Thanks for the suggestion @mikezimmerman
My bass is a bit larger, more traditional than the Petite, so I should be good
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Thanks for the suggestion @mikezimmerman
My bass is a bit larger, more traditional than the Petite, so I should be good
Doug is a the MAN! The bass looks "new" and set-up to perfection; and the NTMB pre sounds fantastic for fretless. My only "issue" is that the tung oil finish seems quite delicate. I'm guessing that it'll take some time to harden...?
I suck at fretless 
Anybody here want to give it a go?
For Sale - 1998 Greg Curbow unlined fretless 4
Anybody here want to give it a go?For Sale - 1998 Greg Curbow unlined fretless 4
Just picked up a very early Curbow Petite Natural. Sounds phenomenal. Arrived Wednesday. I strung it up with some fresh Dr. Nickel LoRiders, gave it a setup, then brought it to a Bakithi Kumalo clinic Friday night. Here it is on the stand in front of him:
Bakithi saw it, picked it up, and spent the night playing it. He said he had never heard of Curbow basses, but said he was really impressed by the feel and tone. I also let some other guys fool around with it (not me in the pic):
I’m uploading some clips to YouTube and I’ll post them here soon,
Bakithi saw it, picked it up, and spent the night playing it. He said he had never heard of Curbow basses, but said he was really impressed by the feel and tone. I also let some other guys fool around with it (not me in the pic):
I’m uploading some clips to YouTube and I’ll post them here soon,
Losing Greg Curbow and his designs was a huge loss. I've really never played another bass like them. Some of the best ever made. I'd still love to find a 6 string with the more narrow spacing. I had seen one or two out there.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
The only student I know of Greg himself, specifically of which carried on the rockwood type necks:
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I’ve finally gotten around to taking some pics of my new bass.
As far as I know, this is an early model (probably from 1993). It has a solid wenge neck with ebony fingerboard, not rockwood. I don’t know what the body core is made of, but the top is a thick slab of zebrano. The nut has a speckled appearance: definitely a manmade material, but I have no idea what it is.
It’s also got a stock Schaller roller bridge that’s partially set into the body with an angled bevel. I understand this is how Greg built them early on.
If anyone can tell me more about this cool bass, I’m all ears!
As far as I know, this is an early model (probably from 1993). It has a solid wenge neck with ebony fingerboard, not rockwood. I don’t know what the body core is made of, but the top is a thick slab of zebrano. The nut has a speckled appearance: definitely a manmade material, but I have no idea what it is.
It’s also got a stock Schaller roller bridge that’s partially set into the body with an angled bevel. I understand this is how Greg built them early on.
If anyone can tell me more about this cool bass, I’m all ears!
I thought so, but the grain seemed very “open” to me. And I didn’t think you could finish mahogany with just oil.
But Douglas Sumervell reached out to me on the Curbow Facebook group. Apparently he started working in Greg’s shop in 1994 and was familiar with these early basses. He confirms the body is mahogany.
He also told me I was wrong about the neck: I thought it was wenge, but he says it’s actually purpleheart.
My hollow body Curbow 6 has a mahogany body with oil finish. It's definitely do-able. Some Curbows from that era have paduak backs rather than mahogany, but that definitely looks like mahogany...
The neck looks like wenge, but I know purple heart turns more brown after exposure to UV light, and if anyone would know about those early basses (besides Greg, RIP!), it's Doug.
The neck looks like wenge, but I know purple heart turns more brown after exposure to UV light, and if anyone would know about those early basses (besides Greg, RIP!), it's Doug.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
Definitely a purpleheart neck...can see the purple/pinkish hue. The nut is probably a variation of Rockwood (Greg's ideas seemed very prolific). Is that neck heavy/have neck dive? Purpleheart certainly isn't a lightweight wood compared to mahogany.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
I owned a 94 fretless petite 5 which I bought directly from Greg. I remember clearly all the details regarding every aspect of the instrument as advertised on the printed brochure of that time. Mine had a similar black-sparkly corian nut.
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Check that out, it's in the specs.
Curbow String Instruments; Pricing
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