Spoombung

Aw, congratulations that looks like a monster! Enjoy your new bass! PS. Does 'ERB' mean it's got lots of strings? I not familiar with that term.

It was a good idea to model them first. Nice to see that instead of a big spec sheet. 'B' is my fave.

I'd go for an Asian-made Peavey Cirrus. Lovely neck and action, good EQ, really well made - about £300 - 350. They're everywhere. Or Ibanez SB basses - £450 - 500

Let's see the pics, then!

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='393668' date='Jan 28 2009, 01:55 PM']this one [/quote] That's not a bass - that's just a body! Are you having one made? Do tell...

[quote name='ashevans09' post='393144' date='Jan 27 2009, 08:35 PM']That will end up being an absolute beauty to record on...it looks so comfortable![/quote] Let's hope so!

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='393165' date='Jan 27 2009, 09:01 PM']Just seen this thread, read all of it and will be following. I take it you are not too bothered about the upper fret access? Or maybe you could have the neck side curve of the LH contoured? BTW +1 on Mike. I'm picking up my Iceni from him any day now :)[/quote] Yes, I probably will have the LH (well done for using the abbreviation!) curve slightly contoured - although I'm also not too bothered about upper fret access. What bass are you picking up from him? There didn't seem to be that many complete basses in his workshop.

I was drooling for this one: ...but the jazz copies they specialize in (with the 'distressed' treatment and all that) - well they were fine but overpriced for what they were.

Here's a little photoshop mock up of the bass:

I had one around '79. It was my first 'proper' bass. Took me 6 months to save up for it.

I'm going to ask Mike to contour the horns roughly the same way as this unbelievably, beautiful Bordwell bass - albeit without the fancy scroll. There will be a compromise required, I suspect, when it comes to the bolt on section of my bass.

[quote name='MB1' post='390624' date='Jan 24 2009, 07:44 PM']MB1. The stuff of Myth? OR.... Could possibly be the contents of the Legendary Voodoo Butter Underpants thrown onstage during a Zappa Gig! [/quote] We're going to lose a lot of people who have subscribed to this thread with nonsense like that!

[quote name='7string' post='390002' date='Jan 23 2009, 09:31 PM']Shows that the delicate lower horn can be done though [/quote] I've typed 'Lower Horn' so many times on this thread I will now abbreviate it to 'LH' from now on.

[quote name='wmsheep' post='389928' date='Jan 23 2009, 07:26 PM'][/quote] Not bad.

[quote name='MB1' post='389836' date='Jan 23 2009, 05:35 PM']MB1. Just a thought... but Dont the upper and lower horns affect Bass and treble response?[/quote] What kind of Voodoo nonsense is that??

This is probably going to be the maple on the face of the guitar with a birdseye maple fingerboard. I'm thinking of having a little amber/honey colouring in the lacquer. There's such a lot to think about. Today I found it almost impossible to decide whether I wanted a black veneer between the fingerboard and neck or what sort of markers I wanted on the fingerboard. Anyway, Mike is digitizing my drawing and next week I'll go back and settle on the final positions of the neck and body, all the hardware, the electronic cavity, routes and electronics. It's all established on the computer first then the machine will cut the laminated wood later on.

[quote name='Merton' post='389791' date='Jan 23 2009, 04:53 PM']Mike is the proper dude, he's such a nice fella. When he still ran the Bass Merchant I bought a Trace cab off him, he took me into the workshop and showed me every single bass in production, going over all the intricate details of each one. Didn;t need to, I didn't even ask, but he did it as part of the experience. It was awesome [/quote] I couldn't agree more. It's difficult to get a word in edges due to his motormouth barrage of anecdotes and technical info. I've just got to try and get him to focus on my lower horn now *ahem*

[quote name='MB1' post='389882' date='Jan 23 2009, 06:19 PM']MB1. ...are you prepared to bend your lower horn?.... [/quote] Swing low, lower horn.

[quote name='MB1' post='389836' date='Jan 23 2009, 05:35 PM']MB1. Cant pick any i'm afraid! Cant help thinking that lower horn is both totally impractical,possibly sexually Offensive,and probably more trouble than its worth!... custom case required! Just a thought... but Dont the upper and lower horns affect Bass and treble response?[/quote] But you've got it the wrong way round. All I've done is design the lower horn how it [i]should[/i] be - in honour of the human body, in honour of the player. The little, fashionably compromised lower horn we get on most basses these days is the 'impractical' one! It serves no purpose.

Meet Mike and Steve - the brains, the hands and the boiler suits behind the Zoot operation. Working from a windowless, workshop deep in one of the darkest corners of rain-soaked Essex, there is a smell of sawdust, tobacco, fairy cakes and doughnuts about these two (the sweet smell of success) as they toil relentlessly transforming bits of wood, bark, plastic, wire and glue into sensual objects of beauty. They are agents of the fundamental, ministers of 100 hz - 250 hz.

"Well Steve, that's the most impressively proportioned lower horn I've ever seen" "It's a fierce pancake, alright, Mike"

[quote name='steve-soar' post='388972' date='Jan 22 2009, 08:01 PM']What pickups and pre are you thinking of? Do you still have your Bass Machine? I loved the sound of that old girl.[/quote] You mean the H&H? Yeah, I've still got that! Weighs a ton and the volume fades down - then surges up all by itself. I'm going to put EMG Hz's in it together with an ACG pre (hopefully). Pickups have me STUMPed!

[quote name='7string' post='388957' date='Jan 22 2009, 07:50 PM']Be great to see this develop into the final instrument [/quote] I'm going to meet two men with sawdust in their hair tomorrow...

[quote name='budget bassist' post='388947' date='Jan 22 2009, 07:45 PM']I think that looks really nice now you've shaved a bit off the lower horn Also i vote headstock A. Also is that trans amber on a flamed maple top what you're going to go for or do you have any other ideas? Personally i think a nice deep blue would look really good on a nice piece of really well defined flamed maple, mmmmm[/quote] I really like that golden colour on the pic of the Pedulla but I'm probably going to go for a natural oil finish

[quote name='peted' post='388585' date='Jan 22 2009, 02:52 PM']I like it. The body make me think of Ritter and has very pleasing lines and proportions.[/quote] Thanks. I always think ergonomics should come first. We're humans - are bodies are curved (I'm getting more curvier as the years pass) - so we like our instruments curved. If we were spiders we'd probably like metal basses. If we were robots we'd like headless basses or Rickenbackers.