sitar sound to it. More than likely not a build flaw, but the nature of the beast. I had no clue what it would sound like or how it would work. I could potentially play with the setup and see if this helps. My other option would be to try a .020, but I have a feeling this might not solve the problem. Overall, the high E is still good. I knew this was a risk going into it, but what's the fun in not taking any risks?
I know what you mean.
Cliff Bordwell
Commercial User
I think going to a .020 will make the high E more musical.
The .025 is to tight IMO.
I played a 6-string through my college years and I really liked a .020 on the C. I felt you could really influence it's sound in many ways with the lighter feeling string.
The pickups are Nordstrand BigSplits and the preamp is Bartolini.
The .025 is to tight IMO.
I played a 6-string through my college years and I really liked a .020 on the C. I felt you could really influence it's sound in many ways with the lighter feeling string.
The pickups are Nordstrand BigSplits and the preamp is Bartolini.
I am. I've had many basses of both 34" and 35" scale, and played a couple short scale (32") basses with low B's that were awesome. The key is material selection, and construction quality and type. Basically, a luthier that knows what the heck they're doing. You just have to make the neck strong and resonant. That's easier said than done, but I've found most of the builders/luthiers in Cliff's league know how.
SERIOUSLY???? That wouldn't even be on my first page of choices, unless MAYBE you're talking production instruments under a certain dollar figure. Not to slam a veteran gigger with a strong history, but I've always felt their B strings were just "good".
Exactly... or any other bass at this quality level, which is the key to the whole thing (see above).
Ok, details of it with just a little playing.
The B is amazing. Not sure how Cliff does it in 32" scale, but it works. I know TB's #1 pick for the low B is the Stingray 5, but it's not even remotely in the same league as Cliff's low B. Basically sounds almost identical to my Rami's 34" scale low B. That being said, the fanned 7 will probably be 36" to facilitate B and dropped A.
It arrived set up well, which made it easier to plug and play. I'll probably do somewhat of a setup, but it will be fine tweaks.
I'm really in love with the bridge pickup. I'll play around, but this bass might be left on the bridge pickup.
The only weakness of the bass is that the high E has a bit of a sitar sound to it. More than likely not a build flaw, but the nature of the beast. I had no clue what it would sound like or how it would work. I could potentially play with the setup and see if this helps. My other option would be to try a .020, but I have a feeling this might not solve the problem. Overall, the high E is still good. I knew this was a risk going into it, but what's the fun in not taking any risks?
I know what you mean.
That is simply stunning, no other word for it!
I really need to try one of these 32" low B's. I don't suppose you're in London anytime soon?...
Congratulations mate, and Cliff, amazing work, yet again!
Eude
I'll play with setup over the next day, but I'll probably give the .020 a chance at some point, especially before I order a boatload of strings. I'm satisfied enough that I'm not going to rush to order another string this minute.
Cliff Bordwell
Commercial User
I am. I've had many basses of both 34" and 35" scale, and played a couple short scale (32") basses with low B's that were awesome. The key is material selection, and construction quality and type. Basically, a luthier that knows what the heck they're doing. You just have to make the neck strong and resonant. That's easier said than done, but I've found most of the builders/luthiers in Cliff's league know how.
SERIOUSLY???? That wouldn't even be on my first page of choices, unless MAYBE you're talking production instruments under a certain dollar figure. Not to slam a veteran gigger with a strong history, but I've always felt their B strings were just "good".
Exactly... or any other bass at this quality level, which is the key to the whole thing (see above).
That's TB's pick, not mine, but that's usually the first bass suggested. Dingwall is an obvious 2nd choice, but I have yet to play one.
In my early days of bass, I almost avoided 5s because I thought most imports and off the shelf US basses had a very rumbly and undefined B that had no consistency with the E string. It wasn't until I picked up a 35" scale Cirrus that I was willing to have a low B. Thanks to Mike Z, his Curbows convinced me that a great 34" scale B was possible. Everyone says that their bass has the best B, but I've also heard people using a 30" scale Epi with a .105 tuned to B. Well, they thought it sounded good.
Definitely a lot a good luthier can do to make a low B sound great, especially compared to stock basses.
LOL, I haven't left my home/work/bike routes routine in a really long time! I'm due for a vacation, although not going quite that far.
I'd really love to visit Europe some day, especially since I can no longer get Young's London Ale.
The 32" scale B is nice on the 7. I can imagine a 5 or 6 being super easy to play, not that I don't enjoy the standard 34" scale of the Rami 6. My Rob Allen 6 is a bit more work since it is 35" scale and requires a little higher action for that particular tone.
Holy crap... Sheldon's B's are SO WAY FAR better than SR's!!!! Anyway, yeah, good point... TB's pick, not yours. Well, at least we know better, right?
Good point on avoiding the "pedestrian" 5's too... it's amazing what some people consider good. Well, I guess you can save a ton of money if you don't know any better, right? Like if you've never been "spoiled" by something like a Bordwell?
Too late for me.
I owned a Dingwall ABII 5-string at one point, and the 37" B-string was fantastic! Heck, the 36.25" E was great. Now, I have been talking to Cliff (through e-mails) about going down the 32" scale path on a custom Bordwell 4-stringer, so I am particularly interested in your thoughts about your new bass.
...I just realized that I have never asked Cliff what gauge strings he likes to use on his 32" scale basses.
Holy crap... Sheldon's B's are SO WAY FAR better than SR's!!!! Anyway, yeah, good point... TB's pick, not yours. Well, at least we know better, right?
Good point on avoiding the "pedestrian" 5's too... it's amazing what some people consider good. Well, I guess you can save a ton of money if you don't know any better, right? Like if you've never been "spoiled" by something like a Bordwell?
Too late for me.
Part of me wonders if some of the bias against the low B in guitarists/"band leaders" is based on something a little too floppy that they had heard in the past.
Props for Sheldon's design. Had he made a 7, I'd be tempted to go that route, but I'll be going with Cliff and tweaking things to my needs.
Spoiled or firm believer in overkill to get my goal and point across.
The idea that you can simply set any bass up to get low action and/or a killer B is nice in theory, but hard to compete against a killer luthier like Cliff.
He he, well if you're ever over this way man, give me a shout.
I used to live up in Scotland, but I've been down in London now for almost a year. It's not a bad place bar the recent rioting which you probably saw on the TV...
If it'll help swing it, a Youngs Brewery Pub just opened about 5 mins walk from my front door
Really pleased the 32" has worked out so well.
Like I keep saying, one of these days, I'll be noising Cliff up for a 32" 6 string for sure!
Eude
No complaints with the Mangan strings on my bass. I think they'd need to make a 32" scale E and A, but that's not too hard for them. I typically use standard string gauges on 34", 33", and 32" scale 4 strings.
Ideally, I would like to maintain a fairly equal tension from string to string. If I use D'Addario ProSteels as a reference (as they are kind enough to provide us with the unit weight of their strings in pounds per liner inch), then I come up with two possible scenarios for a balanced set of strings on a 32" scale bass:
E: .110 = 39.3 (pounds of tension)
A: .085 = 39.8
D: .060 = 38.7
G: .045 = 37.1
or
E: .100 = 30.5
A: .075 = 30.7
D: .055 = 33.3
G: .040 = 29.9
These are sets that would be put together from available 34" scale strings. As you can see, the .110 E set is closer to 40 pounds of tension, which is what I am used to feeling on longer scale basses. However, the .100 E set would be a bit more elastic and might be better for playing chords in the higher register of the fingerboard. Of course, each set of strings would have their pros and cons.
Circle K strings would also be nice to try and would provide even more possibilities.
I don't know if there's a right or wrong answer, just preferences and a little trial and error.
That being said, I might recommend a zero fret to allow you to play around with different string gauges and not have to worry about how well the strings fit in the nut.
I'll try at some point, although I keep the backs of mine fairly simple. I'd love to have the nice back wood, but I'm a tad cheap and I'd hate to have a pretty wood that nobody gets to see.
Are they rounds on that fretless? I followed the link Cliff provided, but saw only one set of flats.
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