My new bass, built by Chris Stambaugh, arrived today. I asked for a lot of unusual features and he delivered 100%. It's definitely one-of-a-kind and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
Specs
30" scale, 24 frets
Tuned EADGC (with a D-tuner to put the lowest string to D)
Aero pickups
Ghost piezo saddles
Pope Flexcore Preamp
Bartolini buffer on the piezo
Controls
Volume (push/pull active/passive control)
Blend
Stacked treble/bass
Stacked low mid/high mid
Top two switches are 3-way toggles for each pickup, allowing it to run in series, parallel, or single coil.
Passive tone knob
Piezo volume knob
3-way switch for magnetic / magnetic+piezo / piezo-only output
First Impressions
The 30" scale feels fantastic. Having both arthritis and tendon damage I just can't stretch my left hand like I used to. It's so much easier to grab chords and make big stretches, I think it will be a lot easier on my hands.
There are so many possible tones to pull out of this instrument I don't even know where to begin. Running the magnetic pickups with some low end boost and a slight tone roll-off sounds fat and thumpy, though the bass has a natural upper mid tone that wants to cut and bite. However, the piezo buffer keeps it from becoming overly shrill or unmusical.
It's going to take a lot of time to figure out how to best utilize the controls and what settings are best for different situations. There's a lot of subtle depth, especially in the pickup toggles. I can't even guess what my go-to starting settings will be, there's just too much to explore!
As for the looks, the photos speak for themselves. This thing is just gorgeous. There's incredible detail at every level, from the figuring in the flamed maple within the neck inlay to the classy binding around the headstock. I asked for a bass that would turn heads and get attention. I think this will do just that.
Chris is a great guy, easy to work with, and after building two basses for me (14 years apart) I'd absolutely call him again if I ever need another instrument made. He's a true artist.
Specs
30" scale, 24 frets
Tuned EADGC (with a D-tuner to put the lowest string to D)
Aero pickups
Ghost piezo saddles
Pope Flexcore Preamp
Bartolini buffer on the piezo
Controls
Volume (push/pull active/passive control)
Blend
Stacked treble/bass
Stacked low mid/high mid
Top two switches are 3-way toggles for each pickup, allowing it to run in series, parallel, or single coil.
Passive tone knob
Piezo volume knob
3-way switch for magnetic / magnetic+piezo / piezo-only output
First Impressions
The 30" scale feels fantastic. Having both arthritis and tendon damage I just can't stretch my left hand like I used to. It's so much easier to grab chords and make big stretches, I think it will be a lot easier on my hands.
There are so many possible tones to pull out of this instrument I don't even know where to begin. Running the magnetic pickups with some low end boost and a slight tone roll-off sounds fat and thumpy, though the bass has a natural upper mid tone that wants to cut and bite. However, the piezo buffer keeps it from becoming overly shrill or unmusical.
It's going to take a lot of time to figure out how to best utilize the controls and what settings are best for different situations. There's a lot of subtle depth, especially in the pickup toggles. I can't even guess what my go-to starting settings will be, there's just too much to explore!
As for the looks, the photos speak for themselves. This thing is just gorgeous. There's incredible detail at every level, from the figuring in the flamed maple within the neck inlay to the classy binding around the headstock. I asked for a bass that would turn heads and get attention. I think this will do just that.
Chris is a great guy, easy to work with, and after building two basses for me (14 years apart) I'd absolutely call him again if I ever need another instrument made. He's a true artist.
, this is something else... 
