Les Claypool Pachyderm inspired builds

[Jerry_K]

Thanks for checking then out guys. I’m pretty happy with them. I still need to make a cover for the cavity on the back of the ash and walnut and I might have to move the bridge back on it as well.

the scale for both of these is 32 inches.

I’d have to put some more thought into pricing. I actually sold another one I had made prior to these two for $1600 but it had some flaws and it didn’t have the tremolo bridge either. Pic below.

That was my first and only sale so far. If I did sell more it would probably be for 2k and up depending on the options. But I’m still a hobbyist, so still learning. None of these have been perfect.

 

[Jerry_K]

Here’s a pic of the one that sold.

 

[Jerry_K]

My nephew had posted these on Reddit a while back. That’s how the first one sold actually, a Redditor reached out to my nephew after see his post.

the link below has a video of the zebra wood.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Very nice! Haven't really seen anyone succeed at making a pachyderm-esque bass until these. Keep it up

 

[leto]

Claypool really missed a business opportunity here: he created his own signature line of basses, with specification that you can't get from almost anyone else, but didn't make them available for millions of his fans that would buy them immediately

True! He does however have a line of EMG's PUPS coming out soon which has me interested. Terrible gold looking color but I bet they sound awesome. And of course he will make money off of those.

 

[Drzejzi]

True! He does however have a line of EMG's PUPS coming out soon which has me interested. Terrible gold looking color but I bet they sound awesome. And of course he will make money off of those.

Well, Claypool is best known for playing EMG humbuckers. IMHO he recorded his best and most recognized music with it, including 90's Primus and some wild experimentation in his solo era in the 2000's. He switched to P style pickup in the last... well, 10 years, but he did not produce as much music in that time as previously with humbuckers. The P is not the sound you are going for when you want to imitate him.

Additionally, from what I read his signature pickup is actually a stock EMG P;it differs only visually. And Claypool never used gold pickups until now.

So with his signature pickup you don't get his sound and also you don't get his look.

 

[dkelley]

Hi all,

I’m a amateur/hobby builder. I post some of my previous Carl Thompson builds about four years ago. Unfortunately, I ran out of funds having been out of work for a while.

I managed to put a little money aside towards the end of 2019 and in summer of 2020 I did a couple more builds. Pics and stats below.

Mahogany with Zebrawood top
Mahogany and oak neck with wenge fretboard
Emg precision bass pickups

The other is an Ash body with walnut top. The neck is a mix of maple, wenge and walnut. Emg X series precision pick ups.

Both basses have Kahler tremolos and Hipshot ultra light tuners.

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BEAUTIFUL bass and flawlessly engineered for functionality! NICE!

 

[TinyE]

Hi all,

I’m a amateur/hobby builder. I post some of my previous Carl Thompson builds about four years ago. Unfortunately, I ran out of funds having been out of work for a while.

I managed to put a little money aside towards the end of 2019 and in summer of 2020 I did a couple more builds. Pics and stats below.

Mahogany with Zebrawood top
Mahogany and oak neck with wenge fretboard
Emg precision bass pickups

The other is an Ash body with walnut top. The neck is a mix of maple, wenge and walnut. Emg X series precision pick ups.

Both basses have Kahler tremolos and Hipshot ultra light tuners.

View attachment 4195948 View attachment 4195949 View attachment 4195950 View attachment 4195951 View attachment 4195952 View attachment 4195954 View attachment 4195955

I don't know that i'd call you an amateur anymore...those are amazing.

 

[Zoffy]

I don't know that i'd call you an amateur anymore...those are amazing.

Haha, I agree. Those basses are not "amateur" level by any means. Great job, OP!

 

[TinyE]

Thanks for checking then out guys. I’m pretty happy with them. I still need to make a cover for the cavity on the back of the ash and walnut and I might have to move the bridge back on it as well.

the scale for both of these is 32 inches.

I’d have to put some more thought into pricing. I actually sold another one I had made prior to these two for $1600 but it had some flaws and it didn’t have the tremolo bridge either. Pic below.

That was my first and only sale so far. If I did sell more it would probably be for 2k and up depending on the options. But I’m still a hobbyist, so still learning. None of these have been perfect.

I'm retired and I would consider buying one of those! just wondering, do you have any interest in a jazz? or are these designed to be Ps?

 

[Dean N]

That QS zebrawood is spectacular.

 

[Amoebehemoth]

Yessir, I like it!

 

[Jerry_K]

Thanks again for the kind words. While I’m pretty happy about how these turned out, I’d say I’m still at the hobbyist level... But I have gotten better with each build.

As for the pickups, I’m not opposed to jazz pups. I just went with the p’s since that’s what Les has been using lately.

It will probably be a while before I build another one since I can’t afford it at the moment. But If I’m able to put some cash aside, I may try to build another this summer. If I do it’ll be based on his the latest version of the Pachyderm.

 

[Les Fret]

Looks great! I always preferred the tone of his Carl Thompson basses, but this one sure looks nice! Great job! Did you produce more by now or did you go in another direction with your builds? Really curious.

 

[Jerry_K]

Looks great! I always preferred the tone of his Carl Thompson basses, but this one sure looks nice! Great job! Did you produce more by now or did you go in another direction with your builds? Really curious.

hi. Thanks for checking these out. I actually haven’t built anything since I did these 2. I’ve been in a rut the last couple years - life beat me down a bit. Feeling more like myself lately and I’ve been gearing up for some new builds.

I’ve started working on the bodies for 2 bass and I may do 1 or 2 more if things are going good.

The two I am currently working on will be Pachyderm style based on Les’s updated Pachyderms. One will be a Rainbow bass Pachyderm. The other is Rosewood, walnut and mahogany. A couple pics attached.

 

[Les Fret]

Ok great that it is going better with you. Rainbow Pachyderm? Sounds very intriguing!! Very curious about your new builds.

good luck with the builds and with everything else. Greetz, Barend

 

[Jerry_K]

Thanks. As I get further into these builds I’ll post some more pics. Take care.

 

[Jerry_K]

Still working on these builds and a few more. I’ve mostly been milking wood and gluing up body and neck blanks. Here’s some pics. Once some of them start coming together, I’ll post some more stuff.

 

[Jerry_K]

*I’ve been milling wood … not milking it. Haha

 

[Jerry_K]

Here’s few more.