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The official Skjold Club thread!

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#304
tombowlus said:
Vic:

Yer slackin', man! I would have expected no less than a dozen posts from you regarding BOTH basses by this point. ;)
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I was out all last night at a worship service Josh (jmb7183) was playing at. It was REALLY cool! The "downside", is I only really barely had time to plug it in for about 10min at a music store... just enough to whet my appetite, and then later just long enough to throw some new strings on there and do a little preamp familiarization before bed.

Tonight, the blues band plays, which is actually going to be my first experience really playing it. However, I will say this based on the little time I have on it so far...

The official weight is 9.5 pounds. While a little on the heavy side compared to yer most typical (ash) Skjold, definitely not a problem... especially with his ergonomics. This is what I hoped I'd feel.

I'd forgotten how powerful these Custom Series preamps are. Oh my... endless possibilities... endless...
 
#306
Vic said:
Oh, yeah, and my ash/maple one just continues to completely destroy me every time I touch it. It is so exactly and perfectly "me" I literally can't get over it. No way could it have turned out any better. Wow.
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So, heart rate's back to normal? Palms stop sweating? :smug:
 
#309
Pete skjold said:
Hey Vic ,

I am glad you are doing a blues gig with it . I imagine it will have a very authoritative tone and sit very well in the mix . I really like the mahogany for the R&B and blues type instrumentation . Hopefully you will get a clear idea of it's natural voice .

Pete
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Yes I will. The good thing about this blues band is, it's a power trio, but we all play very synergistically with each other, so we can get as thick or as sparse as we'd ever need.

That means I get to really hear what it sounds like in a good mix, but also in a lighter mix where I can hear a lot more of it as well. This particular blues band is actually a great testing ground for any bass.

The guitar player/lead singer and I go all the way back to high school, and we've always connected musically like crazy. I'm really excited about tonight!
 
#311
kazamamaster said:
Nice tone...Which of those basses is that you're playing? How much do Skjold's usually run? 6 Stringers anyways..
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Thanks! That was my ash/maple one. the walnut one is sort of an unexpected opportunity. :)

I'd say contact Pete for pricing, 'cause there's so many different ways he can build a bass for you it's nuts. Just go to www.skjolddesign.com and start there, then email/call with your questions. He'll treat you right.
 
#312
Ok, so I finally plugged the walnut bass in last night (picture below). Very different animal from the ash/maple one for sure, not to mention the Custom model preamp, which is probably the most powerful preamp I've ever used. It was a blues band (trio) gig, which was perfect, as we can have a nice sparse mix, but we also can make it as thick as a bigger band with some things both the guitar player and I do together. I can go into more of why that is, but this is a post about the bass, not the band, so...

At 9.5 pounds, it's noticeably heavier than my 7.9 pound ash/maple bass, but with Pete's ergonomics, It's not the least bit uncomfortable to play... even for an entire gig.

The fret level and neck consistency is superb, so the action can be ANYWHERE you want it.

The tonal base is emphasized more towards the low mids, but not at the expense of plenty of clarity and bite on the high end, which is typically my experience with basses that have this character. I'd describe the tonal orientation of this bass to be a "phat punch" with a modern clarity and depth. By comparison to my ash/maple model, maybe a little bit more of a classic tone base. From a musical perspective, both basses have almost the same neck and fingerboard, so I attribute the vast majority of the personality difference to the body wood. The lighter swamp ash versus the heavier Sapele Mahogany.

A couple fun facts I found about this wood...
  • Sapele is reported to be comparable to Oak in strength properties, and is stronger than either African (Khaya ) or American mahogany (Swietenia ).
  • Among its more exotic uses is that in guitar manufacturing, in the back and sides of acoustic guitar bodies as well as the tops of electric guitar bodies, for example by well known guitar manufacturers such as Ibanez (Japan/USA) Taylor (USA) and Esteve (Spain).
...and Skjold... :D

With the preamps on these basses, either one can very easily "do it all", but they each start from a different camp, which I think adds a bit of extra fun when selecting basses for a given gig. Helps keep things fresh.

For those not familiar, the controls are, starting with the top row, neck end first:
  • Master Volume.
  • 4 position rotary pickup selector switch: neck, blend series, blend parallel, and bridge.
  • Passive tone control, which is also a push/pull passive switch (true hardware preamp bypass).
  • STACK: Bass (ring)... boost only. Treble (cap)... boost/cut, which is also a push/pull bright switch. Yep, you heard me, a concentric knob that's also a push/pull. Wow.
  • STACK: mid (cap)... boost/cut, mid frequency sweep (ring).
Anyway, those are the controls, but to really experience the scope of what they can do, you'll just have to play one someday. While it's quick and easy to dial in great tones, it's dizzying to try and imagine all the possibilities.

The reason for the 4 position switch gets into electronic theory regarding pickups being "loaded against each other" when connected to a passive blend control (blend pot), as opposed to a true active blend, where they're electronically buffered from each other. Since this 4 position switch has no resistive qualities, it gives us the pickup selection options 90% of us want, without affecting the pickups' tone in a way the pickup designer had not intended. Further, being a simple hardware switch, the signal retains more purity before reaching the output jack.

I must say I've always been kind of a blend guy, including putting a passive blend in my Geddy Jazz bass, and while I'm ok with it, I'm starting to appreciate a noticeable "tonal clarity" using this switch. Even on the Geddy, I find myself using all one pickup or the other, or a full blend. Very rarely do I put it "somewhere between"... funny, a big part of the reason for that is because it seems like some of the punch goes away when I do... maybe this is why.

One thing both basses share in common, however, is the dynamics. Between the construction of the instrument and the stunning headroom of the preamp, you can go from the most subtle music to what I call "explosive tone"... often just through altering playing technique. This, I'm learning, is just "a Skjold thing". :)

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(photo courtesy of our own Juneau)
 
#313
Great review Vic (as usual).

After following this thread for a while and reading all the great comments about Skjold`s basses I wonder how long it`s gonna take to become one of the top bass luthiers (think about Smith, Sadowsky or Fodera 20 years ago).

I believe that Pete is still one of the best kept secrets in the bass community (good for us, not so good for him I guess)
 
#315
Darn Vic, I REALLY want that walnut bass. Of the four we played at Tom's the other day, that one spoke to me the most. BTW, NICE review! When Mr. Lottery comes calling, I'll be on the phone with Pete, and will probably spec one out very similar to that one. Of course, I'll be calling Roger too!
 
#316
Papersen said:
After following this thread for a while and reading all the great comments about Skjold`s basses I wonder how long it`s gonna take to become one of the top bass luthiers (think about Smith, Sadowsky or Fodera 20 years ago).
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Especially with this batch, as far as construction quality, asthetics, and musicality, he's absolutlely right up there. At this point, it's just a matter of building the name through awareness, which will come as more owners come on board. This is guaranteed once more people hear the word about them and (hopefully) get a chance to play one.

I believe that Pete is still one of the best kept secrets in the bass community (good for us, not so good for him I guess)
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+1, but I'm trying to help change that... not because I work for him, represent him, or am compensated in any way by him, but more because I like to see people who truly deserve success achieve it.

Pete not only puts out a fantastic product, but he also excels in customer service (a VERY BIG item to me, for detailed reasons I'll skip here), and is also a very highly qualified user of his own product. This is a rare and powerful combo.

All the pieces are in place. It's just a matter of time.
 
#317
Papersen said:
After following this thread for a while and reading all the great comments about Skjold`s basses I wonder how long it`s gonna take to become one of the top bass luthiers (think about Smith, Sadowsky or Fodera 20 years ago).

I believe that Pete is still one of the best kept secrets in the bass community (good for us, not so good for him I guess)
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To echo Vic's comments, I believe that Pete Skjold IS one of the top bass luthiers. Over the last 20 years, I've owned and/or played almost every type of bass out there including most of the basses that Pete's work is being compared to. Pete's work is head and shoulders above anything I've ever seen before, this includes build and especially tone.
Pete's building skills, attention to detail, knowledge of woods and components, musical ability and deep personal commitment to putting out the best product he possibly can have already put him in the elite of luthiers.
People just haven't realized it yet, but that isn't going to take long.
Like Vic, I neither work for or am in any way compensated by Pete. I'm just a true believer.
 
#318
Vic said:
Pete not only puts out a fantastic product, but he also excels in customer service (a VERY BIG item to me, for detailed reasons I'll skip here), and is also a very highly qualified user of his own product. This is a rare and powerful combo.
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I agree completely with these (and Matt's comments). My experience thus far has been really great. I wish all large purchases could be so smooth and satisfying.
 
#319
Some video's to drool over for a bit hehe. Please excuse the camera's poor sound capture and reproduction. It wasnt exactly made to do this, but I thought they came out pretty well considering :)


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#320
Ok, pics :)

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