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Honest opinions on my basses?

Jared Lash

Jared Lash

Born under punches
Aug 21, 2006
15,588
5,157
Denver, CO
#1
I currently have six basses (which I'll be paring down soon) and have bought and traded others over the last few years. And normally when I post pictures of any of them on TB I get some kind of a response. My Valenti P5 normally gets a pretty positive reaction. But the most "different" looking ones I own or have owned - my Stambaugh twins - never get any kind of response.

I always wondered if that was because most people didn't dig them at all and were being polite about it.

In any event, after selling a couple more basses to afford it, I plan on rounding out my stable with one more custom from Chris Stambaugh. I'm torn as to whether I should get another one similar in design to the first two (this one will be a multiscale/fan fret sixer so a bit different already) or go in a different direction.

My first two are exactly what I asked for and I dig them so you won't hurt my feelings, but since I never seem to get any feedback on them I'm curious what other people think of them aesthetically.

Design-wise they are based on my first bass (a Guild B302) but obviously they evolved to look substantally different.

StammieII008.jpg


Thoughts?
 
#3
hrodbert696 said:
I don't know much about Stambaugh, but based on the pic I think they're gorgeous. How do they sound?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment.

Chris is super flexible, builds super comfortable and stable necks and has a real eye for woods as well as great prices.

But I think his biggest gift as a builder is being able to have a customer describe the tone he wants and then choose the right woods, electronics, pickup placement, and construction to nail it.

I asked for the fretted to sound like a combination of that old Guild and a modern Jazz bass and it absolutely does. I asked for the fretless to sound like a Warwick Thumb with more clarity and low end focus and it absolutely does.

For the new one I want a modern, full range and piano sounding six string and I'm sure he'll build me exactly what I want. He's slow to email, but otherwise I absolutely love working with him in every way.
 
#5
pierreganseman said:
Well :-)

why you're even asking?? As long as YOU dig them! who cares??

It's surely not my thing, but who cares?? :-p

just play =D
Click to expand...

Call it morbid curiosity. I honestly won't be offended if people hate them and obviously I'd rather hear that they dig them, but I've just always found it odd I rarely get any comments when I post them.

And for the record you're absolutely right - even if every person who posts in this thread says they hate them it won't change my opinion or play them any less. Like I said, just curious. ;)
 
#6
I'm usually not into extremely odd or different looking basses, but those look pretty sweet. I would totally rock the fretted one if I had the cash. I really like the wood (or wood-colored) pickguard and pickup covers! Cool basses, IMO, and as people have said, as long as you like 'em, who cares what we think?
 
#8
Jared Lash said:
StammieII008.jpg
Click to expand...

I honestly quite like them, Jared. And I can assure you, I'm not just saying that to be polite. If I disliked them, I would say so - or would simply not write a post.

You can definitely see the Guild body style here - especially with the "chiseled" shape and the angular pickguards. They have an irregular form - enough to make them distinctive and relatively unique - but not enough to make them look gaudy.

It's all about self-expression - and aesthetics matter, IMHO. Nice... :cool:

MM
 
#9
I think they look pretty cool.. They are stylish and aggressive looking without resorting to BC Rich Warlock pointy-ness. The body shape standing up looks like the torso of a woman wearing a corset. I can dig it. :)
 
#11
Jared Lash said:
I currently have six basses (which I'll be paring down soon) and have bought and traded others over the last few years. And normally when I post pictures of any of them on TB I get some kind of a response. My Valenti P5 normally gets a pretty positive reaction. But the most "different" looking ones I own or have owned - my Stambaugh twins - never get any kind of response.

I always wondered if that was because most people didn't dig them at all and were being polite about it.

In any event, after selling a couple more basses to afford it, I plan on rounding out my stable with one more custom from Chris Stambaugh. I'm torn as to whether I should get another one similar in design to the first two (this one will be a multiscale/fan fret sixer so a bit different already) or go in a different direction.

My first two are exactly what I asked for and I dig them so you won't hurt my feelings, but since I never seem to get any feedback on them I'm curious what other people think of them aesthetically.

Design-wise they are based on my first bass (a Guild B302) but obviously they evolved to look substantally different.

StammieII008.jpg


Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Yup, there terrible...but how do they sound?
 
#12
I personally think your Stambaugh's look nice. As far as people not liking them so what. You like them and that as you know, really is all that matters.


Now if you were touring the world with a super high profile artist, getting a gigantic phat check and your boss asks you to play a different looking bass. Just go with the flow. And when the tour ends you'll have a nice bank account and money to do a solo project using the two basses that you love the most.
 
#13
It almost sounds like you want to go to something different but you really like your twins enough to go for triplets. Is there something missing from them that you want from Chris or are you really inching to go a different direction? On one hand you have these and could venture out. On the other hand, you have these and like what you get from Chris. They are gorgeous. In the end, its all up to you.

You will have to let us know what you end up deciding, and post some pics!!

Cheers!!
 
#14
Very stylish.

Love the shape, and the inlaid wood pickguards.

Only thing I'm not digging that much is the matching pickups on the fretted, if it were me I'd have swapped them for a kind of ying/yang effect, but I love contrast.


Definatly a pair of very beautiful basses, though.
 
#15
since I never seem to get any feedback on them I'm curious what other people think of them aesthetically.
Click to expand...
If they had more strings and some gaudy inlays, they'd be perfect examples of the Geek Bass®. It seems impossible to me that these were shipped with only four strings.
 
#16
FrenchAK said:
I'm usually not into extremely odd or different looking basses, but those look pretty sweet. I would totally rock the fretted one if I had the cash. I really like the wood (or wood-colored) pickguard and pickup covers! Cool basses, IMO, and as people have said, as long as you like 'em, who cares what we think?
Click to expand...

I agree with French here. As long as you like 'em.
BUT... I'm not sure if they would be the "Perfect bass for Metal" tho...
 
#19
Not that anyone's opinion matters but yours...
but other than the fact that they're one string shy of my general preference, I'd rock 'em hard. Really nice basses.
 
#20
At least they're not single cut away. Man I dislike singles. IMHO they just look uneven. Each to their own I guess......

I have never really been into raw wood finishes, and prefer solids and transparents with exotic laminates. but I recently bought a Cort A5 Custom Z and I really love it.

I don't mind your Stambaugh's. I like the sharp downward angle on the tip of the upper horn.

If they are your cuppa tea, then all the better for you......
 

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