Rumple Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 [quote name='jazzybass' timestamp='1384240244' post='2274248'] Great review, I bet it was hard letting Dave take it back? [/quote] It was a bit hard having to hand it back. Dave is down in London on 25th and if the bass is finished he will bring it with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 Work commitments have meant there has been a bit of a delay in Dave's planned trip to London, it's 99.999999% on the cards for tomorrow - yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dave delivered the R5 (as I call it) yesterday and this morning I had time to take a few shots of the beast, see my previous review earlier in this thread for an overview of my thoughts on the bass, to sum up I think it's a handmade thing of beauty, it plays great and has a wide variety of sounds, I've already got to grips with the very flexible rotary switches. There are a couple of minor things I'll get Dave to look at at some point next year but I'll speak to him first before mentioning them here, as I think that's only fair, I'll also wait and see how it sounds with the band before having any tweaks done and that's not until the end of Jan. Now Dave has change the back of the neck to a satin finish I feel much more at home when playing the bass. I've weighted it using my bathroom scales and it comes in at 8.8lbs so not ultra light but a far cry from the 9.6lb SR5 I usually use. I've tried it out on a strap and it feels comfortable and well balanced with no neck dive. I'll include my original Photoshop mock up that I gave to Dave at the start of the build, pretty bloody close I'll report back at the end of January with an update but for now I'd just like to thank Dave for his skill, hard work, patience and amazing service. This is my original mock-up:[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][attachment=150209:Buck eyedia.jpg][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The bass:[/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][attachment=150212:R5 Body Detail lr.jpg][/font] [attachment=150211:R5 Full Angle.jpg] [attachment=150210:R5 Full lr.jpg] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][attachment=150213:R5 Back lr.jpg] [attachment=150214:R5 Headstock lr.jpg] [attachment=150215:R5 Neck Joint lr.jpg] [/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzybass Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I think that’s the most amazing bass I’ve seen on build diaries this year. It’s totally stunning, a very ‘modern classic’ look that really appeals to me. Congratulations on owning such a lovely bass, i'm jeleous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) I must just say that the cats whisker pickups are so good, they sound incredable!! my new favourite pickups Edited December 10, 2013 by nugget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 That is more than just a little bit sexy, Rumple. You must be chuffed to bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Beautiful bass, fantastic work! you lucky man! Enjoy! RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 Thanks for the kind word everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrT-Bass Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Very nice mate...I'll bet you can't put it down!! I hope it's everything you wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Awesome! Congrats Rumple! It's absolutely exquisite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 Gig bag loaded with the R5 ready for tomorrows all day rehearsal I'll report back on Monday on how the bass performed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 I can report that the R5 sounded fantastic yesterday so many tone variations from a passive bass, far more versatile then most basses I've owned including active ones, in general it's bright and punchy and really cuts through the mix but is less aggressive in humbucker mode then say a SR5, this thing has a character of it's own though so I shouldn't be comparing it to other basses. I've never seen the point of a tone control on passive basses as usually it just turns the sound to mud but I was using it a lot on Sunday, it nicely rolls off the highs without messing up the tone, it works a treat for more old school tunes. No bad back or shoulder ache today either! the weight and balance were spot on, it's a small bass and that also worked very well for me. Next step is to get the bass back to Dave so he can do a few tweaks for me, one being the bridge has run out of adjustment before the intonation could be pulled in to tune, on a bass with a small body placement of the Hipshot bridge can't go any further back, we might have to look at alternative bridges so the saddles can move further back, I'm not at all technical so I'll be guided by Dave. The back of the neck is satin and the fingerboard glossy at the moment I've asked Dave to make the fingerboard satin to, which he's kindly agreed to do. I'll report back in a few months when the adjustments have been done and I can do a final summary. R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Update! Having lived with this bass for a while I had a change of heart on the fingerboard, after a brief spell of enjoying Maple I've gone back to liking dark woods, couple that with trying out a 33" scale bass Dave had made for himself and loving it I asked him to modify my bass, so here it is in all it's glory, it's now 33" scale length with an Ebony fingerboard, through body stringing and a bigger slot for getting at the truss rod. I think it looks a lot nicer and it plays much better, it was a good bass that's now a great bass [attachment=199454:P1010591 retlr.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 I agree, the darker fb looks even better and the 33" scale is super nice (imo). Is the through body stringing an absolute necessity or is it do-able without ? (Im doing a 33" 5er myself at the moment ) Ta Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Hi Ian, I don't think it's necessary but as my bass has a small headstock as well as 33" scale the through body stinging means the strings are still cut to the same length as usual, that way you get the tapered part of the B and E strings going around the tuner post, if the stings went through the bridge it would be the fat part around the tuner, which is not ideal. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Perfect sense Rumple thanks, i'm not too bothered about winding a string wee bit past the silk but like you say it's not ideal and with a fat B string to contend with as well ....i'll look into doing it as a string through great help Rumple ..thanks Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 [quote name='scojack' timestamp='1440679908' post='2852902'] Perfect sense Rumple thanks, i'm not too bothered about winding a string wee bit past the silk but like you say it's not ideal and with a fat B string to contend with as well ....i'll look into doing it as a string through great help Rumple ..thanks Ian [/quote] You do excellent work so I'm sure whatever you decide it will turn out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 It looks cracking with the ebony fretboard, Rumple . Has that and the shorter scale length changed the sound as well as the feel? If so, in what way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 [quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1440832807' post='2854146'] It looks cracking with the ebony fretboard, Rumple . Has that and the shorter scale length changed the sound as well as the feel? If so, in what way? [/quote] It's really hard to say, I told Dave there was no rush to do the job so I was without the bass for quite a while add to that I decided to change from half rounds to round wounds at the same time which obviously make it sound brighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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