Devil Magnum

[JIO]

Astounding! Your best yet! When I first saw the unfinished body I thought the traditional Devil Bass shape would’ve been better. I was wrong. It’s effing beautiful. If I saw that for sale I would be powerless to resist buying it.

Thanks! I made it to sell but considering I have $1500 worth of materials alone in it... it won't be, inexpensive.

 

[JIO]

The wild result of some inter-brand breeding: An Ampeg Devil Bass met a cute Ovation, and this is what happened. This kid's going to be some trouble......

Good trouble! I heard it as soon as I played the first amplified note.

 

[JIO]

So awesome. But kind of a shame all that lovely wood got covered up.

Thanks! It's there, just more subtle/understated on the front -

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Good trouble! I heard it as soon as I played the first amplified note.

Oh yeah, good trouble. Just difficult to keep out of mischief.

 

[JIO]

Oh yeah, good trouble. Just difficult to keep out of mischief.

 

[Haroldo]

"I ain't gunna lie to yah"... it sounds awesome! Meaty, sonorous, flavorful... I was pretty certain it would sound good as I'm sold on the (Novak in this case) Darkstar/Bi-Sonic pu and coupled with mahogany body & neck - it would be hard for it not to sound good! It's dark, but nowhere near muddy - think a really nice dark chocolate. Through my '76 Ampeg B15N with a late '60s JBL speaker - is bass nirvana. I used the same set-up in an ash body with a wenge/ebony neck and it was a bit more focused as would be expected from ash, but both offer rich & flavorful bass tone. Weighs in a 7lbs/11oz and as you saw in the pic of me with it hanging from a strap - it balances perfectly. In fact, the long curve of the upper horn creates a gentle arch across your body for total ergonomic comfort. The Magnum neck is a bit on the beefy side profile-wise, and I only had to address one fret for a slight buzz - nice low action and effortless playing.

I would have expected nothing different! (I'm a big fan of Darkstar pickups.....) As much as I've liked your other builds (and rebuilds), this really takes the visual cake.

 

[RichterScale]

This place in general is inspirational.
But something about this devil bass, on this particular day, inspired me to get at my build again (haven't touched it in 3 weeks).
I was using the shop at work and staying late every night. That got old and I was gonna clear a spot in the basement, build a bench, yada yada. Everything has sat in the van for weeks. I kinda lost my mojo for a minute. But I was looking at the pics of the finished devil bass and was like, yeah man, that's awesome! Git off yer duff and build some s#!t!

 

[JIO]

My faves - fat and flavorful - "BT" stands for Balanced Tension and this is one of the things I like about these strings. Sounds perfect with a pick/palm-muting. Deep bass with nice mids and a focused top-end.

 

[JIO]

This place in general is inspirational.
But something about this devil bass, on this particular day, inspired me to get at my build again (haven't touched it in 3 weeks).
I was using the shop at work and staying late every night. That got old and I was gonna clear a spot in the basement, build a bench, yada yada. Everything has sat in the van for weeks. I kinda lost my mojo for a minute. But I was looking at the pics of the finished devil bass and was like, yeah man, that's awesome! Git off yer duff and build some s#!t!

I'm doubly pleased to have re-lit your flame! Life does its best to discourage our inner creative urges - once you're back into it you'll be fresh and recharged to complete it! A real motivating factor is opening a thread on it here so we can all harass you into finishing it!

 

[RichterScale]

A real motivating factor is opening a thread on it here so we can all harass you into finishing it!

@Rôckhewer already screamed at me.

 

[JIO]

@Rôckhewer already screamed at me.

See! I'll be looking for your build thread also!

 

[JIO]

I (flat) blacked-out the inside of the jumbo string-thru ferrules. Like jet exhaust ports.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Yes, this is what Luthier's Corner is all about! Breaking new ground, trying crazy ideas, solving tough problems, improving our skills! Yeaaaaah! We're not in this to be mediocre!

 

[RichterScale]

1: will there be a sound clip?
2: have you used rotosound 66s and how do you think the D'Addarios compare or differ?

 

[Beej]

2: have you used rotosound 66s and how do you think the D'Addarios compare or differ?

That one's easy. Rotosounds have silks on the ends, so no matter how "good" someone thinks they sound, they look terrible, and therefore sound awful. A natural extension of the tonewood argument.

 

[reverendrally]

Man! I step out for 5 mins and this happens. COOL!

 

[JIO]

1: will there be a sound clip?
2: have you used rotosound 66s and how do you think the D'Addarios compare or differ?

I hope to get a sound-clip eventually. Aside from not having silk ends ... I think the Roto's might sound clankier. I've used various Roto's over the years, but not lately other than their black tape-wounds. The EXL BT set has distinct tonal focus but being nickel are warmer sounding. I personally go for a more mid-range tone, so it offers that along with a nice low-end and enough articulation/definition on top to play lead-bass melodic sections.

like on this TSC's song -

 

[JIO]

That one's easy. Rotosounds have silks on the ends, so no matter how "good" someone thinks they sound, they look terrible, and therefore sound awful. A natural extension of the tonewood argument.

I never argue about tonewood - it's a stone cold fact!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I missed this build somehow, purely flummoxed by the outcome. Cool as hell and beautifully built.

 

[JIO]

I missed this build somehow, purely flummoxed by the outcome. Cool as hell and beautifully built.

Thanks!