N(A)BD!

[jeffbrown]

TBers,

Some time ago, I posted a few pics of an abg build my guitar-playing brother had commissioned as a birthday present for me (my brother is a wonderful man - I love him dearly!) with his luthier, Alan Carruth (Invalid Link Removed). It is finished!

Here are some admittedly crappy iPhone photos I just took, as soon as I got it home!

Full frontal:

The "Owl" is Alan's "logo."

Complete headstock:

Body is very shiny! Hehehe.

Unique bridge:

Couldn't do the intricate inlays justice with an iPhone....

Hipshot tuners, out of focus. :-(

Backside:

In the case:

The neck is cherry, the fretboard is persimmon wood, body is walnut - front, back and sides. Bone nut and bridge. Electric pup is K&K Sound Pure with the jack in the strap button on the bottom. The bass weighs 5 pounds(!!). I also got a K&K Pure preamp to help it out through an amp. I had originally wanted D'Addario black tape wounds, but Alan and I did some more research, and we put D'Addario Phosphor Bronze long scale abg strings on it, .045 - .100. I can always change 'em out later if I want a different sound. It has a 34' scale and 19 frets, dot inlays. Truss rod is graphite.

I just played it for 20 minutes. By itself, it is surprisingly loud for an abg, although I have little in the way of reference - just going by what I've heard here, in fact. It sounds, well, like a metal-stringed (bass) guitar, LOL! Amplified, it is incredible. Fingerpicking at the bridge gives an authoritative bark to it; above the sound hole or further up the neck brings a nice mellow voice. The action is perfect - I like it on the low side - if I really dig in, I get a little buzz, but normal playing is spot on. I won't get a pick anywhere near this beauty....

Am I a happy camper? You bet! And I can't say enough about Alan's craftsmanship - he is truly an artist. Yep, shameless plug from a satisfied customer. OK, gotta play!

 

[ThudThudThud]

Pretty.

Congratulations.

 

[pacojas]

oh myyy!

 

[P. Aaron]

Whew! That's a very nice looking bass. Congrats.

 

[mdogs]

Wow, that is really beautiful!!!

 

[Jeff Scott]

Awesome! Alan is one of the very best luthiers out there.

 

[Jeff Scott]

How about some more details, such as the various body dimensions? I am curious how it compares to the usual suspects-standard run ABGs.

 

[jeffbrown]

OK, Jeff, here goes:

The body at the neck is 3 5/8" deep, at the bottom, is 4 1/2".
The sound hole is 5" in diameter.
From nut to the body is 18 3/4".
Across the widest part of the lower body is 15 7/8". (Is there a name for that measurement?)
Acros the widest part of the upper body is 11 3/4".
String spacing at the bridge is 19mm.
String spacing at the nut is 11mm.

This is Alan's first ABG. I am sure he did some research before he began.

Anything else?

 

[Inconnu]

Nice!

 

[Kirk Bryant]

The word you're searching for is, I believe, lower bout. As in the wide portions of the body are the upper and lower bouts.

Oops almost forgot to say congratulations on a beautiful bass. Enjoy!

 

[Jeff Scott]

Yes, bout is the correct term. I am surprised how small the body is, very much like an OM/000 in dimensions. How long is the body?

 

[KeithAlanK]

Do I see recesses on the fingerboard side of the nut, of varying depths?
Did your builder do some intonation compensation there?

If so, it's a very clever idea.

And a very beautiful AEB--congrats!


I'm about to part with my Breedlove as the band is going back to electric shows only.
I'll miss it.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Do I see recesses on the fingerboard side of the nut, of varying depths?
Did your builder do some intonation compensation there?

That is similar to what Ernie Ball uses on the Stingray and (I assume) other instruments they make.

 

[jeffbrown]

Jeff -

The body is 19 5/8" tall. There are some cutouts in the nut on the A, D, and G strings which I must presume Alan did for intonation purposes. I'll have to ask him about that, as he didn't mention it to me.

Still loving this!

 

[Jeff Scott]

Thanks for the body length dimension, Jeff. I do find it very interesting that Alan chose a size very close to an OM/000, smaller than most other ABGs which are primarily Dreadnought bodies with bass necks on them. Only a very few had bodies (almost) large enough to carry the bottom end well, such as the Earthwood, and Taylor/Klein ABGs, for two examples.

Re-reading you sonic description of the bass, I assume you intend to usually play it plugged in? I love the shape of the body, very classy and different enough to stand out and show that it is something special.

To clear up some of your info on the bass, the bridge saddle is bone, not the bridge , and I doubt the truss rod, itself, is CF, most likely that there are CF strips/rods in the neck along with a steel truss rod.

 

[jeffbrown]

Yes, Jeff, I stand corrected - the bridge *saddle* is bone. I will usually play it amplified, but I believe it might hold its own acoustically. When my guitarist son comes home, we'll jam, so I'll get a better idea.

 

[Ninevolt]

Wow! Beautiful!