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NBD: Conway Instruments Taranis fretless


Merton
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Unless you’ve been following the build thread you won’t know who Conway Instruments are. So check out this for the history:

All you get here is porn (and specs):

5 string fretless, 30” scale with through body stringing

Black limba core, English ash top and limba back

Limba, maple and cooba set neck, pau ferro board

Nordstrand MM5.4 pickup with coil tap and series/parallel switch

There's more to it than that but it’s the basics. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. She’s stunning to look at, lovely to play and sounds huuuuge.

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  • 2 years later...

Very tasty bass :) What strings / gauges are you using? I just tried capo and retuning on my G&L to simulate the 30" scale.  The TI flat B string is too floppy to use for me at this scale. 

Edited by 3below
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Thanks :)

These are Newtone hex cores, 130 B string. It’s not too bad at all, good tension and tone. It wouldn’t compete with a 37” scale B but the construction of the bass helps immensely in the solidity of the B

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7 hours ago, 3below said:

Very tasty bass :) What strings / gauges are you using? I just tried capo and retuning on my G&L to simulate the 30" scale.  The TI flat B string is too floppy to use for me at this scale. 

Most string manufacturers, including TI make sets specifically for different scale lengths.

Faking 30" scale with a 34" scale set won't give very nice results as you've discovered.

I have a 30.5" scale 4, which I popped some old 34" scale TI flats on, it was manageable, but I then bought a set designed for short scale basses and it was a whole world better.

TI flats are very low tension and don't do too well when detuned.

Sadly, TI only do their 4 string flats set in 30" scale flavour...

Eude

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6 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

That looks incredible! I especially love all the dark veneers at almost every glue joint, it really adds a touch of class to it. Beautiful bass! 

It's even better in the flesh, I've been lucky enough to be able to give is a good spank on more than one occasion.

It's a master class in, er, class 😉

Beautifully made and an equally beautiful sounding instrument.

Eude

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1 hour ago, eude said:

.....I have a 30.5" scale 4, which I popped some old 34" scale TI flats on, it was manageable, but I then bought a set designed for short scale basses and it was a whole world better....

I have also done this with exactly the same result.  The long scale 5 set runs at 43 , 56 , 70 , 100 , 136.  The short scale 4 set at  .043, .056, .070, .106.  The 106 E string is just so much better on my short scale basses.  My thinking was if the 136 B string will work at 30" then combine that with a short scale set (accepting some of the main string wrap of the B string will go around the post - which from experience will work ok).   Conclusion:  If (when) I build the 30.5" 5 string bass it will not have my usual TI flats on it.

Edited by 3below
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I think short scale strings have a totally different size core relative to the overall width. The guy from GHS was explaining it on TB the other day, I'll see if I can find the post.

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44 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I think short scale strings have a totally different size core relative to the overall width. The guy from GHS was explaining it on TB the other day, I'll see if I can find the post.

That would seem highly likely.

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