Is it bad that I think the back is just as beautiful as the front? The maple, ebony, and myrtle look just great together to me--can't wait to see what it looks like with a finish!
Mike
Mike
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My ACG Harlot 5 build
- Thread starter mikezimmerman
- Start date
The bass is done! It looks amazing, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. 
It will take a little while to get it shipped across the Atlantic, but Alan was able to send me a few pictures to tide me over until then...
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It will take a little while to get it shipped across the Atlantic, but Alan was able to send me a few pictures to tide me over until then...
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I'm not a fan of that particular body shape, but my swooning adoration for everything Alan does with woods remains intact...that is a stunning looking instrument, and I have no doubt it will play as good as it looks. Probably better.
I gots ta get me an ACG one of these days...
I gots ta get me an ACG one of these days...
don't forget full review when you get it please? I am a big fan of Alan's work but I can only afford his preamps, which kick ass BTW
Thanks for the feedback, all!
The cool thing about Alan's shapes is that there is one to suit every taste!
The Harlot design just reached out and grabbed me from the moment I first saw it--I love the sleekness and the long, graceful upper horn--but I certainly understand why it wouldn't work for everybody.
Quite!
You'd really want to contact Alan for a quote. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he's putting off taking more orders for a few months, to get caught up with the ones that got delayed whilst he was moving over to a new shop.
I'll be happy to!
Mike
The cool thing about Alan's shapes is that there is one to suit every taste!
The Harlot design just reached out and grabbed me from the moment I first saw it--I love the sleekness and the long, graceful upper horn--but I certainly understand why it wouldn't work for everybody.Quite!
You'd really want to contact Alan for a quote. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he's putting off taking more orders for a few months, to get caught up with the ones that got delayed whilst he was moving over to a new shop.
I'll be happy to!
Mike
Bass was "out for delivery" with UPS today, but they stopped by my office while I was away from my desk, and apparently needed a check for Customs before they could leave the package. So they took it back and will try to deliver it again tomorrow. Argh! So close, and yet so far... 
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,227
- 45,064
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Well, in the end I couldn't wait. 
This was my night with no kids, no practice (cancelled!) and nothing else to be doing. I went to the UPS customer center after work and picked up the bass once the truck got finished with its deliveries....
She got here safe and sound, thank goodness. And she's a beauty! As bassplace said about his Harlot, the shape is a little "alien" looking, much more so in person than in pictures. Not in a bad way--the Harlot and the David King D Bass are probably the most graceful bass designs I've ever seen--but seeing her in the standard Hiscock case, holding her in your hands, and strapping her on, you realize that she bears not even a passing resemblance to a Jazz Bass. And that's a Good Thing (even though I like Jazz Basses).
The myrtle top is amazing. I wish there were no pickups, controls and bridge getting in the way and blocking all that beautiful wood! The myrtle back looks great, of course, but the top is truly amazing. Sadly, the Great Bandsaw Accident meant that the headstock overlay ended up not being a perfect match, but the flamed myrtle that Alan chose looks great nonetheless.
Strapped on, the Harlot is every bit the sensual pleasure that her name suggests. She naturally hangs at a comfy 45 degree angle, and the long upper horn brings the lower frets in close, even with a 35" scale. The small lower hoirn looks like it might be a problem with the bass in your lap, but somehow it isn't--everything seems to sit perfectly.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Alan's asymmetrical neck profile and flat fretboard radius, but it's very comfy. The profile is a bit more extreme than the MTD's I've owned--the closest thing is the Nordstrand SC5 I had, but that was one of my favorite necks. I think Alan has a winner there, as well. I'll probably need to do a bit of adjustment on the relief and string height for my own tastes, but it's really a remarkable starting point.
Tonally, the bass is right where I hoped she'd be, very much in the muscular Wal territory. I asked Alan to include parallel/single coil switching on the pickups, but practically speaking after trying them, the output on the RFB's in series mode is so hot that it makes anything else useless. Possibly Alan's dual-mode pickups address this, but I just really like the sound of the RFBs in series, and don't much like them in parallel or single-coil mode.
I'm still adjusting to the ACG preamp. It's not quite like the Wal preamps I'm used to, but close and definitely more flexible. I'm having a little bit of trouble with high-end buzz, but that may be the grounding in my house. Easy enough to filter most of it out!
Those are my impressions after the first 2 hours with the bass, anyway. I look forward to trying her out in more of a band setting this weekend...
Mike
This was my night with no kids, no practice (cancelled!) and nothing else to be doing. I went to the UPS customer center after work and picked up the bass once the truck got finished with its deliveries....She got here safe and sound, thank goodness. And she's a beauty! As bassplace said about his Harlot, the shape is a little "alien" looking, much more so in person than in pictures. Not in a bad way--the Harlot and the David King D Bass are probably the most graceful bass designs I've ever seen--but seeing her in the standard Hiscock case, holding her in your hands, and strapping her on, you realize that she bears not even a passing resemblance to a Jazz Bass. And that's a Good Thing (even though I like Jazz Basses).
The myrtle top is amazing. I wish there were no pickups, controls and bridge getting in the way and blocking all that beautiful wood! The myrtle back looks great, of course, but the top is truly amazing. Sadly, the Great Bandsaw Accident meant that the headstock overlay ended up not being a perfect match, but the flamed myrtle that Alan chose looks great nonetheless.
Strapped on, the Harlot is every bit the sensual pleasure that her name suggests. She naturally hangs at a comfy 45 degree angle, and the long upper horn brings the lower frets in close, even with a 35" scale. The small lower hoirn looks like it might be a problem with the bass in your lap, but somehow it isn't--everything seems to sit perfectly.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Alan's asymmetrical neck profile and flat fretboard radius, but it's very comfy. The profile is a bit more extreme than the MTD's I've owned--the closest thing is the Nordstrand SC5 I had, but that was one of my favorite necks. I think Alan has a winner there, as well. I'll probably need to do a bit of adjustment on the relief and string height for my own tastes, but it's really a remarkable starting point.
Tonally, the bass is right where I hoped she'd be, very much in the muscular Wal territory. I asked Alan to include parallel/single coil switching on the pickups, but practically speaking after trying them, the output on the RFB's in series mode is so hot that it makes anything else useless. Possibly Alan's dual-mode pickups address this, but I just really like the sound of the RFBs in series, and don't much like them in parallel or single-coil mode.
I'm still adjusting to the ACG preamp. It's not quite like the Wal preamps I'm used to, but close and definitely more flexible. I'm having a little bit of trouble with high-end buzz, but that may be the grounding in my house. Easy enough to filter most of it out!
Those are my impressions after the first 2 hours with the bass, anyway. I look forward to trying her out in more of a band setting this weekend...
Mike
Always good to hear that a bass arrives intact.
I agree about the coil switching with regard to series mode I would only use it as well. The other two are useful to blend with one pickup in series and the other in single or parallel. The FB pickup works better with the coil switching giving a more balanced output between the 3 choices. I never like to say to people that they should not have something on the bass unless it is a really bad idea or something I just don't do and I know some guys like the other settings but I may mention this point when the bass is being spec'd. Several customers on their second bass don't choose the coil switching at all having decided that they only really use series.
I agree about the coil switching with regard to series mode I would only use it as well. The other two are useful to blend with one pickup in series and the other in single or parallel. The FB pickup works better with the coil switching giving a more balanced output between the 3 choices. I never like to say to people that they should not have something on the bass unless it is a really bad idea or something I just don't do and I know some guys like the other settings but I may mention this point when the bass is being spec'd. Several customers on their second bass don't choose the coil switching at all having decided that they only really use series.
Thanks, Alan. I suspected it might be the case that the switching worked better on the FB pickup, but at the time I was placing my order, it was one of those "sure, why not?" thoughts. 
And maybe after spending some more time with it, I'll get used to adjusting for the different gain levels with RFBs in parallel or single-coil...but they just sound so good in series mode!
And maybe after spending some more time with it, I'll get used to adjusting for the different gain levels with RFBs in parallel or single-coil...but they just sound so good in series mode!
