Jellyfish Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) Hi guys. I've recently decided on a lovely custom spec 5-string bass to be built by the guys at Alpher Instruments. They've only recently started building, but their work is absolutely stunning. I'd urge you to go and visit their Basschat topic in the affiliates section [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/203781-alpher-instruments/"]here.[/url] The specifications are [i]fairly[/i] basic, with a couple of oddments:[list] [*][b]Body:[/b] 1-piece Claro Walnut with Tru Oil finish [*][b]Top wood:[/b] Spalted/Spider Burl Maple [*][b]Mid Veneer: [/b]Wenge [*][b]Neck:[/b] 1-pieces Wenge, quartersawn [*][b]Fingerboard:[/b] Madagascan Rosewood [*][b]Tuners: [/b]Hipshot Lightweight [*][b]Bridge: [/b]Hipshot Single String bridges with [b]15.3mm string spacing[/b] [*][b]Nut: [/b]1.75" graphtech [*][b]Pickups: [/b]2 large-pole piece Humbuckers [*][b]Preamp: [/b]2-band John East Preamp [/list] Most of this stuff was only decided after having a good talk with Chris at Alpher Instruments as he continued to bombard me with pictures of beautiful woods and presented me with options I didn't think possible. Originally, I wanted a lightweight 5-string bass with tight string spacing. After a quick discussion regarding available bridges, it was decided that single string Hipshot's would give me a crazily tight string spacing of [b]15.3mm[/b]! The rest of it is fairly regular, apart from the lovely and exotic looking woods they have available. [b]A nice picture of the Claro Walnut that will be used as the body wood:[/b] [b]And the neck wood that I fell for after being shown it![/b] Updates will hopefully be coming thick and fast over the coming weeks as they get to work on my dream bass. Edited October 29, 2013 by Jellyfish Quote
LukeFRC Posted May 6, 2013 Posted May 6, 2013 oooh I like alpher's work (lucky enough to have had a go on a few too ) nice looking spec too - I'ld like to hear/see a alpher with a mm pup as think it would look good - where you having it placed? the rear jazz pup position or the MM sweet spot? Quote
Jellyfish Posted May 6, 2013 Author Posted May 6, 2013 The Musicman sweet spot methinks! The Bongo is one of my absolute favourite sounding basses so I really said 'Can you make me something that sounds similar?' and of course they said Yes. Quote
Jellyfish Posted May 6, 2013 Author Posted May 6, 2013 Thanks, and hopefully Chris won't mind me linking the top here too.. Quote
StephenYork Posted May 7, 2013 Posted May 7, 2013 Had my Alpher Bass now for a week and just can't put it down! You got some killer wood choices there, I look forward to seeing this come together. Quote
Jellyfish Posted May 8, 2013 Author Posted May 8, 2013 Cheers Stephen, you really need to update your avatar to show everyone how good the final product is. Quote
Jellyfish Posted May 10, 2013 Author Posted May 10, 2013 Cheers man, we're both equally excited about how the final product is going to look. They pick out some absolutely stunning pieces of wood that I've never seen anything like before! Not much excitement to add yet, but I've kindly been sent (taunted with) a picture of the 2-band John East preamp. Quote
Jellyfish Posted June 1, 2013 Author Posted June 1, 2013 A smallish update, the top wood arrived! They're un-sanded for now, but look great both dry and wet... Quote
Jellyfish Posted June 4, 2013 Author Posted June 4, 2013 Another exciting little update, the pickups arrived! My request was something similar to the Musicman Bongo, and also large, exposed pole pieces! I'm going to have to wait a while until I hear them of course, but I don't doubt that Catswhisker Pickups did a good job. Quote
Jellyfish Posted June 29, 2013 Author Posted June 29, 2013 A couple more pictures! [b]My fingerboard with slots! [/b]([i]The one on the right)[/i] [i][/i] [b]And the body, with some holes in. [/b] [i][/i] Quote
Jellyfish Posted August 1, 2013 Author Posted August 1, 2013 Here's a long overdue update with a picture of the rough outline of the body cut to shape! Quote
Jellyfish Posted August 5, 2013 Author Posted August 5, 2013 Here are a couple of pictures of the back & front after the edges have been rounded off : Quote
Myke Posted August 5, 2013 Posted August 5, 2013 That looks awesome! Was just checking this bass out on FB actually Quote
Jellyfish Posted August 8, 2013 Author Posted August 8, 2013 Cheers! I'm just hoping that lovely one-piece Walnut doesn't steal the show from the lovely Maple top. Quote
Jellyfish Posted August 10, 2013 Author Posted August 10, 2013 For those who are fans of curves. Quote
Ghosts Over Japan Posted August 23, 2013 Posted August 23, 2013 ohhh this is going to be very special! Quote
DarkHeart Posted August 23, 2013 Posted August 23, 2013 [quote name='Ghosts Over Japan' timestamp='1377262030' post='2185482'] ohhh this is going to be very special! [/quote] totally agree! Quote
Icunningham Posted August 30, 2013 Posted August 30, 2013 I had the pleasure of playing a couple today, my god they are stunning instruments. I was totally blown away by the necks on them both. Absolutely incredible Quote
Jellyfish Posted August 30, 2013 Author Posted August 30, 2013 [quote name='Icunningham' timestamp='1377822596' post='2192482'] I had the pleasure of playing a couple today, my god they are stunning instruments. I was totally blown away by the necks on them both. Absolutely incredible [/quote] Oh man, that's exciting to hear. Quote
Jellyfish Posted September 25, 2013 Author Posted September 25, 2013 All right, so it's been a while since an update, but I have a couple of cool pictures. First of all, the neck with all its shiny frets in! And the body after sanding! Quote
LukeFRC Posted September 25, 2013 Posted September 25, 2013 nice to see a bigger photo of that body than Facebook! It looks lush - I think it will overshadow the top! What's the neck wood again, I couldn't read it before Quote
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