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Les Claypool's New Bass!
- Thread starter Mesa XI
- Start date
Pretty sure they've always been there. It's the CT "trademark" wooden fret lines, where half are light color and half are darker colored wood IIRC, looks pretty cool.
Here's a pic of the Rainbow Bass that shows the lines.
You can actually find a few more pics of it on Invalid Link Removed.
You can actually find a few more pics of it on Invalid Link Removed.
I'm sure he thinks nothing at all about it. I mean if you're thinking Carl got any feeling about Les not choosing him to' make his signature line, or playing a bass other than a CT or whatever... you're on a wrong way. Even expressing an opinion on a bass looking at a picture of it is so far from the man. If he could put his hands on that bass then he would tell you if it's a good or a bad instrument and he will give you a bunch of reasons for that.
Well I just saw Les and boys play last night.
They were absolutely amazing first and foremost, been waiting almost 20 years to see them play in the UK, they don't come round here very often...
Anyway, Les played the Maloney Bass for most of the set and it sounded, well, like Les.
It's a very different set up to his previous main squeeze, bar the 32" scale and the whammy bar, but it still sounded amazing! I guess Les's sound is almost entirely in his hands.
Not so sure about the design personally, having seen it in the flesh, but it definitely suits Claypool, so that's what counts really.
Looks like the bass is evolving along the tour, it seemed a lot more contoured than previously, and had a scratch plate too. All just cosmetic changes however.
On a side note, he whipped out the CT Rainbow bass for a couple of tracks, the upright and his Michael Kelly Bayou Bass which sounded enormous, really surprised at the tone he coaxed out of what's basically an electro-acoustic short scale resonator bass...
Cheers,
Eude
They were absolutely amazing first and foremost, been waiting almost 20 years to see them play in the UK, they don't come round here very often...
Anyway, Les played the Maloney Bass for most of the set and it sounded, well, like Les.
It's a very different set up to his previous main squeeze, bar the 32" scale and the whammy bar, but it still sounded amazing! I guess Les's sound is almost entirely in his hands.
Not so sure about the design personally, having seen it in the flesh, but it definitely suits Claypool, so that's what counts really.
Looks like the bass is evolving along the tour, it seemed a lot more contoured than previously, and had a scratch plate too. All just cosmetic changes however.
On a side note, he whipped out the CT Rainbow bass for a couple of tracks, the upright and his Michael Kelly Bayou Bass which sounded enormous, really surprised at the tone he coaxed out of what's basically an electro-acoustic short scale resonator bass...
Cheers,
Eude
I just got tickets a couple of nights ago for Primus' show on 10/10/2011 here at The Palace. Can't wait to see the new bass in person. I love what Les did with the design. In fact one of the basses I've been building as I find the time is essentially a copy of his Maloney bass except I'm probably going to go with a minimalist interpretation of a scroll head on mine (still not 100% on that).
Well I just saw Les and boys play last night.
They were absolutely amazing first and foremost, been waiting almost 20 years to see them play in the UK, they don't come round here very often...
Anyway, Les played the Maloney Bass for most of the set and it sounded, well, like Les.
It's a very different set up to his previous main squeeze, bar the 32" scale and the whammy bar, but it still sounded amazing! I guess Les's sound is almost entirely in his hands.
Not so sure about the design personally, having seen it in the flesh, but it definitely suits Claypool, so that's what counts really.
Looks like the bass is evolving along the tour, it seemed a lot more contoured than previously, and had a scratch plate too. All just cosmetic changes however.
On a side note, he whipped out the CT Rainbow bass for a couple of tracks, the upright and his Michael Kelly Bayou Bass which sounded enormous, really surprised at the tone he coaxed out of what's basically an electro-acoustic short scale resonator bass...
Cheers,
Eude
Les has a huge pedal board and well I think the pedal board is why he has that tone. Put and sans amp + many other overdrive/distortion effect and other wacky effects and you are close of his tone.
Looks like they sound....a little messed up and confusing. I like it. Not for the cover band player at heart...ha ha.
Actually it's WORSE than that! It looks like a Wishbass with the old SX "fishhook" headstock!
Actually it's WORSE than that! It looks like a Wishbass with the old SX "fishhook" headstock!
As Les has mentioned some of his inspiration came from Dr Seuss. That's one of the biggest reasons for why I think the design is so beautiful.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
OH YEAH!!
Drake Custom
Commercial User
- Aug 24, 2010
- 440
- 1,082
- Disclosures
- Builder/Owner:Drake Custom Bass Guitars
Just getting in on this post very late in the game. I was very up close to this bass just recently and I would almost bet that it is a 32 inch scale because of the placement of the bridge. When looking at the neck I noticed that the scale looked shorter than a 34. I counted something like 28 frets which would be like his old main bass. That one is a 32 and it has 28 frets.
Somebody mentioned that the bass has P-style pickups and they thought it was odd that he went with a P pickup in this one. I noticed that his old main 32 has an EMG HB bass pickup set into a pickup ring. An EMG HB inside is set up like a P-bass pickup as it has two offset bars. I build 32 and 33 inch scale basses all the time and have used EMG HB pups quite often. Part of the reason that I went to the show was to see his basses.
Anyway, it would make sense that his old bass probably is worn by now and he has had a replacement built with the same scale and basic pickup set up. As for the finish and shape, I am not the biggest fan of it but it looked to me like there might have been a thin oil finish on the bass.
My 2 cents worth
Somebody mentioned that the bass has P-style pickups and they thought it was odd that he went with a P pickup in this one. I noticed that his old main 32 has an EMG HB bass pickup set into a pickup ring. An EMG HB inside is set up like a P-bass pickup as it has two offset bars. I build 32 and 33 inch scale basses all the time and have used EMG HB pups quite often. Part of the reason that I went to the show was to see his basses.
Anyway, it would make sense that his old bass probably is worn by now and he has had a replacement built with the same scale and basic pickup set up. As for the finish and shape, I am not the biggest fan of it but it looked to me like there might have been a thin oil finish on the bass.
My 2 cents worth
I don't think it would look right with a 6 strings..... maybe a different design with 6 strings on it though....
