I love the wood on that single cut, with a maple fingerboard would look even better. Oh i'm gasing, i'm seriously gasing.
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Tslicebass
Commercial User
I finally got mine. Cliff and Mr. Dolan (polyester coating) did a great job. Now I just gotta set it up for my usual playing specs. It sounds good, but it will get nice and buzzy when I really drop the action. I'm probably most blown away by the light weight! It's about like playing my Rob Allen basses.
Ask and you shall receive!
Pardon the pics as it's very cloudy and I prefer to take natural light shots. I'll try to get some better shots when I get my ideal lighting.
With flash to show figure:
Inlay done by Dolan Custom Guitars
Pretty amazing woodworking.
Anyway, as stated before, what strikes me most about this bass is the weight. The aesthetics are nothing short of amazing. The f-hole had the edges carved underneath to really simulate the hollow body look. Dolan's guys figured since it was so light and had an f-hole that it was hollow. The heel accent is pretty neat and the carving on the top horn is pretty amazing.
I'm still in the process of setting it up and I'm kinda catching the edge of the fingerboard when I'm in the 23rd position, but I like the sound from the ultra low action I have and don't really play a whole lot up there because it can be hit or miss with intonation. I really didn't tell Dolan that I wanted ultra low action, so I can't really point a finger.
It sounds amazing as well. The bridge J has a nice cutting but not excessively bright sound that's really along the lines of Jaco's tone. It's great for soloing and lets the notes and harmonics sing. The P pickup is very nice and boomy, but still defined. Overall, it's extremely warm sounding and I'm going to go on the record to say that active basses can indeed sound just as warm as a passive bass.
I hope to record with it sooner or later.
Tslicebass
Commercial User
That birdseye is friggin reeeediculous. The figure really popped out on both the body and fingerboard.
Yet another amazing bass added to your ever increasing stable Sam. Congrats and play her in good health
Yet another amazing bass added to your ever increasing stable Sam. Congrats and play her in good health
I assume you're asking about the "trio" photo? The bass on the left is a Performance series and, yes, it is a true bolt-on modern (maple / wenge / maple) neck.
Riis
That birdseye is friggin reeeediculous. The figure really popped out on both the body and fingerboard.
Yet another amazing bass added to your ever increasing stable Sam. Congrats and play her in good health
Thanks. I took it in to a local shop to do some setup work. Normally I do it really well on my own. Oh well, I'm not too stubborn to accept help. I was a bit put off by the comment that "you shouldn't be spending too much time up there if you're doing your job." I've left auditions for less, although I'll take some lip from the dude who's gonna figure things out where I got hung up.
It's a great bass, as most of you would probably know. I think Cliff and I would agree that having 2 parties involved in the build wasn't necessarily the best idea, so I kinda think Cliff might offer a polyester finish, at a fee and probably delay in the build. The process isn't necessarily the most difficult, but involves allowing several applications to dry and get smoothed out a bit.
Hindsight being 20:20, I probably would have gone with a reverse P pickup (even though I hate where it places my right thumb) or possibly moved it an inch closer to the bridge. It sounds nice, but I would have liked to have a little more bite. Luckily the pre-amp can add some back. Other than that, it's built perfectly, although the heel is a tad thick for my very small hands when messing around near the 24th fret. I'll probably order 28 on the next fretless...just because.
Wow! What a stunner, I can't wait to hear some sound clips!
Enjoy that beauty, I need to go grab my CB and practice.
Cheers,
Enjoy that beauty, I need to go grab my CB and practice.
Cheers,
Ask and you shall receive, at least soon-ish. Surface To Air might be recording some jam sessions on Sunday. I can tell ya that the bridge J is very Jaco sounding for sure!!! Without a doubt, the J pickup is placed where it sounds perfect.
I still need to experiment with the P pickup and the pre-amp a bit, but the Bartolini 3 band allows for plenty of adjustment.
Tslicebass
Commercial User
The new crop is looking pretty amazing!!!
Cliff and I are in the process of working out a fanned 7 string and will most likely chamber it for tone and weight. I think we'll also go with a stabilized ebony fingerboard. I love the tone of ebony, but the Nebraska climate makes it really annoying due to extreme changes in humidity.
Also, I took my new bass to the studio yesterday. Plugged directly in the board, the P pickup sounded perfect. I don't get why it sounds a tad woofy through my amp.
Cliff and I are in the process of working out a fanned 7 string and will most likely chamber it for tone and weight. I think we'll also go with a stabilized ebony fingerboard. I love the tone of ebony, but the Nebraska climate makes it really annoying due to extreme changes in humidity.
Also, I took my new bass to the studio yesterday. Plugged directly in the board, the P pickup sounded perfect. I don't get why it sounds a tad woofy through my amp.
Wow a "fanned 7 string "? I would love to see that bass made!!!
I really love the current batch of basses, and can't wait to see this Zebrawood SC done!
Bye the way, Cliff just added my SC to the featured bass page of his site. I did not realize he had taken so many pics of my bass!
-ScottM
I really love the current batch of basses, and can't wait to see this Zebrawood SC done!
Bye the way, Cliff just added my SC to the featured bass page of his site. I did not realize he had taken so many pics of my bass!
-ScottM
Yeah, I saw your bass there. Very cool!!!
Really, Cliff and I were about to build the fanned 7 first, but the deal I was workin' on for a polyester coated 35" scale fretless fell through.
At this point, there's a definite plan for the 7 sometime early next year because a few other builds I wanted kinda fell through. Part of it depends on what kind of strings I can get. At the moment, we're investigating the idea of chambering the bass and using a stabilized ebony FB to get a nice defined fret tapping tone along the lines of Jean Baudin. So, it would be cool to have something light and chambered, but we can't make it too light with such a big neck and headstock. I sent an e-mail today wondering about maybe a 50% thicker but chambered body, maybe a heavier tone block, etc.
I'm using an Ampeg SVT4Pro bi-amped to a 4x10 and 15". It sounds good, don't get me wrong. Although it might be an issue with my drummer's recording rig, too. The input and monitors aren't quite jivin'. Eh, I'm satisfied, so I'm not gonna invest too much time tweaking stuff.
I would just like to take this opportunity to say Cliff Bordwell must be " THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN THE BASS BUILDING BUSINESS". Who else is so on time with the builds and who else updates their site the way he does? No one I've seen. My hat's off to Cliff for doing such an awsome job.
I would just like to take this opportunity to say Cliff Bordwell must be " THE HARDEST WORKING MAN IN THE BASS BUILDING BUSINESS". Who else is so on time with the builds and who else updates their site the way he does? No one I've seen. My hat's off to Cliff for doing such an awsome job.
Amen to that and his prices are still amazing.
oh yeah, my bass is less than a year away now, and counting......
Details please!!!
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