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Club Clement (Part 7: Post your basses here)

#944
Here's a photo of my last bass from Tom, a true beauty!
phoenix_river_001.JPG


phoenix_river_002.JPG


It's got a beautiful hybrid top, amboyna burl filled with glorious blue acryl, and with a great gloss finish!

BTW, noticed that there's a chance for a discount on Tom's web site at the moment! So if you're on the fence for a Clement, it might be a good time to jump the gun :D
 
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#945
MrWalker said:
Here's a photo of my last bass from Tom, a true beauty!
View attachment 4444863

View attachment 4444864

It's got a beautiful hybrid top, amboyna burl filled with glorious blue acryl, and with a great gloss finish!

BTW, noticed that there's a chance for a discount on Tom's web site at the moment! So if you're on the fence for a Clement, it might be a good time to jump the gun :D
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That bass is one of my favorites that @tjclem has made!
 
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#947
gumbynotpokey said:
Fresh oil for #346. :) I think the peeps will know which pic is the "before" pic. View attachment 4421863 View attachment 4421864 View attachment 4421866
View attachment 4421867



Tom, this has been my number one for three services a week plus a practice since Fall 2018. I got her well before that, but I've finally climbed the mountain of sufficient competency on unlined fretless, one step at a time (no pun intended). I let myself do it. And stuck with it. Man, this bass and I have bonded SO SO MUCH. What a joy. Now that I'm up at the top of K2 (where I thought I'd never ever be) I actually have no desire to play any other bass. So, I guess it wasn't ONLY about getting my playing up to that place. With a bass like this, it's a whole bonding thing too. Sir, you have changed my world through your work to build this instrument. And I thank you.
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Very happy you are still enjoying the bass boss!
 
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#949
FretFree said:
That bass is one of my favorites that @tjclem has made!
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It's a Phoenix, and with the blue river... it's earned it's nick name: River Phoenix ;-)
It's truly an amazing bass. Black limba body and strong and sturdy neck.
Shedua and wenge neck makes the bass quite heavy, but with a solid tone for sure. Bartolini original pickups with a matching preamp. It sounds huge and solid, and a bit bassy. Not a super-bright bass this one :-)

tjclem said:
Very happy you are still enjoying the bass boss!
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Thanks, Tom!!!
And I'm also enjoying it's siblings... :D
 
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#950
Tom, just a quick note (no pun intended). I'm your happy owner of #346 (the crazy-beautiful myrtle top) over in the Asheville/Hendersonville area of WNC. Anyway, last month at one of our long-standing, regularly scheduled outdoor gigs this guy is standing right behind us on the sidewalk. We're in the round. He's cool, chill, no problem. But 3 feet away. Anyway, on our break he talks a good bit then a full half hour after we're done. He went on and on about the bass I'm playing and who made it. Last night we played out in the same location/day of week/time of evening. Mid away in the first number, bingo, same guy in the same spot. After song 2 there BL does some talking so I lean back. He goes, "I placed a depost on a Clement. That guy's stuff is incredible." :) He had to leave for a scheduled event of some time, but literally dropped by the gig to say that. Amazing.

You, sir, are appreciated.

Peace.
 
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#953
gumbynotpokey said:
Tom, just a quick note (no pun intended). I'm your happy owner of #346 (the crazy-beautiful myrtle top) over in the Asheville/Hendersonville area of WNC. Anyway, last month at one of our long-standing, regularly scheduled outdoor gigs this guy is standing right behind us on the sidewalk. We're in the round. He's cool, chill, no problem. But 3 feet away. Anyway, on our break he talks a good bit then a full half hour after we're done. He went on and on about the bass I'm playing and who made it. Last night we played out in the same location/day of week/time of evening. Mid away in the first number, bingo, same guy in the same spot. After song 2 there BL does some talking so I lean back. He goes, "I placed a depost on a Clement. That guy's stuff is incredible." :) He had to leave for a scheduled event of some time, but literally dropped by the gig to say that. Amazing.

You, sir, are appreciated.

Peace.
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That is a great story! Thanks my man
 
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#956
swartzfeger said:
Quick bump -- I just reached out to Tom for a quote. Looking to have a headless 6 or headless 5 w/ high C built. Now I will go back and read the previous 48 pages to see if any of my questions have already been answered. :)
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Tom is very responsive and super easy to work with. Hope it all works out for you. Make sure to post pics!
 
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#958
nonohmic said:
What are the other specs?

I've always dreamed of a headless 5 from Tom.
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Honestly I was pretty open in my query because 1) I really don't care (lol) and 2) I'm not sure what Tom's baseline pricing is like.

The big thing is a headless 5 or 6 in 33" to avoid that super pingy high C. Everything else is gravy.

I did give Tom a basic profile I was looking for -- tight lows, articulate mids, warm/clear highs. So probably a walnut body or similar. I'm super easy yet impossible to deal with -- I really don't care what's used, as long as it gets me there, BUT -- I *am* a diva. If I can't connect with a bass visually it's gonna be tough sell.

As far as tops I can pretty much go for anything but I think a buckeye burl would probably wear on me after awhile. Really, I didn't load Tom up with options because I have no idea what kind of price he's going to shoot back at me. At this point I'm assuming more than a Squier, less than a Fodera. :D

So, probably something like

17-33-5 or 17-33-6, either Darlene or Lise!

Any idea of baseline price? $3k? $3500? I have no idea.

I have requests out to two other builders but I get the sense that Tom's the front runner due to price (the one builder is around $3500 before shipping which is pretty much my limit, and the other builder is probably more than that, and they're outside the US, so the shipping and import will cost a kidney or two).

One question I asked Tom I didn't see covered on his site -- does he offer carbon fiber/titanium reinforcement?
 
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#960
jid said:
Tom is awesome. He is incredibly communicative but he also doesn’t follow the forums so you are better off chatting w him about what he does or doesn’t do.

I’ve had a few builds from him and his basses are my top playing and favorite basses.

Good luck!
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Tom just got back to me with a very (very!) competitive/affordable price. So a 17-33-6 headless, passive should will definitely be in my budget. :)

To answer a previous question I had -- he does not use/recommend neck reinforcements.
 
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