• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!

#1,201
raphaeld said:
So Soon, what made you come to the conclusion that it wasn't for you? would be interesting to know those reasons
Click to expand...

Ming_H_T said:
Why are you putting up for sale?
I thought it was your favorite.
Click to expand...

Well, I received the Frog in late September 2016, so I spent more than one year with it. But unlike with all my other basses, I am not bonding with it for two reasons.

Ergonomics – The body is too long for me! The upper horn is quite a bit more in neck direction than e.g. on Fender (style) basses. Ironically, it makes me have to push the bass a little to the right (from my perspective) as well as the neck farther away from my body, and bear in mind that it is a 32” medium scale instrument. If it were 34”, I would have a hard time accessing the low notes. Regardless of how high or low the bass hangs. I just don’t get it into a comfortable position. I am quite slim, so this will probably be just me. I am sure that the deep shaping on the backside of the bass will fit better to players with broader shoulders than mine.

Sound – The pickups are not in jazz bass position. I neither thought about this nor did I specifically ask for it. The neck pickup is closer to the bridge, probably because the neck sits deep in the body. This leads to a very “modern”, bright sound, even when the neck pickup is solo’d and the tone rolled all the way back. I have owned numerous basses over the past years; active, passive, 4, 5 and 6 strings etc. and was always able to dial in “my” sound, which I would usually use most of the time and only add or take away some highs. But no matter what I do, I am unable to get this sound from the Frog. Not saying the sounds it produces are not good, but not for me. I now also tend to believe that the missing headstock has a larger impact on the sound of a bass than I anticipated.

However, these are my personal problems with the bass. The build quality is great, the neck feels fantastic, the body shape is beautiful. I think Adrian has designed a unique bass and I am glad that so many people embrace it.

I play finger style 99% of the time and like a phat, warm and round tone. I get it from my Mr. Tee, my Elwood L and my Fender P. And they all feel great and play like butter, even Mr. Tee with a missing upper horn!
 
  • Like
Reactions: raphaeld
#1,203
BassmanM said:
Well, I received the Frog in late September 2016, so I spent more than one year with it. But unlike with all my other basses, I am not bonding with it for two reasons.

Ergonomics – The body is too long for me! The upper horn is quite a bit more in neck direction than e.g. on Fender (style) basses. Ironically, it makes me have to push the bass a little to the right (from my perspective) as well as the neck farther away from my body, and bear in mind that it is a 32” medium scale instrument. If it were 34”, I would have a hard time accessing the low notes. Regardless of how high or low the bass hangs. I just don’t get it into a comfortable position. I am quite slim, so this will probably be just me. I am sure that the deep shaping on the backside of the bass will fit better to players with broader shoulders than mine.

Sound – The pickups are not in jazz bass position. I neither thought about this nor did I specifically ask for it. The neck pickup is closer to the bridge, probably because the neck sits deep in the body. This leads to a very “modern”, bright sound, even when the neck pickup is solo’d and the tone rolled all the way back. I have owned numerous basses over the past years; active, passive, 4, 5 and 6 strings etc. and was always able to dial in “my” sound, which I would usually use most of the time and only add or take away some highs. But no matter what I do, I am unable to get this sound from the Frog. Not saying the sounds it produces are not good, but not for me. I now also tend to believe that the missing headstock has a larger impact on the sound of a bass than I anticipated.

However, these are my personal problems with the bass. The build quality is great, the neck feels fantastic, the body shape is beautiful. I think Adrian has designed a unique bass and I am glad that so many people embrace it.

I play finger style 99% of the time and like a phat, warm and round tone. I get it from my Mr. Tee, my Elwood L and my Fender P. And they all feel great and play like butter, even Mr. Tee with a missing upper horn!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your explanations, fair Enough and understandable.
But now you opened another door, could you give some feedback on the Mr. Tee? I'm really turned on with this one!! :laugh::laugh:
I really have to refrain myself from pulling the trigger on one of these.
 
#1,205
raphaeld said:
But now you opened another door, could you give some feedback on the Mr. Tee? I'm really turned on with this one!! :laugh::laugh:
I really have to refrain myself from pulling the trigger on one of these.
Click to expand...

I will be glad to, Raphael. After all, this is one of the reasons we all go to TB and this club in particular, isn't it? ;)

The Telecaster being my favorite electric guitar both in sound and looks, I got very excited when Adrian posted his presentaion of the Mr. Tee bass. So as soon as I had the funds available, I took the plunge. Since I expected the small (guitar) body with the missing upper horn in combination with the bass neck to be pretty receptive for neck dive and was also worried about the accessibility of the low notes, I initially thought about a short scale instrument. However, Adrian mentioned that the headstock is quite long and may therefore distract the overall look of the bass. I therefore decided to go for 32" medium scale, which turned out to be a good decision for the bass. The first frets are now not farther away than on a long scale bass, but the distance between the frets is of course shorter, making the neck very comfortable to play. I like it so much that my other two Maruszczyks are also 32". Neck dive on the Mr. Tee is barely noticeable, no more than e. g. on many Fender basses. I also went with Hipshot ultralite tuners.

I received the brand new bass, my first ever custom instrument, at the end of July 2014. Here is the "NBD" thread: NBD - Bass rarely seen on TB!

The pickups are Häussels, which Adrian recommended when I asked for a 60s style P pickup. I chose a PJ configuration because of versatility and for the 3-way-switch to actually have a function. But that seems to have been theory, as in real life, I use the P pickup exclusively. You lose volume with both pickups on and even more with the J pickup alone. This could probably be fixed, but I don't care. The PJ and J sounds are surely fine for others, but I prefer the P.

The neck is very comfortable, P-like but not too chunky. It has hardly budged in 3 years. The body has a little shaping at the back, no slab body. The edges are nicely rounded, so very comfy as well.

The bass wears LaBella Deep Talkin' flats, which I believe fit perfectly. The action is good, neither too high nor too low, no fret buzz.

I have the feeling that the older the bass gets and the more it is played, the better it sounds... voodoo??! :cool: The vintage white pickguard is ageing nicely to a creamy color and the neck is gradually getting darker too, love it!

So all in all, I would say that my Mr. Tee is a P bass disguised as a Telecaster! Very happy with it. As you know, you can have your own made with dozens of custom shop options.
 
  • Like
Reactions: raphaeld
#1,210
BassmanM said:
I will be glad to, Raphael. After all, this is one of the reasons we all go to TB and this club in particular, isn't it? ;)

The Telecaster being my favorite electric guitar both in sound and looks, I got very excited when Adrian posted his presentaion of the Mr. Tee bass. So as soon as I had the funds available, I took the plunge. Since I expected the small (guitar) body with the missing upper horn in combination with the bass neck to be pretty receptive for neck dive and was also worried about the accessibility of the low notes, I initially thought about a short scale instrument. However, Adrian mentioned that the headstock is quite long and may therefore distract the overall look of the bass. I therefore decided to go for 32" medium scale, which turned out to be a good decision for the bass. The first frets are now not farther away than on a long scale bass, but the distance between the frets is of course shorter, making the neck very comfortable to play. I like it so much that my other two Maruszczyks are also 32". Neck dive on the Mr. Tee is barely noticeable, no more than e. g. on many Fender basses. I also went with Hipshot ultralite tuners.

I received the brand new bass, my first ever custom instrument, at the end of July 2014. Here is the "NBD" thread: NBD - Bass rarely seen on TB!

The pickups are Häussels, which Adrian recommended when I asked for a 60s style P pickup. I chose a PJ configuration because of versatility and for the 3-way-switch to actually have a function. But that seems to have been theory, as in real life, I use the P pickup exclusively. You lose volume with both pickups on and even more with the J pickup alone. This could probably be fixed, but I don't care. The PJ and J sounds are surely fine for others, but I prefer the P.

The neck is very comfortable, P-like but not too chunky. It has hardly budged in 3 years. The body has a little shaping at the back, no slab body. The edges are nicely rounded, so very comfy as well.

The bass wears LaBella Deep Talkin' flats, which I believe fit perfectly. The action is good, neither too high nor too low, no fret buzz.

I have the feeling that the older the bass gets and the more it is played, the better it sounds... voodoo??! :cool: The vintage white pickguard is ageing nicely to a creamy color and the neck is gradually getting darker too, love it!

So all in all, I would say that my Mr. Tee is a P bass disguised as a Telecaster! Very happy with it. As you know, you can have your own made with dozens of custom shop options.
Click to expand...


Hi BassmanM

Thank you so much for the insights.
OK, you convinced me. I was debating with myself between a pure Jake P Bass and Mr Tee (just love its design), Short/Medium scale as well. Now I know what I need to do as soon as I receive my PJ Elwood.
And Yes LaBella DTF are the best (IMO) flats to compliment a P bass.
Awesome, I just hope that they'll include the Mr Tee Model in their configurator.
Thank you again, I really appreciate that you took the time to write this great review.

Another Question though, Any difficulties finding strings for medium scale bass?
Does the LaBella Long scale fit your Mr Tee?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Fat Freddy
#1,211
raphaeld said:
Hi BassmanM

Thank you so much for the insights.
OK, you convinced me. I was debating between a pure Jake P Bass and Mr Tee (just love its design), Short/Medium scale as well. Now I now what I need to do as soon as I receive my PJ Elwood.
And Yes LaBella DTF are the best (IMO) flats to compliment a P bass.
Awesome, I just hope that they'll include the Mr Tee Model in their configurator.
Thank you again, I really appreciate that you took the time to write this great review.

Another Question though, Any difficulties finding strings for medium scale bass?
Does the LaBella Long scale fit your Mr Tee?
Click to expand...

You are most welcome!

LaBella makes a medium scale set. Can't remember the name, but Google knows. ;-)
 
  • Like
Reactions: raphaeld
#1,213
Fat Freddy said:
Thanks for that....

I ordered mine on August 10th....

No word from Adrian that it may be late.....

Not sure whether to drop him a line or just wait for the sofa shot.....
Click to expand...

I looked at the e-mail again and his answer could also be interpreted otherwise. He says:” now eight weeks, sorry, a little bit more patience please.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fat Freddy
#1,214
BassmanM said:
Ergonomics – The body is too long for me! The upper horn is quite a bit more in neck direction than e.g. on Fender (style) basses. Ironically, it makes me have to push the bass a little to the right (from my perspective) as well as the neck farther away from my body, and bear in mind that it is a 32” medium scale instrument. If it were 34”, I would have a hard time accessing the low notes. Regardless of how high or low the bass hangs. I just don’t get it into a comfortable position. I am quite slim, so this will probably be just me. I am sure that the deep shaping on the backside of the bass will fit better to players with broader shoulders than mine.
Click to expand...

This is an interesting result. One would normally expect a long upper horn to move the bass more toward the picking hand. I wonder if the headless design is part of the problem. From the photos in your for-sale ad, it appears that the bridge saddles are further from the end of the body than they would be on a headed (headful?) bass.

Can anyone with a headed or headless Frog comment on how it hangs and the reach? I'm very interested in a headed 32-inch Frog for myself.
 
#1,218
skeeler said:
This is an interesting result. One would normally expect a long upper horn to move the bass more toward the picking hand. I wonder if the headless design is part of the problem. From the photos in your for-sale ad, it appears that the bridge saddles are further from the end of the body than they would be on a headed (headful?) bass.

Can anyone with a headed or headless Frog comment on how it hangs and the reach? I'm very interested in a headed 32-inch Frog for myself.
Click to expand...

Having owned many basses of all different builds, styles, and weights I think I can say both Frogs I've had are among the best for balance. I don't feel the ergonomics make the first fret a problem at all. If anything the balance makes reaching the first frets to be among what I would consider the best of all the basses I've owned.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ming_H_T, skeeler and raphaeld
#1,219
scubaduba said:
If anything the balance makes reaching the first frets to be among what I would consider the best of all the basses I've owned.
Click to expand...

Thank's for your reply. That's what I would have guessed, based on the position of the upper strap button at the 11th fret and the position of the lower strap button relative to the bridge. Were/are your Frogs headed or headless? I'm guessing headed.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back