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The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!

#7,701
swartzfeger said:
Random questions for headless users -- any thoughts on WSC vs ETS bridge? I thought I remember someone saying here the ETS are a pain to intonate. But it's a pricier option (which I trust), and I'm wondering if the W in WSC stands for Wilkinson (which I don't trust)

Did some googling and it looks like many other builders use ETS (usually a choice of Hipshot or ETS). Some builders, like ACG, custom do their own head pieces.

The only thing I can find of substance on WSC is usually related back to Maruszczyk, so I'm guessing it's a cheaper alternative they're having made. I did read good feedback on the WSC head piece but coming up short on the WSC monorail bridge itself.

Also, by the looks of the ETS and the head piece -- it looks like running a high C in 5str setup is a non-issue as there's no nut?

Misc:

Does anyone have examples of their custom Maru with 'colored' wood tops like any of the flamed, spalted, birdseye maples? I'm more than likely going non-colored with either Walnut Burl or Laurel but there are some nice pieces in the Wood collection I may consider coloring!
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The ETS bridges are really nice! I had 2 basses with the hipshot headless bridge and both have had issues. I sold one. both of my Maru orders have the ETS headless bridges. I think they're worth the wait and cost.
My first build I ordered directly through Adrian. I didn't know you could pick a top. It will have an Eye Poplar top. The 2nd I ordered through Randy at Bass Spotlight. I was able to pick my top and chose Spalted Maple. There are more choices than listed on line. I prefer natural wood tops too. I like gloss finishes because they protect the wood from dings. I think adding a color takes away from beauty of a great top.
This is the spalted maple top
image5.jpeg
 
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#7,702
basssalad said:
The ETS bridges are really nice! I had 2 basses with the hipshot headless bridge and both have had issues. I sold one. both of my Maru orders have the ETS headless bridges. I think they're worth the wait and cost.
My first build I ordered directly through Adrian. I didn't know you could pick a top. It will have an Eye Poplar top. The 2nd I ordered through Randy at Bass Spotlight. I was able to pick my top and chose Spalted Maple. There are more choices than listed on line. I prefer natural wood tops too. I like gloss finishes because they protect the wood from dings. I think adding a color takes away from beauty of a great top.
This is the spalted maple top
View attachment 4937111
Click to expand...

Good to know on the ETS quality, thank you Salad! When you say 'wait', I'm assuming ETS has supply issues/are custom made, etc?

I agree with coloring top wood, especially highly and finely figured wood. Maybe something subtle like maple flame or birdseye could nicely take an amber or butterscotch, but other than that it almost seems a waste to do something more.

It's still a coin flip here between walnut burl and laurel. Laurel looks ridiculously beautiful and seems underpriced at $150 considering how much burls can run.

EDIT: nevermind, by wait I think you mean the overall wait time of the Maru build, not a specific wait/delay for the ETS itself.
 
#7,704
swartzfeger said:
AND! One last thing I forgot to ask --

For those in the states that have custom ordered through Randy, how much more should I expect to tack for customs and shipping? My config will run $2579 -- I'm assuming add another $250 or so?
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Randy will do that config price with shipping included and you wont get a Fedex bill for customs later as long as you order through him...He might even be able to beat the config price...Might :thumbsup:
 
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#7,705
TK4261 said:
Randy will do that config price with shipping included and you wont get a Fedex bill for customs later as long as you order through him...He might even be able to beat the config price...Might :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Music to my ears. Now all I need to do is decide between rosewood, ebony or macassar. I have 6 weeks to decide. For those that know wood better than me. The default Frog pic:

Frog.png

The board looks rosewood, but the inlays I'm not sure... maybe Pau Ferro? This is almost exactly the build I'm doing, except headless w/ Xtenders. But the same overall vibe: walnut body, walnut burl top, probably a rosewood or similar dark board with a subtle contrast of slightly lighter colored wooden inlay blocks.

Randy just quoted 20 weeks, so it doesn't sound like build times have changed.
 
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#7,706
swartzfeger said:
Good to know on the ETS quality, thank you Salad! When you say 'wait', I'm assuming ETS has supply issues/are custom made, etc?

I agree with coloring top wood, especially highly and finely figured wood. Maybe something subtle like maple flame or birdseye could nicely take an amber or butterscotch, but other than that it almost seems a waste to do something more.

It's still a coin flip here between walnut burl and laurel. Laurel looks ridiculously beautiful and seems underpriced at $150 considering how much burls can run.

EDIT: nevermind, by wait I think you mean the overall wait time of the Maru build, not a specific wait/delay for the ETS itself.
Click to expand...
Well I guess it depends on your tech and patience skills. :)

The ETS is a nice 2-part bridge, but there's nothing holding the saddles in place so it's easy to intonate and then really easy for them to move out of place while tuning after intonation, if you don't hold them in place during this process. On the flip side string spacing is fairly easily adjusted.
02338AC5-A17B-4991-ABBA-6C0C6E93D95E.jpeg


Of these options, I like the monorails but fixed string spacing is the trade off
39FC23E6-5967-4E39-9E99-944CA919B0B9.png
 
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#7,708
KJMO said:
Headless are nice, but what about having to try to be witty with the guy that comes up after every show and says, "Hey, I just wanted to inform you that part of your bass is missing."?
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I've never heard your 'witty' comment before, but I'll wait for it :)

Actually during my last 3 shows I've had a total of 6 bassists approach me to ask who makes the bass I'm playing… I respond with "me" and they all have asked "are you taking orders" ;)
B6F40F6B-5496-4367-903A-B3AFAEA9596A.jpeg


Not that I care (at all) but haven't received any negative feedback or weird comments on any of them, and that's all I play anymore.
 
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#7,709
KJMO said:
Headless are nice, but what about having to try to be witty with the guy that comes up after every show and says, "Hey, I just wanted to inform you that part of your bass is missing."?
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Just ask what they're talking about, and then when they say the head is missing, insist the head is there at the end of the neck and you have no idea what they're talking about.
 
#7,711
TK4261 said:
Randy will do that config price with shipping included and you wont get a Fedex bill for customs later as long as you order through him...He might even be able to beat the config price...Might :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

He got back to me quickly. Shipped to my door is basically the configurator price. Pretty stoked, was ready to add 10-15%.
 
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#7,713
BlackWolf said:
How it is compared to East Indian rosewood?
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My impression is that Katalox is a little livelier? It's hard to tell without doing an A/B comparison.

It's a harder wood. It has a Janka hardness rating of 3660, compared with 2440 for East Indian Rosewood. I ordered it originally as an alternative for ebony (3000-3220, depending on which type of ebony). In the configurator, warrantee protection is not offered if ebony fretboards crack during shipping.
 
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#7,714
BlueTalon said:
warrantee protection is not offered if ebony fretboards crack during shipping.
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That was another question of mine -- has anyone had their ebony board crack? I've seen pics on the interwebs of cracked ebony and know it's a thing, but I see a ton of Marus and Foderas and other brands get shipped with ebony boards so it doesn't seem to stop people.

Is shipping the primary catalyst? I'd love ebony but the "no warranty" thing has me unnecessarily concerned I think.
 
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#7,715
swartzfeger said:
That was another question of mine -- has anyone had their ebony board crack? I've seen pics on the interwebs of cracked ebony and know it's a thing, but I see a ton of Marus and Foderas and other brands get shipped with ebony boards so it doesn't seem to stop people.

Is shipping the primary catalyst? I'd love ebony but the "no warranty" thing has me unnecessarily concerned I think.
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I ordered a katalox fretboard on my Cazpar because I was similarly concerned about the "no warranty" statement for ebony boards. I don't know about any differences in tone compared with ebony but I like the aesthetic and it "feels" hard (like ebony) to me compared with rosewood. All subjective of course, but I like it and would order the same again.
 
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#7,716
swartzfeger said:
That was another question of mine -- has anyone had their ebony board crack? I've seen pics on the interwebs of cracked ebony and know it's a thing, but I see a ton of Marus and Foderas and other brands get shipped with ebony boards so it doesn't seem to stop people.

Is shipping the primary catalyst? I'd love ebony but the "no warranty" thing has me unnecessarily concerned I think.
Click to expand...
I hadn't heard of it before I read the disclaimer in the configurator. It didn't have me concerned at all, in the sense that there were plenty of other options. There was a time when the only options available for most basses was maple or rosewood, and ebony was an exotic alternative. Now? Choices galore.
 
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#7,717
swartzfeger said:
That was another question of mine -- has anyone had their ebony board crack? I've seen pics on the interwebs of cracked ebony and know it's a thing, but I see a ton of Marus and Foderas and other brands get shipped with ebony boards so it doesn't seem to stop people.

Is shipping the primary catalyst? I'd love ebony but the "no warranty" thing has me unnecessarily concerned I think.
Click to expand...
I doubt it's a concern with shipping and more of a potential issue with extreme temperatures/humidity affecting the wood and cracking as a result.
 
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#7,719
swartzfeger said:
That's my guess as well, and hopefully carbon rods/3-piece would mitigate that with very little flex in the neck.
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I don't think it's structural (carbon rods/3-piece) as much as, perhaps, Ebony getting dry and cracking. It might be worth posting the question in the luthier's corner to ask some pros that work with Ebony all the time if it is more fragile than other hardwoods that are typically used for fingerboard material.
 
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