So, those who know me all understand that I am a gear freak and, even at the expense of paying my other less important bills like mortgage and car insurance, I go through a lot of basses. I've probably owned close to 50 basses at this point... and I am NOT a man of means. At least not any more. These days, for the most part, I stick to Laklands. Laklands are uniformly awesome and consistent instruments, and I can show up to just about any gig with my 55-02 and kick azz. I have had several *Boutique basses and one true custom.
As I was discussing recently with a man I consider to be my friend, teacher and general Guru concerning anything bass and music industry related..... I know surprisingly little, considering this vast experience, about what goes into making a bass I will truly love. Seriously... I know VERY LITTLE about what ingredients a bass has to have in order for me to really fall in love with it. The one bass I had made exactly to my specs (woods, electronics, body shape etc)..... I ended up really not loving..... 1) because I had no business trying to determine for myself what would work best for me and 2) the overall quality of the build was not up to my standards.
Enter Oscar Prat. Since I have settled on Laklands as my "everything" bass, I've been constantly chasing after a bass that will give me a particular voice for my particular favorite music to play (that being Progressive / Technical rock and metal) and also satisfy all my other ridiculous requirements. Oscar was recommended to me, and the guy had already kinda been on my mind. There's a ton of really talented builders out there that don't share the renown enjoyed by say Joe Zon, Mike Tobias, Ken Smith etc. Literally dozens. Honestly, with the exception of Pete Skjold, not many of them really impress me. Prat on the other hand seems to exhibit a maturity I don't see a lot of elsewhere.... and I say this despite the fact I have no use for or particular admiration of beatifully lacquered kitchen tables with 47 strings and comprised of 108 pieces of 12 different species of wood, as Prat is most widely known for crafting. So I called him up. I told him "Here's a detailed description of what I'm after. I have no idea whatsoever on how to get there. I am going to proceed trusting your recommendations completely. Whatever you recommend, I will go with". He spent about an hour asking me very pointed questions and then basically said he'd get back to me. He did. He recommended a Swamp Ash body, hard Northern Ash neck, Wenge fingerboard, 34" scale, Villex humbuckers, Noll preamp. I have absolutely no doubt this guy is right, and that this bass will give me everything I need. The guy is that professional and that totally in command of his trade, and it shows.
I've spaced the pictures out to keep you reading... mostly because I'm so excited and want to keep talking about it. I will keep this updated with pics as they come through, and in the meantime I'd love to hear from any current Prat owners and others waiting for their Prat to be built. Let's rock!!!
Awwwwww yeah!!
As I was discussing recently with a man I consider to be my friend, teacher and general Guru concerning anything bass and music industry related..... I know surprisingly little, considering this vast experience, about what goes into making a bass I will truly love. Seriously... I know VERY LITTLE about what ingredients a bass has to have in order for me to really fall in love with it. The one bass I had made exactly to my specs (woods, electronics, body shape etc)..... I ended up really not loving..... 1) because I had no business trying to determine for myself what would work best for me and 2) the overall quality of the build was not up to my standards.
Enter Oscar Prat. Since I have settled on Laklands as my "everything" bass, I've been constantly chasing after a bass that will give me a particular voice for my particular favorite music to play (that being Progressive / Technical rock and metal) and also satisfy all my other ridiculous requirements. Oscar was recommended to me, and the guy had already kinda been on my mind. There's a ton of really talented builders out there that don't share the renown enjoyed by say Joe Zon, Mike Tobias, Ken Smith etc. Literally dozens. Honestly, with the exception of Pete Skjold, not many of them really impress me. Prat on the other hand seems to exhibit a maturity I don't see a lot of elsewhere.... and I say this despite the fact I have no use for or particular admiration of beatifully lacquered kitchen tables with 47 strings and comprised of 108 pieces of 12 different species of wood, as Prat is most widely known for crafting. So I called him up. I told him "Here's a detailed description of what I'm after. I have no idea whatsoever on how to get there. I am going to proceed trusting your recommendations completely. Whatever you recommend, I will go with". He spent about an hour asking me very pointed questions and then basically said he'd get back to me. He did. He recommended a Swamp Ash body, hard Northern Ash neck, Wenge fingerboard, 34" scale, Villex humbuckers, Noll preamp. I have absolutely no doubt this guy is right, and that this bass will give me everything I need. The guy is that professional and that totally in command of his trade, and it shows.
I've spaced the pictures out to keep you reading... mostly because I'm so excited and want to keep talking about it. I will keep this updated with pics as they come through, and in the meantime I'd love to hear from any current Prat owners and others waiting for their Prat to be built. Let's rock!!!
Awwwwww yeah!!
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