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It's a Get Together (GTG)! Just a gathering of players to check out gear and other players and fellowship.
I played my CP Thornton TR-5 with the Silver Stars at service this morning! The main song was I Made It Out (John P Kee) and the TR-5 just ruled!! Honesty, I wouldn't have attempted this song using any other of my other basses, particularly the small body basses! The balance and contoured TR body puts it right into my plucking playing sweet spot, which is more simuliar to guitar finger picking techiques mixed in with bass slapping techniques.
I'm doing a Wednesday Wind Down this week and my TR-5 will be the bass of choice.
I'm doing a Wednesday Wind Down this week and my TR-5 will be the bass of choice.
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That's great Nightman, I am happy that the TR-5 is working so well for you. Great pictures of your set up at the gig. What a thrill to play with all those instruments and singers.
That's awesome!! You are going to love this bass. The way my 5'er hangs and feels, and sounds makes it my #1 bass!!
Are you getting the Harvest leather gig bag, too?
Are you getting the Harvest leather gig bag, too?
I'd opt for the fretless neck, too! I've been thinking about a fretless TR-5, but I'd have to sell a couple of my other fretless first.
It's interesting how the frets are reflecting the light between the E & A strings! Almost looks like Chuck installed optional lights, but that wouldn't be necessary since these TR basses play themselves.
@Samuel Newsom, snoop around Chuck's New Development department and give us some info on his new creations.
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So here she is! I also posted pics of that fretless neck because, yes, I got that too! It was a wonderful visit. I brought up some locally made wine and his wife made some scallops in the half shell.
@Nightman as far as development goes, he had some absolutely beautiful guitars and basses there. The layout of his shop was definitely a manufacturing marvel. It wasn't cluttered, everything had its place with plenty of room. My bass is the only one with the tiger ash top that he has made-however I may or may not have spied another tiger ash topped body in the shop
he had a lot of guitar necks out But I won't speculate as to what he has in store in the near future.
I've been playing this bass nonstop. I absolutely LOVE the ramp! I always shied away from Iron Maiden covers as I just can't match Steve Harris's speed. With that ramp I can get damn close!
On a side note: the man is a monster bass player and has an amp/cabinet rig that would crumble most foundations.
@Nightman as far as development goes, he had some absolutely beautiful guitars and basses there. The layout of his shop was definitely a manufacturing marvel. It wasn't cluttered, everything had its place with plenty of room. My bass is the only one with the tiger ash top that he has made-however I may or may not have spied another tiger ash topped body in the shop
he had a lot of guitar necks out But I won't speculate as to what he has in store in the near future. I've been playing this bass nonstop. I absolutely LOVE the ramp! I always shied away from Iron Maiden covers as I just can't match Steve Harris's speed. With that ramp I can get damn close!
On a side note: the man is a monster bass player and has an amp/cabinet rig that would crumble most foundations.
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@Samuel Newsom That's a beautiful TR!! That top is awesome and you get the option to make it fretless, too!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful experience touring the shop and seeing all the gorgeous CP Thornton guitars and basses, all while sipping local wine. That's hard to beat!!!
I like the ramp on mine, too, and although I've developed the floating thumb technique, I like grooving on the lower strings with my thumb anchored on the thumb rest. Honestly, my TR-5 is the best playing bass I've ever played!
Did Chuck allow you to take pictures?
Don't forget to report back your experience when you install the fretless neck.
I like the ramp on mine, too, and although I've developed the floating thumb technique, I like grooving on the lower strings with my thumb anchored on the thumb rest. Honestly, my TR-5 is the best playing bass I've ever played!
Did Chuck allow you to take pictures?
Don't forget to report back your experience when you install the fretless neck.
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DOH!!!
I guess that was smart on your part. I hear he has a security K-9 that does not take kindly to photo taking visitors.
The security K9 is one of the sweetest boxers you will ever meet!!! Hahaha
I almost passed on the fretless neck, but I decided to get it and I installed it this morning for kicks. The tone that comes out of this bass without frets is absolutely crazy. It's staying this way! I had an old fender fretless I didn't care for but for some reason with this bass-it's a blast to play-and a real challenge too. I have never been a real fan of the "bouncy" fretless sound and this does not have it-mostly due to the roundwound strings on it. Play along to the stereo and it sounds like a fretted tone but much cleaner due to no buzz. I'm hooked!!!
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@Samuel Newsom - Wow! I was wondering how that was going to work. Did you have to adjust the truss rod or was that all done by Chuck?
Removing/replacing a neck is one part of a bass I've never messed with.
So, by 'bouncy fretless sound' do you mean the MWAH sound?
Removing/replacing a neck is one part of a bass I've never messed with.
So, by 'bouncy fretless sound' do you mean the MWAH sound?
Yes I do. One of my favorite fretless songs is "all American alien boy" because the groove doesn't sound fretless. I've listened to players like Jason Everett and it's just not my cup of tea. So the neck is extremely straightforward. Simply remove the strings from the headstock, unbolt the neck and remove it. The neck pocket is tight so take care to not ding anything. Then place the new neck in the neck pocket and bolt it up. It takes about 5 minutes. After installing the fretless neck, I use a straightedge to see if I need to adjust the truss rod which was good, and then it's just a matter of lowering the saddles to account for the lack of frets. One thing I did discover today however is that if you decide to get a fretless neck for your TR bass, You will need to change out the ramp or remove it altogether or your strings will start contacting the ramp in the higher register of the fingerboard. This is simply due to playing higher notes-the string is contacting the fingerboard instead of resting on top of a fret so it lowered the fretted position of the string. Chuck is sending me a second ramp which I will modify in my wood shop. I have an old granite surfacing plate so I will stick some sandpaper to it and shave the backside down until it's good. Should only be about twenty thousandths or so.
Okay, so it is as complicated to convert to fretless as I thought. This is good info!
Actually, the MWAH sound is what I'd want to be able to create playing a fretless, but I think it involves certain fretting hand technique to achieve.
Actually, the MWAH sound is what I'd want to be able to create playing a fretless, but I think it involves certain fretting hand technique to achieve.
