lawriemacmillan Posted September 14, 2012 Posted September 14, 2012 (edited) Overwater Expression Custom bass Lined fretless 22 'frets' 34.5" scale Mahogany Body with Rosewood binding Maple/Walnut neck with satin finish Ebony fingerboard Solid Flame Maple top Rosewood bridge with hidden Headway pickup Overwater/John East preamp with 3-Band EQ including mid-freq control Twin stack-knob controls 19mm string spacing at bridge Nut width 47mm Neck width at 22nd fret 78mm Tribal-Planet gig bag. This is my all-time favourite fretless bass. The flat sound of this bass is quite low-mid to my ears, which brings a pronounced 'mwah' without any EQ tweaking. The EQ is quite versatile which can dull down the tone or liven up to crisp percussive treble. The bass is very comfortable to play in a seated position and also balances well on a strap. I currently have it strung with flatwounds so the harmonics aren't as strong as when it has roundwounds on it, but the sustain is still quite impressive. I have also tried nylon tapewounds which didn't work well for the projects I used the bass on, but the effect was an impressive thuddy double-bass sound or tuba depending on right hand placement and plucking force. The body isn't as deep as a regular acoustic bass, which makes it quite comfortable to pluck over longer performances or practice sessions. Also, the unique soundhole requires no plugging. The bass performs free from feedback. I had this bass made with a 34.5" scale length, to find a compromise between having a tight B string and a familiar tension on the G string. As the usual story goes, I don't want to sell this bass, but I have my eye on something else. The bass is at my home in Fife, Scotland so if there's a possibility of you passing my way, please send a PM. I haven't considered postage options yet. Ideally it will be pick-up only, but I know that limits sales based in the south, so I'm open to the possibilities of couriers. Most players in the bass community will be very familiar with Overwater instruments, but the Expression model is relatively rare, and fretless versions even more so. It's not an inexpensive bass by far, but ordering one of these with the custom specifications would cost over £3300, so I think I've priced it fairly. Edited January 6, 2013 by lawriemacmillan
BassBus Posted September 14, 2012 Posted September 14, 2012 Just amazing looking basses. One string too many for me unfortunately but good luck with the sale.
ikay Posted September 15, 2012 Posted September 15, 2012 I'm intrigued by the bridge assembly, can you explain a bit more about how the saddlle unit is constructed? Headway cable transducers (if it's like this - http://www.headwaymusicaudio.com/product_HE4passive_acoustic_pickup.php) usually sit under a flat bottom 'acoustic' saddle but this one seems to have individually adjustable saddles. I'm just curious how this works with a cable pickup! Very unusual and interesting bass.
rumour6 Posted September 15, 2012 Posted September 15, 2012 Exquisite; absolutely beautiful. Good luck
lawriemacmillan Posted September 15, 2012 Author Posted September 15, 2012 (edited) [quote name='ikay' timestamp='1347737168' post='1804538'] I'm intrigued by the bridge assembly, can you explain a bit more about how the saddlle unit is constructed? Headway cable transducers (if it's like this - [url="http://www.headwaymusicaudio.com/product_HE4passive_acoustic_pickup.php"]http://www.headwaymu...stic_pickup.php[/url]) usually sit under a flat bottom 'acoustic' saddle but this one seems to have individually adjustable saddles. I'm just curious how this works with a cable pickup! Very unusual and interesting bass. [/quote] Good question ikay, and thanks for bringing it up. In the close up of the bridge seen in 'photo 2', the tail-piece side is on the left of the bridge design, and the saddle side is on the right. The flat rosewood 'Lollipop Stick' that you can see running top-to-bottom of the centre of the saddle side has sufficient depth to be grooved. These grooves cradle each brass saddle which in turn, cradles each string. The height of each saddle is simply adjusted by a small shim, discreetly placed under each saddle within each groove. The cable pickup runs along the length of the 'bed' in which the rosewood 'Lollipop Stick' floats. The height of this from B-G string is also by means of shim. The tension of the strings holds it in place. Edited September 15, 2012 by lawriemacmillan
ikay Posted September 15, 2012 Posted September 15, 2012 [quote name='lawriemacmillan' timestamp='1347740833' post='1804603'] Good question ikay, and thanks for bringing it up. In the close up of the bridge seen in 'photo 2', the tail-piece side is on the left of the bridge design, and the saddle side is on the right. The flat rosewood 'Lollipop Stick' that you can see running top-to-bottom of the centre of the saddle side has sufficient depth to be grooved. These grooves cradle each brass saddle which in turn, cradles each string. The height of each saddle is simply adjusted by a small shim, discreetly placed under each saddle within each groove. The cable pickup runs along the length of the 'bed' in which the rosewood 'Lollipop Stick' floats. The height of this from B-G string is also by means of shim. The tension of the strings holds it in place. [/quote] Thanks Lawrie, that's very neat. Basses with undersaddle transducers often have no adjustability at all and it's nice to see a builder take the care and attention to build in things like this.
lawriemacmillan Posted September 15, 2012 Author Posted September 15, 2012 [quote name='ikay' timestamp='1347742900' post='1804625'] Thanks Lawrie, that's very neat. Basses with undersaddle transducers often have no adjustability at all and it's nice to see a builder take the care and attention to build in things like this. [/quote] Yes the bridge is really something. Everything about the bass is. Truly unique and yes, believe it or not I really am sad that it's for sale!
lawriemacmillan Posted September 25, 2012 Author Posted September 25, 2012 Finish restored back to new condition. Edges free from bumps and fretboard looking and feeling very smooth!
lawriemacmillan Posted October 1, 2012 Author Posted October 1, 2012 Serious interest shown but still available.
Oldman Posted October 1, 2012 Posted October 1, 2012 I considered commissioning one of these but opted for a fretless Progress 3 jobby and then bought a fretted version. This is still on my acquisition list but yours is lined, fabulous bass from a well respected stable of basses. Shame you have to let it go. If I wasn't such a snob .... Good luck, good price lovely bass......ahhhh, it must be old age.
lawriemacmillan Posted October 4, 2012 Author Posted October 4, 2012 [quote name='Oldman' timestamp='1349125411' post='1822266'] I considered commissioning one of these but opted for a fretless Progress 3 jobby and then bought a fretted version. This is still on my acquisition list but yours is lined, fabulous bass from a well respected stable of basses. Shame you have to let it go. If I wasn't such a snob .... Good luck, good price lovely bass......ahhhh, it must be old age. [/quote] Thanks for the comment! It was originally ordered as a fretted bass for big acoustic-themed tour I had in the calendar, but during rehearsals my Washburn AB35 ended up covering that job perfectly, so I quickly changed the order to 'fretless' and it exceeded my expectations. It is indeed a shame, but if I could have held onto every bass I've ever adored, there's be no room to live in my tiny flat :-D
lawriemacmillan Posted October 27, 2012 Author Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='k-sad' timestamp='1351269195' post='1849563'] This is crazy... I'd love to try it [/quote] If you can travel here, you'd be most welcome to try it. I',m thinking of putting tapewounds on it
franzbassist Posted October 29, 2012 Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='lawriemacmillan' timestamp='1351298512' post='1849963'] I',m thinking of putting tapewounds on it [/quote] Yes! La Bella black nylons would be lovely on this. So tempted by this..... Cheers Gareth
lawriemacmillan Posted October 29, 2012 Author Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1351510988' post='1851864'] Yes! La Bella black nylons would be lovely on this. So tempted by this..... Cheers Gareth [/quote] I really have had so many players wishing they could try the bass, but sadly nobody anywhere near Scotland! I'm presently experimenting with the best ways to pack the bass in it's case in a box so I can prepare it for delivery. Either to a private buyer or to Bass Gear in Reading, who are happy to display the bass for sale in their showroom. If I can arrange something this week, the instrument may well be there available to demo by next week.
lawriemacmillan Posted November 12, 2012 Author Posted November 12, 2012 You can now see and play this bass in the BassGear showroom: http://www.bassgear.co.uk/products-page/pre-owned/bass-guitars1/overwater-expression-custom-fretless-5-pre-owned/
franzbassist Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 I played this bass yesterday. It's really nice. Very well put together, feeling surprisingly strudy for an acoustic bass, and lovely tone.
Valhalalf Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 I dont suppose you'll be selling your Bassmods K6 too anytime soon?
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