Rusty the Scoob Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I finally finished the writeup for my custom bass... I started planning to build it a few months after I joined my first GD tribute band. I'm really happy with it, and thought I'd share it with the gearheads here. While listening to the first Fennario recording, I wasn't happy with how my Sadowsky sounded - it's too bright and aggressive compared to Phil's gentler sound, especially when played with a pick, and emphasizes higher-mid frequencies that get in the way of the rhythm guitar. I found ways to work around it but it always has that Maple-necked J-bass tone lurking in the background, sounding more like Geddy Lee than Phil. After pondering the problem for a while I woke up one morning with an idea - my dad is a fantastic wood-worker, why not design my own bass with a custom Dead-inspired body? I knew right away that it would be a "hippie sandwich" (a nickname for instruments with many layers of different wood) and have the Irwin horns from Jerry's guitars, Tiger & Rosebud. I fell for those guitars when I first saw them, it was so cool that he had instruments that were unique to him and expressed the Dead's personality so thoroughly. I also wanted it to be a 5-string (that's my preferred number), inspired by Mike Gordon--I feel confined on a four, but never really liked six. With those parameters in mind I sat down with Adobe Photoshop and the internet and proceeded to research and design the bass. I like Phil's mid-late 70's sounds the best, so I decided to try and copy the sound of his Alembic prototype, nicknamed Mission Control. I started with the approximate dimensions of a 5-string Fender P-bass, narrowed the string spacing for smoother pick playing, shifted the neck and bridge towards the player's left for more comfortable access to Phil's preferred higher frets (an idea I stole from the only Alembic I've ever played), and added the Irwin horns, stretching the upper horn out a bit to avoid any issues with the bass being neck-heavy and echo the lines of the Warmoth headstock. My bad Photoshop work... it was just done so I could coordinate planning with my dad, who would be gathering the wood and doing the woodworking: Choosing woods for this project was a slow but enjoyable process. I started with a neck from Warmoth that matched my specs. They had one in stock that I liked with birds-eye Maple with Purpleheart laminates, so I carried these through the body. Both are very bright woods so I was reassured that the bass would have nice tight low frequencies even though I was choosing very warm-sounding Mahogany for the majority of the body. The crowning piece of wood is the Coco Bolo for the top and back. It's a beautiful wood and gives a nice rich midrange, and is also the same wood that was used for the top of both Tiger and Rosebud. Hardware and electronics required almost as much debate as the wood. I really liked the bridge and nut on my first professional-quality bass, a 1995 Warwick Fortress that I bought in college, so that was easy. The bridge is both infinitely adjustable and rock-solid, and the adjustable-height nut is a big bonus. I found a site in Germany to order them, and they were the first pieces to arrive. For pickups I chose a set of classic Bartolini humbuckers, similar to what Phil would have had in his first Modulus basses in the mid 80's. For electronics, I found a company in England called ACG who makes sweepable filter-based bass preamps similar to Alembic's higher end electronics, and very much like the controls on Phil's 70's basses. It had a much steeper learning curve than the usual two or three band onboard EQ that I'm used to, but the flexibility is great and the tonal variety is endless. ..continued on Part 2 so I can get all the pictures in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty the Scoob Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Here's a playable prototype that I threw together with just plywood and a jigsaw. I wanted to make sure I had the dimensions right, pickups in the right spot, electronics hooked up correctly, that it would be intonateable, etc. Right after this I shipped it to MN so my dad could finish the body blank before I flew out there. Next to it is my trusty old Sadowsky J-bass for comparison. Here is my dad tracing the body outline while my Mom looks on with skepticism and curiosity. Rough cut and ready to practice routing on a prototype he'd made from MDF. Headstock decals, with the lightning bolt and my last name, denoting the dual influences on the bass's design and build. All in all I'm very pleased with this bass! I was concerned about how playing a homemade instrument would be after years of playing nothing but my world-class Sadowsky and couldn't really know for sure how this configuration of parts would all sound together, but it has exceeded my expectations in every way! The Hippie Sandwich wood construction seems to be exceptionally stable and has only required very infrequent and minor adjustments after the initial settling-in period. The sound is exactly what I had hoped for - warm and round, but still very distinct and clear. It fits very well with the rest of the band, settling into the overall mix just perfectly--even doing a good imitation of John Kahn's P-bass when played fingerstyle for the JGB tunes. I can't imagine having a better bass for this band! Here's me playing something from the JGB... it's rare that I put my pick down with this band but I like how this pic came out otherwise... good lighting at this gig. Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Grateful_Bruno Posted May 19, 2009 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 that's a great looking bass! I like the Irwin influenced body shape alot! It works well for a bass too! That is really a sharp looking bass guitar! You need to put up a sound clip so we can get a listen to it. Can't beat Bartolini pickups and it sounds like the active electronics are just the thing to. Drop some Phil Bombs for me! Amazing bass - thanks for posting this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadheadmike Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I agree with everything that Bernie said right above me and I love the fabrication photos ... Very Very Cool Thread !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP lookyloo Posted May 19, 2009 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 If you have them I'd really like to see more of the fabrication photos too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty the Scoob Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Thanks for the kind words, guys! Live sound clips are up on the Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario200...ern_Pembroke.MA or http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario One of these days I'll get a good complete SBD recording... we're just a bar band running sound on our own so it's tough to get a really clean recording, something always goes wrong. Luckily some fans often tape us and so does our "Bobby" guitarist. Lots of photos of the building process are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfcrea/sets...57606940563012/ I won't link all 122 of them here, LOL! I had plenty of time to snap photos since the process was pretty slow and exciting... it was the first time building a bass for either of us so there was a lot of planning and head-scratching involved! But it was worth it, the bass came out amazing. The Warmoth neck and laminated body are so stable that I never even have to tune it from week to week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest deadheadmike Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 The pics are fantastic and your bass is quite a work of craftsmanship ... Your band sounds good too bro , smoken Bertha >Sampson & Delilah and Browned Eyed Woman !!! I'll give you guys a look see the next time I'm up your way ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rowjimmy Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Good stuff Brother! With all of the Heads here in the NY Metro Area maybe a road trip is in order. .. I'm sure Mexicali Blues can fit you guys in one night. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starred4life Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thanks for the kind words, guys! Live sound clips are up on the Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario200...ern_Pembroke.MA or http://www.archive.org/details/Fennario One of these days I'll get a good complete SBD recording... we're just a bar band running sound on our own so it's tough to get a really clean recording, something always goes wrong. Luckily some fans often tape us and so does our "Bobby" guitarist. Lots of photos of the building process are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfcrea/sets...57606940563012/ I won't link all 122 of them here, LOL! I had plenty of time to snap photos since the process was pretty slow and exciting... it was the first time building a bass for either of us so there was a lot of planning and head-scratching involved! But it was worth it, the bass came out amazing. The Warmoth neck and laminated body are so stable that I never even have to tune it from week to week! Very cool, indeed. If you ever TRUCK on up to Buffalo i'm sure some of us here in the group will check you out. I downloaded your 9/27/08 & 2/21/09 from Archive, good listening. Peace, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty the Scoob Posted May 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Very cool, indeed. If you ever TRUCK on up to Buffalo i'm sure some of us here in the group will check you out. I downloaded your 9/27/08 & 2/21/09 from Archive, good listening. Peace, Mark Thanks, Mark! We only do original setlists so far, but if we got period-specific I'd use this bass for 73-89, my Sadowsky J for 90-95 (until funds allow for a Walnut-topped EMG-equipped Modulus Q5), and my 65-72 bass is currently in progress.... a somewhat secretive project of mine. I don't know that we'll be travelling much... did a little too much of that in my youth and our following is here. But you might know our "Jerry" guy: Mike Young, used to play with the Maniacs? It would have been a few years ago and he was probably the "Bobby" guy at the time. http://www.fennario.us/bio1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.