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Posted

Hello everyone!

I won't bore you with my history of being a bass player, suffice to say I have noodled since my first Westone Concord 1 when I was 12, and owned most of the major brands over the years. 

When I hit my 50th birthday I decided to treat myself and put some feelers out to various local luthiers. A few responded and I instantly felt a connection with Bruce Hartley at Bassworks.

https://www.facebook.com/bassworksluthiery/

http://www.bassworks.co.uk

I had a clear concept for "The Mule". Precision body, Tele neck, MM 'bucker, one volume control, roasted flame maple neck, black hardware and the icing on the cake - silver metallic flake! The Mule is going to be a predominantly live bass so I wanted something to catch the lights and stand out on stage.

Following an hour long FaceTime with Bruce - the spec was laid out in much more detail (more on this later) and Bruce went to work on a quote for the cost.

When the quote came it was a big surprise! My handmade dream bass was going to cost far less than a new EBMM Stingray, and the quote even included a Hiscox case!!

So I instructed Bruce to crack on!

 

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Posted

Oooh - those are nice basses.  Spent far too long on the FB page.

Repeats: "Must learn to play the one I have, must learn to play the one I have, must learn.. "

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Posted

Looks like it’s gonna be a lovely bass!!

Just looked on his Facebook page looks like he does quality work! but one question what’s with all the holes in the back of the body?

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Posted

So, Bruce is an incredible engineer with a background in precision manufacturing (think aerospace, not Leo) and he utilises CAD/CAM all the way through the process. The Tele headstock was tweaked for optimal string alignment. It's also slightly thicker than a Fender - the Hipshot tuners will be sunk into the surface.

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Posted

...which was tested for size in a dummy rout. As I've come to expect from Bruce, it's an exact fit. Woodscrews? Not today my good man - hex bolts into brass inserts. Nice!

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Posted

Can I suggest you consider moving the pickup a tiny bit further from the bridge, as on the G&L L1500 (below) and L1505 - it adds a lot more girth to the sound, which you may find useful in the absence of a MM-type active EQ.

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Posted

Hi folks, thanks to Sam for creating this thread and for all the kind words from you Bass fans.

It means a lot.

Just picking up on a few questions raised....

Jimothey asked about holes to the rear of the body. If that was to do with Sam's Custom PMM4-T, then if they are underneath the bridge they are holes for the Hipshot string ferrules for through-string option on the Hipshot bridge. If they are beneath the pick up: I use a tri-point PU height setting and lock-down configuration. Basically the three screws at the rear of the bass set  PU height. Because there are three the PU cannot wobble so it's a breeze to set up. When the PU heights are set the top screws (3 in the case of this Bartolini MM PU) are simple screwed in to lock down the PU in the desired position set by the rear screws. I have to credit Joe Zon of Zon Guitars for the engineering solution here. The only bass I have ever seen with this feature was one of his. There may be others.

Have a great day and keep it Funky!

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Posted

My own JPJ5 in action folks...

I'm currently finishing off a complete re-finish of this bass as she never got a photoshoot and went straight into recording and gigging. The audio is the actual bass recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, cunningly re-synching a live video of the song from a gig in Kent. Hope you enjoy the noodling!...

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Posted
  On 14/01/2020 at 11:30, Bassworks said:

My own JPJ5 in action folks...

I'm currently finishing off a complete re-finish of this bass as she never got a photoshoot and went straight into recording and gigging. The audio is the actual bass recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, cunningly re-synching a live video of the song from a gig in Kent. Hope you enjoy the noodling!...

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Welcome to the forum.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

So it's kind of turned into a photo-diary!

As you can see, Bruce approaches design from an engineer's point of view, as well as a bass player and luthier. His method of fitting the frets is incredible - and his bull-nose fret ends are beautiful!

Posted

You're never going to lose that on a dark stage!

It's looking very nice, I like the little things such as the recesses for the machine heads.

Posted

I know - that was the idea! Yes Bruce's attention to detail is monumental. I think he does that to add a little extra mass to the headstock and still get the tuners to fit through.

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