BigRedX's Weird & Wonderful Basses

[Happy Jack]

Are you wearing a truly enormous amount of crushed velvet in that picture?

[size=1](Love the bass, by the way.)[/size]

[BigRedX]

Yes I am!

And thanks for the comments on the bass!

[tayste_2000]

You give me a shout when you want to move either of those Overwater's on

[BigRedX]

I think you need to line up behind OTPJ.

However neither of the Overwaters are likely to be going anywhere soon. While these days my first choice of bass might have a Gus logo on the headstock, the Overwaters still have their place. If I do decide to move some basses on they'll be ones with 4 strings on them.

[tayste_2000]

Yeah it's a shame no one is ever selling those Overwater's

[BigRedX]

As promised here's something you probably won't have seen before...

The Atlansia Solitaire, one string fretless bass







A recent acquisition from Japan. I've been after an Atlansia for some time and when this came up for sale I couldn't resist.

The bass is essentially a 1½" square 38" long piece of of Rock Maple with a swing-out arm to give a suitable balance point to attach the strap.

It's a peculiar mix of beautifully engineered parts and quirky Heath Robinson style solutions.

For instance there's the brass monorail bridge, domed volume knob and circular 2-pole pickup that are exclusive to Atlansia basses:



And them there's the mechanism for stopping the swing out arm in place which is essentially two screws:



and the bizarre knob used to tighten the string retainer at the head:





There's even a truss rid of sorts that runs nearly the complete length of the bass in an exposed channel and is adjusted by a nut underneath the tuning mechanism at the bridge.

The bass comes in an Atlansia branded gig bag.



As befits a single string bass the electronics are very simple. A single pickup wired via volume control directly to the output jack. It's currently strung with a flat-wound E string which gives it a great thumpy tone. Not a lot of mwah, more an "old-school" rock sound. It's a lot of fun to play, light, but not ridiculously so, and well balanced. The markers are a dot for every position with the 3rd 5th 7th etc "frets" being larger dots.

Been using it for "Coz I Luv You" in my covers band and also looking to give it an outing with my originals band as well soon.

[Conan]

Wow! That..... [i]is[/i]. It just [b][i]is[/i][/b]. It is what it is. And what it is, is.... well - what it is!

What is it?? It's certainly the most unusual bass in a thread of unusual basses. I love it!!

[Spoombung]

Oh man, I've wanted an Atlansia (of any kind) for ages - but that is a [i]real[/i] find. Congratulations, I'm jealous.

Where did you find it, BTW?

[BigRedX]

Conan - It's an Altansia Solitaire you can get a few more details from the [url="http://www.atlansia.jp/SOLITAIRE.HTML"]Atlansia web site[/url]

Spoombung - from the [url="http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?T=gazo&word=2&or8=32&key=&equal1=&value5=&select5=down&print=40"]Ishibasi Ubox[/url]. Unfortunately they're not particularly keen on dealing with foreign sales these days except through their eBay store where the selection is far less extensive and also far too mainstream for my tastes. Luckily I had a bit of help.

[Spoombung]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='832819' date='May 10 2010, 09:16 AM']Spoombung - from the [url="http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?T=gazo&word=2&or8=32&key=&equal1=&value5=&select5=down&print=40"]Ishibasi Ubox[/url]. Unfortunately they're not particularly keen on dealing with foreign sales these days except through their eBay store where the selection is far less extensive and also far too mainstream for my tastes. Luckily I had a bit of help.[/quote]


Thanks for the info. I've got a few friends in Tokyo that may be able to help me out too...

[Spoombung]

By the way, I really like the way the design reminds me of a a shakuhachi flute. It almost looks like it was made from bamboo. I love that kind of thing - a new design that has a relationship with a particular culture and the past. Beautiful.

[BigRedX]

Thanks. The overall construction is rather elegant for what is essentially such a simple instrument. Too many times simplicity is often hand-in-hand with cheap and crude when it comes to solving design and construction issues.

The knob for tightening up the string retainer is a good idea because it means that restringing doesn't require any tools - something that can't be said about other headless designs I've come across. However I can't help thinking that it would have been more visually pleasing if it was placed at the top off the bass clamping the string as it passed through the body rather than sticking out of the back, but that's probably just a difference in taste.

If the mechanism for setting the angle of the swing out arm for the strap wasn't quite so Heath Robinson then this instrument might be the prefect blend of form and function.

[7string]

Has to be the tidiest 1 string bass I've ever seen.

[BigRedX]

On so on to B for Born To Rock.



This is the Born To Rock F4B bass made mostly out of aluminium.

Not only is it an unusual and striking-looking bass, but it features an innovative construction which eliminates the need for a truss rod in the neck.



The arm above the neck holds the string anchors at the 'head' end and the string tension is taken up by this arm and the body skeleton. The neck from the nut all the way through to the bridge is a completely separate and free-floating piece, held in place by the pressure of the strings pushing down at the nut and the bridge. In fact if you remove the strings the only attachment between the neck assembly and the rest of the bass is from the wires going between the pickup which is on the neck assembly going to the controls which are mounted on the body.





The lack of need for a truss rod means that this has the slimmest neck of any bass I've ever played. The neck itself is formed from a T-shaped piece of aluminium, the top of the T being the fingerboard and back being filled out with two pieces of silver painted wood shaped to give a conventional neck shape. The frets are stainless steel fitted into slots in the fingerboard. However because there is nothing to counteract the pull of the strings, it takes quite a while to tune up as the arm and body take up the string tension, and if I was to break a string, the others would go out of tune in much the same way as a trem-equipped guitar.



Electronics are a standard P-style pick-up wired to passive volume and tone controls. Sound is a fairly typical rock bass with a P-style pick up. For my tastes it could do with a bit more bottom end so at some point I'll be swapping out the pick up for something with a bit more thump.

For me the only poorly designed part of this bass is the bridge which shows the builders roots lie in engineering rather than lutherie. Since these photos were taken I've had to re-string the bass with the string winding the opposite way onto the machine heads otherwise there's insufficient break angle to stop the E string in particular from popping off its saddle when I play particularly aggressively. I notice that a standard tune-omatic bridge has been used on the guitar version, and the bass would benefit from a similar assembly.



Overall though a pretty good instrument, which with a few more design tweaks could be really excellent. Ideal for that hard-core industrial rock outfit!

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='816050' date='Apr 23 2010, 12:07 PM']I think you need to line up behind OTPJ.[/quote]

Quite right, too - I've always wanted one of those, as BRX well knows!

Lovely red Gus 5, X! Stunning piece of bass, that one. Not so sure on the aluminium scaffolding bass, though. Looks cool, but can't see it being a great playing tool.

[BigRedX]

Thanks!

The Red Gus is currently my main bass for my latest originals band playing "modern retro" punk/rock/surf style songs with B-movie influenced lyrics, where the Red and Chrome is just the look needed. It sounds the business too!

The Born To Rock bass is surprisingly comfortable to play, the minimalist tubes are in the right places to support it and as I said in the description it has the shallowest neck profile of any bass I've ever played. The only reason it doesn't get too much use at the moment is because I'm finding the need for 5 strings for the majority of things I'm playing right now.

[BigRedX]

Time to update this thread and here's something cheap for a change!



Carlo Robelli 8-string bass. I believe Carlo Robelli is one of the Sam Ash music store chain's house brands. Made in Korea, and the fit and finish are typical of the next step above budget instruments.

I've wanted an 8-string bass ever since I saw a band in the mid 80s with a very impressive sounding and looking Shergold. Unfortunately for me finding one that's any good has been hard. I've been tempted several times by various Karmers, especially since I love aluminium necks, but have always been put off by the lack of individual saddles for each string. This is something of a requirement for me since I like to play chords and high up the neck, but without being able to adjust the intonation of each string individually the (lack of tuning) is just too painful for me!



IIRC these were originally priced around the $400 mark, but when they weren't selling particularly well the price dropped to complete bargain at $199! At that sort of price they couldn't be ignored. In fact this bass is only marginally less good than it's immediate competition from Dean and Schecter. All these basses share the same hardware and I wouldn't surprised to find that they all come out of the same Korean Factory.

All in all this bass is a bit of a hidden gem. The neck feels more comfortable than the Dean 8-strings I've played, and despite being a bolt on, the heal starts in a reasonably sensible place so chords are easy all the way up to the 19th fret. The short upper horn does give the bass a tendency to neck-dive, but nothing that can't be cured with a Comfort Strapp. Personally I'd like a second pickup at the neck, but then I like a lot of bass. However, the MM style humbucker gives plenty a bite to the sound which is exactly what you need for the octave strings. Quite why these basses weren't more popular I don't know. Maybe it was the lack of a proper brand name on the headstock or perhaps the silver sparkle finish (I love it!) but this is a great 8-string bass for a fraction of the price you'd pay for it's immediate competition.

It's a great 8-string sound, full but with plenty of clarity and allows you to play in tune all the way up the neck. For me to get a significantly better 8-string bass, I'd be looking at a Manson, Tune, or something custom made.

Edited August 29, 2010 by BigRedX

[MoonBassAlpha]

how the hell are you supposed to play the top 3 frets on that?

[Rayman]

I need to come to one of your gigs. The Terrortones look to be right up my strasse.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='939720' date='Aug 30 2010, 12:45 AM']how the hell are you supposed to play the top 3 frets on that?[/quote]
You can't really. However form my PoV it's not the lack of cutaway as much as the bolt-on neck joint that gets in the way. That's why when I get around to getting a really good 8-string bass it will be either heel-less set-neck or neck-through construction. At least on this bass the joint doesn't protrude out from the body, so it's only the 22nd-24th frets that are difficult to reach.


[quote name='Rayman' post='939834' date='Aug 30 2010, 10:43 AM']I need to come to one of your gigs. The Terrortones look to be right up my strasse.[/quote]
Thanks!

Right now most of our gigs are local ones as we're a new band (been together less than 6 months). However keep checking our MySpace page as I'm hopeful that we'll be venturing further afield as soon as we get offered the right gigs.

[steve-soar]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='939270' date='Aug 29 2010, 11:06 AM']Time to update this thread and here's something cheap for a change!



Carlo Robelli 8-string bass. I believe Carlo Robelli is one of the Sam Ash music store chain's house brands. Made in Korea, and the fit and finish are typical of the next step above budget instruments.

I've wanted an 8-string bass ever since I saw a band in the mid 80s with a very impressive sounding and looking Shergold. Unfortunately for me finding one that's any good has been hard. I've been tempted several times by various Karmers, especially since I love aluminium necks, but have always been put off by the lack of individual saddles for each string. This is something of a requirement for me since I like to play chords and high up the neck, but without being able to adjust the intonation of each string individually the (lack of tuning) is just too painful for me!



IIRC these were originally priced around the $400 mark, but when they weren't selling particularly well the price dropped to complete bargain at $199! At that sort of price they couldn't be ignored. In fact this bass is only marginally less good than it's immediate competition from Dean and Schecter. All these basses share the same hardware and I wouldn't surprised to find that they all come out of the same Korean Factory.

All in all this bass is a bit of a hidden gem. The neck feels more comfortable than the Dean 8-strings I've played, and despite being a bolt on, the heal starts in a reasonably sensible place so chords are easy all the way up to the 19th fret. The short upper horn does give the bass a tendency to neck-dive, but nothing that can't be cured with a Comfort Strapp. Personally I'd like a second pickup at the neck, but then I like a lot of bass. However, the MM style humbucker gives plenty a bite to the sound which is exactly what you need for the octave strings. Quite why these basses weren't more popular I don't know. Maybe it was the lack of a proper brand name on the headstock or perhaps the silver sparkle finish (I love it!) but this is a great 8-string bass for a fraction of the price you'd pay for it's immediate competition.

It's a great 8-string sound, full but with plenty of clarity and allows you to play in tune all the way up the neck. For me to get a significantly better 8-string bass, I'd be looking at a Manson, Tune, or something custom made.[/quote]
I thought it was the new 30th Anniversary "King Bass" by Status, for a mo.

[BigRedX]

No, you're only allowed to slap and 8-string bass if you're Narucho!

[Gust0o]

+1 for the Terrortones. There's some juju afoot with that one - some great tracks from the stuff on Myspace. I'll join the above in hoping to see you.

Your Gus basses are awesome. I'm still some way from having the pockets for one.

[BigRedX]

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last updated this thread...

Anyway I should have posted this bass ages ago, but I've only recently had the time and suitable light to do the photography.

For your viewing pleasure I present the Fernandes PIE-ZO HK07:









The PIE-ZO range are very short scale (25½") travel basses with a built-in 10W amp and 4" speaker. Controls are simply volume and an on-off switch for the built-in amp. Outputs are standard instrument Jack for connecting to an amp and stereo mini-jack for headphones which also mute the built-in speaker. Pickups are piezo elements in the bridge - hence the name which don't appear to require any power to drive an external amp, so the battery is only used when powering the built-in amp and speakers or the headphone output.

Fernandes in the US sell these basses renamed Nomad, however they only appear to be available in a few rather conservative colours. Fernandes in Japan is a whole different matter. As well as a much larger range of standard colours they appear to do a different set of limited edition graphics every year. This particular PIE-ZO bass is the 2007 Hello Kitty version (there was also a matching Hello Kitty ZO guitar in white). My feeling is that if you are going to have a fun travel bass you might as well have it with some fun graphics rather than a rather boring flat colour.

The sound of this bass is rather bright to make the most of the small built-in speaker and therefore needs a bit of high end taming when used through a bass amp otherwise the sound tends to be overly clanky, but it's clean and articulate. With new batteries in you can drive the built-in speaker hard enough to force the strings into infinite sustain which can be a quite interesting effect. However the 10W amp tends to be rather power hungry and if you were going to use it on its own for amplified practice you'd be going through a new PP3 battery every other day or so.

Smaller than most guitars and given enough batteries it's completely self contained so it makes a great holiday bass, which is what I mostly use it for.

[Wolverinebass]

This is just brilliant. Top gear!!