Build YOUR signature bass

[Rayman]

After a long (drink fuelled) conversation about what my perfect bass could be…. I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t make one! I couldn’t come up with the definitive option….

 

Active/passive? 4/5 string? Long/Short scale? Rosewood/maple neck? …… and don’t start me on body shapes and colour options….. I just couldn’t settle on the final prototype at all.

 

Can you??

[bassist_lewis]

Already did mate 😜 Well, sort of…. depends what your threshold is for a “signature” model.

 

I received my Serek MW2 last year, for which I’d chosen the neck and fretboard wood (roasted maple), and asked for the neck to be left unpainted, which is non-standard for Serek. It also has a slightly unusual pickup conurbation: bridge pickup in the usual place but the neck pickup is in the sweet spot rather than 2-3cm closer to the neck as is standard. And passive electronics. Hardly breaking boundaries, but it’s a bit different to most MW2s.

I also have a Wilcock Mullarkey on order (alder body, roasted maple neck, shell pick with matching headstock), also with passive electronics. Again, not reimagining the bass guitar but it will be Mine, as it were. Even though it’s already a signature model for someone else…

 

But is that my “signature” model? Maybe, maybe not. Does a signature bass need some kind of unique design feature like the pickup configuration (Mullarkey, Fender Stu Hamm), string spacing (Gerald Veasly’s Ibanez), completely unique design (Matt Garrison and Anthony Jackson Foderas) or colour/decal (Lull IMA/Victor Wooten Fodera) to qualify as a signature model? If so, then the Fender JMJ, Pino Palladio, Jaco Pastorius, Sean Hurley, Victor Bailey, etc etc don’t count because they’ve just slapped a signature on a pretty standard model, they’re some of the most popular wigs to my knowledge.

[Doctor J]

34" scale, graphite, 12" radius, Jazz-sized, 4-string neck with 24 small frets. Downsized J body made from a fancy looking, light coloured wood with 2x G&L MFD pickups. L2000 electronics with the active bit removed and a blend pot instead of the 3-way switch. A bridge made of metal. Sadowsky knobs. Elixir stainless steel 105-45 strings. Maybe the body is trans emerald green stain. Or purple. Or Orange. That'll do, pig, that'll do.

[Lozz196]

I’m pretty much there with the Fender JMJ Mustangs, would be great if they did one in road-worn Olympic white.

[AndyTravis]

Yamaha BB1600, probably some sort of lake placid blue. Maple board scenario.

 

but - see if there was a way of doubling the bridge pickup to capture MM type sounds.

 

Anyhow. I’ve asked Yamaha when they want to meet to discuss. 
 

just awaiting a response 🥴

[TheGreek]

Once you've decided what you want send a request to @Andyjr1515. I think he's busy currently though.

[Skybone]

I guess it would have to be another Jetglo 4003, maybe a few tweaks from standard (black scratchplate & TRC).

 

Happy to discuss this with Rickenbacker.  Though I suspect it'd mean me just buying one. 🙄

[MichaelDean]

Hmmmm, it depends on that band I'm in at the time. I think at the moment, it would be a 2 pickup combustion (available in 4 and 5 strings), with the pickups in the NG position, but still with an ash body and EMG preamp. Matt purple metallic finish, matt black pickguard, full wenge neck, luminlay side dots, pearl fretboard dots. Black hardware.

 

The 4 string might need to be 37"-34.75" instead of the standard 36.25"-34". 

 

I'm ready to talk Sheldon! 

Edited July 15, 2023 by MichaelDean
Correcting autocorrect

[horrorshowbass]

A stingray that i can actually play. So probably a HH. With jazz profile.

[itu]

36", oil finish, unlined fretless, glow-in-the-dark side dots, Delano, SS RW 40-100 set, light in weight... second from left.

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by itu
pics, please

[Bassassin]

Headless twin neck 4 / fretless 5, fretless on the top. Jazz width, maple boards with the fretless lined & pearl blocks on the fretted. Compact body to minimise weight with offset through neck(s), top neck possibly angled slightly back to improve access to the bottom neck. Passive J pickups (not decided what make/models) controlled by 3x co-ax stacked pots. Not quite sure what it'd look like - body shape maybe a little like an Aria SB (pointed horns, slight offset) but as compact/minimal as possible. Body wings stained a different colour to the natural through sections, possibly green or blue.

 

Realistically (yeah, this is proper realistic!) I may need to have several of these made as there are areas I can't make a decision about without actually playing it - as keeping weight down's a priority & twin-necks are inherently unweildy, 32" scale might be sensible but I'd need to A/B it with a 34" (35" for the 5er?) to see. Also there's the colour dilemma. And body materials - how much additional weight would clear acrylic wings (with colour-changing LEDs, obs) add?

 

Yep, gonna need at least five of these.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I don't think I can do it.

[jd56hawk]

Easy, I'd let someone else do it.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Sure I have played with that thought before, so this is just a copy/paste from the text file, knowing well that in by far most likelihood I will never have the kind of money to spare for it to become reality:

 

A custom made 4 string, 28,6" scale, bass, with a slim modern C profile, bolt on, 5 piece laminated Jatoba/Maple (just 2 relatively narrow layers of maple in between 3 wider layers of Jatoba) neck, with a thin clear satin finish on the back, graphite rods reinforcement and a double action trussrod, a tilted 2+2, classic B.C Rich inspired, headstock, but overall slightly more narrow, and with the "devil horns" slightly shifted, so that the upper slightly larger "horn" is sitting a bit more forward than the slightly smaller and slightly retracted lower "horn", equipped with small black tuning pegs, a 24 medium jumbo stainless steel frets, 12" radius, figured Ebony, fretboard, an ESP LTD F-204/F-1004 style inspired Mahogany body with a spalted Maple top, in a transparent matte black burst finish, equipped with an EMG Geezer Butler reverse P pickup in the neck/middle position, and in the bridge position a DiMarzio Relentless reverse P pickup with a series/parallel switch equipped with a blood red knob, both pickups having their covers painted blood red, additional controls consisting of an active stacked LPF/HPF tone filter control for each of the 2 pickups, as well as an active pickup blend control, equipped with knobs made of solid transparent dark green plexi glass (acrylic), black milled steel mono rail bridge pieces with a string spacing of 17,5mm (or perhaps instead even a wammy/tremolo bridge with 17,5mm string spacing), and an accordingly more narrow neck, however a 40mm wide graphite nut, but the neck not widening all that much as you get further up towards the bridge, strung with Elixir Nanoweb guitar strings of the gauges .080 - .062 - .046 - .036 strings, tuned in F# standard tuning, as in 2 half steps above standard 4 string bass E standard tuning.

 

[PaulThePlug]

8 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Once you've decided what you want send a request to @Andyjr1515. I think he's busy currently though.

Even if not from scratch, @Andyjr1515 can help realise your dreams...

[LeftyJ]

11 hours ago, Doctor J said:

34" scale, graphite, 12" radius, Jazz-sized, 4-string neck with 24 small frets. Downsized J body made from a fancy looking, light coloured wood with 2x G&L MFD pickups. L2000 electronics with the active bit removed and a blend pot instead of the 3-way switch. A bridge made of metal. Sadowsky knobs. Elixir stainless steel 105-45 strings. Maybe the body is trans emerald green stain. Or purple. Or Orange. That'll do, pig, that'll do.

I too choose this guy's signature bass. That sounds almost perfect! I'll have a solid orange, somewhere around Candy Tangerine would be awesome. And a fiver with the same specs too! 

[OliverBlackman]

A signature guitar is usually based off the model that player is notorious for playing. So mine would be my Blizzard Pearl MIM P bass. I would happily use it on a million sessions. 

[40hz]

A Modulus Flea with the following ;

 

Painted in hot pink sparkle

Pink neck LEDs

Chambered body for light weight

Wal Pickups, electronics and preamp

Bell brass frets (stolen from Warwick)

A brass JAN (also nicked from Warwick)

[neepheid]

An Epiphone Jack Casady signature with his name scraped off and mine in its place?

[Velarian]

Back in 80s I had a custom bass made, loosely based on a Yamaha BB shape. I went to town specifying all sorts of pickup/wiring options with active thrown in as well.

Anyway, it was bloody rubbish! 😳

 

Obviously I didn’t have a clue what I was on about. I should have stuck to the P Bass. 😂

Edited July 16, 2023 by Velarian

[Cat Burrito]

My signature bass would be based on Dr. Who.... just in the sense that it would periodically change into something different. It could be marketed as a cure for GAS! 

[BigRedX]

If I had the money, I'd already have it.

 

Gus G3 Bass VI. Based on the Gus G3 30" scale baritone configuration but with a Shergold Marathon 6 String Bass neck width.

 

Three pickups in the Fender Bass VI positions. Two channel output on an XLR connector and switches for each pick up to send them to each channel or turn them off. Piezo transducers under the saddles for feeding a Roland V-Bass system. One volume control for the magnetic pickups and another for the V-Bass. No other controls.

 

White pearl sparkle finish including the fretboard, and bright chrome on all the metalwork.

[AndyTravis]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

An Epiphone Jack Casady signature with his name scraped off and mine in its place?

2 pickups possibly 

[tauzero]

Twin neck headless 5 string, fretted/fretless. Aguilar DCB pickups plus piezo bridges going to a preamp to be decided and to a 13-pin Roland socket. Body shape similar to Sei Flamboyant. Neck profiles the same as my Sei Flamboyant 5.

[DGBass]

I sort of did the signature bass thing a long time ago and what I ended up with probably reflects what I considered my dream rock bass was at the time. Before this came along I'd already had a few Jazz Bass copies, a Westone thunder and a couple of other forgetable budget basses. It also occured to me whether a signature bass was a customised version of someone elses design or a blank sheet on the design board with shape, construction and finish. I opted for someone elses design( a bloke called Chris May ) and I filled in the options based on preference and to an extent cost as back then it took me a while to save up for the whole signature bass experience. Here are a few of my specs:

 

super slim jazz bass profile neck and nut width

two octave neck

graduated fretting

bound ebony fingerboard

Pre Cites Brazillian mahogany body and neck, thru slim heeled neck joint

Flame maple top and matching headstock with transluscent blue tint

German Schaller hardware includiing locking strap nuts

Kent Armstrong custom soapbar humbuckers positioned to my spec

VTT with master 5 position pick up selector wih tone filtering on each position - all passive

 

I remember at the time being thoroughly excited about the prospect of having my signature bass and even now I'm surprised how it turned out. Almost forty years later it still makes me smile when I open the case and plug it in for a jam. Everything else since has been off the shelf standard as I've never had any urge since then to build or have built another signature bass. It's something i recommend everyone does in their bass playing lifetime. Hopefully you will get a bass you will never tire of.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by DGBass