JackLondon Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I think you're more after a boutique jazz bass rather then custom. Plenty of options on that as I believe almost any company has their take on the bass that I absolutely don't get. If you get it off the shelf it will also be much quicker than full custom build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 [quote name='JackLondon' post='798079' date='Apr 6 2010, 09:43 PM']I think you're more after a boutique jazz bass rather then custom. Plenty of options on that as I believe almost any company has their take on the bass that I absolutely don't get. If you get it off the shelf it will also be much quicker than full custom build.[/quote] More over, if you get one 'off the shelf' you will know exactly what you are buying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 [quote name='Conan' post='797903' date='Apr 6 2010, 07:00 PM'] Care to name and shame? Or explain why it was so disappointing? Just interested. Quite a lot of guys on here talk about their "dream" basses as being the mutt's nuts, so would be interesting to hear another viewpoint![/quote] Well, I'm over it now and won't post who the maker is - if anyone is really interested as they were thinking about getting a custom build IM me and I will divulge the maker. However, below is my 'disgruntled' review I posted up on Harmony Central back then. Features : 10 Custom made to my specs: 34" scale 4 string. Seven piece Maple/Walnut laminated through neck. Body wings wth Macassar Ebony facings (back and front) with thin maple dividers. Hipshot lightweight tuners (with D Tuner), Hipshot bridge with both top loading and through body stringing options. Two Aero soapbar pickups linked up to an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp. 3 band eq, pickup pan and volume, active bypass and passive bass switch which is effectively a treble bleed capacitor. I have to give this catagory a 10 as it was made to my exact specs. Sound : 6 Sound is good - although not spectacular and not a patch on my Alembic MK signature. Has a similar fundamental but the pre-amp is not clear and concise in the bass, like the Alembic, and a bit too thin in the treble. The pickups are very quiet for the system in place. It is farly versatile and does lots of things quite well - but none that stand out. For two grand I was expecting better. Action, Fit, & Finish : 3 Well, this is a sorry story. The woodworking and joinery was good, however I went through a number of frustrating issues. 1st up, the bass arrived and I could not get it to intonate, and the closest I got was on the G string with the the bridge saddle fully backed up to the back of the bridge. I measured from the nut to the 12th Fret and the frets were obviously cut for a 35" scale which the bridge placement would not allow. I got this checked with a local tech who confirmed this. The bass went back and got refretted. When it returned, one of the knurled metal volume kbobs had come of in the case and caused damage to the finish. This went back again for the finish to be sorted out. When the bass was returned again the finish was reapplied but now very thick and not particularly great compared to the original finish. The finish was also applied to the side ebony fingerboard the second time around and the fret ends caused this to crack and peel when it shrunk slightly. Wiring job was one of the worse I had seen with so much wire stuffed into the control cavity without being trimmed to size. This caused the bass switch cap to come lose as I had to squash the wiring in the cavity to replace the cover. The pick-up volume failed and started to cause severe volume drop (almost to nothing) when engaging both pick-ups. When returned they stuck on a centre indented potentimeter! Volume from the pickups remained too low for what I was expecting but with all the issues and bad service just gave up. Fret work completely average. I give this a three for the woodworking, which is good. Everything else is decidedly heath robinson. Reliability/Durability : 5 Well, pick up volume failed, trouble with pick-ups and lousy wiring job does not inspire confidence. Customer Support : 1 Appalling really. When I first informed them about the intonation scale length issue they wouldn't believe me. I had to pay for the bass to be shipped back to them (no refund) - and then they came out with some bull**** about the the routing template moving halfway though fret seating. They could not accept they made a schoolboy error. The other times the bass was returned it was obvious I was seen as an inconvenience and they gave no impression of standing behind their product. Yes, they got the major things fixed - but this cost me shipping everytime and I didn't bother them with the little things as it was far too much hassle and cost. After the second return I asked whether they would offer a refund but the answer was a resounding no. Overall Rating : 2 The quality of build and finishing for the price is poor. The customer service appalling. I could not recommend this bass to anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 The world is your oyster really. All the builders mentioned here so far will be able to do you proud. Young mr. BassBalls had a very lovely RIM Jazz 5 built recently (thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=55844&view=findpost&p=700462"]here[/url]), and the Porn and Diaries sections are littered with similar instruments. [quote name='andyonbass' post='797808' date='Apr 6 2010, 05:37 PM']+1 I'm just up the road from you, I think, and if you want to try out an ACG, you're welcome to pop over and try one of mine[/quote] Likewise, I come to Swindon every other weekend (usually a Sunday evening to drop the kids off), so if you fancied getting your hands on [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jcust5bodr.jpg"]my Shuker J-style 5 string[/url] I'd be more than happy to pop round with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 [quote name='uzzell' post='797974' date='Apr 6 2010, 09:19 PM']A few details to play with: 5 String Jazz shape (tuned E-C) Natural Oil Ash body Maple undotted neck Decent 9v pre amp Unsure on pickups yet but likely to be Jazz variation (maybe Delano) I am aware of sites such as Warmoth etc but I have no idea on how to construct such an item. I know this request seems like one of those 'splitting hair moments' but it is a real ambition to have the Jazz I really want.[/quote] All that sounds like a piece of p#ss, asides from having no dots and an oiled body, it could come off the shelf from any number of companies. At the risk of cutting my own throat, you might be better off buying a Warmoth neck and body then paying a good guitar tech to put it together for you. You'll get everything you want for less money and without the possible problems dealing with a maker the other end of the country whose products you've never been able to try. And if your local tech doesn't do a good job you're only a short trip away from wrapping the guitar around their neck in person Just a thought, but if I had to wait nine months for a bass guitar (especially after laying down a hefty deposit [i]and[/i] being told it would be 6), I'd actually be pretty hacked off, no matter how friendly/approachable/affable/nice the maker was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 If a nine month wait would hack you off, don't put a deposit on a Fodera... you'll still be waiting in 3 years time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleblob Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 (edited) [quote name='alanbass1' post='798099' date='Apr 6 2010, 09:52 PM']Well, I'm over it now and won't post who the maker is - if anyone is really interested as they were thinking about getting a custom build IM me and I will divulge the maker. However, below is my 'disgruntled' review I posted up on Harmony Central back then. Features : 10 Custom made to my specs: 34" scale 4 string. Seven piece Maple/Walnut laminated through neck. Body wings wth Macassar Ebony facings (back and front) with thin maple dividers. Hipshot lightweight tuners (with D Tuner), Hipshot bridge with both top loading and through body stringing options. Two Aero soapbar pickups linked up to an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp. 3 band eq, pickup pan and volume, active bypass and passive bass switch which is effectively a treble bleed capacitor. I have to give this catagory a 10 as it was made to my exact specs. Sound : 6 Sound is good - although not spectacular and not a patch on my Alembic MK signature. Has a similar fundamental but the pre-amp is not clear and concise in the bass, like the Alembic, and a bit too thin in the treble. The pickups are very quiet for the system in place. It is farly versatile and does lots of things quite well - but none that stand out. For two grand I was expecting better. Action, Fit, & Finish : 3 Well, this is a sorry story. The woodworking and joinery was good, however I went through a number of frustrating issues. 1st up, the bass arrived and I could not get it to intonate, and the closest I got was on the G string with the the bridge saddle fully backed up to the back of the bridge. I measured from the nut to the 12th Fret and the frets were obviously cut for a 35" scale which the bridge placement would not allow. I got this checked with a local tech who confirmed this. The bass went back and got refretted. When it returned, one of the knurled metal volume kbobs had come of in the case and caused damage to the finish. This went back again for the finish to be sorted out. When the bass was returned again the finish was reapplied but now very thick and not particularly great compared to the original finish. The finish was also applied to the side ebony fingerboard the second time around and the fret ends caused this to crack and peel when it shrunk slightly. Wiring job was one of the worse I had seen with so much wire stuffed into the control cavity without being trimmed to size. This caused the bass switch cap to come lose as I had to squash the wiring in the cavity to replace the cover. The pick-up volume failed and started to cause severe volume drop (almost to nothing) when engaging both pick-ups. When returned they stuck on a centre indented potentimeter! Volume from the pickups remained too low for what I was expecting but with all the issues and bad service just gave up. Fret work completely average. I give this a three for the woodworking, which is good. Everything else is decidedly heath robinson. Reliability/Durability : 5 Well, pick up volume failed, trouble with pick-ups and lousy wiring job does not inspire confidence. Customer Support : 1 Appalling really. When I first informed them about the intonation scale length issue they wouldn't believe me. I had to pay for the bass to be shipped back to them (no refund) - and then they came out with some bull**** about the the routing template moving halfway though fret seating. They could not accept they made a schoolboy error. The other times the bass was returned it was obvious I was seen as an inconvenience and they gave no impression of standing behind their product. Yes, they got the major things fixed - but this cost me shipping everytime and I didn't bother them with the little things as it was far too much hassle and cost. After the second return I asked whether they would offer a refund but the answer was a resounding no. Overall Rating : 2 The quality of build and finishing for the price is poor. The customer service appalling. I could not recommend this bass to anyone.[/quote] Wow - it was that bad ! google is your friend in tracking down this review - I won't spoil the surprise if people search for this review Support was particularily bad. EDIT: I love the Heath Robinson comparison - Edited April 6, 2010 by purpleblob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 [quote name='purpleblob' post='798164' date='Apr 6 2010, 10:46 PM']Wow - it was that bad ! google is your friend in tracking down this review - I won't spoil the surprise if people search for this review Support was particularily bad. EDIT: I love the Heath Robinson comparison - [/quote] Funny that was the first thing I thought of... and the result was what I expected too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 A northern based luthier not mentioned here so far is Paul Rose [url="http://www.prosebass.com/"]http://www.prosebass.com/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 BASS DOC,Fender expert and bass builder.Reccomended by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 [quote name='purpleblob' post='798164' date='Apr 6 2010, 10:46 PM']Wow - it was that bad ! google is your friend in tracking down this review - I won't spoil the surprise if people search for this review Support was particularily bad. EDIT: I love the Heath Robinson comparison - [/quote] I hope its not Shuker as he is making me a custom neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Not a UK luthier, but I can highly recommend Cliff Bordwell. Lovely guy, lovely basses. www.cbbasses.com Davo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan670844 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 [quote name='uzzell' post='797553' date='Apr 6 2010, 02:03 PM']My apologies if this thread already exists, I did try looking but couldnt find anything. I am just wondering if there is a list of custom bass builders on this site, if not could one be started? I am thinking of commisioning someone to build my dream bass but would love to know if anyone comes highly regarded and respected. Anyhelp you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.[/quote] How about an unknown a guy called John Manuel in Cumbria, he built a jazz 'style' bass for me. solid alder single piece, he did the body unfinished for £150, finishing for me was a little expensive as I wanted a original car finish which takes ages I wanted the original silver under. But if you wanted somthing more regular like a three tone, its not so bad! if anyone wants his details PM me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Just some points: 1. Double and triple check the builder - the waiting times, the customer support, the communication. Communication is vital. 2. Make sure they have a history of replying to emails and phone calls promptly and do not go on long holidays or absences without telling you. 3. Think twice about ordering from a builder whose business appears to be drying up. There could be a reason for the lack of commissions. 4. Make sure the builder appears interested. This may seen obvious - but some are all burned out with the whole thing and are not very motivated. 5. Play an example of their work - don't order blind. 6. Check they don't have other projects and businesses that they prioritise and take up all their time. 7. Don't pay the whole sum in advance. 8. Scrutinize the spec sheet and make sure you are both [i]really[/i] clear about it. 9. Keep a professional relationship. Don't get too chummy and friendly until the build is completed and you're happy with your bass. 10. If possible choose someone fairly local Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsenic Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 +1 to Paul Rose. Had a couple of short scale basses from him - some excellent work, especially the Zaebrano fretless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.