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Club Bordwell Part 4

#441
Bobo Fret said:
Howdy,

I thought I'd post some specs on my Ball bass. The goals of this build was to have a 4-string bass (most of mine are 5er's now), comfort (some hand arthritis), minimalist aesthetic, and maximum growl potential. Cliff was great in working with me to nail down the specs to what I think should really do what I'm asking of it.

From an aesthetic standpoint, it will look basically like the holly/bloodwood bass pictured below, except with a bloodwood pickguard similar to the wenge guard in the other pic.

img_5361_zpsc8lxdvh6.gif

BassLine_rebelle_cw_0353d66fe48d619_zpsamzlxjx6.gif



Dimensions:

--Scale length: 34"

--CB "Modern" neck shape

--Thickness at 1st: .850 (Standard)

--Width at nut: 1.5"

--Fretboard radius: 16 degrees

--String spacing: .656" (16.66mm) - Narrowest Hipshot A

--Body Thickness: 1.525"


Construction / Neck Details:

--Deep set neck

--Forearm contouring ; Extra contouring to the back

--Zero fret

--3-piece neck: 2x flamed maple, 1x wenge

--Finished with tung oil

--Holly Headstock overlay

--"CB" Headstock shape

--Abalone "CB" inlay on headstock

--Bloodwood accent layer

--Fretboard: Bloodwood

--Nut: Dymondwood

--Fretwire: Medium jumbo stainless steel

--Luminlay Side dots only


Body:

--"Ball" solid body

--Amapola body (ie. African Tuliptree)(Spathodea campanulata sp.) - Cliff's recommendation as a good choice for encouraging growl without sacrificing low end and without over the top weight - I don't really know anything about this wood. Anybody here ever used it?

--Full-faced Holly top .150"

--Bloodwood accent layer

--Bloodwood pickguard

--Amapola control cavity cover

--Tung-oil finish


Hardware:

--Bridge: Hipshot-A type; aluminum

--Hipshot satin aluminum O-ring knobs

--Hipshot Ultralight satin tuners

--Recessed Dunlop Strap locks

--Electrosocket side jack


Electronics:

--2 Nordstrand FatStacks wired in single coil mode – '70's Jazz positioning

--Bloodwood pickup covers; no holes

--Dark Glass Tone Capsule Pre-amp

--9v

--Volume, Blend, Passive Tone, Bass, Low Mids, High Mids

--Active/Passive DPDT

--Series/Parallel DPDT


Gig Bag:

Standard Pro-Tec
Click to expand...
No longer being a "whippersnapper" I feel for your goals. That being said just recived what is probably one of the heaviest machines that Cliff has made but I did want a beast. Do not know about that wood but Spanish Cedar would also fit. My question for you to
ponder is have you considered a 32: in scale?
 
#443
I had not considered 32" scale, though I did strongly consider 33" scale as I have one that is very comfortable. I guess I was just worried that going much shorter than 34" on this build might detract from the more aggressive attack that I'm going for. Sort of de-focusing the sound a bit. I could be making that up though. I don't know. What do you guys think? Anything to be lost by lowering the scale length here? Cliff might kill me if I mess with the specs.

I was originally going to have the top dyed a lighter blue in an effort to inject some color into my instrument cache, but I passed on it partially because of cost and (in no small part) because the plain holly just looks so elegant. Really, I'm still torn.

I have an late '60's Aria bass with a 16.5mm string spacing, and it's just so damn effortless to play. I'm excited to incorporate that spec into a more modern bass.

Hmmm...maybe I should change the scale length.
 
#444
Bobo Fret said:
I was originally going to have the top dyed a lighter blue in an effort to inject some color into my instrument cache, but I passed on it partially because of cost and (in no small part) because the plain holly just looks so elegant. Really, I'm still torn.
Click to expand...

The natural color of the Holly is so nice!

Bobo Fret said:
I have an late '60's Aria bass with a 16.5mm string spacing, and it's just so damn effortless to play. I'm excited to incorporate that spec into a more modern bass.
Click to expand...

What is the width/string spacing at the nut on your Aria?
 
#455
I have 32", 34", and 35" scale CBs as well as a 30" and 33" by other builders. It's a bit of a tradeoff. I feel that 35" scale can allow for some insanely low action, especially on a fretless. The tradeoff is that reach is a little longer. Shorter scale lengths will often need slightly higher action and offer a shorter reach.
 

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