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Fantasy Bass

#22
Originally posted by Rifter17
I would have a custom Conklin built:
  • Fretted Bolt-on Neck
  • 34" Scale
  • Maple and Wenge Neck
  • Ebony fingerboard
  • 24 Frets
  • Cross-Over Body Design
  • 10 Strings (5 doubled)
  • Maple Body
  • Custom Melted Top
  • Custom Inlay (This: Link Removed)
  • Red Stain Finish (yes, over the melted top)
  • One MM Style Bartolini Pickup (with matching wood cover)
  • Aguilar OBP3 Preamp
  • RMC Piezo Bridge (10 piezos in total, 1 for each string)
  • The piezos are wired to a stereo output. One side for normal bass strings and one side for the octave strings.
  • The octave strings are also wired to an RMC Polydrive with 13 pin output.
  • Normal output for magnetic pickup.

I can't think if I'm missing anything, but I should be able to get so many tones out of this. This isn't too realistic, but I can dream.
Click to expand...

It would cost a small fortune I'm sure but I would sure love to play it.
 
#25
Alder body w/ash cap, 2 Bartolini humbuckers, actives w/3-band eq and 18v electronics, 24 medium-jumbo frets, maple neck and fretboard (or wenge w/block pearl inlay), Hipshot™ A-style bridge in chrome with matching chrome tuners. And a lifetime supply of Elixirs!
 
#26
Originally posted by Keech
Rifter (or anybody),

I've never played a bass with piezos although I've seen them advertized. What do piezos add to the sound?
Click to expand...
The general opinion of piezos is that it gives an accoustic tone. From my (rather limited) experience, the quality depends on the brand.

On my Rob Allen fretless 5, the sound is marvilous. There's a big bottom thump on it, but again with the harshness, even on a fretless. I have to cut the highs. So I can imagine that a fishman piezo pickup on a fretted would be too harsh.

On my Bone Piccolo Bass, the RMC piezos make a extremely punchy sound. The piezos create a very full, breathing sound. Many people consider piezos on fretted basses to be too harsh, but that may just be the brand. I'm not too sure, since I only played on basses with RMC or fishman piezo pickups.

Here's a quick page i whipped up with some samples. I'll make another one with my piccolo, but here's the Rob Allen: Link Removed
 
#27
I'm still learning about woods and electronics. So some parts are still blury.

-Headless, 34" 5-string
-Bolt-on neck
-Some type of softer grain wood. (Would need councel on that.)
(All that for great sustain.)
-76mm width at last fret.

-Pups : Double hum (MM replacement type) at the bridge, coupled with a soapbar located very near the neck. Barts probably.
(Ideally a configuration that allows for loads of depth combined with high mid growl.)
-Simple controls : Pup blend, volume, trebble and bass.

That's as far as I've come. I've never seen any such configuration for a bass. And it's all a combination of the elements that have pleased me the most over the years.
Don't know how it'd sound all together. But if I had money that's what I'd try.
 
#28
Neck:

5 string, rockwood, through body, headless, retractable frets (hey, it's your DREAM bass, right!).

Body wings:

Swamp ash core, highly figured bubinga top, satin finish.

Hardware:

Custom mono-rail bridge units with integrated mini-tuners, fully adjustable for string spacing. (again, it's a DREAM bass :D); custom nut/string holder.

Electronics:

Dingwall FD-3 pickups, Demeter 3-band preamp, active passive switch w/passive tone control.
 
#29
Originally posted by Gard
Neck:

5 string, rockwood, through body, headless, retractable frets (hey, it's your DREAM bass, right!).
Click to expand...

Very interesting. Do you actually have any designs in mind? See, one of the reasons I started this thread was so that bass mfgs might come in here and read everybody's posts and get some ideas for new basses. Somebody might even come up with something akin to your dream.

Body wings:

Swamp ash core, highly figured bubinga top, satin finish.
Click to expand...

I was wondering when someone would mention bubinga.

Hardware:

Custom mono-rail bridge units with integrated mini-tuners, fully adjustable for string spacing. (again, it's a DREAM bass :D); custom nut/string holder.
Click to expand...

Once again, dream away. It may be true by the time you wake up.
 
#32
Keech -

If you're asking if I have a design in mind for the retractable frets, no, I have no idea how it would be done, and I don't think it can be done easily or affordably. I'd just have to get two! ;)

After the retractable frets fiasco, I do have ideas in mind, from body shape to how the bridge saddles/tuners would look (although as I'm not a metal worker and can't actually build it, or even really draw up the design). I've toyed with the idea of building it, but as I've already got several incredible basses (Zon, Lakland) and I'm in the middle of a slight personal mess (divorce), I'm not in a tearing hurry to commission the work right now.

One day though....

:D
 
#34
Originally posted by Gard
Keech -

If you're asking if I have a design in mind for the retractable frets, no, I have no idea how it would be done, and I don't think it can be done easily or affordably. I'd just have to get two! ;)
Click to expand...

I was thinking, what about interchangeable fingerboards? One fretted and one fretless. Slide it under the strings, snap it into place and you're all set to go. I'm sure somebody has already thought of that but it's the most profound thought I've had in about 6 years.

Yeah, little modular bass where you can interchange pups, fingerboards, tuners, etc.

Hmmmmmmm...I wonder what the viability of that is.
 
#37
Originally posted by NV43345
I always wanted a Doubleneck. I used to have a picture of one called the Alembic Double Dragon,
I think it was a 5/4 and it had Dragon inlays
on both neck's. I wish I could find the pic.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen it. I have it on my computer at work. It's a fretless 4 and a fretted 8--if we're talking about the same one. Must be awfully heavy though. Not to mention expensive. Alembics are EXPENSIVE!
 
#38
Originally posted by xparis001
wasnt there a company doing this a few years back? it had magnets to hold the fretboards in place. a fretted rosewood, fretless ebony, and a fretless stainless steel fingerboards?

-dan
Click to expand...

I figured someone would have thought of it. I don't know about stainless steel. My brother once had a Travis Beam with an aluminum neck. Not only was it impossible to play (can't imagine how he used it for years onstage) but he gave it up after an outdoor show on a chilly fall day. He damn near froze his hand off. Imagine having to keep playing in front several hundred people and your hand is chilled numb. He said never again.
 
#39
Originally posted by xparis001
wasnt there a company doing this a few years back? it had magnets to hold the fretboards in place. a fretted rosewood, fretless ebony, and a fretless stainless steel fingerboards?

-dan
Click to expand...

Actually Microtonal Guru John Catler had a strat-like guitar that you could slide the fingerboards out from under the strings and switch them out for others.

I think that he has a few guitars like this now AFAIK... Some of the Fingerboards are 19 fret/octave, 31 fret, 51 fret Just-tonation and fretless... These were for guitar, mind you...

A very good friend of mine that lives up in Somerville, Mass, is very into microtonailty and has an Ibanez UNiverse 7 string with 22 frets per ocatve (44 fret on the entire two octave fb) and a fretless bass that has marking in different colours for a bassist to play a long with the microtonal guitar/s...


scary but hip.
 

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