• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Ordered A New Bass From AC Guitars!!

monkeyfinger

monkeyfinger

Moderator
Staff member
Gold Supporting Member
Oct 29, 2001
5,798
5,906
62
Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
#1
I want to share with you my excitement about a bass I ordered from AC Guitars in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. I have been working with Alan Cringean for a couple of weeks to finalize the specs. This is my first truly custom instrument I ordered. The process was required a lot of thought and planning. I kept my own spec sheet. It details some things that are standard from ACG. It made it easier for me to keep track of exactly what I was getting. I've attached my spec sheet so you can see what it entails. Alan hung in there with me the whole way. He was very responsive and courteous. He was patient with my crazy questions. We sent over every minute detail of the build several times. I didn't mind the effort though. This is a high-end bass. When ordering and instrument in this price range, I think the extra preparation will really pay-off in the end.

Here is the web page Alan posted about my build.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

Attachments

  • Like
Reactions: mark beem, Jared Lash and blindrabbit
#3
He and I went through a great deal of effort to meet my desire to have a five string bass under 9 lbs, and possibly even under 8.5 lbs. He found a very light-weight piece of white limba for the body core in his collection. It is a light as some of the lightest pieces of swamp ash with a very pronounced grain and some beautiful mineral staining. We also worked carefully on selecting woods that would result in a very stiff neck without unnecessary weight. I was leaning towards wenge with maple stringers. We ended up with a five piece quarter-sawn maple neck with wenge stingers. After doing a lot of research, I discovered why hard maple is still the preferred wood for many neck builds. It is very stiff for its weight. There are stiffer woods, but they usually weigh much more. He also suggested I stay away from heavy weight top woods. We discussed using redwood initially. Although this is a beautiful wood and super light, I decided it was too soft. It can be scratched with a fingernail. So I went with something a little heavier and tougher. I selected a gorgeous piece of heavily flamed Tasmanian myrtle. This is an acacia, like koa. So it is a harder than redwood, but not as heavy as other exotic types. The piece I purchased is predominantly red-orange with brown, black and purple sections. Under the myrtle will be an accent of figured sycamore, a variety of soft maple. The fingerboard is macassar ebony. It is black with reddish-brown ribbon streaks that should compliment the body cap very well. This bass has a tilt-back headstock with a scarf joint. So caps on either side of the headstock are needed. I went with a wenge for these. I love the look of wenge. With such a vibrant body top, I thought the darker and more subtle headstock caps and fingerboard would look better. When dealing with decorative woods, I think it is easy to do too much. The instrument ends up looking too busy and unfocused. I think this combination will look elegant and balanced.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#5
I think Alan has a very unique offering in the market for several reasons.

  1. I think his wood selections are really top notch.
  2. He has built well over 100 basses. (Check out the gallery on his website)
  3. Flat radius fingerboard
  4. Asymmetric neck profile
  5. Acrylic impregnated fingerboard
  6. Evo gold fretwire
  7. Choice of tilt-back or flat headstock
  8. great selection of body templates (11+)
  9. double acting truss rod adjusts at heel using wheel (like Stingray)
  10. his own filter-based preamp like Wal or Alembic (this is huge IMO!!)
  11. His own pickup designs
EDIT: forgot to mention low battery indicator led, and locking output jack.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#9
jd56hawk said:
Well, post pics as the build continues, of course.
Congratulations on your custom build!
I had a custom-made suit once and that was a pretty big deal, but a custom bass?
Wow!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is pretty exciting and a little scary. The thing I had to accept about a custom build is that I have to learn to trust the builder. I gave up control once I finalize the specs. I can only hope the builder can make my dreams a reality. That is why I spent a lot of time deciding on a the builder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit and jd56hawk
#10
Here is a picture of the Tasmanian blackwood bass that inspired my choices. Blackwood is very similar to myrtle with less pink/orange and more black.

IMG_6816.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Solarmist, bholder, blindrabbit and 2 others
#11
I want to talk about the flat radius fingerboard. This is the standard radius he offers. I could have also opted for a 20" or 30" radius. These are also pretty flat IMO. I did a lot of reading on this. It took me a while to adjust my thinking. First, I have never owned a bass with a radius flatter than 16", so this is pretty new to me. The only other instrument that I am personally familiar with a flat radius is a classical guitar. The flat radius is supposed to make finger plucking easier and more consistent from string to string. (A desirable feature for classical guitar style.) I play traditional two finger style almost exclusively. I sometimes have issues with consistent attack when plucking the B string. I am hoping this will help. Advocates of the flat fingerboard say that curved boards are a leftover from bowed instruments and are sub-optimal for instruments designed for plucking or hammering. The closest thing I could try to a flat board was a 90's 4 string Warwick Thumb bass. It is not a trully flat radius bass, but is flatter than many other basses. As I expected, it felt a little concave. In the end I suspect that I will adjust to it, just as I do with most neck and fingerboard designs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#13
Asymmetric neck profile:

I think this is an excellent feature that should appear on more high-end basses. I have this on my MIA Fender American Deluxe Dimension V and my Fender Roscoe Beck V. I think it really improves the feel of the instrument as I move across the neck. The idea is that the neck is thinner, front to back, as you move closer to 'G' string.

Here is my theory about why this works for well for me:

I keep my thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. My fretting hand will pivot around the thumb. My wrist bends more as I move to the lower strings. This opens the gap between my fingers and thumb as tension on the tendons that control the fingers increases. As I move towards the 'G' string, my wrist straightens, reducing the tension on those tendons. This closes the distance between my fingers and thumb. So the result is that I have more even tension in my fingers as I play.

I really have no hard evidence that this is the reason why I like asymmetric necks. Nor can I assume that the asymmetric necks on my Fenders will even be remotely similar to the one the ACG, but hey, it is fun to speculate. Plus my personal experience tells me this is a good thing. I also suspect this will work well with the flat radius board. As I said before, I can get used to almost anything. But some designs will allow me to play with more speed, articulation, consistency and stamina than others. This, I am hoping, will be a good formula for that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#14
Acrylic Impregnated fingerboard:

Alan gets these from Gallery Hardwoods. They are real hardwoods that are impregnated with plastics to make them more stable and moisture and cracking resistant. The method insures that the acrylics and monomers penetrate the wood completely and evenly. (See Link Removed.) They are also less likely to get dirty. The cool thing is that you can get woods, like spalted maple, that are otherwise terrible for fingerboards. Fingerboard woods need to be very stiff and dimensionally stable as well as wear resistant. Ebony is certainly hard. But is prone to shrinkage and cracking IME. I have felt the fretwire ends stick out from the sides of the fingerboard on ebony boards when the humidity is low. I am hoping the treated board will have less of these issues. Alan assures me that the fingerboard qualities come through the same way as an untreated fingerboard of the same material does. I think fingerboards contribute a lot to look and feel on fretted instruments. I also think that density and hardness of the fingerboard translate to tone and responsiveness. So having a more even density from the process should be beneficial. This is a much smarter choice than coating the top with epoxy. BTW, if you go with a maple board with this process, you won't have to refinish the fingerboard after a fret job. You just sand it like you would with rosewood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#16
double acting truss rod adjusts at heel using wheel:

This is cool!! I used to have a Stingray with the wheel adjustment. Now I have a Fender Am. Dlx. with the same. it is a little hard to see in the pic. What you are looking at is the wheel end of the truss rod. That face would lie perpendicular to the neck, partially covered by the body. On the sides of the wheel are holes. You adjust the truss rod by sticking some stiff metal pin or rod in it and turn. it is really easy to use and most any tool will do. I use either a small philips head or an allen wrench that fits and is stiff enough to turn the truss rod. I like a very low action. So I end up adjusting my relief every five to eight weeks depending on the bass. This makes the job really quick and easy to do. Also, no need to remove covers or remove the neck. That method should go the way of the dinosaur.

By the way Alan has these custom made for him. This is not an off-the-shelf item. I believe this shows he really cares about what goes into his instruments.

Also, this is double acting. Apparently, that is a good thing. I don't have enough personal knowledge to have a strong opinion one way or another about this.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truss_rod:
A dual action (also known as two way or double expanding) truss rod is a more modern design and it is currently being used by some luthiers (notably [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) in lieu of the vintage single truss rod. The dual action rod is installed in a straight channel in the wood as opposed to the curved channel used by vintage rods. When adjusted, it exerts force on the neck in both directions simultaneously, pushing towards the fretboard in the middle of the neck and away from the fretboard at the nut and heel.

A neck with a two way rod installed is often more stable and less influenced by climate changes, as well as being able to restraighten twisted necks, which can be a hefty repair for other guitars. However, some players believe the dual action truss system has an adverse effect on the tone of the instrument, due to the weight of the second rod and the additional wood removal required for installation.
Click to expand...

Here is a pic:

trussrods2_470px.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#17
Splods said:
Tasmanian blackwood is gorgeous, but extremely dangerous to work with. My grandfather got cancer in the sinuses from working with it back in the 60's and 70's when dust extraction wasn't a mandatory requirement in workshops.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about that. It seems like a lot of exotic woods are pretty dangerous to work with. This is the first time I have heard of it being associated with cancer. Just goes to show that mother nature is a b*tch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Splods
#18
Pickups:

I ordered an Uber spec'd bass. This comes with his custom MC pickups. He designed these with Aaron Armstrong and John East. That is pretty good company IMO. This is a multi-coil humbucker with two coils per string. So each string has its own dual coil humbucking pickup. This supposedly improves the clarity and response of the pickups. All those leads are feed to an active circuit on the pickup itself. (So the pickup is technically active.) The circuit mixes the inputs. The neck pickup normally has a filter on it to create a resonant peak in the upper presence region. (You can read more about this on his website.)

I know I like humbuckers in general. I suspect that this is going to be a more hi-fi version of a humbucker. I think I will like these. I used to own a Ovation Magnum with very funky humbuckers in the necj position. I wonder if they had a similar design. Those pickups were great. I am sure this is a very expensive way to build a humbucker. Alan could have gone cheaper and more conventional. I like the way he thinks outside the box. Again, I have to trust the builder on this one.

BTW, he has more conventional pickups that he uses on his non-Uber spec basses. They are basically ceramic blade designs with various humbucking doo-dads. They sound pretty cool. I've talked to other TB members with ACG basses. They tell me they are great pickups.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Solarmist and blindrabbit
#19
The filter-based preamp, in this case the latest version called the DFM, (dual filter modular):

Ok, I talked a lot about this bass. I saved the best feature for last: Alan's custom preamp design. This is where the guy has put a lot of engineering and creativity. It is what sold me on his basses. He takes a completely different approach to preamp design that really speaks to me. First, the simple stuff: each pickup has a separate internal volume control. This makes balancing pickup output a breeze. Have you ever gone crazy trying to adjust pickup height for output balance between neck and bridge? It drives me nuts. Plus you can't adjust height for optimal frequency response, (higher means more fundamental), or string response, (too high pulls on the string making them wobble/chorus and kills sustain). Now I an adjust pickups at the best height for string response and tone without worrying about balanced output levels. Everyone should do this.

Now the really cool stuff: each pickup has a variable low pass filter. The each filter has an external control for cut-off frequency and resonant peak. This is like using a parked wah, but with much more subtle variations. He designed this with John East, so you know this has got to be good. Plus there are mid/hi sweepable boost-only stacked pots. These features makes the all-so-important mid range tone very controllable. There are a couple of extra cool features that are described here:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

So why am I so gung-ho about this preamp? First, it is not your typical three band eq. I never really understood why this became the norm for active basses. This type of eq is really designed, IMO, for correcting and balancing sound, not for sculpting it. I rarely use the eq on my active instruments except to fix something. Too harsh? Turn down the treble. Too boomy? Turn down the bass. Not cutting through? Boost the mids. I use pickup selection, attack, and plucking position to sculpt the sound. These on-board eqs are pretty limited too. I think that if you want something to fix the sound, you are better off using an external eq or the eq built-into your bass amp. I have talked to so may players with active eq on the bass who say they hardly ever use it. I am one of them. (Except for the cases I describe.) So why do we continue to include them on our basses? Maybe because we don't have anything better.

I believe that Alan's preamp is truly a better system. I am sure it will provide far better tone sculpting than correction. But that is ok with me. I am confident I will be able to get more variety of sounds from this bass than any other. It just won't be as quick and easy to adjust initially. It will require some re-wiring of my brain. I have worked with similar systems in the past with great results. (Mostly in the studio.) I believe this design thinks of pickups and electronics as a whole. It allows you to dial in the tone of each pickup individually and then blend those sounds together. For example: let's say I want low-mid grunt but with hi-mid grit on top for a killer rock tone. (That is my kind of sound, BTW.) This is hard to achieve with a conventional three band, but is totally doable with Alan's system.

BTW, as I mentioned earlier Wal and Alembic uses this model. Alan told me he played Wals for years. I have no doubt his design was inspired by these fantastic basses. But he also added a lot of new features that goes beyond the Wal circuit. i am very excited about this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back