Say Hi to Irene - FBB #1112 (lots of pics)

After 7.5 months, Irene arrived on Saturday the 16th



I've posted a couple of pics and thoughts in other threads over the past day or so, but I figured it's time to show my new girl off a little bit ....



This bass is an extraordinary example of the fine work Matt Schmill puts out. Every little detail has been fully tended to .... after I really examined every square inch of this bass, I couldn't find one single thing out of place or problematic.



The finish work is just beautiful. When you run your hands over this axe all you feel is silky smooth finish work. The neck binding is just gorgeous, even the little details like the truss rod cover at the end of the board exhibit the extra attention Matt put into this beautiful girl.

I'm really loving the body sculpting on the rear of the bass. Matt provided this "belly cutout" (for the lack of a better word) to match up perfectly with my own "belly out-flow", making the bass feel just perfect. Even if I lose this gut, the bass will be perfectly positioned for me.



The Audere Z-Mode pre seems very cool. I haven't had a good opportunity to fully check it out in a live, working setting (that'll happen over the next few days), but it was cranked yesterday and I can see the possibilities. But since I almost always play in the passive mode, Matt installed a complete pre-amp bypass switch, so with one simple flick I'm into passive mode using only MasterVol-Vol-Vol controls.

To be honest, I'm not a big active mode player, but the Audere is going to provide some interesting settings. The knob layout is MasterVol, neck pup Vol, bridge pup Vol, & stacked tone. The top switch is the passive/active, the bottom is the Audere Hi-Mid-Low Z-mode. The Audere blue LED is in the middle of the switches.



There always seems to be a lot of chit-chat about the FBB headstocks. Yes, it does seem that every one of the HS's is different, and having met with Matt and now having a slightly better understanding of his build ideas I can see why they are always different.

It's my own opinion/impression that each bass Matt builds is a total extension of himself, the wood, the intended player, and other less specific factors. I kind of believe that it's almost like each bass has it's own very unique character, and that character is reflected in the headstocks. Whatever the case may be, I'm loving this design ....



I'll have more details after I get a few strong weeks of playing under my belt. I'm, quite honestly, humbled by this stunning instrument and I still am having a hard time believing that a long-awaited dream of mine has finally come true.

Serious props to Matt Schmill .... the man is amazingly gifted and I'm proud to consider him my friend ....

This is where Irene was first conceived


She's all grown up now .....

 

Thanks James ...

She'll be with me at the GTG this coming weekend .... we still car-pooling? BTW, I think we're going to be picking up Bob at the train in Edison ...... I'll PM you .....

 

Yeah, she's a "big-boned girl", for sure Based on my completely inaccurate home scale, the bass is right around 11.5 - 12 pounds, but that could easily be off by a bit either way. I'll get a more accurate weight at my dog's vet (she's got a great scale they use for weighing big dogs) one of these days.

Whatever the weight, the balance on the bass is so phenominal that you don't even feel it on you (assuming you use a good strap, of course). OTOH, I have yet to do a 2-hour set with it ....

 

I have some studio time booked in the next few weeks, so I should be able to get some clips together. Being somewhat inexperienced at home recording, the chances of me ever doing something at my house is very nearly non-existent ....