conklin Vs Overwater

[deano-bassist]

rite this has been bothering me for a while. which custom bass maker is better Conklin or overwater judged on the basses only. this question is partly inspired by my hunger for a custom bass

[deano-bassist]

also I was wondering on the peoples opinion on pickup's and electronics Aguilar, Bartolini and Seymour Duncan are the ones in my mind

[bass_ferret]

Its not something I would think anyone is gonna be bothered with and the only way to decide is to get both to make your dream bass and keep the best one!

Going on the number of build threads and posts on here I would have to say Overwater cos thats what people have got - but the most popular builder is Shuker.

Many custom builders use their own pups and electronics.

[bass_ferret]

See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=128"]here[/url] for Basschatters custom basses.

[Dood]

[quote name='deano-bassist' post='58534' date='Sep 11 2007, 12:56 AM']rite this has been bothering me for a while. which custom bass maker is better Conklin or overwater judged on the basses only. this question is partly inspired by my hunger for a custom bass[/quote]


I guess the most obvious answer before taking ANYTHING else into account. Conklin is in the US, Overwater is on our side of the water. It's easier to go visit whilst the build is taking place, something I strongly advise if you are going custom, as you'll be able to make sure he bass fits your requirements and to try out stock items too.

I don't really think you can just say 'oh one is better than the other', there are just too many variables involved.(And so many awesome builders out there!!) As has been discussed many times on the board, a custom build is a very personal thing and it is as much the relationship with the builder and his understanding your needs, as it is having a nice bass made for you.

To open the discussion further, is there a reason why you have picked those 2 builders alone?

[Russ]

There's lots of differences, but at the end of the day, it's purely a matter of taste.

As an overview, Conklins are a little more modern and esoteric in their approach (they specialise in basses with cool woodworking - melted tops, etc - and more than six strings, for instance), whereas Overwater are a bit more old-school and traditional. Overwater also make their own hardware, pickups and electronics, which give them a definite "Overwater sound" - British custom luthiers are quite well known for this (GB, Gus and Wal are other examples).

Conklins are fairly hard to come by in the UK as well - I've played a few Groove Tools basses (their cheaper range) but only ever seen one of their proper US-made custom shop basses over here. And they're not cheap, even with the exchange rate being so much in our favour at the moment - we're talking almost Alembic money for a top-of-the-line model. So if you're thinking of a custom, as Dood said, it might be easier to deal with Overwater, since they're actually over here.