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Club Clement (Part 5: Post your basses here)

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#802
Wow,
It's pretty cool to see that Tom has earned himself enough recognition for these fine basses, that I imagine he is able to pay bills that need paying, provide for his family etc. I think that's a wonderful thing. Though I probably won't be able to afford to have another Clement Bass built any time soon (I envy a few of you and your multiple Clements) Ever since I picked up #248 from Tom and brought her home.. I've begun a new relationship with the instrument. #248 is my first Fretless bass, (other than my Englehardt upright which I'm not very good on), however more important than the bass being fretless, is that in my 27 years of playing bass. I've never played a more playable bass guitar. I Love my Pedulla ThunderBass and my Rickenbacker 4003 but they don't play nearly as nicely. This bass also has a unique tone which is on par with these two,and many other desirable basses. I saw a recent post by a player looking for his first fretless after playing for many years, and it looks like he's siding towards a Clement. There were people recommending he start with one of the more known & proven makes/models before deciding on a custom. I respect where they were coming from, but I'm very happy I had mine built by Tom. Maybe I should shoot for having enough money by Clement 496 that I can arrange for that bass to be a 6 stringed version of 248.
 
#803
MisterWraith said:
Wow,
It's pretty cool to see that Tom has earned himself enough recognition for these fine basses, that I imagine he is able to pay bills that need paying, provide for his family etc. I think that's a wonderful thing. Though I probably won't be able to afford to have another Clement Bass built any time soon (I envy a few of you and your multiple Clements) Ever since I picked up #248 from Tom and brought her home.. I've begun a new relationship with the instrument. #248 is my first Fretless bass, (other than my Englehardt upright which I'm not very good on), however more important than the bass being fretless, is that in my 27 years of playing bass. I've never played a more playable bass guitar. I Love my Pedulla ThunderBass and my Rickenbacker 4003 but they don't play nearly as nicely. This bass also has a unique tone which is on par with these two,and many other desirable basses. I saw a recent post by a player looking for his first fretless after playing for many years, and it looks like he's siding towards a Clement. There were people recommending he start with one of the more known & proven makes/models before deciding on a custom. I respect where they were coming from, but I'm very happy I had mine built by Tom. Maybe I should shoot for having enough money by Clement 496 that I can arrange for that bass to be a 6 stringed version of 248.
Click to expand...

You are spot on in your assessment of Tom's work! He's nailed the fretless tone consistently with all of the fretless basses I've played from his hands. And the fretted basses (and guitars) as well, they are all consistently high quality for the same money you normally would pay for a standard machine-crafted mediocrity. :)

Personally, I've had the good fortune of being able to spoil myself with basses the last few years. It only means that I have covered some "ground" and have been able to figure out what I love from my instruments. All of the basses I have owned, have had something going for them... something that impressed me, something that challenged me, and something that I didn't feel quite comfortable with.

After I teamed up with Tom, I have been able to put some of my experience and some of my ideas into reality. The chambering of the basses, to see the effect that has... the various woods, etc. It's been a fantastic journey. And one that keeps going on and on. The fact that I'm soon at my eight Clement (and 20+ basses in total) is more a result of me having a hard time parting with basses than really needing them. But I'm seeing myself keeping the 8 Clements, and maybe one or two of the other basses that are adding something special in their own right. However, what it has enabled me to do is to "refine" my preferences through experience and knowledge. :)

So, would I be able to reduce my collection to two basses? Yes, I think so. I'd like to get to know the new 6-string before I settled for the two, but I know for a fact that it would be two solid-body basses, one fretless and one fretted. It would most likely be my Tundra IV fretless (#069), which is a truly magical bass. Even though it's not "optimal" as it's a 4- and not a 5-string bass, it's still special enough to never leave me. It's kind of funny, really, because it's the first bass Tom built for me, it's one of the "simplest" basses he's ever made me, and it's still my precious gem. :) And I think I have managed to "condense" all my experience into the new solid body 6-string. Light weith, headless to reduce weight and balance issues, string spacing, beauty... :) I have hopes for this to become my main fretted bass.

I'm glad I don't have to make these choices, though. :D
 
#804
Hmmm, hum, diddly dum, de dy do fee, fie foe, hum, hmmmm.
Just wondering how y'all are doing.
In the meantime, I built a new nut for #122 and subbed it to F# 23Hz - I like subcontra. Googling that word I was surprised to learn it ain't all that new to the world. Oh, the secrets kept.
Fee fie fiddley dum dee do hummmmmm :D
 
#805
Subcontra-bass :-) it's a cool concept!

I'm doing good, moving a few basses and waiting for some inbound money to transfer the last payments on the double neck and the headless. I'm almost there, so hopefully Tom's bank account will be filled up in not too long :D
 
#808
So first I love this Bass, however, the pickup placement is killing me :rollno:

The neck is just too damn close.

I do not know what the best solution is. I was thinking get a MM in there and cover the middle with a pick guard? Can you guys pull together and give some suggestions. I thank you kindly in advance for yr assistance.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#810
I think I'd contact Tom and hear if he could make a piece of matching wood that would fit in the front cavity and remove the neck pickup. I'd leave the bridge pickup as it is, a MM won't sound that significantly different, I think. I would consider doing it in the three-step operation. Remove the neck pickup and play it for a bit with only the bridge pickup. Then if you're happy with it, ask Tom if he could make you a piece of matching wood to put in the front cavity (or a pickguard or something if that's what you want). And finally, if you're not happy with the sound from the single bridge pickup, you could always route in a MM pickup. It will occupy a slightly larger space and thereby move the pickup a little closer to the sweet spot. :-)

Another approach is simply selling it and have Tom build you a new one to specs. :-)

Good luck!
 
#811
MrWalker said:
What is the problem? You lack room for slapping and popping? I think we need to know what you want to achieve first :-)
Click to expand...

Yes, I am not a huge slap/pop guy, but I do like it and throw it in and having a very specific area to be allocated for that makes it tougher to just throw in on the fly. I have been trying to play with only the bridge pup, but it seems a little too nasally. My mix is usually heavily rolled back and favoring the bridge with just a splash of neck.

Would throwing a Nordy DC back there help?
 
#812
dharmashawn said:
So first I love this Bass, however, the pickup placement is killing me :rollno:

The neck is just too damn close.

I do not know what the best solution is. I was thinking get a MM in there and cover the middle with a pick guard? Can you guys pull together and give some suggestions. I thank you kindly in advance for yr assistance.
Click to expand...

Why not just lower the neck pickup so it's out of the way?
 
#813
What kind of Bart pickup is in there now? Is that a single coil inside the housing or is it some kind of humbucker?

If its a singlecoil, than ANY kind of humbucker will beef up the sound.

But the suggestion about lowering the neck pickup is also a good one- then you dont have to worry about trying to get a piece of wood to match up with the top and you still have the neck pickup in there- albeit with somewhat lowered output from being further away from the strings.
 
#814
dharmashawn said:
Yes, I am not a huge slap/pop guy, but I do like it and throw it in and having a very specific area to be allocated for that makes it tougher to just throw in on the fly. I have been trying to play with only the bridge pup, but it seems a little too nasally. My mix is usually heavily rolled back and favoring the bridge with just a splash of neck.

Would throwing a Nordy DC back there help?
Click to expand...

I doubt it...
The lack of "fullness" and "body" is caused by the position, I think, not so much the pickup. I would think a Nordstrand might actually sound more nasal and bright than a Bart. :-)

actually.... if you're not using the upper frets too much, just flattening the neck a little in that area might help :-) But it's a huge modification, and it could potentially be risky... as the neck screws are probably too deep.

I'm not sure... It seems like it's a hard thing to modify existing instruments like this :-)
 
#815
kjpollo said:
What kind of Bart pickup is in there now? Is that a single coil inside the housing or is it some kind of humbucker?

If its a singlecoil, than ANY kind of humbucker will beef up the sound.
Click to expand...

Yes, if it's a single coil... it would be thinner and more nasal than a humbucker. :) But I'm still thinking the position is more responsible for "nasal" than single coil vs humbucker :)
 
#817
This "problem" is one thing addressed in the build of #256. Putting a pickup at 30.5" from nut will place it in the middle of where your pups are now blending the 2 into one on a 35" scale instrument. It becomes a bit more "neutral" and more finger sensitive in response. This I think requires a new build as the best solution. It being a drastic change in the pickup placement category. .02
 
#818
GODSBASSMAN said:
This "problem" is one thing addressed in the build of #256. Putting a pickup at 30.5" from nut will place it in the middle of where your pups are now blending the 2 into one on a 35" scale instrument. It becomes a bit more "neutral" and more finger sensitive in response. This I think requires a new build as the best solution. It being a drastic change in the pickup placement category. .02
Click to expand...

She is also short scale
 
#819
GODSBASSMAN said:
This "problem" is one thing addressed in the build of #256. Putting a pickup at 30.5" from nut will place it in the middle of where your pups are now blending the 2 into one on a 35" scale instrument. It becomes a bit more "neutral" and more finger sensitive in response. This I think requires a new build as the best solution. It being a drastic change in the pickup placement category. .02
Click to expand...

I think you're probably right on this.

If the bridge pickup position would be sufficient, then it might be different. But... oh well :) Sometimes things cannot really be "fixed"... it's better to build over again. :)
 
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