Tuli basses from Finland!

[FourBanger]

Plenty of those around.

This is birch country son

Use all Nordic woods!

 

[96tbird]

I can't share the enthusiasm. I see shoddy hardware installation everywhere. And look at that five banger with the individual bridges in reverse slope. The B and E saddles are back to the limit, yet still ahead of the D and treble side and likely not intonated and impossible to intonate.

I also find tuner layouts and head shape ill planned.

Imo. Ymmv. But take a close look beyond the pretty wood. At these prices you would want a little better work.

 

[FourBanger]

You should also offer straps with Marimekko patterns.

 

[Snaxster]

A usb connection to the bass is inevitable. eventually basses of the future will have firmware and quite a bit of capability wrapped up inside them. The idea is to give the musician as much as possible, as elegantly and user friendly as possible, while still taking it light.

 

[TULI]

I can't share the enthusiasm. I see shoddy hardware installation everywhere. And look at that five banger with the individual bridges in reverse slope. The B and E saddles are back to the limit, yet still ahead of the D and treble side and likely not intonated and impossible to intonate.

I also find tuner layouts and head shape ill planned.

Imo. Ymmv. But take a close look beyond the pretty wood. At these prices you would want a little better work.

If you are referring to the bass with Babicz solo rails, then you would be correct. I had nothing but problems with those and just about ever other solo rail out there except ETS in Germany.

The problems we experienced with this hardware is what led me to design and produce my own solo rails from Titanium.
I love Titanium because it is light, resonant, and can be anodized into spectacular colors.

My solo rails are shorter, easier to adjust, less bulky, and are the only bridges in the world to feature string retention perfectly machined to the ball end of a bass string.

The screw hole is one long chamfered opening, making them extremely piezo friendly. The bridge can also be adjusted by loosening the screw and moving it back and forth.

Regarding tuner placement, I like my head stock design. In fact to accommodate it, you will see on the most recent Kaamos Northern lights 5, that each Schaller machine has custom schaft lengths.

Quite a bit of thought has gone in to the headstock. Most instrument builders will make drastic design compromises in order to use certain tuning machines. My thought was to customize the tuning machines and conform them to the headstock.

In the interest of development, what are some headstocks and tuner layouts you feel are exceptional? How do you design your headstocks? What bridges do you prefer to install and why? From one luthier to another I always hope to learn from others. It makes us better people.

The instrument you see in the pictures now has Ets rails on it. It is well intonated. The customer who owns this instrument was the one who started this particular thread.

Thank you for your honest opinions and assesments.

What you see here is only the begining...

 

[TULI]

So as to remain in the Mods good graces, Mr. Tuli may wish to identify himself as a Commercial User.
And, as an American Finn, me like!

Guilty as charged.

 

[TULI]

You should also offer straps with Marimekko patterns.

Rule #4 : Cultural sensitivity

 

[TULI]

The Elderberry / Shrubery tonewood combination is currently in the works.
Sir Robin has nothing to be afraid of.

 

[Margus Alviste]

Great basses!

 

[Watchootognbout]

Very nice. Did you ever notice how American and European designs differ? You can always tell them apart. Warwick, Marleaux, Tuli look nothing like Fender or Rickenbacker.

Yes!Quoting their site."(TULI) Basses is not about conforming to traditions. We build what we like. We build what inspires us. Our mediums are mainly the beautiful strains of highly tonal arctic birch, native to Finland"
So no Fender copies.
But it stands to reason.
Someone WILL request a P-Bass or Jazz copy.

 

[TULI]

Yes!Quoting their site."(TULI) Basses is not about conforming to traditions. We build what we like. We build what inspires us. Our mediums are mainly the beautiful strains of highly tonal arctic birch, native to Finland"
So no Fender copies.
But it stands to reason.
Someone WILL request a P-Bass or Jazz copy.

And they have already. They get referred to other builders specializing in these reproductions.

 

[TULI]

Use all Nordic woods!

That is really what looks like is happening. However, when I see a beautiful piece of wood that really inspires me, I am going to use it. I also have quite a bit of Brazillian rosewood with all the paper work and some beautiful figured claro walnut from my time in California. Ebony is also crucial to my sound, and wenge makes a wonderful accent veneer.
This is not a religon, though the buzz of 'local' and 'sustainable' have practically become the holy utterances of someone trying to fill a moral void.
I subscribe to no such dogma and therefore can never be a heretic.

To quote a distinguished collegue, Jens Ritter, "Do what you like"

Also the beautiful Karelian maser birch in my stockroom was actually, after a fashion, entrusted to me. Normally these woods would have been turned into very valuble veneer.
The forester sold them to me at the price of firewood because he felt like Finland has forgotten about this treasured natural resource. Shocked that he made such an offer, I asked why. He said that he felt like I would give it the respect it deserves and through that so would the world.

 

[Photobassist]

Mr. TULI sir, your basses are truly awe inspiring!! drool

 

[wvbass]

In the interest of development, what are some headstocks and tuner layouts you feel are exceptional? How do you design your headstocks? What bridges do you prefer to install and why? From one luthier to another I always hope to learn from others. It makes us better people.

I like your attitude, and you definitely have put the time, effort, and creativity into your craft. The beauty of your work compares favorably to anything else that is out there, IMO.

I am not a luthier, but I have a few observations from my experience as a player - and as a very part-time weekend-warrior kind of player, at that. Take my comments for what they are worth.

Basses with headstocks that have tuner layouts like this one can (not always do, though) have problems:

Link Removed

I have seen the angled pull of the strings across the nut cause the strings to jump out of the nut, and cause the nut to split eventually. However, I have a Spector Legend that has an even sharper lateral angle to the strings as they cross the nut, and I have not had either issue with it yet. Still, I pay attention to this and look for a headstock design that has a straight pull across the nut. Some of your basses have headstocks with a much straighter string pull, which I like.

Also, the bridge on this bass appears to be staggered in the wrong direction. That would raise questions for me about whether correct intonation is possible. (I believe this is the one you replaced the bridge on? Were you able to keep this reverse-stagger with the titanium replacement?) By looking at all the photos, it looks like these basses either have their saddles in exactly the same positions or in places where it is likely that the intonation has not been set. Once you get past the beauty of these instruments, these details begin to appear.

 

[emjazz]

Still, I pay attention to this and look for a headstock design that has a straight pull across the nut. Some of your basses have headstocks with a much straighter string pull, which I like.

I was thinking this as well.

 

[TULI]

I was thinking this as well.

It is a constant evolution. Hence my going as far as to customize the schallers to fit my desired headstock shape.

 

[FunkHead]

Nm. Misunderstood a previous post.

 

[99Z3]

Looks like some nice pretty work.. it is just too bad that the jack is on the face of the bass instead of on the side edge.. Outside of that .. I saw a couple of basses that really looked great!

Heres a Darkglass Vintage Deluxe after installation. It is totaly removable and can be switched out with a B7K or Super Symmetry should the customer order those modules as well.

 

[wvbass]

It is a constant evolution. Hence my going as far as to customize the schallers to fit my desired headstock shape.

I like that - "constant evolution." The new Dingwall ABI's have many differences from my decade-old ABI. I wonder what the Precision would look like today if Leo had stayed at Fender, or if it would have even stayed around as he continued to tinker and improve his designs.

After all the history of string buzz from not enough angle, I can't believe anyone would worry about too much. Any decent nut can handle the pressure. That's just not a valid concern IMO. Just look at the huge angle on a Sadowsky down to the string retainer.

I was talking about lateral pressure, not downward pressure. I have replaced nuts that had split at the G slot, presumably because of lateral pull. If I could remember what bass that was, I'd post a pic.

Looks like some nice pretty work.. it is just too bad that the jack is on the face of the bass instead of on the side edge.. Outside of that .. I saw a couple of basses that really looked great!

I like my jacks on the face!

Sorry, couldn't resist. But the truth is, I do prefer them over the side jack.

 

[FunkHead]

..I was talking about lateral pressure, not downward pressure. I have replaced nuts that had split at the G slot, presumably because of lateral pull. If I could remember what bass that was, I'd post a pic......

Sorry, My misunderstanding.