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Show Us Your Rob Allen Basses Part II

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#42
For awhile I had been thinking of getting a modern semi-hollow as my next bass (my previous "modern" semi-hollows were '66 and '67). After getting my Solid 4 earlier this year I knew it had to be a Rob Allen.

My requirements were: fretted 4 string, drop D tuner, maple top with f-hole, cocobolo fingerboard and bridge, passive pickup with tone control on the bridge, no piezo pickup. Rob's excellent suggestion was to use a Solid 4 pickup (with fewer windings) placed in the neck position. I told him I was a neck player ;)

It arrived earlier this week and it's exactly what I had imagined when I first described it to Rob. My initial impressions are that it has a smoother tone than the Solid 4 (which growls nicely) and a somewhat shallower, wider feeling neck. The two basses sound "related" but each has its own character. Very, very cool. As Rob said, it sounds "GREAT".

The first two pics are from Rob's shop prior to ship, the rest are "at the house".

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#44
Thanks Ken, being involved in the design process really makes it feel like it's "mine".

Yes, Rob is a true artist. The love of his craft is evident in every bass that he builds.
 
#46
JxBass - looks great. My Solid 4 is going back to be modded by Rob when he gets back to me. We've pretty much agreed what is going to happen to it. Should be interesting if it turns out the way I think.

I just wound up doing the first three bass tracks for my new album with my Deep 4. I thought I'd use my fretless P on one of 'em, but the Deep was a better fit.
 
#48
JxBass said:
It arrived earlier this week and it's exactly what I had imagined when I first described it to Rob. My initial impressions are that it has a smoother tone than the Solid 4 (which growls nicely) and a somewhat shallower, wider feeling neck. The two basses sound "related" but each has its own character. Very, very cool. As Rob said, it sounds "GREAT".


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Click to expand...

let's hear some clips!!!:hyper:
 
#55
JxBass said:
Rob's excellent suggestion was to use a Solid 4 pickup (with fewer windings) placed in the neck position. I told him I was a neck player ;)

It arrived earlier this week and it's exactly what I had imagined when I first described it to Rob. My initial impressions are that it has a smoother tone than the Solid 4 (which growls nicely) and a somewhat shallower, wider feeling neck. The two basses sound "related" but each has its own character.
Click to expand...

JxBass, that's a handsome pair of instruments! The pickup on your MB2 looks like it's placed quite a bit north of the one on your Solid 4. Does it sound noticeably rounder? And I know it's going to sound really dumb, but are the solids totally solid or are they at all chambered? Is there much of a weight difference between the Solid and his other models?

I think I may have asked this in the past, but does anybody here have a Rob Allen bass (other than a Mouse) with a shorter scale, ie 32", etc?
 
#57
koobie said:
JxBass, that's a handsome pair of instruments! The pickup on your MB2 looks like it's placed quite a bit north of the one on your Solid 4. Does it sound noticeably rounder? And I know it's going to sound really dumb, but are the solids totally solid or are they at all chambered? Is there much of a weight difference between the Solid and his other models?
Click to expand...

The MB-2 sounds smoother, some of it likely due to the neck position of the (Solid 4) pickup, some due to its semi-hollow body. They don't sound vastly different though.

The Solid 4 is a solidbody. It supposedly only weights 3/4 of a pound more than the MB-2 but the MB-2 feels much lighter. Perhaps 3/4 of a pound is more significant when dealing with just 6-7 lbs. I don't own one, but the Mouse 30 is even lighter, spec'd at 5.5 lbs! I believe the Deep 4/5 models are his heaviest (slightly) per the specs.
 
#58
Thanks for the info. And yeah, my Mouse is a flyweight, super comfortable. The Mouse is the first instrument I've owned with a piezo pickup. I love the tone but the ceramic pickup shown on the LX's Solid and MB2 looks pretty cool.
 
#59
My fretted walnut MB2 has gotten no use compared to my Deep 5, mouse and MB2-5.

The bass is an older vintage bought used from another TB member and while i liked the feel, I found it didn't intonate very well. On the other hand, a fretless MB2 4-string was looking better and better.

I sent the neck to epoxy expert HG Thor and decided to go with a lined fretless.

The job hasn't been easy (turns out Rob's bass necks have a compound radius) but the result is gorgeous. I'm not sure what wood this is...but wow!

Will post results when the neck gets back and the bass is re-assembled.

hgthorRAneck.png
 
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