jefframm

I completely agree re: Mark - he's been fabulous to collaborate with. I'm slowly coming to the same conclusion on the weight front. Mark has suggested downsizing the body by 5% and dong some more aggressive chambering - but I'm struggling with whether even that would get us there. The hardware is what it is - weighs what it weighs - so we'd have to take a full pound (or close) off the body/neck woods - quite the lift I think. Lots to mull over.

That's an option obviously - but the challenge with wood (I'm also a woodworker) is that the same species of wood - take walnut for example - can vary in density and weight quite significantly from board to board. To Mark's credit - he made every effort to select the right boards and did chamber the bass. One of the things we're discussing is wood selection and potentially more aggressive chambering. The issue there (for me) is how more aggressive chambering will impact the tone of the bass. Wood selection also has a big impact on tone. Some folks really like woods like "tempered pine" - which is really light weight - but for me (having played some tempered pine bodied basses) - I think it robs the low end at a level I'm not ok with. It works great for some folks - just not for me. Ash "can be" lighter - but I'm told by my builder friends (and Mark) that it's very hard to find better quality lightweight ash blanks these days. Lots of moving parts obviously. The bass he completed is spectacular and I know someone will be very very happy with it. I wouldn't have hesitated if I was 50 and not almost 66 and dealing with the "getting old" issues that I described above.

Mark and I had agreed at the beginning on a target "not to exceed" weight of 8.5 lbs. When he had the bass assembled and finished - it became clear that we wouldn't hit that target - it's a bit over 9 lbs (Mark is getting me the exact weight later today I believe now that the pick-ups are in). I have neck and shoulder issues that limit my ability to play anything heavier than 8.5 lbs, as when I gig heavier basses my left shoulder and upper arm start to numb up a bit. I've tried weight lifting / strength training, wider straps, etc. - and I've come to the conclusion that being almost 66 and having played for 50+ years, I just have to stick with basses that are lighter than 8.5lbs. In case you're wondering how I came to that weight target - I have several basses that are right at 8.5 lbs and those work ok. My 98 Lakland 55-94 weighs about 9.25 and while I LOVE that bass (played it regularly for 20+ years) it's now hanging on the wall waiting for a grandkid to inherit it. Similarly my first bass, a 72 Fender Precision, which weighs a hefty 10 lbs will go to my son given the sentimental value. So back to Mark and the bass - he and I are working out what to do next. He has proposed some ideas on how we can change the design a bit to ensure we hit the target. We agreed that since I can't use the bass given the weight that he would place it for sale - hence the ads you are seeing. He does have another highly figured set of maple and walnut that we can use - so both of us are in a "mull it over" period while he sells the other bass. And I'll say this - he's been fabulous to work with through the entire build and he was very disappointed and apologetic that we missed the target - despite his efforts at chambering, the use of an aluminum Hipshot bridge, etc. I think we both learned a lot through the process and we'll figure out a good path forward. FWIW, the price on that bass is very reasonable IMO. If you were to buy a Smith, Fodera, Alembic, etc. - you would be looking at 2-3X that number minimum - and while those brands are better known - what I've seen of Mark's workmanship (and his collaboration) makes his basses quite a value. Obviously it's a lot of money - no denying that, but I'm fortunate to play bass as a "semi-pro" where I don't have to rely on gig income to fund my bass obsession.

Lots of progress in the last several days. The "raw" pics are after final sanding & right before prep for finish - and the "finished" pics are after the first coat of oil finish. I chose to go with a satin finish as opposed to heavy gloss. The oil finish really makes the grain in the maple and walnut pop.... The pickup pictures are the "molds" that Mark & team use for the pickup covers.

Mark shared these latest pics with me yesterday. The bass has been glued up and "rough shaped" and next comes all the sanding.... Looking really great!

Completely agree. The other point I'll make - and this isn't to sound garish - but having been fortunate to do a couple of "custom" builds - I can say without hesitation that Mark has been very easy to work with - very open to ideas and input - and very good about communications. When you drop this kind of money on a bass or guitar - those things are really critical to me - and I suspect to lots of us!

Mark sent another update - lots of progress. All the chambering has been done - the top has been glued on and the neck blank has been glued up. Awesome to see the progress!

Lots of great bass and string recommendations. I'd come at it from a different angle as I have the same general issues (I'm 65 and have been playing for 52 years). I have arthritis in my left hand (more than my right) and have found two things that really helped manage my situation (beyond what's already been suggested). 1) I've cut way back on my sugar intake - and have been amazed at how much that appears to help reduce the inflammation and 2) I wear fingerless compression gloves (even when I play) that provide subtle compression of my hands and really seem to help. I think part of what they help with is better circulation in my hands. I use gloves from a company called OneCompress - although I'm sure there are lots of others out there. Good luck - it can be very frustrating!

I had mentioned a while back that I am working on a new bass with Mark. A good friend here in the US had hipped me to Mark's work - and I was blown away by the quality of the builds he's doing. While the basses are not inexpensive - Mark's work is priced very well below what a similarly built Fodera or Smith would be. I've always wanted a custom neck-through as I've been a bolt-on guy my whole playing live - but had gotten to the point where Alembic, Fodera, and Smith were just outrageous in terms of price - and I had some interactions with one of those companies that really turned me off. When I reached out to Mark - our discussions were so positive that I decided to take the leap. While I originally was interested in a SM2 - I opted to change up to the MK2 body style - as I think the positioning of the neck / strap button will work better for me in terms of "reach" and playability. Mark has been great to work with - very collaborative, very helpful with ideas and feedback on my thinking, and most of all very accommodating to my focus on weight. I'm 65 years old - have been playing for about 52 years, and only read use basses that are 8.5 lbs or less. Mark is undertaking a chambering approach for my MK2 and is confident we'll hit or beat the weight target. The specs are a quilted maple top, walnut "core" (where the chambering will occur) and a maple neck with walnut stringers. Some of the neck will have flamed maple - and some plain sawn as well with the flamed walnut stringers. Will use his standard electronics - not the larger pick-ups with the filter preamp - and it's a 34" 5-string. I've attached some pics that he's shared of the wood selections we've settled on and I'll share more pics as Mark progresses the build. The pic that has weights written on the wood pieces is how Mark has figured out target weight. The "block" is how much weight we'll remove from the core with the chambering.

Thanks! We raised our kids in the Atlanta, GA area - and both of them & their spouses and kids live there still so we're down in GA a good bit. It's only a couple of hours away which makes it easy. Atlanta has a really great music scene as well and I did a lot of my playing there from 1993 to 2018 when we moved to SC permanently. I haven't spent much time in Columbia SC but it's a great college town from what I hear having the University of SC there. Have spent a lot of time at Hilton Head though - our kids loved to go to the beach there. I've actually spent a good bit of time in London - lots of business there from 2014 to 2020 when the pandemic hit - and also got to travel a bit around England. Loved it and the people. We've yet to get to Scotland and Ireland - but both are on our "trip list". Take care and thanks for the warm welcome!

To your point Geek99, Talkbass can be pretty fascinating. I've been lucky to develop some great friendships with some guys my age (I'm 65) and have had some success there moving gear and buying the occasional thing. I've been going down a pedal rat hole of sorts - but happily think I've hit bottom. 🙂 South Carolina is a fascinating state. Way too conservative politically for my liking - but we live on a lake in the northwest corner of the state looking up at some of the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. It's so lovely here and our kids and 5 grandkids are all in Atlanta - which is 2 1/2 hours by car. It could be a lot worse! The coast is beautiful as well - glad you got to enjoy it!

I got exposed to Basschat as I was researching Mark Jones basses - built in England. I starting playing in 1972 when I was just short of 13 years old - and mowed lawns all summer that year to buy a 1972 Fender Precision (Blonde with red tortoise pick guard) and a Bassman 50. I've been through lots of gear since - but still have the 72 P bass. It's an "A" neck (like a jazz bass) and just wonderful. Growing up I played a mix of jazz, rock, blues, pop, and CCM (Contemporary Christian). During high school I toured with a local church in the summers as a "hired gun" (great as a teenager) and met my lovely wife there (she was in the choir - lots of lovely girls). We had a jazz quintet that played about 5 weekend nights a month and it kept me out of the "fast food" jobs my buddies all had. Currently play weekly at our church, in a "Back In Time" band that does 60's rock / pop and a rock/blues/funk band that does a bit of everything. Also play "at" guitar, baritone guitar, and lap steel. Generally I love anything to do with music. My current gear includes my 98 US Lakland 55-94 classic (alder / rosewood), a NYC Sadowsky 5-21 (ash / maple), a German Sadowsky metro 4-string P/J, and both fretted and fretless Furch acoustic bass guitars. My newest love though is my LEH 4-string, built by Ellis Hahn, who ran the Sadowsky NYC shop for years for Roger and built close to 1000 Sadowsky's in their time there. My church gig is IEM's and I use an Eich BassBoard (fabulous if you use IEM's) for silent stage. For the other gigs I use Bergantino stuff - a BAmp + either a 210 or 1-12 or both depending on the gig. I also use a Novation Bass Station II for bass synth stuff when needed. Mark Jones is building me one of his MK2's - as I've never owned a neck-through bass and have been blown away with his artistry and ease of collaboration. I'll share pics in the Jones Bass thread as things progress. Thanks for having such a cool site as Basschat! Jeff

I've embarked on a build with Mark - for what is now called the MK2 body style. It's early in the process - but I've found Mark really easy to communicate with and very helpful. He's addressed all of my questions and ideas very quickly and was very open to my concerns about weight and how to manage that. Very excited to see things come along!

I had one of Rob's original fretless 5-strings - which was actually 35" scale length. Koa top - great build - but I moved on to 34" scale for my 5'ers. Sold the 35" scale one - bought it's almost literal twin in 34" scale length. His basses are fabulously made - I never had any issues with them - and they're super light. The only issue for me is they're somewhat a "one trick pony" sound wise based on my playing style. I'll admit to having a fickle history with fretless basses. I've had the RA's, a couple of Roscoe 5-strings (also amazing - but heavy) and currently have one of the Sadowsky SMX 4-string jazz basses in fretless. It's much nicer than I expected it would be - and I got lucky and found an 8 lb one.