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What would you do if someone gave you total creative freedom?

#22
reverendrally said:
It's easy to build spaceship looking basses that melt people's brains. Real creativity is a bass that looks like nothing but plays like it's out of this world.
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That's a good point, and I agree with you. You should always keep the instruments playability at the forefront of your priorities regardless of the form factor or design. That being said I believe that if that is a given there is a lot of room for creativity and "outside the box" thinking that allows for some very interesting designs. ;)
 
#23
I'd be knocking on either Fbass or Dingwall's door as quickly as my car could get me there... (Probably passive) 4-string jazz, and either fretless or fretted, which would determine who I'd be asking to build it. Fbass for fretless, Dingwall for fretted.

You'd definitely see the grain on my dream bass, whether natural, some burst, or a transparent colour (with or without a top) I'm not sure. Truthfully I'm GAS'ing pretty f#*%ing hard for a bass with Fbass's Ceruse Turquoise...

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I'd go ebony and black hardware though as black/turquoise was always my thing.
 
#27
As long as we are dreaming, I have long wanted to build a steampunk inspired bass such as this:
  • 30" scale headless, fretless design
  • Walnut core with brass front and back plates
  • Walnut neck with a brass fingerboard
  • Single string pickups
  • Individual analog gauges (one for each string, and one for the mix of all strings) that move according to the strings being played
  • Lot's of antiqued brass. Gears, pipes, etc.
  • Gear themed knobs that turn other gears on the front
EDIT: Add a gauge and electronics for an onboard tuner.
 
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#34
Robert Canfield said:
7 strings
40" scale
Unobtainium neck
Individual 3D scanner per string with 7GHz A/D, D/A conversion.
Body Wood from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
AND Contoured Tree of Life Top


Or, you could find out what your customer really needs, then put your heart into it.
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I have had two customers that left all of the creative control to me with a fixed budget. One was this build and the other a Les Paul copy meant to be a gift for a family member. Neither customer had any real idea of what they wanted except for "a nice bass", or "a decent guitar for this budget". On the other end of the spectrum I have customers with VERY detailed and exacting specifications. I much prefer to have a highly collaborative experience, but complete freedom has it's advantages.

;)

This thread *seems* to be about what kind of bass you would love to build if you had an fairly open budget. I could easily post a multitude of designs I have in my head that I would love to build but am limited by both time and money. Shut me down if I am off base on any of this, and just for grins here's another instrument I would love to build as a gift for a piano tech that has been super generous with me:
  • Extended range instrument that cover the entire range of notes that a piano does (12 string perhaps?)
  • Fretless and headless
  • Piano strings used instead of bass strings
  • Piano tuners
  • Ebony and ivory fret lines recovered from actual piano keys (lot's of issues, not for export, and I know many would have an issue with this)
  • Ebony bridge with an under saddle piezo system
  • Semi-acoustic body made of black limba
  • Black limba neck with ebony fingerboard
 
#36
Robert Canfield said:
Just fun'n Michael.... I've often thought that Carbon Graphite headless neck with a very "Woody", chambered body would be a good place to start.
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Just to be clear - I was not hitting you with my last post, just offering up my point of view. ;)
 
#39
I posted this after talking with my fiance about what I would do if I won the lottery (I didn't tell her this because she would probably say it would be irresponsible). I thought "I would contact all the TB luthiers that took commissions and tell them you have no budget, I want you to build me a bass however you want you have total creative freedom, only things are is it has to be under 6 strings and not just a copy of something else." I thought it would be a fun way to give back to everybody that's helped me, and not to mention having so many unique basses when their all done would be awesome. Since I obviously haven't won the lottery yet, you have to buy a ticket first XD, I decided to create a thread about it.
 
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#40
Will_White said:
I posted this after talking with my fiance about what I would do if I won the lottery (I didn't tell her this because she would probably say it would be irresponsible). I thought "I would contact all the TB luthiers that took commissions and tell them you have no budget, I want you to build me a bass however you want you have total creative freedom, only things are is it has to be under 6 strings and not just a copy of something else." I thought it would be a fun way to give back to everybody that's helped me, and not to mention having so many unique basses when their all done would be awesome. Since I obviously haven't won the lottery yet, you have to buy a ticket first XD, I decided to create a thread about it.
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*Awesome!*
 

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