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New Builder - With Great Results- Check It!

#21
Quadzilla said:
Hey all,

Took the chance on trying something from a new builder. Bought it off of Reverb, so I knew if something went wrong, I'd have some kind of recourse. Regardless of that, it worked out very well. BTW, I had no prior affliction with the seller/builder. Just simply bought it and am posting this....

Bottom line is that I was pleasantly surprised on with the build quality and more than anything, the playability and tone. I was able to slam the action down to the same level (height) as my high-end boutiques (Fodera, US Spector, NYC Sadowsky, Modulus, etc).

She's super comfy, balanced well too. If he keeps building instruments like this one, I'm sure that his popularity and demand will go up (as will pricing). Meanwhile, I scored a wonderful instrument for a great price! Oh, he packed it EXTREMELY well. New box, tons of bubble wrap, etc.

Onto the pics and info:
Website:
Prairie Heart Customs

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Whenever I hear ‘new builder’ my first thought is “what will the headstock & logo look like?”

That’s actually quite nice. Understated. Good logo with a headstock shape that compliments the offset body. I love that it’s passive. My most recent custom bass is passive with Nordstrand and I can’t get enough of it.

Great build! I’m curious about the price. If you’re not comfortable posting it, could you send a DM?

Congrats and play it in good health. Beautiful bass!
 
#26
definenredefine said:
How is the neck attached? It doesn't look like a typical set neck and there are no visible bolts...
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Yeah - that neck attachment looks sketchy to me. A set neck usually involves a dovetail and glue to hold it in place - that thing appears to be essentially a bolt on design, but with glue instead of screws. My guess is the "new builder" is indeed new, and hasn't got a lot of experience with how things hold up in the field. The good news is, if it comes off, you can probably bolt it back in place.
 
#29
Smallmouth_Bass said:
Very nice. What is the neck shape like? It looks like a very flat bottomed U shape where it attaches to the body.
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micguy said:
Yeah - that neck attachment looks sketchy to me. A set neck usually involves a dovetail and glue to hold it in place - that thing appears to be essentially a bolt on design, but with glue instead of screws. My guess is the "new builder" is indeed new, and hasn't got a lot of experience with how things hold up in the field. The good news is, if it comes off, you can probably bolt it back in place.
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EagleMoon said:
Gorgeous bass. Looks very well made. I wondered about that neck attachment too. Never seen anything like it.
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Neck is attached to the body via the mortise and tenon method which is essentially a tongue and groove that's set and glued. I think that I read that Carl Thompson and others have commonly used this method.
 
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#31
Quadzilla said:
Neck is attached to the body via the mortise and tenon method which is essentially a tongue and groove that's set and glued. I think that I read that Carl Thompson and others have commonly used this method.
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If it's a long tenon, you should be able to see clear evidence of that in the neck pickup cavity.
 
#32
micguy said:
If it's a long tenon, you should be able to see clear evidence of that in the neck pickup cavity.
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Hey! Builder here - it’s not a long tenon. It’s essentially a bolt on style joint glued in. The reason it looks very different than other basses that are built this way is because I carved it differently. There are plenty of basses that have this construction out there - I attached a couple photos off of Xylem’s website - and maybe they can chime in to make sure I’m getting this right. But either way, I stand by the construction of the instruments I build. And if for some reason anything does malfunction with the neck joint I will pay for shipping to receive the bass back and make any repairs or even rebuilds free of charge.
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#33
Paul_Gaita said:
Hey! Builder here - it’s not a long tenon. It’s essentially a bolt on style joint glued in. The reason it looks very different than other basses that are built this way is because I carved it differently. There are plenty of basses that have this construction out there - I attached a couple photos off of Xylem’s website - and maybe they can chime in to make sure I’m getting this right. But either way, I stand by the construction of the instruments I build. And if for some reason anything does malfunction with the neck joint I will pay for shipping to receive the bass back and make any repairs or even rebuilds free of charge.View attachment 5113483 View attachment 5113482
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Here is a video of a build by Ben Crowe of crimson guitars being set with the same kind of joint. If you’re curious go to the 33-34 ish minute mark and you can see him gluing the neck in to essentially a bolt-on style pocket.
 
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#36
Paul_Gaita said:
Hey! Builder here - it’s not a long tenon. It’s essentially a bolt on style joint glued in. The reason it looks very different than other basses that are built this way is because I carved it differently. There are plenty of basses that have this construction out there - I attached a couple photos off of Xylem’s website - and maybe they can chime in to make sure I’m getting this right. But either way, I stand by the construction of the instruments I build. And if for some reason anything does malfunction with the neck joint I will pay for shipping to receive the bass back and make any repairs or even rebuilds free of charge.View attachment 5113483 View attachment 5113482
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Thank you for clarifying. I certainly meant no offense and I am DEFINITELY not a builder so my comment wasn't a critique - just had never seen anything like it before.
 
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