JoeWillix is now #7. Love that this thread is coming to life... It's exciting to see all these beautiful basses, but probably not healthy for me though, as I get insanely jealous with each one I see. 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Well,it seems appropriate I break my TalkBass cherry in this thread,right after a fellow Daytonian nonetheless. Hi Bill!
I am grateful to own 3 of Greg's gorgeous instruments,& proud to say I had the fortune of meeting the man himself,touring his shop,being invited to his home & meeting his wonderful wife. He left a huge impression on me,& he is and always will be dearly missed.
The "newest" addition I got from Kenny Png in Singapore: 1996 IEP5 Quilted Maple top/Mahogany back.
The second is a fretless IEP5 that I know very little about. Purchased from Brian Barret at The Low End,it has no date code on the headstock. Anyone with any info would be greatly appreciated. Mike Zimmerman & others have speculated it's a replacement neck,as it has a gold sig with no date. (Hi Mike!) The only photos I have @ the moment are the ones that were on Brian's website:
Last but not least,is my first exposure to Curbow. It's a 1993 Curbow Petite Natural 4 that I played new at Midwest Music in 1994 when I was a rookie. Fell in love,but couldn't afford her. Imagine my elation & surprise when I came across her agian 10 years to the day later used and in my price range! sold every bass I owned & went back & bought her! The repair work she needed is how I met Greg. My FIRST & favorite Curbow:
If I could please have a #,I would be more than flattered & honored. I don't own or play any other basses than Greg's now,& the man's work truly speaks to my soul,inspires me & moves me. I'll post some live shots later.
Nice to meet everyone! Cheers!
Randy
I am grateful to own 3 of Greg's gorgeous instruments,& proud to say I had the fortune of meeting the man himself,touring his shop,being invited to his home & meeting his wonderful wife. He left a huge impression on me,& he is and always will be dearly missed.
The "newest" addition I got from Kenny Png in Singapore: 1996 IEP5 Quilted Maple top/Mahogany back.
The second is a fretless IEP5 that I know very little about. Purchased from Brian Barret at The Low End,it has no date code on the headstock. Anyone with any info would be greatly appreciated. Mike Zimmerman & others have speculated it's a replacement neck,as it has a gold sig with no date. (Hi Mike!) The only photos I have @ the moment are the ones that were on Brian's website:
Last but not least,is my first exposure to Curbow. It's a 1993 Curbow Petite Natural 4 that I played new at Midwest Music in 1994 when I was a rookie. Fell in love,but couldn't afford her. Imagine my elation & surprise when I came across her agian 10 years to the day later used and in my price range! sold every bass I owned & went back & bought her! The repair work she needed is how I met Greg. My FIRST & favorite Curbow:
If I could please have a #,I would be more than flattered & honored. I don't own or play any other basses than Greg's now,& the man's work truly speaks to my soul,inspires me & moves me. I'll post some live shots later.
Nice to meet everyone! Cheers!
Randy
These are awesome basses, folks! Loving the pics and background. Punkrocko is #8, and Piercer gets #9. Welcome to the club, both of ya
Thanks rusackas!
I should add the fretless has a rosewood top with ebony binding & mahogany back,while the 4 is mahogany back with a purpleheart top & a birdseye maple rockwood board... For anyone interested.
I should add the fretless has a rosewood top with ebony binding & mahogany back,while the 4 is mahogany back with a purpleheart top & a birdseye maple rockwood board... For anyone interested.
Hi Randy --
Great pics of the red Petite--I'm a sucker for the carved tops! And I've always thought the multiple laminates on your fretless were a neat touch. Is it my imagination, or is the body on the fretless a bit bigger than the normal Petite 5?
punkrocko --
Cool action shots! I should probably include one myself, just to prove that I actually play mine.
My Jazz:
Link Removed
Great pics of the red Petite--I'm a sucker for the carved tops! And I've always thought the multiple laminates on your fretless were a neat touch. Is it my imagination, or is the body on the fretless a bit bigger than the normal Petite 5?
punkrocko --
Cool action shots! I should probably include one myself, just to prove that I actually play mine.
My Jazz:
Link Removed
Hey Mike! Good to finally talk to you again. Sold the zebrawood fretless eh? Glad to see you picked another up! Gorgeous!
Thanks for the kind words! You have some amazing pieces as well!
Yup,my fretless 5's body is considerably bigger than an average Petite 5. IIRC we were speculating that it may be a 6 string body with a 5 neck. It says "Renato" on the back off the control cavity cover. That bass is still a mystery,but it plays/sounds amazing!
My four wasn't that way at first,but after Greg upgraded the 1993 Bart pre to a newer Bart in 2004,it became HOTTT! I find a little eq goes a looong way on these basses,so I use it sparingly.
I remember asking Greg about this when I visited him. IIRC,he started doing it in the carved tops. I remarked about the tonal difference,and the pros/cons. He seemed to allude it as a marketing tool more than a tone shaper. Makes me think it was more for balance. At the same time,he expressed his disdain for the threaded brass inserts some manufacturers were using for control cavity covers. LOL
Hey Randy,
I wondered when you were going to join the party. There’s another local, John Cremeens that owns a four string Petite identical to mine.
I didn’t know about the red Petite. It’s a looker!!
A couple of years ago I was having problems with the pots on the XTCT preamp. I stripped it out and ran passive VVT for a while. Actually sounded pretty awesome. I’ve decided to go active again and I’m getting the NTMB 5.4 harness this week.
I wondered when you were going to join the party. There’s another local, John Cremeens that owns a four string Petite identical to mine.
I didn’t know about the red Petite. It’s a looker!!
A couple of years ago I was having problems with the pots on the XTCT preamp. I stripped it out and ran passive VVT for a while. Actually sounded pretty awesome. I’ve decided to go active again and I’m getting the NTMB 5.4 harness this week.
Better late than never I guess!
Another local Curbow huh? I thought you & I were the only ones in our area! I'll have to reach out to this John Cremeens fellow. We Curbow owners should band together. LOL
Yup. Got the red 5 since I saw you last. Plays as well as she looks! Thanks!
I'd like to do the same switch in the red 5. Greg did that for me on the 4,& my fretless 5 has that pre already in it. The red 5 sounds good,but there's SO much difference in those preamps tonally. Really wakes up those Petites IMO.
You've got me interested in an active passive switch now though... Paging Justin Kennedy!
Any more info on that 5? Think I remember that from the Curbow website. Sure Greg didn't just make the neck for that? *scratches head*
Hey- I can send more pics. I have a seven string that Greg made for me. I bought it through MAE in ft Lauderdale and then bought the 5 and 6 string from a bassist that also bought his through jeff at MAE.
The back of the body looks right, the pick ups - I didn't question it -
But Beaver Felton has also asked for more of a pedigree
What is odd about the bass to you? I did have the white paint usher as it was pretty stained. I have pics of the before look as well.
I sent Doug Somervel (looks like I spelled his name wrong) some pics and asked him what he thought. Doug worked with Greg.
Lemme know what you think.
I will post pics of the other basses later.
All the best, cliff
The back of the body looks right, the pick ups - I didn't question it -
But Beaver Felton has also asked for more of a pedigree
What is odd about the bass to you? I did have the white paint usher as it was pretty stained. I have pics of the before look as well.
I sent Doug Somervel (looks like I spelled his name wrong) some pics and asked him what he thought. Doug worked with Greg.
Lemme know what you think.
I will post pics of the other basses later.
All the best, cliff
The 5-string bass looks right to me--that's the standard "M" body shape and pickup, as I recall. I think the one odd thing about it is the black control plate on the front of the body. The few Curbow M's I've seen either had rear-routed controls, or a couple had a complete Stingray 5-style pickguard.
Nice collection--I really dig the carved-top 7-string!
Nice collection--I really dig the carved-top 7-string!
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,934
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
You only missed it by an "l."
Doug is a fantastic luthier in his own right, and he built my 5-string J-style fretless, which is one of the most amazing instruments I have been blessed to encounter.
You can find Doug here: Link Removed.
You only missed it by an "l."
Doug is a fantastic luthier in his own right, and he built my 5-string J-style fretless, which is one of the most amazing instruments I have been blessed to encounter.
You can find Doug here: Link Removed.
Or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/somervell. He built my Jazz, as well, though it's not nearly so fancy as yours, Tom!
I think the pick guard is off as well. It's a great players bass- but I want to hot rod my 6 string and get a fretless as well. The best fretless I ever played was a Curbow. I might see if doug wants to make another! I am in touch w doug on Facebook.
The seven is my baby- great sound, I worked with Greg on the design- tightened up the string spacing a bit. I will never sell that one.
The six is a killer solo axe. I want to add a Roland pick up (anyone used one before?), refinish a little over the top blue green color, might add a short wammy bar... Developing....
The Frankenstein precision is a funkmeister. Emg's recently replaced the old quarter pounder pick ups w the active emg. Bought it from Jorge Casas when I was at U of Miami. (late 70's early 80's)
The seven is my baby- great sound, I worked with Greg on the design- tightened up the string spacing a bit. I will never sell that one.
The six is a killer solo axe. I want to add a Roland pick up (anyone used one before?), refinish a little over the top blue green color, might add a short wammy bar... Developing....
The Frankenstein precision is a funkmeister. Emg's recently replaced the old quarter pounder pick ups w the active emg. Bought it from Jorge Casas when I was at U of Miami. (late 70's early 80's)
I hadn't played my Petite 5 in a while so I dug it out and ran it through my new GB Streamliner and an old Ampeg V6B cab a friend just gave me. Wow! The Curbow sound is very hard to beat(IMHO). It's going to rehearsal with me tonight. Too bad I can't play well enough to do it justice.
Speaking of Doug, I had sent it back to him a couple year ago for a small repair and told him its so beautiful I'm scared to play it as im afraid it will get damaged again. He told me "There's nothing you can do to it that I can't fix. Play it."
That's nice to know.
.... Now if I can ever find an elusive Petite 4 string I'll be set.
Speaking of Doug, I had sent it back to him a couple year ago for a small repair and told him its so beautiful I'm scared to play it as im afraid it will get damaged again. He told me "There's nothing you can do to it that I can't fix. Play it."
That's nice to know.
.... Now if I can ever find an elusive Petite 4 string I'll be set.
