Actually, it came last week but today was the first day I had time to take pics.
TRIGGER WARNING: Coffee-table bass content
This is my new fretless 6 by Cliff Bordwell.
Specs:
Amapola body
Camphor burl top
16.5 mm spacing
Nordstrand Big Blademan P/UPs wit JC-3P Preamp
Brushed nickel bridge/tuners
Luminlay dots on side and top of board
My main bass is a Wal 5 string and my other 5 string is an EBMM SR, so I'm a bit fond of the big humbucker sound. I also have a Stambaugh fretless 5 with Aero pickups that I love, but I wanted a bit more of a punchy and aggressive sound, and this one delivers. With the neck pickup I can get a nice upright tone that sounds great in traditional jazz, and the bridge gives me that classic fretless burpy/farty sound with lots of mwah, but a ton of punch, too. I can definitely get my Mick Karn groove going with this one.
I had it designed to the exact same specs (except for the electronics) as my other Bordwell 6, which you can see in one of the pics, below. It's nice because transitioning between the two feels seamless. This new one is 9.6 pounds, the other one was close to 11, so I'm glad about that, too. It's the lightest of all of my basses. The shape is a combination of two of Cliff's standard shapes, the Big McNeely and the Ball. It has the upper horn of the Big McNeely, but the round butt and rounded lower horn of the ball. I think it makes for a nice liquid aesthetic, almost a bit psychedelic. I also use the sixers for ambient stuff on a huge pedalboard, and this thing absolutely kills it when I play it with an e-bow, too.
I got it about an hour before a jazz rehearsal. I threw caution to the wind and brought it and surprisingly didn't make an embarrassment out of myself. I can't seem to put this one down, it just plays and sounds so incredible.
Like last time, Cliff was great to work with. I had another luthier build me a fretless 6 that had some incredibly shoddy work, so I sent it back and did what I should have done the first time and had Cliff build it. No regrets.
TRIGGER WARNING: Coffee-table bass content
This is my new fretless 6 by Cliff Bordwell.
Specs:
Amapola body
Camphor burl top
16.5 mm spacing
Nordstrand Big Blademan P/UPs wit JC-3P Preamp
Brushed nickel bridge/tuners
Luminlay dots on side and top of board
My main bass is a Wal 5 string and my other 5 string is an EBMM SR, so I'm a bit fond of the big humbucker sound. I also have a Stambaugh fretless 5 with Aero pickups that I love, but I wanted a bit more of a punchy and aggressive sound, and this one delivers. With the neck pickup I can get a nice upright tone that sounds great in traditional jazz, and the bridge gives me that classic fretless burpy/farty sound with lots of mwah, but a ton of punch, too. I can definitely get my Mick Karn groove going with this one.
I had it designed to the exact same specs (except for the electronics) as my other Bordwell 6, which you can see in one of the pics, below. It's nice because transitioning between the two feels seamless. This new one is 9.6 pounds, the other one was close to 11, so I'm glad about that, too. It's the lightest of all of my basses. The shape is a combination of two of Cliff's standard shapes, the Big McNeely and the Ball. It has the upper horn of the Big McNeely, but the round butt and rounded lower horn of the ball. I think it makes for a nice liquid aesthetic, almost a bit psychedelic. I also use the sixers for ambient stuff on a huge pedalboard, and this thing absolutely kills it when I play it with an e-bow, too.
I got it about an hour before a jazz rehearsal. I threw caution to the wind and brought it and surprisingly didn't make an embarrassment out of myself. I can't seem to put this one down, it just plays and sounds so incredible.
Like last time, Cliff was great to work with. I had another luthier build me a fretless 6 that had some incredibly shoddy work, so I sent it back and did what I should have done the first time and had Cliff build it. No regrets.
Last edited:
