My newest 2 Public Peace Mensinger 30" short scale Basses
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The official "Show your basses" thread part 19!
- Thread starter smperry
- Start date
They are 2 gorgeous basses, I’d love the Steve Harris one I just wish it didn’t have the kicky ball logo on it.
My two favorites. The Yamaha 5er in the back just doesn't get as much love as it used to anymore, but I still love having my emergency 5-String. The precision is new as of last week. Love it so far. Tossed some flats on it and it sounds so good.
Confession time... I was once a collector/hoarder of very high-end basses. After years of my spare bedroom literally being filled to the ceiling with cases and basses I sold off all but the very best of my instruments, a 1983 '62 Reissue Jazz Bass. You might think an early 80's Fender wouldn't compare to Sadowsky's, Lulls, Alembics, Master Built, etc, but for whatever reason it is the most versatile and amazing bass I've ever owned/played.
After having parted with my collection I still had a hankering for more so I began making my own basses. (I'm an engineer by trade and a part-time woodworker). Below are pics of my stacked-knob Jazz Bass and my two self-made basses.
The orange "Carrot" bass has a bound figured/spalted maple top on a weight-relieved birdseye maple body. Ebony fretboard with clay dots on a rock maple neck. Duncan pickups.
The bottom bass is my own design with a one-piece walnut body and a walnut neck with a pau ferro fretboard. Also sporting Duncan pickups. Incidentally, the contour of the upper body line was carved that way intentionally so that it works as a thumb rest.
After having parted with my collection I still had a hankering for more so I began making my own basses. (I'm an engineer by trade and a part-time woodworker). Below are pics of my stacked-knob Jazz Bass and my two self-made basses.
The orange "Carrot" bass has a bound figured/spalted maple top on a weight-relieved birdseye maple body. Ebony fretboard with clay dots on a rock maple neck. Duncan pickups.
The bottom bass is my own design with a one-piece walnut body and a walnut neck with a pau ferro fretboard. Also sporting Duncan pickups. Incidentally, the contour of the upper body line was carved that way intentionally so that it works as a thumb rest.
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Will you make me an Orange one like that - I want that bass - love orange.
Nice collection.
Lennyj
Thanks for the kind words, Lenny. I've made somewhere around 70 instruments now. Mostly for friends, local guitarists/bassists, and a few touring musicians. That said, I am definitely NOT a professional.
Since you seem interested in my orange "carrot" bass I'll share a bit of background on it. The bass came about after I was approached by a guitarist who wanted a blue quilted Telecaster with a special Nashville pickup arrangement. He also asked for the body to be made of birdseye maple. Unlike many, I don't build instruments out of just any wood and I don't rush. It sometimes takes me a month or more to find a specific piece of wood that audibly resonates like a chime (as opposed to having a dull thud) when tapped and has great grain lines. I eventually found the ideal piece of birdseye maple down along the coast of Oregon and since there was enough material left over, I figured why not make a bass for myself?
The Pacific Northwest has an abundance of trees which means we have a variety of great wood for guitar tops. I grabbed a few book-matched pieces from my stock and built the Tele and my bass. Below are a couple of quick iPhone pics of the bodies as they were drying after being sprayed with several coats of nitrocellulose. Neither of the bodies had been wet sanded or polished to a high sheen yet so please forgive the less than perfect finishes.
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
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- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
NBD
This is the result of 8 months of planning and research. This is a Fender Active Deluxe with a roasted Maple Jazz neck/Graphtec nut. Aguilar pickups and amp. Hipshot Bridge, Ultra Light tuners and O-Ring knobs. Strung with Labella deep talking flats.
This is the result of 8 months of planning and research. This is a Fender Active Deluxe with a roasted Maple Jazz neck/Graphtec nut. Aguilar pickups and amp. Hipshot Bridge, Ultra Light tuners and O-Ring knobs. Strung with Labella deep talking flats.
More a refurbishing. This is, or was s Harley Benton pb50. Already changed to colours. It was a sunburst. But this creme looked more vintage to me and the tort pickguard off course. Blank from China used the old one as a mold and carefully jigsawed it out. Also there's a Nordstrand alnico 3 pickup inthere.
But today I replaced the neck. From the baseball bat it came with to a jazz neck with a rosewood fretboard. Close enough fit. Truss rod was a bit of a fight. But got it set to a buttery smooth low action and smoothest feel. Fret dressing isn't that hard. Took off the pickup cover ashtray. Looked cool. But it plays better without. The screwholes give it a more vintage look as well.
Still needs a decal. But we'll get to that. An no not a fake fender.
But from wall hanger she now might get played.
I hated how that neck felt and never got to dealing with the frets. Levelling is a skill I can recommend learning. It isn't hard and the tools aren't expensive. But you can get very low action on any bass. On cheaper basses there's a big change the frets aren't set perfectly. Although HB tends to be very good sometimes. This one wasn't
But now it is excellent.
But today I replaced the neck. From the baseball bat it came with to a jazz neck with a rosewood fretboard. Close enough fit. Truss rod was a bit of a fight. But got it set to a buttery smooth low action and smoothest feel. Fret dressing isn't that hard. Took off the pickup cover ashtray. Looked cool. But it plays better without. The screwholes give it a more vintage look as well.
Still needs a decal. But we'll get to that. An no not a fake fender.
But from wall hanger she now might get played.
I hated how that neck felt and never got to dealing with the frets. Levelling is a skill I can recommend learning. It isn't hard and the tools aren't expensive. But you can get very low action on any bass. On cheaper basses there's a big change the frets aren't set perfectly. Although HB tends to be very good sometimes. This one wasn't
But now it is excellent.
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I’m not a fan of orange but dang! That is really nice looking. Actually they all are nice looking but that orange is very fetching.
Back on my Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic, which was my first bass ever, produced in 1986 (bought used somewhere around the mid 90's), which makes it one of the last Aria models made on the legendary Matsumoku factory in Jacpan, before Aria moved their production to Korea.
Have had an Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro Bass as my main for the last past 10 years, which is just 28,6" scale, but coming back to my first love, which served me for the first 10 years of me playing bass (bar a short flirt with a Rickenbacker 4003 that I ended up hating), before I almost exclusively switched to playing short scale, it something quite special.
There's something about playing a full 34" scale bass that just can't be beaten, somehow it just feels so good despite the longer stretch, it's like it encourage you to play heavier and ballsier, and the tone is so monster gnarly (and the sustain is out of this world too), played with just the neck sort of true humbucker/reversed P pickup hybrid in passive mode, compared to the tone of my Mikro with it's EMG Geezer Butler P pickup, which is somewhat more smooth and polite.
Likely the fact that it was my first bass ever contribute to the fact of the feeling of coming home playing it.
Currently I have it strung with gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .032 D'Addario XL strings, tuned in F# standard tuning, as in 2 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning, just like my Mikro, which I use for the musical project that currently got my main focus, a bass/vocals and drums/vocals sort of progressive psychedelic stoner/doom rock duo.
I am pondering on weather to make this the main instrument for that duo instead of the Mikro, even if I have to strain myself a bit for some of the riffs made on the Mikro when playing the full scale of my Aria Pro II.
Here it is:
Have had an Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro Bass as my main for the last past 10 years, which is just 28,6" scale, but coming back to my first love, which served me for the first 10 years of me playing bass (bar a short flirt with a Rickenbacker 4003 that I ended up hating), before I almost exclusively switched to playing short scale, it something quite special.
There's something about playing a full 34" scale bass that just can't be beaten, somehow it just feels so good despite the longer stretch, it's like it encourage you to play heavier and ballsier, and the tone is so monster gnarly (and the sustain is out of this world too), played with just the neck sort of true humbucker/reversed P pickup hybrid in passive mode, compared to the tone of my Mikro with it's EMG Geezer Butler P pickup, which is somewhat more smooth and polite.
Likely the fact that it was my first bass ever contribute to the fact of the feeling of coming home playing it.
Currently I have it strung with gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .032 D'Addario XL strings, tuned in F# standard tuning, as in 2 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning, just like my Mikro, which I use for the musical project that currently got my main focus, a bass/vocals and drums/vocals sort of progressive psychedelic stoner/doom rock duo.
I am pondering on weather to make this the main instrument for that duo instead of the Mikro, even if I have to strain myself a bit for some of the riffs made on the Mikro when playing the full scale of my Aria Pro II.
Here it is:
IN actual gig action this past friday night in NJ....
PS, is this shirt "inappropriate" for a gig @ a country club
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IN actual gig action this past friday night in NJ....
PS, is this shirt "inappropriate" for a gig @ a country club
If you lived, then, yes!
My latest acquisition: 1989 Fender Fretless Jazz Special.
Bought it in 11/20. Barely got it back, from my Luthier, after some time to level out the neck, sand down the fretboard, and check out all her systems.
She plays like a Million-Bucks!
