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Sin Cabeza Cinco - Headless Fretless 5 String Bass Build

#102
eightyearsapril said:
Every time I see it, I'm amazed, again, at how brilliant your veneer design on the fretboard was. The rest of the bass looks pretty good, too. :thumbsup:
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Thank you so much! I am very pleased with how it turned out, although "brilliant" isn't a descriptive I would use on anything I produce. ;)
 
#103
Through a comedy of errors that is most likely my fault I had to have the set screws resent. They will be in the mail tomorrow, but since I am going to be out of town all next week I will have to wait a bit to get this finished and out the door. On the upside the guys at Hipshot are awesome to work with.
 
#104
Apart from screwing in the strap buttons and attaching the truss rod cover she's done. No pix tonight- I am wiped. Here's a couple of sound clips of me playing her out to test things - one is raw and one processed. She's definitely quiet, but I find myself not preferring the Seymour Duncans. They are fine, but a bit sterile for my taste.


 
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#105
The bass sounds good, have you played it through an amp or did you just record it directly? Those pickups sound pretty nice to my ears, very balanced tonally. I think playing it through a rig and adding a little color to it will liven them right up. Most of my basses sound a bit sterile when corded directly.
 
#106
@Hopkins - That's good to hear...I am feeling a bit sad about the tone. The first clip is raw right into my recording rig, and the second is with a bit of VST processing using an Sansamp and Ampeg simulator. It does sound a lot better running through my real Sansamp and Amp, but it needs a lot of coloring to get the tone where I like it.

She plays really well, and I was able to get a fairly low action without much trouble. I am so used to a 32" scale length that the 34" was a bit difficult to move around in, but the fret line schema works really well.

Here's a couple of pix:
DSC_0853_zpssp8do4wl.jpg
DSC_0855_zpsbeemxz4l.jpg
 
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#109
manupulated said:
I use some sd soapbars in my test bass and found them quiet so in added sd preamp and i like it , but i dont own a big rig so i need to go see a friend and test them some more
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Good to note! They are a bit on the quiet side in regards to output, but I love how quiet they are in regards to outside interference.

manupulated said:
I like your design on this btw !
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I can't really take much credit - the TB community pretty much revamped the design to something that worked from my flawed original. Thanks though!
 
#114
Delivered! The customer was super happy with the results. I had a chance to play it for a couple of days before it left my hands and I am really pleased with how it plays and feels. I can now move on and focus full time on my other builds.... ;)
 
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#117
PDX Rich said:
Wow! Excellent work! Well you definitely have to fill the build void now :D
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Thank you very much! My biggest challenge is going to be limiting myself to the builds I have in progress. ;)

Rôckhewer said:
Very nice!!
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Thank you! I must admit that every time I see your name I have to fight fiber envy over the gorgeous wood you recently came into. ;)
 
#118
Ha!
Right back at'cha... That pale moon ebony is the stuff of dreams!
Cant wait to see it finished...
BTW...(WAIT till you see the dwarf king under lacquer...there's some deep curl that I personally witnessed only with mineral spirits and a light...but its there!
Muaahaahaaa!;)
 
#119
I had a conversation with the customer yesterday and got some great feedback. They are super happy with the bass in general, but the one thing that has stood out was the playing comfort. Franco has historically struggled with discomfort and pain in his hands when playing guitar and bass, but the neck profile on this build has apparently solved the issue for him. The profile is a very simple 3/4" round-over across the back of the neck which leaves a flat area that widens as the neck approaches the body....it was not designed to be an "ergonomic" design per se, but I was told that the flat area makes a huge difference in stability and access, which has made it a no brainier to prefer playing this bass over all his other instruments.

Needless to say I am very happy to hear that the bass is being enjoyed and that the customer is satisfied. ;)
 
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