NBD Sei Original 5 headless

[GisserD]

Picked this up in bass direct today. Couldn't resist after a couple of hours playing it. Its got a super low action, amazing B, punchy as flip with 2 single coil EMG.

I beleive it to be an early model. 

 

Spec:

 Flame maple body, Cocobolo top and back, Gloss natural finish,Flame Maple/Wenge through neck, Ebony fingerboard with maple edgeing

 

It needs some work, but nothing that affects playability. Finnish related stuff. 

I plan to restore it to original as far as possible. 

 

Chuffed. X

 

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by GisserD

[Kiwi]

Sei make the best wooden necks in the business IMO.  And the flame maple/wenge necks sound particularly nice.  I was sorely tempted by a black four in a similar spec many years ago.  Seems like yours has a couple of body cracks though?!

[GisserD]

21 minutes ago, Kiwi said:

Sei make the best wooden necks in the business IMO.  And the flame maple/wenge necks sound particularly nice.  I was sorely tempted by a black four in a similar spec many years ago.  Seems like yours has a couple of body cracks though?!

Yes. Couple of cracks in the top. But nothing that can't be easily repaired. 

None of the work I intend to have done affects tone/playability. It's a superb instrument already. I'd just like to restore it to original condition. Shouldn't be much more than a good body refinish.

I'd be happy to leave the neck as is.

 

[Mokl]

Thanks for removing the temptation of this from the BD website! Looks awesome - enjoy

[Skybone]

Fabulous looking bass.

[three]

I can strongly recommend Bow Finishers to the South of London - the original may have been a Bow finish?  Sei build some absolutely beautiful basses - real artistry and artisanal skill - this looks like a fantastic example

[Kiwi]

2 hours ago, three said:

I can strongly recommend Bow Finishers to the South of London - the original may have been a Bow finish?  Sei build some absolutely beautiful basses - real artistry and artisanal skill - this looks like a fantastic example

Ironically, they probably did the original finish to the bass. 

 

Martin used them up until he switched to Simms.

[White Cloud]

4 hours ago, Mokl said:

Thanks for removing the temptation of this from the BD website! Looks awesome - enjoy

Same here! Congratulations, that's a corker

[Soledad]

Wow, I had one of Martin's very early ones, exactly like yours - a 5 headless, amboyna facing (think yours is that?) - had mine built back when he was working out of his flat in NW London (may have been Willesden, was a long time ago!). IIRC, I discovered the early Sei basses through a player I knew who was a part of the early '90s north London acid jazz scene. They were a seriously hot ticket for a while.
I had Bartolinis fitted to mine but otherwise really looked ther same, sadly don't have any pics to hand.
Was a truly epic bass, beautifully built and very nice to play - as you say a very clean musical and balanced B, I mean transition across B to E sounded seemless.
Sold it on a whim... like we all do.

As a side note Martin also took my '64 Precision in for a refret at that time (around '91 I think). I know he took very detailed measurements of the neck which I think he referred to later when he made some P style basses.

Enjoy it... and try and keep it!!

[LeftyJ]

13 hours ago, Kiwi said:

Seems like yours has a couple of body cracks though?!

Those look like glue joints to me, where the wings join the through-neck. Very common when the top is glued before the wings are joined to the neck. I had a Human Base that was constructed that way too. 

[Kiwi]

9 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

Those look like glue joints to me, where the wings join the through-neck. Very common when the top is glued before the wings are joined to the neck. I had a Human Base that was constructed that way too. 

But it's a one piece top, isn't it? 

[GisserD]

2 hours ago, Kiwi said:

But it's a one piece top, isn't it? 

Yes it is.

[GisserD]

2 hours ago, Soledad said:

Wow, I had one of Martin's very early ones, exactly like yours - a 5 headless, amboyna facing (think yours is that?) - had mine built back when he was working out of his flat in NW London (may have been Willesden, was a long time ago!). IIRC, I discovered the early Sei basses through a player I knew who was a part of the early '90s north London acid jazz scene. They were a seriously hot ticket for a while.
I had Bartolinis fitted to mine but otherwise really looked ther same, sadly don't have any pics to hand.
Was a truly epic bass, beautifully built and very nice to play - as you say a very clean musical and balanced B, I mean transition across B to E sounded seemless.
Sold it on a whim... like we all do.

As a side note Martin also took my '64 Precision in for a refret at that time (around '91 I think). I know he took very detailed measurements of the neck which I think he referred to later when he made some P style basses.

Enjoy it... and try and keep it!!

Very interesting thanks. 

Yes one of the things that sold me on it is the tone of the B being the same as the E.

[GisserD]

3 hours ago, Kiwi said:

Ironically, they probably did the original finish to the bass. 

 

Martin used them up until he switched to Simms.

Because there's very little actually wrong with it. I might just get Bow or similar to do a refinish. There's actually no Luthier required really. But I like the idea of the original builder bringing it back to original condition.

 

[TheGreek]

The "crack" is only in the top veneer?? Old antiquist's trick would be to melt some wax/ crayon into the "crack" with a hot iron/ cloth.

[MuddBass]

Looks like an original rather than a Flamboyant to me... not that it matters, as I own both an original and a flamboyant and they are both great basses. Enjoy!

[GisserD]

54 minutes ago, MuddBass said:

Looks like an original rather than a Flamboyant to me... not that it matters, as I own both an original and a flamboyant and they are both great basses. Enjoy!

You may well be correct!!!! 

Theres remarkably little about sai bass on the Internet  

If anybody has any good info about these early models I'd be happy to learn about them. 

[ezbass]

41 minutes ago, GisserD said:

You may well be correct!!!! 

Theres remarkably little about sai bass on the Internet  

If anybody has any good info about these early models I'd be happy to learn about them. 

Without wanting to point out the obvious, for any info about the build of your very nice bass or potential repairs to it, I’d contact Martin at The Gallery, given that he built it and sold it originally.

https://thebassgallery.com/pages/workshop

[GisserD]

36 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Without wanting to point out the obvious, for any info about the build of your very nice bass or potential repairs to it, I’d contact Martin at The Gallery, given that he built it and sold it originally.

https://thebassgallery.com/pages/workshop

Yes already been in touch

thanks tho!

[ezbass]

50 minutes ago, GisserD said:

Yes already been in touch

thanks tho!

I knew I was stating the obvious. I’ll get my coat. 😆

[tauzero]

Coincidentally, I got my fretless from Bass Direct a few years ago. 

 

 

The Bartolini TBIBT preamp had issues soon after I got it, though, and I replaced it with a Delano Sonar 2. It's very light, and very shallow. One other thing is that the neck does move a little with temperature, so I always carry an allen key and a capo to adjust the truss rod if necessary (most of the time it isn't but I don't want to get caught out). Truss rod adjusts the wrong way, like early Warwicks - clockwise loosens it.

 

[GisserD]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

Coincidentally, I got my fretless from Bass Direct a few years ago. 

 

 

The Bartolini TBIBT preamp had issues soon after I got it, though, and I replaced it with a Delano Sonar 2. It's very light, and very shallow. One other thing is that the neck does move a little with temperature, so I always carry an allen key and a capo to adjust the truss rod if necessary (most of the time it isn't but I don't want to get caught out). Truss rod adjusts the wrong way, like early Warwicks - clockwise loosens it.

 

 

thanks for the info. and that is a stunning bass ::)

 

I have EMG pickups in mine, no idea what the preamp is tho. i might open it up and take a look.

 

the neck on mine was dead straight, so in the shop i asked to ajust it which they had no problem with. It took me a few quarter turns to realise it was moving the wrong way!!! but no harm done. the only thing in the bag other than the guitar was an allen key, so maybe mine suffers fron movement too. only time will tell. 

[Chris2112]

A nice looking bass, I was tempted but slightly put off at the time by reading the BD thread on here. I have bought from BD before and would prefer to always be able to test their basses first. I have resolved to own a Sei at some point but I'll probably go to the Gallery for one as they seem like a safe bet for them (albeit they are a little more pricey). 

[Owen]

<I am turning into that bloke>. That is a fine looking axe. 

[GisserD]

i had my 1st jam with her tonight and OMG its so good. The first thing i noticed was that It inspired me to play lightly as the tone was so good without digging in. and the eveness across the neck was better than all my other 5ers. The B is without doubt the best i ever played.