Club Bordwell Part 4

[Cliff Bordwell]

Kill button it is... that wasn't hard enough.

 

[nad]

Any opinions on the TI Jazz Flats low B string in 34" scale vs. 35" scale? I know Cliff's necks are solid. I have zero experience with the TI strings.

Me, too. I just need to get some TI Jazz Flat feedback in the low B department soon-ish. HALP!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had Thomastik flats on 3 basses of mine for years, including my two Bordwells. Those are all 4-string basses, but I finally put a set on my Nordy 5-string and after one rehearsal, I immediately asked Cliff to slap these on my pending 5er as well. Thick but defined B, so effing good! All my basses are 34" scale, for whatever that is worth.

Nad you are not ordering a big McNealy? It makes sense that a one piece body should sound better but some of the bodies that have all the pieces and layers so they have a lot of glue in them still sound wonderful. As I understand it the Nordstram pickups are sort of pricey. Saw some on ebay from Hong Kong for $4.95 that said they were great. You should look into it.

Nope, it'll be another Ball, but my fretless is a Big McNeely. I'm not a fan of tops and too many laminates, they can be gorgeous, but simplified wood choices are the chosen path for my own basses. Finally, regarding pricing of Nordstrand Pickups, personally I think they are an amazing deal.

 

[spade2you]

I've had Thomastik flats on 3 basses of mine for years, including my two Bordwells. Those are all 4-string basses, but I finally put a set on my Nordy 5-string and after one rehearsal, I immediately asked Cliff to slap these on my pending 5er as well. Thick but defined B, so effing good! All my basses are 34" scale, for whatever that is worth.

Thankyou kindly! I was a tad nervous since the bass is basically built around the strings. I have faith in Cliff's work, but have no experiene with those strings.

 

[Lackey]

Well I feel very lucky to finally fulfill a longstanding dream to own a Bordwell. Plus, I get mine without the long (but worthwhile) wait time. I was going to put in an order and downpayment, but this guy apparently popped back in to Cliffs shop so I decided to jump on it since its very close to what I think I want.

Dola 6 stringer, 32" scale, one piece walnut body, modern neck with birdseye fingerboard. Nordstrand big singles, passive electronics.

I don't know if this has been owned / played by anyone here before, I'm curious if there are any comments / prior knowledge of this little guy. Its going to be a fantastic bass, if its not quite what I want then I can at least make a much more educated custom order from what I learn from it.

 

[phishaholik]

Does anyone know if a Bordwell Ball bass will fit in a Mono gigbag? Mine doesn't fit in any hard cases I have and I would like to get a new bag for it.

Michael

 

[echoSE7EN]

It won't.

 

[Cliff Bordwell]

That 12.5 for the upper horn is pretty skinny, probably made to fit a Fender pretty nice.
The Levy's gig bags fit and are nice, all the Protec stuff(gig bags and cases) fit.
The nicest stuff I've seen is the custom ProBags: https://www.facebook.com/cbbasses.bordwell/photos
There are a lot of pics about halfway down.

 

[phishaholik]

That 12.5 for the upper horn is pretty skinny, probably made to fit a Fender pretty nice.
The Levy's gig bags fit and are nice, all the Protec stuff(gig bags and cases) fit.
The nicest stuff I've seen is the custom ProBags: https://www.facebook.com/cbbasses.bordwell/photos
There are a lot of pics about halfway down.

Thanks guys! I actually measured it myself last night and saw that it won't fit the Mono or the new Gigblade from Gruvgear. I actually already have a Levy's and a Protec gigbag. They both came with the the two Ball basses I've owned. The Levy's came with my old Bubinga/Darkstar bass and I held on to it when I let that bass go and the Protec came with the bass I just bought from echoSe7en.

I was just hoping to find something new with a little more protection. I really liked how the Mono bag has neck support. Are there any hard cases that fit the Ball bass?


Michael

 

[metallutca]

These might fit.
Invalid Link Removed

 

[Cliff Bordwell]

The rectangle cases that don't have the Fender shape cut in them work, at least the ones I've used.
Protec also makes a wedge shaped hardcase that works, it comes with customizable cushions.

 

[phishaholik]

The rectangle cases that don't have the Fender shape cut in them work, at least the ones I've used.
Protec also makes a wedge shaped hardcase that works, it comes with customizable cushions.

Is this the one you are talking about Cliff?

http://www.protecmusic.com/items.as...rumentGroupID=4&CategoryID=2&subCategoryID=45


Thanks!

Michael

 

[Cliff Bordwell]

Yes that is it, double check with them on the dimensions... it's been about 5 years since I've used one.

 

[echoSE7EN]

DharmaShawn has got a great custom bag that fits his Ball. There are pictures a few pages back in this thread.

 

[spade2you]

Ritter bags fit mine. They're @$^##!$ worthless if you lug them on your back. I'm only 5'6" and have to duck through all doorways.

 

[torqueflite]

I have used that Gator case a long time for other basses. It's light and good protection. However they put the handle in the center and that makes off balance to carry. Who thought of that?

 

[Zooberwerx]

Rami 5: status post mods...

This one started out with stabilized fingerboard and nut, and dual acting truss rod. Unfortunately, over time, the modern neck / truss rod / fingerboard did not "play nicely with others" and became increasingly unstable. Here's a pic from bygone days:

I decided to bite the bullet and swap out the fingerboard and upgrade the TR to a beefed-up single acting rod. The project was beyond my scope of expertise so I outsourced everything to Mike Lull and Paul Schuster. We had a nice long talk before they accepted the job and, as a result, shared expectations in terms of limitations and outcomes. Few things I learned in the process:

1) Mike Lull does not like resin-infused fingerboards.

2) Heat / steam the fingerboard for removal? No way. This has the potential to de-stabilize adjacent glued laminates. Method of choice: mill the sonofagun from the neck.

3) Safely de-constructing an instrument is not as easy as it sounds.

Cut to the chase: here's the finished product. She now sports a nicely-grained Indian rosewood board, bone nut, heavy-duty single acting rod with removable nut, and Hipshot Ultralite tuners (my sole contribution). The tonal character, IMO, remains virtually unchanged. The pup configuration is stock and seemingly strange but the Big Single / DC combination coupled with an Audere 4 band classic pre is a great alternative to the more conventional dual SC or HB offerings.

Riis

 

[spade2you]

The stabilized maple fretboard on mine moves a heck of a lot. My other two CBs don't move. I simply adjusted the truss rod constantly.

 

[Zooberwerx]

The stabilized maple fretboard on mine moves a heck of a lot. My other two CBs don't move. I simply adjusted the truss rod constantly.

Ditto. Over time, the board morphed into something virtually unplayable. I can't offer an informed explanation of why this conflict occurs but it is apparently more wide-spread than one may imagine...or so Mike Lull related.

Riis

 

[spade2you]

Ditto. Over time, the board morphed into something virtually unplayable. I can't offer an informed explanation of why this conflict occurs but it is apparently more wide-spread than one may imagine...or so Mike Lull related.

Riis

I'm not sure how it could be wide-spread with such small numbers. My Conklin has a Dymondwood fingerboard and that sucker is insanely strong.

 

[Cliff Bordwell]

I think it would be more related to the figured infused boards.
The Dymonwood stuff is very stable, it is an entirely different process than the "infused boards".