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Who's Your Favorite Custom Builder???

#162
Templar said:
Has Vadim been mentioned?

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I keep my ears quite close to the ground regarding custom builders but I have to say I've never heard of Vadim before. Amazing basses! I'm still an ACG afficionado through and through - Alan Cringean's basses are peerless as far as I'm concerned - but those Vadim's DO look very nice indeed.
 
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#166
I think forum member "Moonshine" makes some cool, unique basses.

There's a TON of talent right here on the forum .... everyone from Mikeyswood to Rodent and a bunch more...check out the Luthier Corner and you'll see some great work being done.
 
#167
Tom Clement is my favorite. Great person and awesome prices, allows me to get my own dream basses built and still not have to sell the house. Great players, and those Fretless basses he builds are just awesome.

Others I think are building some great basses and are great personalities are
Michael Tobias
Bill Conklin
Fellow Norwegian Henki Eugen Urhaug (Link Removed)
 
#168
This is an easy one. Kevin Brubaker. Why? There are several reasons. He markets high end basses for those who can afford them and even has an economy series for those who want a Brubaker and can not afford a USA made one. Within his economy brand (he is also marketing a single cut that will stree for about $800. But the last reason is this. I'm not hating on any other bass in the world and I'm not implying his basses sound better than the rest I always say nothing else sounds like a Brubaker. I am about to purchase my first high end boutique bass, and there are so many choices. I'm getting a Brubaker KXB5. The reason is simple, if I had bought any other bass out there I would still want a Brubaker. I've heard other cats out there say their boutique brand of bass they play is better than a brubaker, I'll bet that when they see mine, they are going to want to play it. This is all pruely subjective but I'm drinking the cool-aid. Brubaker KXBs are it for me. Their slap sound is absolutely KILLER and Kevin is a great guy to work with. I currently own a Brubaker Brute MJX5 and it sounds killer too. I would like to suggest to the whole TB community to check out a Brute. Nothing else on the market IMO sounds like a Brubaker Brute either.
 
#170
Chris Stambaugh will build pretty much anything you ask for and with superb build quality. His fretwork is perfect and his necks are the most stable I've ever played. I'd love his basses if they cost twice as much. But since they don't I can't think of a better value in the boutique bass world.

Check my signature for some TB owned examples of his work.

I am also a huge fan of Alan Cringean and ACG basses. Alan just does everything right. He has established great relationships (Aaron Armstrong creates his custom pickups, John East supplies his amazing and proprietary filter preamp) is wonderful with his customer service and communication, has very competitive prices and most importantly his build quality is absolutely top shelf.

I love his modern body shapes, such as my soon to be completely fan fret Skelf 6:
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There are several other builders whose basses I've owned and would recommend, but these two are at the top of the list for me and all I own at this point.


And for someone wanting something more traditional his new boutique jazzes (J types) are really stunning too. Here's one:
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#171
Alembic all the way :) Of all the basses I've owned, nothing comes close to the tones I'm getting out of these.

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#172
Stambaugh.

I need another stammy, but he was the only luthier at the time that would construct an octave coursed 8-string to my specs for an awesome price.

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I have to gove a nod to Leo Fender as I love my J-Bass.

Also - can anyone get the name of the assembly-line guy that made my long-lost Yamaha RBX 3000. It had gun metal (blued) hardware and it was the smoothest production bolt-on I ever played.
 
#175
Jimmy Coppolo of Alleva-Coppolo
George Furlanetto of FBass
Mike Tobias of MTD

Special mention goes to Steve Sukop & Pete Skjold, I don't own their basses (nor an MTD currently), but they are all super cool dudes and great to hang with!
 
#179
Scoopbass said:
I keep my ears quite close to the ground regarding custom builders but I have to say I've never heard of Vadim before. Amazing basses! I'm still an ACG afficionado through and through - Alan Cringean's basses are peerless as far as I'm concerned - but those Vadim's DO look very nice indeed.
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Did Carmine Rojas play a Vadim with Joe Bonamassa at Royal Albert Hall?
 

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