Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
so is going back and forth with Cliff about design ideas. He's a joy to work with.
I'm very much looking forward to it. I've (obviously) got some time to think about the details of course, but as of right now, I love the Big McNeely shape and I'm pretty set on having a tremolo bridge... because why not on a bass like a Bordwell?
Plus I've always wanted one just for kicks. Other than those, a lot of the details will be pretty open to input from Chris.... but I do have a couple ideas floating around... maybe a "Les Claypool/Primus Pachyderm 'dirty P Bass' sound" (think Last Salmon Man) + a J bridge pickup for extra seasoning. Or maybe a "Wal(ish) hifi sound" (yep, Tool. I know I know: *eyeroll) I guess we'll see.....
lol5sg.
... Or maybe a "Wal(ish) hifi sound" (yep, Tool. I know I know: *eyeroll) I guess we'll see.....
5sg.
No judgement here...
Handsome bass!
Interesting! Nordstrand Big Splitman pickups, yeah? Can you expand a bit on what's going on with the controls and what preamp you've got in there?
And I know it's all subjective and hard to describe via text, but more importantly... can you describe the tone?
5sg.
They are actually BigMan pickups. The Big SplitMan had not come out yet. Essentially, two Big Singles stuffed into a MM case. They have coil switching for parallel/single(outer coil)/series.
Controls are volume, blend, then Nordstrand 3-band with a passive tone control on the end.
As you can tell from the pickup style and positioning, Wal was the general vibe I was going for. The Wal multi-coils have a really unique tone, though, and the BigMan in parallel is in the general vicinity, but slightly scooped, like a beefy MM pickup. In series, it's hotter and fuller in the mids/low mids, but loses some of the clarity/articulation. I also find myself using it more in single-coil mode than I expected, for a simpler "fat Jazz" kind of sound. I honestly don't use the EQ much at all, except dialing back the passive tone for a darker vintage tone sometimes.
I love watching each batch come together. Just got another shot of my buckeye top:
Im gonna say it every time I see it. I LOVE that top.
And I can't say enough how under rated Cliff's work is. I know he's highly respected, but this guy is building some amazing basses. Ive been through about 7 of them on the used market, 1 of them has been my main player for 10 years. and I'm building 2 more. I wish I had more money and could just keep building them.
So Barts are out, and instead I got Lindy Fralin Split Jazz Bass Pickups coming in the new CB.
This company is semi-local to me, and I've heard good things about them. They definitely sound good on their online demos.
-ScottM
This company is semi-local to me, and I've heard good things about them. They definitely sound good on their online demos.
-ScottM
fralin's are great pickups. i had aeros put in my ball 5 however, as i heard a set in somebody else's ball bass and it was awesome. normally i am a bart guy for the most part, but those aeros just sounded so good to me.
Prior to using Nordies I was a Bart guy, too, but for Jazz style pickups the Fralins I've heard in the Laklands I've owned were great!
That's good news. I forget why, but Cliff was unable to get the Barts in time.
-ScottM
I was historically a Bart guy. My 2 favorite Basses in my pre-Bordwell days were a pre-Gibson Tobias with Bart jj config, and a pedulla mvp4 with Bart pjs. I've liked the Nordstrand's in my Bordwell, but maybe I should spend some time with some barts again before committing to my next build. It's been a decade since I've spent any real time with anything other than Nordstrand's.
he's not the only one. for some reason bart has been hard to work with in recent years regarding supply chain stuff.
What are you doing for pickup covers and knobs?
