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The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!
- Thread starter ulasengin
- Start date
Thanks!That is going to look amazing with that Koa top!
I just sent an email to my Maru dealer and asked if he could contact Adrian to see if he has some more Koa because I would really like to have a Koa top & headstock on my short scale Jake that I just placed an order for on Friday. The only option when building my Jake for a top wood was Flamed Maple so I just went with a solid Swamp Ash body. I literally just sold a custom 32" warmoth with a selected Koa top that I loved but now I'm only playing short scales and would like to recreate that again. Looking forward to seeing your Bass complete and hoping that I can get a nice Koa top for my Jake P
Did he send you multiple choices for the Koa tops he has?
Yes, he had two other nice koa tops he sent me to choose from last night - good luck!
Update: My Frog has an expected delivery date of Monday, September 13. They actually delivered it last Thursday. I was on my way to a band meeting/rehearsal, and I noticed on my front porch. (!) So I took it with me and unboxed it at my guitar player's house.
First impressions:
It was really well packed. I actually got it shipped from the dealer, not directly from Maruszczyk, but I'm guessing it was really well packed from there as well, and the dealer probably used the same box and most of the same packing material.
The gig bag that's included at no extra cost is actually quite a nice gig bag.
The coffee cup is nice, too. I asked for a travel mug instead of a T-shirt (someone posted a very nice travel mug earlier in this thread). I ended up with a coffee cup rather than a travel mug, but it's still nice, plus they still sent me a T-shirt as well!
So the bass... The bass is gorgeous! I already knew that from the pictures, but it's just not the same as seeing it in person. The Lunimlay dots were a little bigger than I expected. The Luminlay numbers on the knobs are very cool! Those added a lot to the final cost of the bass, but I'm glad I did it.
Picking the bass up was a bit of a shock. Again, I already knew the weight was a full 2 pounds lighter than my 3-pickup jazz, but grabbing it and lifting is a whole different muscle experience than what I'm used to.
When I ordered the neck specs, I was trying to replicate the neck of an old stolen Rickenbacker 4001. I don't know how closely I succeeded at that, to be honest, but I really like the result. One thing I was trying for was to get a very minimal expansion of string spacing from the nut to the bridge. To that end, I got a 40mm nut and 18mm spacing at the bridge. The strings aren't exactly parallel, but the angle is much less pronounced than it is on my jazz. My guitar player noted that it's equally easy to play all up and down the neck because of that. (He plays bass sometimes, and he has a jazz, so that's what he's used to.)
Also, because the usually-slender Rickenbacker 4001 necks have gotten often-but-inconsistently chunkier on the 4003, I specifically asked for this Frog neck to be slender. In response, Adrian said they could make it 1mm thinner at the nut than usual, and so that's what I got. The back of the neck is painted matte trans-green, and the result is a neck that feels smooth and free.
I haven't had a chance to mess with the preamp a lot yet, but I did notice that it sounded kind of flat (a little gutless) initially. With a gig coming up on Saturday, I spent just enough time with it to dial in a sound I like, and then left it alone. The gig was a blues festival, and the plan was to tune the Frog to D tuning, and swap it in for a few songs.
The gig itself was fun, but chaotic. The power to the side of the stage with the bass amp kept tripping a breaker for no apparent reason, and suddenly there was no bass. Stuff happens, I get that, but they kept responding to each occurrence like it was the first time it happened, and that took valuable time. But they'd eventually get the bass power back up, and I'd be on again. Anyway, in between, I did get to take the Frog for a spin, and Holy Mad Cow! That preamp I said initially sounded gutless? It wasn't gutless, not even a little bit. That thing rocked, and could have melted faces, and I mean that in the best way possible. People in the audience who spoke with us after the show talked about how much they loved the bass sound when I played the Frog.
I have another festival gig coming up this week, and I think I might just reverse the roles -- use my 3-pickup jazz for the drop-D tuning, and give my Frog the prime-time. This week we'll be on the grid, not using a generator, so the power will be stable. I might be supplying the bass backline -- if I do, I'll probably use a Phil Jones Roadcase (750W, 12x5" speakers). The (modern) Ampeg amp available to me for the power outage festival was ok, but kinda meh. I kinda want to use it both for my own benefit, and to see the looks on the faces of the other bass players when they try to figure it out.
First impressions:
It was really well packed. I actually got it shipped from the dealer, not directly from Maruszczyk, but I'm guessing it was really well packed from there as well, and the dealer probably used the same box and most of the same packing material.
The gig bag that's included at no extra cost is actually quite a nice gig bag.
The coffee cup is nice, too. I asked for a travel mug instead of a T-shirt (someone posted a very nice travel mug earlier in this thread). I ended up with a coffee cup rather than a travel mug, but it's still nice, plus they still sent me a T-shirt as well!
So the bass... The bass is gorgeous! I already knew that from the pictures, but it's just not the same as seeing it in person. The Lunimlay dots were a little bigger than I expected. The Luminlay numbers on the knobs are very cool! Those added a lot to the final cost of the bass, but I'm glad I did it.
Picking the bass up was a bit of a shock. Again, I already knew the weight was a full 2 pounds lighter than my 3-pickup jazz, but grabbing it and lifting is a whole different muscle experience than what I'm used to.
When I ordered the neck specs, I was trying to replicate the neck of an old stolen Rickenbacker 4001. I don't know how closely I succeeded at that, to be honest, but I really like the result. One thing I was trying for was to get a very minimal expansion of string spacing from the nut to the bridge. To that end, I got a 40mm nut and 18mm spacing at the bridge. The strings aren't exactly parallel, but the angle is much less pronounced than it is on my jazz. My guitar player noted that it's equally easy to play all up and down the neck because of that. (He plays bass sometimes, and he has a jazz, so that's what he's used to.)
Also, because the usually-slender Rickenbacker 4001 necks have gotten often-but-inconsistently chunkier on the 4003, I specifically asked for this Frog neck to be slender. In response, Adrian said they could make it 1mm thinner at the nut than usual, and so that's what I got. The back of the neck is painted matte trans-green, and the result is a neck that feels smooth and free.
I haven't had a chance to mess with the preamp a lot yet, but I did notice that it sounded kind of flat (a little gutless) initially. With a gig coming up on Saturday, I spent just enough time with it to dial in a sound I like, and then left it alone. The gig was a blues festival, and the plan was to tune the Frog to D tuning, and swap it in for a few songs.
The gig itself was fun, but chaotic. The power to the side of the stage with the bass amp kept tripping a breaker for no apparent reason, and suddenly there was no bass. Stuff happens, I get that, but they kept responding to each occurrence like it was the first time it happened, and that took valuable time. But they'd eventually get the bass power back up, and I'd be on again. Anyway, in between, I did get to take the Frog for a spin, and Holy Mad Cow! That preamp I said initially sounded gutless? It wasn't gutless, not even a little bit. That thing rocked, and could have melted faces, and I mean that in the best way possible. People in the audience who spoke with us after the show talked about how much they loved the bass sound when I played the Frog.
I have another festival gig coming up this week, and I think I might just reverse the roles -- use my 3-pickup jazz for the drop-D tuning, and give my Frog the prime-time. This week we'll be on the grid, not using a generator, so the power will be stable. I might be supplying the bass backline -- if I do, I'll probably use a Phil Jones Roadcase (750W, 12x5" speakers). The (modern) Ampeg amp available to me for the power outage festival was ok, but kinda meh. I kinda want to use it both for my own benefit, and to see the looks on the faces of the other bass players when they try to figure it out.
And my Frog's very first public appearance:
I heard back from my dealer about adding a selected Koa top to my 30" Jake build and Adrian said no problem! I am stoked. Koa is my favorite top wood and I didn't know that Adrian offered Koa until I saw @Inara post his Koa top that he chose for his Cazpar. Thanks again @Inara for posting your build info!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
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I heard back from my dealer about adding a selected Koa top to my 30" Jake build and Adrian said no problem! I am stoked. Koa is my favorite top wood and I didn't know that Adrian offered Koa until I saw @Inara post his Koa top that he chose for his Cazpar. Thanks again @Inara for posting your build info!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
View attachment 4405465
View attachment 4405466
Nice, that'll be a great looking bass!
You're welcome! I'm a she though, not a heI heard back from my dealer about adding a selected Koa top to my 30" Jake build and Adrian said no problem! I am stoked. Koa is my favorite top wood and I didn't know that Adrian offered Koa until I saw @Inara post his Koa top that he chose for his Cazpar. Thanks again @Inara for posting your build info!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
View attachment 4405465
View attachment 4405466
So happy you're getting that koa top!
Thank you!
You're welcome! I'm a she though, not a he
So happy you're getting that koa top!
I'm so sorry Inara! my mistake. I could not edit it cause to much time had went by since I posted it
..Thanks to you I will have my Koa top! I had to pay a small fee for changing my order but all is good!
I’m packing up my Maruszczyk tonight, to ship her to her new owner down south. Great bass, but I came to the realisation that I don’t really need a 5 string… I love playing it, but I’m so much more at home on a 4.
my plan is to use the sale money to order an Elwood 4 string from Adrian. This one will surely get way more playing time in my band than the 5.
my plan is to use the sale money to order an Elwood 4 string from Adrian. This one will surely get way more playing time in my band than the 5.
Can't wait to see this one! What a great top!I heard back from my dealer about adding a selected Koa top to my 30" Jake build and Adrian said no problem! I am stoked. Koa is my favorite top wood and I didn't know that Adrian offered Koa until I saw @Inara post his Koa top that he chose for his Cazpar. Thanks again @Inara for posting your build info!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
View attachment 4405465
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Yeah pretty floored by how it came out, everything from the roast on the neck to the figuring in the flame, exceedingly satisfying.
Awesome flamitude. Is that transparent Bishop?
Except for a (very decent) gig bag, my basses came with nothing.... no mug, no shirt, no fancy certificate.
But that was in 2014 and 2016. 
Is that going to be 30" scale?I heard back from my dealer about adding a selected Koa top to my 30" Jake build and Adrian said no problem! I am stoked. Koa is my favorite top wood and I didn't know that Adrian offered Koa until I saw @Inara post his Koa top that he chose for his Cazpar. Thanks again @Inara for posting your build info!
I selected this Koa top and asked for a matching Koa headstock veneer. Natural clear gloss for the body & headstock and Matte finish for neck & fretboard. Very Happy!
View attachment 4405465
View attachment 4405466
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