- Jun 6, 2004
- 6,353
- 544
- 66
- Disclosures
- Owner and builder Clementbass
Man oh man it sounds great! Finished picture.
Very glad you like it and great to finally meet you after 5 or so builds it was about time. :O)
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Club Clement (Part 7: Post your basses here)
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
- Start date
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- club
Very glad you like it and great to finally meet you after 5 or so builds it was about time. :O)
- Jun 6, 2004
- 6,353
- 544
- 66
- Disclosures
- Owner and builder Clementbass
Thought I'd chime in after owning my Clement Kim #374 for five months, after that "new bass smell" has somewhat dissapated. 34", Nordy's, Myrtle top, 19mm spacing, Birdseye fingerboard, swamp ash body. I sold my MTD 535 and have owned a handful of other prominent 5r boutique and factory basses over the years including a Mike Lull, U.S. Lakland, Roscoe, Rob Allen, U.S. Fender, Musicman, among others. Found the MTD too lively when pocket playing was needed. I was nervous about a possible flabby "B" with the 34" scale. I was uncertain about Nordys from lack of trying them. And finally, fit and finish is always a concern. Bottom line: this bass has NONE of those issues. I play weekly in a church setting and several times a year as a sideman with a book of music for shows and concerts in my area. I need to add cut-through color then go back to the pocket quickly. And, with my Clement bass I regularly get admiring compliments on It's beauty. Tom, you nailed it! Thanks. And, a word of thanks also to Grasshopper at Bass Central who helped me address my concerns as well with a seamless purchase and shipping experience buying this bass new as an in-stock item. Signed, a Clement Convert.
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Since we are chiming in and crowing about Tom's wonderful instruments, please let me ring that bell too...
I recently was lucky enough to stumble upon a local fellow selling #112, a "Jon body" 6-string fretless made from a solid piece of swamp ash, a 1-piece maple neck, and a bloodwood fretboard. It is absolutely a gem! I contacted Tom the moment I saw the ad and he was (of course) happy to chat and tell me the history of this lovely instrument. I am beyond impressed with Tom's skills, his sense of woods, and his easy-to-work-with personality. The tone on this bass is just what I wanted in a fretless.
I'd post pics but a) I haven't taken any yet and b) I just cannot seem to figure out how to do it here on TB. I will work on both though and update you.
Welcome me to the fold, Lads!
I recently was lucky enough to stumble upon a local fellow selling #112, a "Jon body" 6-string fretless made from a solid piece of swamp ash, a 1-piece maple neck, and a bloodwood fretboard. It is absolutely a gem! I contacted Tom the moment I saw the ad and he was (of course) happy to chat and tell me the history of this lovely instrument. I am beyond impressed with Tom's skills, his sense of woods, and his easy-to-work-with personality. The tone on this bass is just what I wanted in a fretless.
I'd post pics but a) I haven't taken any yet and b) I just cannot seem to figure out how to do it here on TB. I will work on both though and update you.
Welcome me to the fold, Lads!
Good morning!!
Acquired this gorgeous bass in a trade earlier this month:
Ryan #080
Mahogany body and neck
Ebony FB and knobs
Beautiful flame/spalt maple top
Previous owner modified it to 18V circuit (still passive VVT) and has it strung BEAD. GOOD LORD this bass is nice. Plays like a dream, in great condition. Eventually it will be brought back to EADG, but when I get to play (I have a 6 week old), it's fun to be out of my 4-string comfort zone.
Keep up the good work, Tom!!
Acquired this gorgeous bass in a trade earlier this month:
Ryan #080
Mahogany body and neck
Ebony FB and knobs
Beautiful flame/spalt maple top
Previous owner modified it to 18V circuit (still passive VVT) and has it strung BEAD. GOOD LORD this bass is nice. Plays like a dream, in great condition. Eventually it will be brought back to EADG, but when I get to play (I have a 6 week old), it's fun to be out of my 4-string comfort zone.
Keep up the good work, Tom!!
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Lovely! That spalted top is beautiful.
"Plays like a dream." That is a perfect description of his basses.
We are very fortunate to have Tom's work in our hands!
"Plays like a dream." That is a perfect description of his basses.
We are very fortunate to have Tom's work in our hands!
Number 010 is coming home!!
I bought this from the 'States in the mid '00s and sold it several years ago to a mate down south. He's downsizing his collection for several reasons and is kindly gifting me the bass back and I'll be picking her up in London at end July when I'm down visiting him.
The bass had a Carvin 'bucker in it when I took possession and I changed the hardware to gold-plate, swapping out the original (by then defective) bridge for a Hipshot A and what may either be Hipshot or Gotoh keys. The control knobs are gold-plate with MOP domes. Looking forward to having her back!
I bought this from the 'States in the mid '00s and sold it several years ago to a mate down south. He's downsizing his collection for several reasons and is kindly gifting me the bass back and I'll be picking her up in London at end July when I'm down visiting him.
The bass had a Carvin 'bucker in it when I took possession and I changed the hardware to gold-plate, swapping out the original (by then defective) bridge for a Hipshot A and what may either be Hipshot or Gotoh keys. The control knobs are gold-plate with MOP domes. Looking forward to having her back!
- Jun 6, 2004
- 6,353
- 544
- 66
- Disclosures
- Owner and builder Clementbass
Damn cool to see the early ones still out there!
Made a deposit on an Anne, just working out specs, then will post. Really digging the Clement vibe.
OK, the Anne's all set to go into production, #397. Here's the specs:
Body: 3”-thick, heavily chambered Mahogany
Top: 6-19-16 Myrtlewood
Neck: 1/4 sawn Mahogany with Wenge stringers. Edit: Roasted Maple with Wenge stringers.
Fingerboard: unlined Wenge
Scale: 34"
Bridge spacing: 19mm
Strings: 6
Bridge: Hipshot, string-through
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralight with B-string extender/detuner
Pickup: Graph Tech Ghost bridge saddles. Edit: also Delano Xtender Quad Coil.
Preamp: Bartolini piezo buffer & Noll active TCM 3PM B2069 preamp, 3-band with two stacked knobs: V/M & T/B. Edit: also Graph Tech midi preamp.
Strings: Pyramid Black Nylon Tapewounds.
The basic design concept is to have a maximally acoustic-sounding six-string to complement my Fender Jazz six-string, but without the feedback issues of an acoustic bass guitar like the Warwick Alien 6 or my Tacoma Thunderchief 4.
Here's the top:
I really like how the grain pattern suggests a sound hole where one would normally be on an acoustic. It also looks like there's a terrier's face near the lower horn. Might have to get one. I was thinking of putting an oval-shaped Delano Xtender pickup right in the middle but decided to stay pure with the acoustic vibe/maximal chambering, and keep a clean look for the top as well. Edit: the Delano Xtender pickup is going in.
Tom was great throughout the design process, entertaining both sane and insane ideas and questions with equal civility and thoughtfulness. Very down-to-earth and straight-talkin'. A real pleasure to work with, and I look forward now to his photos of the production process--a great bonus! I only wish I had heard about Tom earlier; I probably would've gone to him with at least one of my Warmoth builds. I like the fact that each bass is truly custom and handcrafted, with unique designs and tops, but is the same cost or even cheaper when compared to a Warmoth + parts + pro luthier for assembly and setup.
Body: 3”-thick, heavily chambered Mahogany
Top: 6-19-16 Myrtlewood
Neck: 1/4 sawn Mahogany with Wenge stringers. Edit: Roasted Maple with Wenge stringers.
Fingerboard: unlined Wenge
Scale: 34"
Bridge spacing: 19mm
Strings: 6
Bridge: Hipshot, string-through
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralight with B-string extender/detuner
Pickup: Graph Tech Ghost bridge saddles. Edit: also Delano Xtender Quad Coil.
Preamp: Bartolini piezo buffer & Noll active TCM 3PM B2069 preamp, 3-band with two stacked knobs: V/M & T/B. Edit: also Graph Tech midi preamp.
Strings: Pyramid Black Nylon Tapewounds.
The basic design concept is to have a maximally acoustic-sounding six-string to complement my Fender Jazz six-string, but without the feedback issues of an acoustic bass guitar like the Warwick Alien 6 or my Tacoma Thunderchief 4.
Here's the top:
I really like how the grain pattern suggests a sound hole where one would normally be on an acoustic. It also looks like there's a terrier's face near the lower horn. Might have to get one. I was thinking of putting an oval-shaped Delano Xtender pickup right in the middle but decided to stay pure with the acoustic vibe/maximal chambering, and keep a clean look for the top as well. Edit: the Delano Xtender pickup is going in.
Tom was great throughout the design process, entertaining both sane and insane ideas and questions with equal civility and thoughtfulness. Very down-to-earth and straight-talkin'. A real pleasure to work with, and I look forward now to his photos of the production process--a great bonus! I only wish I had heard about Tom earlier; I probably would've gone to him with at least one of my Warmoth builds. I like the fact that each bass is truly custom and handcrafted, with unique designs and tops, but is the same cost or even cheaper when compared to a Warmoth + parts + pro luthier for assembly and setup.
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OY. I will start my Clement build saving account and start speculating the shape and specs.
Has Tom ever built a wenge or ebony topped bass? Are ovangkol or wenge necks a possibility? I'm in the super early stages of planning a build so I don't want to bug him just yet 
Has Tom ever built a wenge or ebony topped bass? Are ovangkol or wenge necks a possibility? I'm in the super early stages of planning a build so I don't want to bug him just yet
I'm in the middle of a build, (#396), and I can say this - I don't think it's possible to bug Tom regarding a build question. I've saved all of our correspondence so far so I don't lose any information, and we're up over 30 emails at this point.
So, back from London with #010. Needs a new nut (or at least a drop-fill) and I've decided that the Roto RS77 on her are way too slippy so might go for a groundwound. But what's niggling me is that Carvin 'bucker, mainly the way it looks on the bass itself. It's an M22B, ceramic and loud, may be a bit too loud. The tone isn't that bad but I now keep thinking that the pup is aesthetically incongruous with the instrument itself.
Opinions?
Opinions?
I dunno, seems to fit.
BTW, work has started on my Anne. Tom routed it yesterday. Very cool to receive the production photos step-by-step.
