7string

My attempt at comedy nearly paid off It's only a matter of time before someone posts something like that when an ERB turns up. I thought I'd get in there first

I had a Fender Urge Mk1 and really loved it's 32" scale as well as it's awesome electronics.

Not sure exactly what you mean, but you can have an active tone control with passive pickups, or active pickups with a passive tone control.

Pics received just 30 minutes ago. Needless to say I'm really excited

What a great looking instrument !! [i][b]9 STRINGS THOUGH. I MEAN 9[/b][/i]. Who needs one of those, why can't they just make do with 4 strings. Besides, what kind of complete plonker orders one anyway

I'm going to break out my signed Mr. Big denim jacket

I WANT A RENDER OF MINE, I WANT A RENDER OF MINE, I WANT A RENDER OF MINE, I WANT A RENDER OF MINE, I WANT A RENDER OF MINE

Looks excellent. All it needs now is the little Warmoth turtle/tortoise character

The waiting isn't that bad and Alan will keep you up to date on the progress of the "Cheeky Pup". Just keep thinking of what it will be like in the end......

Looks like it's going to be a great bass. Can't go wrong with a bit of quilt maple

Yesterday, I went to see Alan to finalise the electronics and control layout on the 9. Alan has built a 4 string fretless bass which uses an ACG magnetic pickup and piezo pickups from a Hipshot bridge. These signals then run into the ACG-01 filter preamp. I have to say that this combination was mightily impressive !! This could be one of the only basses around which has a piezo pickup running through a filter preamp. I've already mentioned on here (and on other threads) just how powerful the ACG filter preamp is and in combination with a piezo pickup it really is amazingly flexible. There is no harsh clack-clack sound from the piezo, the filter-based preamp takes care of that, so you end up with a really rich and round bottom end. Using this in combination with the magnetic pickup and using extremes, you can set a really cutting trebley sound with the magnetic and a dub/reggae sound with the piezo and blend between the two sounds which are the polar opposites of each other. This bass really did have sounds for all occasions. On the 9, we've decided to go with 2 magnetic pickups, the bridge one is in the larger housing and a narrower neck pickup. ACG pickups have different magnets for each position: ceramic in the bridge and an alnico in the neck, giving a combination of punchiness and roundness. I'll quickly say here that these are not custom magnets for the 9, the different magnet materials are offered as standard on all of Alan's basses. Each pickup will have series/parallel switching, but there will be a third switch to flick between the bridge and piezo pickups. This means that I can run the piezos through the ACG-pre instead of just adding a plain, unshaped piezo signal to the magnetic pickups. Not being able to shape the piezo output might even mean that it's OK at best and unusuable at worst. Being able to shape the piezo signal and then blend it in with the neck pickup is going to give the bass more flexibility. In this mode, I could even have the piezo or the neck pickup on it's own, shaped with the ACG-01 pre. It's one of those things which is easier to see than it is to write about. In a nutshell, is effectively a 3 pickup bass (neck, bridge, piezo) with a switch between pickups 2 & 3. The two signals being used go through the ACG-01 pre and can be merged together by the blend pot. Now that the control layout has been finalised, Alan can finish the body and drill some holes. This is easier said than done as the body has to be carefully routed so the neck can be glued on. Set-necks ain't easy!! I took some pics, but unfortunately left the proper camera at home so these are from my mobile phone. Needless to say, I really couldn't be happier with the way the instrument is turning out. On this pic, you might be able to get an idea of the colour of the finished bass. Here's the body sandwich and again, you might be able to get an idea of the final colour. Here's a suggestion of the finished layout. Here's the neck and fingerboard. When I looked at it, I thought it was going to feel rough but it's really smooth and well on it's way to being as smooth as the proverbial infant's behind.

I've had a play with the ACG pre as well and was mightily impressed with it.

Some great basses there Especially like the Spector and the Kubickis

Sounds like it's going to be a heck of a bass for the total amount you paid. I wonder if you could get a bass of similar quality for the same amount of money? Even if you could it might still need a set-up or a quick fret dress and you wouldn't have the fun of assembling it yourself.

Sounds great. I've often looked at Warmoth and wondered how good they are.

You could try these to clean the dirt off the finish of the bass: Fog the area with your breath like you clean a pair of glasses. Then wipe with a dry rag. Try a small rag which is just [b]very slightly damp [/b]with very hot water. Wipe it on and wipe it off with a clean, dry rag. If that doesn't work use some saliva (yup, saliva) and then try again with the hot rag treatment. You can use lighter fluid (naptha) to clean really dirty areas. Use sparingly and wipe it off again with a dry rag straightaway.

I had the same problem with them when my Tyler bass has sent to their Gloucester depot instead of the Glasgow depot. I won't be using them or UPS in future.

[quote name='deksawyer' post='277633' date='Sep 5 2008, 10:10 AM']Babicz use this system on their acoustics and it's amazing. It doesn't even put the guitar out of tune when you go from low to high etc..... They're the only acoustic guitar I've seen with an action as low as an electric.[/quote] I played one of those Babicz acoustics when I was in the States earlier this year. Weird but played and sounded wonderful. If I didn't go there with the thought of getting a 12 I might have bought one.

I'm definately tempted by one of these as well! Comments about Zings duly noted.

Looks great. Jon made a ramp for my Conklin GT7 and he managed to colour match it very well.

Looks absolutely fantastic

Great catch !! At least you do have the original black pickguard, so you can change them to go with whichever outfit you're wearing

I've seen smething similar on Renaissance guitars, but nothing so simple! Luckily, I've not had a problem with my acoustics yet (touch wood!) even my Yairi 12 string

[quote name='barry44' post='275276' date='Sep 2 2008, 11:06 AM']yeah, i got one for my ibanez K5, but haven't really had the chance to have a right good play with it yet. we had a little boy last week, so i will need to see if i can get over to see you soon, everyone well?[/quote] Many congrats on the birth of your boy Everyone's good here. [quote name='urb' post='275458' date='Sep 2 2008, 02:33 PM']Looks amazing - but it makes my wrists hurt just looking at it... M[/quote] This is where I say it's only playable by 6'6" giants with the strength of Samsom himself.

Very cool Shine bass!!