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Sei Owner's Club (Part 3)
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
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- club
I've just come off the phone from Martin and my bass is done!!!
All I need to do is get down to London to pick it up. There should be some pictures going up on the website pretty soon.
All I need to do is get down to London to pick it up. There should be some pictures going up on the website pretty soon.
As I write this I'm a train speeding through Yorkshire en route back to Scotland with a brand new Sei 5 string on the luggage rack above my head.
Once I got over the initial "ack I haven't played 5 in a while" and "this fingerboard is flatter than I was expecting" things went really well. I only had an hour or so in the shop but a full weekend in the 'shed and a rehearsal on Sunday should be the begining of a fruitfull relationship.
First impressions though are great. The neck is easy to play, the circuit doesn't colour things too much when flat and it sounds good passive with everything wide open.
There should be some photos up on the Sei site soon. I'll try to take some more this weekend too.
Once I got over the initial "ack I haven't played 5 in a while" and "this fingerboard is flatter than I was expecting" things went really well. I only had an hour or so in the shop but a full weekend in the 'shed and a rehearsal on Sunday should be the begining of a fruitfull relationship.
First impressions though are great. The neck is easy to play, the circuit doesn't colour things too much when flat and it sounds good passive with everything wide open.
There should be some photos up on the Sei site soon. I'll try to take some more this weekend too.
hi from hamburg,
this sei jazz 5 now resides in germany and I love it, so I guess I'm in.
anybody knows some history?
Best looking bass in this thread so far by far!
(ImHO)Ok ... here are some pictures (they're off the Sei site but I may take some of my own later) so my bass now officially exists. 
I'm over the initial extra string awkwardness but I haven't quite gotten used to not having the the quick geographical reference of two dots on the fingerboard at the 12th fret. Having said that I have no regrets about the blocks and for insisting on the size. They created a bit of a problem in construction as Martin was concerned about the ability to get enough camber on them to match the neck. In the end he did a great job with them and I love 'em.
My main bass for the past 6 years or so has been a Sadowsky Metro MV4. It's a fantastic instrument that records with clarity and cuts well live, however in my heart of hearts it's a bit too modern sounding in some situations. With that in mind the tonal aim for the Sei build was a classic warm Jazz bass sound with some help from the EQ when needed.
Tonally...well...it's a Jazz bass, mission accomplished. In pure passive mode with pickups and tone wide open the acoustic warmth of the note opens up with a bit more texture in the mids and a lovely crisp top end. Based on a couple of days in the living room and one rehearsal I'm very impressed with the Nordstrand SV pickups. I have a set of the SEs in a Fender Jazz (can you tell I like Js at all?
) and spent alot of time humming and hawwing about these vs the SVs for the build.
The SVs have a nicer midrange colour to me, particularly with both wide open. The bridge pickup is thinner but actually I don't find that I solo it much in a band context so it doesn't feel much of a downside.
The Nordstand circuit does colour the sound a little even when set flat but you'd be doing well to notice once the band is blasting away. The impact of the cut and boost seems rather more subtle than the Sadowsky circuit. This is either a positive or negative depending on taste. In terms of this build I think it's a positive as the passive tone of the instrument is a bit more intact.
There is always a bit of risk involved when you go for a custom build as you don't really know what you're getting until it arrives. Sitting here now after my first weekend with a bass I ordered on 1 December 2010 I feel like I've got what I had in mind both visually and sonically.
I'm over the initial extra string awkwardness but I haven't quite gotten used to not having the the quick geographical reference of two dots on the fingerboard at the 12th fret. Having said that I have no regrets about the blocks and for insisting on the size. They created a bit of a problem in construction as Martin was concerned about the ability to get enough camber on them to match the neck. In the end he did a great job with them and I love 'em.
My main bass for the past 6 years or so has been a Sadowsky Metro MV4. It's a fantastic instrument that records with clarity and cuts well live, however in my heart of hearts it's a bit too modern sounding in some situations. With that in mind the tonal aim for the Sei build was a classic warm Jazz bass sound with some help from the EQ when needed.
Tonally...well...it's a Jazz bass, mission accomplished. In pure passive mode with pickups and tone wide open the acoustic warmth of the note opens up with a bit more texture in the mids and a lovely crisp top end. Based on a couple of days in the living room and one rehearsal I'm very impressed with the Nordstrand SV pickups. I have a set of the SEs in a Fender Jazz (can you tell I like Js at all?
) and spent alot of time humming and hawwing about these vs the SVs for the build.The SVs have a nicer midrange colour to me, particularly with both wide open. The bridge pickup is thinner but actually I don't find that I solo it much in a band context so it doesn't feel much of a downside.
The Nordstand circuit does colour the sound a little even when set flat but you'd be doing well to notice once the band is blasting away. The impact of the cut and boost seems rather more subtle than the Sadowsky circuit. This is either a positive or negative depending on taste. In terms of this build I think it's a positive as the passive tone of the instrument is a bit more intact.
There is always a bit of risk involved when you go for a custom build as you don't really know what you're getting until it arrives. Sitting here now after my first weekend with a bass I ordered on 1 December 2010 I feel like I've got what I had in mind both visually and sonically.
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Stunning bass. Martin has done his usual fine work, conratulations and thanks for posting a review and especially the photos.
Matthew
Matthew
Love it. 
Haven't seen too many through-neck Sei Jazzes.
Currently plotting what my next one is going to be... I've got lots of ideas, but I think it's probably sensible to hold off getting another one until I'm actually out playing again.
Haven't seen too many through-neck Sei Jazzes. Currently plotting what my next one is going to be... I've got lots of ideas, but I think it's probably sensible to hold off getting another one until I'm actually out playing again.
Ok, so the new girl gets her first big test tomorrow night throwing down some live hip hop on a dep gig. FoH should (hopefully) be post-fade from a Ganz Benz Streamliner. Been sounding great in rehearsal and even using the dusty end of the neck a little bit.
Hey guys
I know it's been a long time since I posted here - but I'm still loving my Seis - no plans to order another one just yet, got to watch my beans... but I'm loving using Ableton Live and have a new band in the making - I'm using the Sonuus i2M MIDI connector to get the synth stuff happening - but this is all recorded live with no overdubs etc... I like it
A Little Buzz - Heavy Bass/fusion/jazz - Sonuus i2m/NI Masive/Ableton Live - YouTube
Cheers
Mike
PS I'll be hanging out at the London bass Guitar show in two week's time - on the Saturday so say hello if you see me
I know it's been a long time since I posted here - but I'm still loving my Seis - no plans to order another one just yet, got to watch my beans... but I'm loving using Ableton Live and have a new band in the making - I'm using the Sonuus i2M MIDI connector to get the synth stuff happening - but this is all recorded live with no overdubs etc... I like it
A Little Buzz - Heavy Bass/fusion/jazz - Sonuus i2m/NI Masive/Ableton Live - YouTube
Cheers
Mike
PS I'll be hanging out at the London bass Guitar show in two week's time - on the Saturday so say hello if you see me
Update to the above; loving my new Sei, so it's staying. The KAs in it seem much more open and balanced than the Barts I've had before. It'll be KAs all the way in any Seis from now on; if I get another used one with Barts I'll probably just swap them out.
FWIW My new Sei is the Swamp ash / Burr Madrone / gold hardware 4 string headed Flamboyant on the Sei site. Currently my main bass for my new acoustic (as in everybody else, not me) gig. Sadly still having nerve (hand & arm) problems though which is seriously limiting playing time.
Still can't wait to order another though, although that'll be a long, long way off.....
Here's my new Sei Jazz, built January 2012 after only 9 months! The body is a 1-piece swamp ash with a birdseye maple neck and abalone inlays on the rosewood fingerboard. The pickups are Bartolini's and the preamp is an East Uk J-Retro. I can't tell you how well it plays and sounds. I couldn't be happier with it - It's a real workhorse!
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Very pretty! Congrats on a lovely Sei!
Can't believe it only took 9 months - my fretless Jazz took nearly double that...
