warwickhunt

Not a bad idea tbh and oddly that bass is local. Painting black coach lines (strings) on the body might work from a distance.

TBH I've been rehearsing with a 4 string and some jiggery pokery with TC pedals and you'd be hard pushed to hear the difference live... it is the authentic aesthetics. I'd happily play a 4 rather than a 12!

From my research and costings, the body is the least expensive part of the total build and reshaping a Chowny or building a body from scratch has little difference. A bolt on neck is also fraught with tension issues with 12 string pull so a NT makes more sense. Initial costings are pointing to a full custom build being into several thousand which is edging toward unfeasible. I totally accept that a builder makes his living so no argument with their costs but as a project which 'might' have limited longevity or at least limited gigs per year (which I knew). Lots of reflection atm.

...distinctly NOT Cheap Trick!

Not silly ideas at all @Maude and something I am considering. Hardware costs will be the same whether I use a doner or a custom build. I suppose the biggest drawback is finding a bass in 5 string mode (yes neck needs to be about 55mm wide at the nut) that could accommodate 12 tuners on the headstock AND be of a shape that would fit my tribute needs. It rules out ALL Fender style basses and if you look at images of 12ers (inc in my original post), every one has 6 on each side headstock... and they are long!

Makes sense otherwise every bass amp would sound the same if EQ was set flat (relative to whatever setting is flat i.e. Fender tone stack isn't 3 dials at 12:00).

You are absolutely correct... and I mean ABSOLUTELY correct. However, I've been a massive Cheap Trick fan for 43 years so this is my homage bass to that band. If I'm honest, it is a last resort. I've spent close on 20 years watching for a proper USA Hamer bass to come up used but it has never happened. I've also bought and owned a couple of brand 12 string basses but they just weren't aesthetically what is needed. I've chased down long dead leads on BC / FB / internet etc to no avail, I've also had wanted ads out at various times over the years and still have friends watching for something appropriate. I'm reckoning £1500+ to have something built but I'd happily spend that and more on a pukka model that hit my needs. We'll see how it pans out, if I end up getting quoted multiples of my initial figure then it is a none starter.

Yes, the body/top horn length will be important on something that will have a lot of mass at the headstock, especially as I want to keep weight down. String spacing is just what it is. There is only so much space available and I'll be using a plectrum with no need to pick individual strings, just groups of 3.

First off I'm not building it! I'm actually looking to inform my design and thought process to have one made for me (no builder selected)... and writing this might clarify my thinking. Background - I've had a Cheap Trick tribute on the back burner since 1979... realistically 2010 but it has come to the point where if I am going to do this I need to knuckle-down and sort the actual instrument for bass use. I've subsequently put a band together and everyone is a serious CT fan and onboard. I just don't have the prerequisite 12 string Tom Petersson bass! I might be able to find a Dean Rhapsody or Hamer Chaparral but I want a more authentic looking TP bass/replica and they are as rare as honest politicians! Hence I am now at a point where custom build looks to be the only (expensive) option (ie the financial hit if the project falls apart will be greater than if I sell a ready manufactured bass) but I'm prepared to commit to it. My questions / dilemma revolve around overall weight (I have a dicky shoulder which copes OK with sub 9lb basses) balance (S M L scale) and playability of a bass with 12 strings, tuners etc. I'm familiar with and focused on the early Cheap Trick Hamer basses of the B12S (short scale double cut) / M (medium scale double cut) / A (long scale single cut) B12S B12M B12A I own 4 string short scale basses and don't find them lacking in bass but worry about all the extra strings and their effect on the sound. IF a long scale had the bridge set back as far as possible; B12A with bridge at the rear edge would bring the strap button to 12th fret... yes/no? Upper fret access isn't technically vital... 12/14ish will do! Could a strap button extension be added to any of the basses as per my Bolin 4 strings to stop imbalance? ...actually the answer is obviously yes! A double cut will weigh less than a SC but could body thickness off-set? Electronics I am less worried about as I'll go for humbuckers in some form as per the above (I hate SC hum) and likely as not active electronics. Am I missing any points / issues... talk to me, guide me. I might not use everything suggested but any thoughts/info will inform my decisions. Sorry for meandering.

...and just to derail this completely! EQ disengaged (by engaging the flat/shape button ), Ashdown designer core tone only (note I didn't say flat) and the OPs 'perceived' flat sound will sound anything but flat if played through cab A / B / C. I learned many years ago (through Bassworld / Basstalk / Basschat) that I actually like the sound that certain speakers make regardless of diameter. Oddly at the time I thought I just liked 10" speakers but it turned out I liked the distorted (not 'distorted') sound of the Eminence 10" drivers in my H&K combos, since then I just use my ears and judge the tone coming from a cab regardless of manufacturer or driver size. Fast forward just a few years and I stumbled on Thunderfunk amps which just worked for me with the EQ set at 12:00... I had plenty of scope to go up or down if room dynamics needed it (which I rarely did) due to the semi-parametric EQ. I've still since then tried different amp flavours to see if I could get even better sound; many/most were 'different' but rarely better (IMHO) so I went back to TF. It appears to have been established that in the world of commercially available domestic bass amplifiers, FLAT physically can't exist but amplifiers should have a position at which EQ can be adjusted. I'm sure it has been said but if an amp gives you the sort of sound you like with the controls set in such a manner/position that you can tweak to meet acoustic peculiarities, then you are sorted. Whether that be a Helix/processor/preamp into as uncoloured a power section/IEM/PA or full fat valve amp into ceramic/neo 5"/10"/12"/15"/18" cabinet is immaterial, it has to meet your needs which will be different for all of us.

Search out the thread on putting bass through a line-array, lots of relevant info re the Evox 8 and various speaker set ups.

Ex HB100 owner/user input. I purchased a 'new' unit from Leszek/HB about 3 years ago which arrived and I initially had an issue with what appeared to be the drive button dropping power/volume down. It was suggested by Leszek (who responded pretty quickly) that I was using the incorrect output connection to an inappropriate load. As it happens I wasn't (40 years experience of amps/cabs) and the amp went 'pop' the 2nd time it was powered up due to a fractured/broken power valve. Long story / short, I ended up with a full refund and the amp was (iirc) repaired and rehomed. No slight on Leszek for the full refund but I did find it odd that I was immediately on the back foot as it was intimated that it was my lack of knowledge re ohmage that was the issue, when in fact the amp had a totally separate issue. Fast forward a year or so and I ended up purchasing another used WB100 (gawd knows it might have been my original one ), which operated 100% as it should. By that I mean that I could back the master (output volume) down and turn the gain (input control) up and get some classic overdriven sounds at house volumes, which I think is what is being debated. That isn't however, the way I ran the amp at gig levels as I wanted a clean tone; I then ran the master output full (possibly backed off a smidgen) and adjusted the input to get my desired volume. Just my £0.02

A bit of a generalisation though isn't it? As with all things, we have personal preferences and I'd not thank you for one as the tone isn't too my liking.

Another vote for an identical 112 to the one you have. 'IF' you were to go for a one cab solution I'd certainly be putting a used Schroeder cab on the shortlist.

Let's not even mention JBJ!

It probably doesn't show in the clips but basically I was giving the vocalist queues for where to come in and I was in line with the guitarist furthest away from me to give him the nod on the songs that he was less familiar with (hence I am looking their way most of the set). Added to which, this was a case of getting through the songs rather than 'performing', we needed to kick out some of the material that the 4 of us had learned (as the singer had never actually sung before but his family liked certain tracks) and we put in new numbers. Sadly this was established at the fated shortened rehearsal and it's never good with 1 hour to go, to have to establish which songs we might all know and be able to perform to an audience without embarrassing ourselves. It does come across as an OK performance that would be perfectly acceptable as a regular showcase and that I might have over egged it a bit but there were times (possibly not on these clips) where the singer could have derailed the performance but as a team effort we pulled together to keep it rolling.

Totally agree. The 3/4 piece 'unplugged' group I play with has a vocalist who decided late in life that he wanted to 'sing', as such he has little experience and tends to belt everything out at 110% (ask @wateroftyne). I gave him the heads up that he'd need to take it easy as we had a 3 gig weekend coming up (weekend just past). Sure enough 1/2 way through the 2nd gig his voice went. I advised we bailed on the 3rd gig but he said resting it for the day would be enough... it wasn't! I may not be a singer myself but I've been around enough to see the signs and sadly he may end up giving himself problems if he doesn't train or get some tuition.

re. continuing the band with a different vocalist. I really only did this 'one off' gig as I like a challenge now and again + to get my face known/seen at the local festival circuit (start small). The other guys in the band were genuinely good and easy to work with but I really don't need another as I play in... A) rock covers trio with the guy who was Richie Blackmoor's drummer for about 6 years B) Cheap Trick tribute band C) duo with my wife D) unlpugged/acoustic group (variously either 3 or 4 of us) All of the above mentioned bands/groups have players in of at least the minimum standard of the best in this scratch band (no disrespect to them). They would make the core of a good new band... any bassists in the NE want to hook up with them (sans the vocalist)?

Yeah, valid point. As it happens I only had 1 loose Speakon connector and I wasn't going to try and solder it to a 1/4"! I'm still going to test it even if I don't use it long term.

Oddly enough I don't want to crush the guy... I should for wasting our time but in fact I had hoped he'd pick up on the pitfalls and shortcomings. Even my dressing down (for want of a better term) of him at the rehearsal was intended to give him a wake up call.

I may have lied! Don't get me wrong I have the utmost for ANY musician but when you put yourself out there as a vocalist and you elicit the help from a collective of total strangers... you've got to be able to do your bit! The fact is, the guy came to the rehearsal (late) where we had learned (to a good standard) the 8 songs that he had suggested. He breezes in and we have to immediately dismiss 3 of those 8 songs because he can't get any part of them (Love of my life - Queen with just 1 guitar accompaniment being one of them). I think on the day he just about got through but with a lesser band or a less receptive audience he'd have been mauled! On discussion after the gig with the other guys, we all agreed he'd had smoke blown up his derriere by friends and family and had begun to believe his own hype/persona. Hopefully he'll learn from this and go on to sort out his vocals and more importantly his organisational skills BUT the fact he walked off stage declaring that was faultless and his family flocked to him to declare he was the Messiah (we all know what he really was... ) made us all think he'll likely not amount to a great deal... though I could have egg on my face if he does. LOL

1979 2022 "Should that E be a minor?"