I've owned a few of his basses, including my 2 current ones, and they both have flat finger boards. LOVE them!
You can't go wrong with the SCB body, it's really comfortable. I'm having him build me my second SCB bass now.
-ScottM
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You can't go wrong with the SCB body, it's really comfortable. I'm having him build me my second SCB bass now.
-ScottM
Hello CB fans/owners, I just posted my build thread for my two new CB basses that are now in build progress. I put them in a separate thread so I wouldn't take over this one too bad. 
My Cliff Bordwell 2020 summer bass builds!
-ScottM
My Cliff Bordwell 2020 summer bass builds!
-ScottM
DAMN!!Hello CB fans/owners, I just posted my build thread for my two new CB basses that are now in build progress. I put them in a separate thread so I wouldn't take over this one too bad.
My Cliff Bordwell 2020 summer bass builds!
-ScottM
Two years ago this Bubinga wood top was being transformed into this masterpiece from @Cliff Bordwell!
My other two basses are coming along nicely on this thread: My Cliff Bordwell 2020 summer bass builds!
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
-ScottM
My other two basses are coming along nicely on this thread: My Cliff Bordwell 2020 summer bass builds!
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
-ScottM
I am patiently awaiting my bass , I think it will be in the next group , I really am looking forward to having another CB , I want to use it exclusively with our band , I think it will fit right in
Hello Club Bordwell ...
I've been going back and forth on which direction to take this build, but I'm in talks with Cliff for my next and maybe last bass! It's my first custom.... I'm a minimalist, and not much of a collector. I usually have one bass at a time. This bass is commemorating my transition to a second career in nursing, as my program will begin in 2021.
I've set a lofty goal. I want to get 85% of the Wal sound, but I don't want to mess around with the filter preamps for live playing - I don't do much, if any, recording. Here's my plan:
34" 4 string with Cliff's new-er Dia body, possibly with the Big McNeeley lower body shape
Birdseye maple sandwich, mahogany core, black walnut veneers and neck heel accent
3-piece maple neck, 21 frets, no fret markers, Luminlay side dots (blue)
Pickups: Rautia Multicoil pickups, Link Removed
Electronics: EAST 5K Uni
Side input jack
For those unfamiliar with Rautia, here's an in-depth tonal journey with four way rotary selectors on the pickups:
How am I looking, CB Bass veterans?
I've been going back and forth on which direction to take this build, but I'm in talks with Cliff for my next and maybe last bass! It's my first custom.... I'm a minimalist, and not much of a collector. I usually have one bass at a time. This bass is commemorating my transition to a second career in nursing, as my program will begin in 2021.
I've set a lofty goal. I want to get 85% of the Wal sound, but I don't want to mess around with the filter preamps for live playing - I don't do much, if any, recording. Here's my plan:
34" 4 string with Cliff's new-er Dia body, possibly with the Big McNeeley lower body shape
Birdseye maple sandwich, mahogany core, black walnut veneers and neck heel accent
3-piece maple neck, 21 frets, no fret markers, Luminlay side dots (blue)
Pickups: Rautia Multicoil pickups, Link Removed
Electronics: EAST 5K Uni
Side input jack
For those unfamiliar with Rautia, here's an in-depth tonal journey with four way rotary selectors on the pickups:
How am I looking, CB Bass veterans?
As a former Wal owner myself, that's definitely what I was going for with my Dola, which has a pair of Nordstrand BigMan pickups in the "Wal" positions.
zz28-featured-custom-bass-guitar - CB Basses
Nothing else really sounds like a Wal, but you could do worse than starting with the Nordy Big BladeMan pickups (which were designed for Justin Chancellor) in the Wal positions, and Nordy JC-spec 3-band EQ, along with a mahogany body.
The Rautia pickups may be amazing as well! They do sound great in the video. I just happen to be familiar with Carey Nordstrand's work.
My only concern with your specs would just be the 4-way rotary switch idea. For me, it's just way too easy to get caught up in too many "coil switching" options. My Dola has series/parallel/single switching options, but honestly, it's in parallel 90% of the time. I do use the single-coil setting sometimes, but it's very un-Wal-ish! Series is actually a bit closer to the Wal sound, but with the BigMan pickups and standard EQ, it's a little dark. I think that's what the Big BladeMan pickups and JC 3-band are intended to address.
Anyway, I can't recommend Cliff's work highly enough, and I'm sure you'll end up with an amazing instrument!
zz28-featured-custom-bass-guitar - CB Basses
Nothing else really sounds like a Wal, but you could do worse than starting with the Nordy Big BladeMan pickups (which were designed for Justin Chancellor) in the Wal positions, and Nordy JC-spec 3-band EQ, along with a mahogany body.
The Rautia pickups may be amazing as well! They do sound great in the video. I just happen to be familiar with Carey Nordstrand's work.
My only concern with your specs would just be the 4-way rotary switch idea. For me, it's just way too easy to get caught up in too many "coil switching" options. My Dola has series/parallel/single switching options, but honestly, it's in parallel 90% of the time. I do use the single-coil setting sometimes, but it's very un-Wal-ish! Series is actually a bit closer to the Wal sound, but with the BigMan pickups and standard EQ, it's a little dark. I think that's what the Big BladeMan pickups and JC 3-band are intended to address.
Anyway, I can't recommend Cliff's work highly enough, and I'm sure you'll end up with an amazing instrument!
The Big Blademan or Hotwire W-Bucker are the backup plans. If I go with Nordstrand, would probably do as you've suggested and run with the matching preamp. I hesitate only because the Wal tones I want to recreate are more Flea's BSSM and The Eurythmics "This is the House", not so much Tool (sacrilege, I know!).
There's no way I'm going for those rotaries. I'm happy that someone went through the trouble to help me pick my favorite tone, but parallel is the answer. They can actually be wired with each paired coil in series and then entirely in parallel for the humbucking, which I believe is true to the Wal method, and I wouldn't bother with switches. If I go the other route, it would just be two switches for series/parallel.
Also - LOVE the Dola shape. Is the extra weight from the single-cut a challenge? I might need to change my spec sheet...
I've owned plenty of single cuts, and any addition to the weight is negligible compared to the difference between things like different body woods or bridge hardware. I *love* the Dola shape! It's one of my favorite single cut designs, and really different from the typical Fodera knock-off.
That said, my next CB is going to be a fretless Ball, unless I change my mind at the last minute and go for a Dola to match my fretted!
That said, my next CB is going to be a fretless Ball, unless I change my mind at the last minute and go for a Dola to match my fretted!
I prefer almost flat radius, but not completely flat, So mine is 20". I also have extra-wide spacing—2-3/16" at the nut, 20mm at the bridge. My fretless will be the same.
Cool.I was thinking that your fingerboard had a fairly large radius. I'm coming from a classical guitar background (flat fingerboard), so I want this build to have that "classical" type fretboard feature. I'm just wondering if the oval profile will be too much of a good thing with a flat fretboard compared to the same specs and Cliff's standard C profile.
The classical guitar feel is what I was going for, as well. But I had an ACG with a totally flat radius, and it just never felt quite right to me. I'm not sure if it was the lack of pressure on the middle strings when doing chords, or the way the strings vibrate against the frets when they are completely flat, but I came to the conclusion that I need just a little bit of radius to feel comfortable.
In addition to being wide, my neck is fairly shallow. I believe it's spec'd as "thin, flat (oval)" on the spec sheet, with .810" thickness at the 1st fret. Not quite as shallow as my Curbow, but not too far off. If you tell Cliff what you want, he'll deliver!
In addition to being wide, my neck is fairly shallow. I believe it's spec'd as "thin, flat (oval)" on the spec sheet, with .810" thickness at the 1st fret. Not quite as shallow as my Curbow, but not too far off. If you tell Cliff what you want, he'll deliver!
There is definitely a little difference in feel with the chording between the two.
I was thinking that the thickness at your 1st fret was .850", so that's interesting.
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