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#23
Serves me right for complaining. Pictures, I got the 1st set of pictures :hyper: :hyper:
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I went up to see Martin today to finally get the electronics sorted out and behold the bass is starting to come together - was not expecting this. The bass is still in rough format with both sanding and glueing marks but I love it - the Madrona looks gorgeous.

Martin is starting to shape the fingerboard and neck this afternoon - I'm going back up in a couple of weeks to see how that's going. By that time the Headstock should have the matching facings front and back as well.

The rosewood fingerboard looks cool and I'm looking forward to the inlays going in. Didn't get a pic of that but will do for next time.

No longer going with the optional pickup covers, I'm starting to feel that may be a bit OTT but we can still do that after completion if we want. Also, you'll notice that the back hasn't got the full facing as I originally specced - I like the way the maple and wenge cuts through the Madrona.

Electronics
Going for 2 Bartolini soapbars with a Schack circuit. I played around with a Flamboyant 6 to get a feel for the Schack - that bass felt effortless to play.

It was a toss up between a Demeter or Schack circuit but we felt the Schack would have a touch more flexibility. We also talked about the Aggie OBP-3 but Martin felt it was a bit noisy compared to the other 2.

The control layout will be
  1. Master Volume
  2. Bass
  3. Middle
  4. Treble
  5. 3 Way Pickup Switch - this can be replaced with a blend control later if needed
 
#24
Ahh man, I really felt for ya last week when you said that the months had ticked by with no pics. But here we are. Bass looks fantastic and is going to look so cool !! That top is going to look great. I'd never heard of Madrona before, but hey, you learn a new thing every day !!

Just for fun, here's the definition of Madrona...

madroño (mədrōn'yə) , tree or shrub (Arbutus menziesii) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), native to the Pacific coast of North America and Mexico. It has glossy evergreen leaves, white flowers, and red berries and is cultivated in warm regions for ornament. The bark, which peels off naturally from the trunk to give the tree a naked appearance, has been a source of a brown dye and of tannin, and the hardwood is sometimes used for furniture. A related Mediterranean species, the strawberry tree (A. unedo), also supplies tannin and has edible berries used in preserves, wines, and liqueurs. This genus should not be confused with the plant of the same family whose common name is trailing arbutus. Madroño is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae.

I've played a couple of basses with Schack stuff in and there were superb (more of Martin's German connections !!).

I'm down south for a family do at the end of June, so I'll be popping in to the workshop to say 'hi' and grab a cuppa !!

P.S. You didn't see any bits of a 7 string lacewood project lying about did you ?? (LOL !!!)
 
#25
More pictures :hyper:
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Alex sent these to me today- by the time you read this the bass should be en-route to the finishers. I was due to go up to visit today to take a look but work got in the way.

Now a lot tidier since the last pics with the inlays done and all the shaping done. The finish has all been tidied in preparation for the finishing process.

Im loving the inlays. They look pretty bright in the pics but thats the lighting. When the body colour comes (see previous pics) and the hardware/strings etc go on I think they are going to be great - just what I was after.

Should be back in around 3 - 4 weeks so stay stuned for more pics. Then we are in the final straight :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm so happy - before we started this at the beginning of Feb I had a mental picture of what I wanted and this is really looking like that picture.
 
#32
Paddy said:
Thanks guys.

It's exciting times in my little bass world at the moment. The next batch of pics should be stunning - bring it on...

Matthew - you have had yours for a little while now, how you getting on with your baby. How are you finding the lack of pre-amp?
Click to expand...


Paddy

I have now given my new beast a good going over and it really is everything I wanted when I first approached Martin with my ideas.

Going straight to jack with no preamp has worked very well indeed, much better than expected. Whilst the wood combination of wenge and a wenge/sycamore neck and the Kent Armstrong give the growly tone I was seeking.

The hidden coil tap is also successful and I understand has now been requested by people to be put in their Sei's. This has given my 2 different sounds, a Jazz style single coil or a MM humbucker.

When I first tried the bass I was not sure the tone would cut through in a band situation. However I have since learnt to use my fingers more for tone and it is suprising how many sounds you can get by playing softly or digging in, changing where your right hand plays ie nearer the neck or bridge etc. It really is much easier than changing controls!

One thing I do miss however is having no volume control so I have brought a volume pedal and also use the cut out on my floor tuner as a mute.

So all in all my experimental bass which came from an imagined tone and look in my head has thanks to Martins skill come out brilliantly.

Now all I need to do is learn to play the damm thing :D

A photo is attached of my new bass [the flame Sycamore one]

Regards

Matthew
 
#36
Not yet...

The bass has been with the finishers for around 4 weeks now so am expecting some pictures any time now. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Oh man, can't wait to see some pics of post-finishing - they will finally show me how the madrone will actually look as opposed to my mental images.

Martin is on holiday until Wednesday so nothing will happen until then but won't be long now though - definitely feels like we are moving into the final phase :)

I've installed and am learning Audacity in preparation for the necessary sound clips :hiding:
 
#38
It's back - baby it's back. Alex took a couple of pictures for me and boy that Madrona has come good...

finisher_front.jpg
finisher_back.jpg

Wow - all I got to say is wow. :hyper: :hyper:

Been a bit pushy and asked Alex for a ballpark delivery date - man I got itchy fingers :cool: :bassist:
 
#40
Hey Fretless Bob

Maybe Martin has simply forgotten to do the routing :eek: .

Seriously, don't know. Bongo already asked this question on the support group. You just gotta go with the skillset and trust your luthier and I'm sure Martin has everything well and truly in hand.

I've asked the question though as I'm curious as well. Will let you know...
 

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