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Post your Brian Bromberg basses!

#21
I don't own one but I come here to ask this; what in the heck is this control setup? Apparently it has a Piezo bridge system but I have not seen controls THAT complicated before, save those on BC Riches and Alembics.
zwmfqd.jpg


I'd love to own a blue or white B-Quad though. Always loved those basses.
 
#23
These "B2" basses that are from "Dean Guitars" or by any name brand that have 7 knobs are basses that I did NOT APPROVE nor was I involved in any way with their construction and development. I have never had a bass with 7 knobs!! I have no clue what the knobs do, what the pick ups are, what they sound like, who makes them, what country they are made in, on and on...

That is another thing that is cool about Talkbass, I would never have seen these instruments if it wasn't for you guys posting pics. I guess it's time to do some research?

This is another reason why I appreciate the Carvin B2's so much. I was involved in every step of the development of these basses from the paper drawings to the final basses that ship to you.

They are made in San Diego Ca. I know who builds them and works on them. I know who did the R&D, I know who paints them, I know who developed the circuit board with me as well as the pick ups, I know who set's them up. I got to tell you that it's awesome to have that much input and control of an instrument that has your name attached to it.
 
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#27
Brian Bromberg said:
These "B2" basses that are from "Dean Guitars" or by any name brand that have 7 knobs are basses that I did NOT APPROVE nor was I involved in any way with their construction and development. I have never had a bass with 7 knobs!! I have no clue what the knobs do, what the pick ups are, what they sound like, who makes them, what country they are made in, on and on...

That is another thing that is cool about Talkbass, I would never have seen these instruments if it wasn't for you guys posting pics. I guess it's time to do some research?

This is another reason why I appreciate the Carvin B2's so much. I was involved in every step of the development of these basses from the paper drawings to the final basses that ship to you.

They are made in San Diego Ca. I know who builds them and works on them. I know who did the R&D, I know who paints them, I know who developed the circuit board with me as well as the pick ups, I know who set's them up. I got to tell you that it's awesome to have that much input and control of an instrument that has your name attached to it.
Click to expand...

Hi Brian, glad to see you stopping by here at TB. I owned one of the Dean B2s a few years ago (5 knob version). Looking forward to checking out one of the Carvin models :)

-Frank.
 
#29
Hey, what are you guys doing talking about my bass? I can shed some light on this beauty...

She's a prototype for the "Version 2" of the Dean B2 or B2 Custom as it may have been dubbed. It was given the OK from Mick Donner after he joined Dean and was as disappointed with the Korean made B2's as Brian was. According to him, the factory that built the Korean B2's were not really qualified to handle such a complex instrument. He had a more qualified factory create this beast in an effort to make the production model B2 more true to Brian's custom B2's. Unfortunately, the project was canned before this instrument saw the light of day.

The reason for the odd piezo bridge and 7 knobs is that they did not have the correct electronics to install on the spot and put these humbuckers and piezo in just for a placeholder. The preamp is the same as the production model except without stacked knobs. Mick said that the goal was to get the wood, the ergonomics, and overall feel right and then install the proper electronics.

Woodwise, it has a really nice flamed maple top, alder (not basswood wings) and a 7 piece maple-walnut neck, much more like Brian's instruments at the time. It has the "correct" shape and other than the 3+1 tuner is an authentic copy.

I acquired this bass in December from a shop in Tennessee that had purchased it from an individual a few years prior. I'm not sure how he got it, but I'm glad he traded it in. The feel and playability are second to none and the sound is pretty freaking sweet. Even with the stock pups, the span of available tones is huge. After talking to Mick I have decided to install new pickups/electronics to make this bass more of what it was meant to be. I'm thinking a custom pickup casings (to fill the holes) with either Carvin RAD-J (same as the Carvin models) or EMG JVX pickups enclosed in them. For a preamp, an EMG BQS system (nearly identical to the preamp in the Carvin models) and a Graphtech Ghost System piezo bridge to finish it off.


Here's some pics:
6366728995_a877660e8f_b.jpg
[/url]
B2 Custom Front by Motorheadbanger93, on Flickr[/IMG]
6366729205_fac0bec400_b.jpg
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B2 Custom Back by Motorheadbanger93, on Flickr[/IMG]
6371121459_bde0c34db4_b.jpg
[/url]
B2 Full by Motorheadbanger93, on Flickr[/IMG]
6371125441_72c0335625_b.jpg
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B2 Body by Motorheadbanger93, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
#30
Motorhead Banger thanks for your post, very informative. You actually answered some questions for me. The music business is truly amazing sometimes. It's even more amazing what happens behind the scenes!
Just like in life, some things work out and some things don't. But just as the title of my last CD says, "It Is What It Is."

It would have been great to see that project through to it's potential, but things just didn't work out. The good news is that I was free and able to hook up with Carvin. And I have to say Carvin is doing a fantastic job with the new B2 basses. I am really looking forward to the NAMM show as they are bringing a whole bunch of new basses that I haven't seen yet, and that's always fun!

I bet your bass sounds great man? The Carvin Rad J's are fantastic and it looks like they will fit in your bass just fine. Let me know what you end up with and thank you again for the post, very cool!.........B2
 
#31
Brian Bromberg said:
Motorhead Banger thanks for your post, very informative. You actually answered some questions for me. The music business is truly amazing sometimes. It's even more amazing what happens behind the scenes!
Just like in life, some things work out and some things don't. But just as the title of my last CD says, "It Is What It Is."

It would have been great to see that project through to it's potential, but things just didn't work out. The good news is that I was free and able to hook up with Carvin. And I have to say Carvin is doing a fantastic job with the new B2 basses. I am really looking forward to the NAMM show as they are bringing a whole bunch of new basses that I haven't seen yet, and that's always fun!

I bet your bass sounds great man? The Carvin Rad J's are fantastic and it looks like they will fit in your bass just fine. Let me know what you end up with and thank you again for the post, very cool!.........B2
Click to expand...

Thanks, Brian. I was really excited to find out the origins of this bass. I've played 2 of the standard Dean basses and all I can say is that if they played anything like this one, they would have been a much bigger success. I'm really digging your Carvin basses as well. All in all, I'd have to say that you've got some really well thought out instruments that are appealing to the player/artistic side as well as the technical side.

The Rad J's are just slightly too small (the pickup casings in this are the same size as EMG 45's) But I can always have pickup rings installed to hide the extra room. The stock tone is passable, but I'm just not a humbucker guy.

Since building a parts P-bass for a backup I have been stringing the B2 as a piccolo with Circle K balanced strings. I love the sound and whether it's just doing some comping and jazz chords or a lead guitar-esque solo, it just adds an interesting texture to a band setting. I have been letting are lead guitarist practice his bass skills on a few songs and taking over on piccolo. I actually brought it to a friend's church last week (Freewill Baptist= Southern/Bluegrass gospel) and it actually fit in really well between the banjo and mandolin. I typically play upright when I visit, so it was a surprise to them to see me playing twangy lead lines.
 
#32
Dan B said:
I don't own one but I come here to ask this; what in the heck is this control setup?
Click to expand...

Looks like the same controls as the B Quad. Just with 7 individual pots, where the B Quad has 4 of its controls put together onto 2 stacked pots. They still both have 7 different knobs to turn, plus one switch.

So, if it's the same as a B Quad, they are:

Master Vol (for all the pickups - or maybe just the magnetics - I can't remember!)
Bridge Vol
Neck Vol
Piezo Vol
Piezo passive Tone
Treble boost/cut
Bass boost/cut
Switch for Mono/Stereo

My second guess would be the same except for a Blend knob for the magnetic pickups and then a 3-band EQ.

Then there's the 10 trim/pan pots on the back....

I had a B Quad 4 and it was the nicest-playing bass I've ever had in my hands. Now I have the B Quad 5 that used to belong to lofreek (signed by Brian as the first B Quad 5 off the production line) and it has everything the 4 had, plus an extra string! :D :bassist:
 
#33
StuartV said:
Looks like the same controls as the B Quad. Just with 7 individual pots, where the B Quad has 4 of its controls put together onto 2 stacked pots. They still both have 7 different knobs to turn, plus one switch.

So, if it's the same as a B Quad, they are:

Master Vol (for all the pickups - or maybe just the magnetics - I can't remember!)
Bridge Vol
Neck Vol
Piezo Vol
Piezo passive Tone
Treble boost/cut
Bass boost/cut
Switch for Mono/Stereo

My second guess would be the same except for a Blend knob for the magnetic pickups and then a 3-band EQ.

Then there's the 10 trim/pan pots on the back....

I had a B Quad 4 and it was the nicest-playing bass I've ever had in my hands. Now I have the B Quad 5 that used to belong to lofreek (signed by Brian as the first B Quad 5 off the production line) and it has everything the 4 had, plus an extra string! :D :bassist:
Click to expand...

It's actually my bass, see the posts above you. It's the same controls as the Dean B2, but without the stacked knobs.

The layout is: Master Volume(for all), neck pickup, bridge pickup, mids, treble, bass, piezo volume, and a 3 way switch for mag's only, both, or piezo's only.
 
#39
tajafam said:
Just curious, what was the original price you paid for this bass?
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That looks like the four string that FedEx broke for me. I think that one cost me about $450 used, sans case or bag.

Incredibly, I had the same thing happen with a fiver, too.

Here's what happened to the fiver, despite having been shipped to me in its hardcase.

IMG_0168_zps60d1ae82.gif
 

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