Clement Bass #164 - Custom Fretted 4 String

[wavey_davey]

[b]Reviewer Background:[/b]
23 Years playing experience, Trace Elliot amps, Writing and Recording with Propellerheads Record DAW.

[b]Purchased From:[/b]
[url="http://www.clementbass.com/web"]Tom Clement - www.clementbass.com/web[/url]

[b]Price:[/b]
GBP900.00 GBP

[b]Features: 10/10[/b]
This is my 2nd Clement Bass, after the stunning results of the first #177 [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89534&st=0#entry849566"](#177 review)[/url], and the incredible price, I had to get another!

Tom Builds to your requirements, so you can pretty much have whatever you want. The details for #164 are as follows.

Featuring a Single piece Swamp Ash body, single piece Maple Neck and a Macassar Ebony fretboard, the specs are similar #177, the main difference being a Nordstrand 3 Band Active Preamp and a more traditional Jazz pick up (Nordstrand NJS4 x 2) layout.

The Nord pre has an active passive toggle, including a passive tone control.

The Bass is wired Volume (Push/Pull - Active/Passive) Blend, Passive Tone, Middle EQ (Push/Pull frequency selector) and Stacked Bass / Treble

34" Scale, 24 fret Neck, 19mm Spacing, with Hipshot Ultralight Pegs and Hipshot Bridge

[b]Action, Fit, & Finish: 10/10[/b]
Everything about this bass is Quality, and the finish is no different. The craftsmanship is incredible. The neck is again utterly superb. This bass really wants to be played!

The Stacked Treble Bass pot came a bit loose in the post, but that was quickly fixed with the supplied Allen keys.

The action is incredibly fast, and there's no Buzz anywhere, plays like a true dream.

The Fretwork is great, as is the intonation. And there are no dead spots anywhere on the Board.

[b]Sound Quality: 9.5/10[/b]
The sounds that this bass produces are super, and it covers all the ground a Jazz type should. I'm only scoring it 9.5 as the Nord Pre does lack that bit of extra bottom end that the Aguilar in #177 has. But the addition of the passive tone control is great.

[b]Reliability/Durability: 10/10[/b]

Having only has the Bass a couple months, Durability is kinda hard to gauge, but the way this bass is built should mean no issues in the foreseeable future.
Ease of Use:

This Bass wants to be played, it feels amazing and is even more comfortable than #177.

Tom's necks are out of the Top-Drawer. Simply the nicest neck I have ever played.

[b]Customer Support: 11/10[/b]
You could not deal with a more professional and friendly person. Tom delivers on all counts, and that includes service. He even asked me for pictures of me playing my old bass so he could gauge where the strap buttons should go to get the best balance. (Needless to say it balances perfectly).

[b]Overall Rating: 10/10[/b]
You can't go wrong. Both of my Clements were purchased sight unseen, but the final product is amazing.

This was the bass that started my love affair with Clement Basses. Tom had built it for Ebay where I first saw it and the Clement name. I came real close to buying it. Instead I commissioned Tom to build #177. After being blown away by the sounds, feel and quality, I found out the bass #164 was still available, so I immediately sold my Warwick Custom 'vette 4 string and replaced it with #164.

Tom Clement builds incredible instruments at an amazing price

[b]Value for Money: 11/10[/b]

Sound Clip Here:
[url="http://soundcloud.com/wavey_davey/inahopstylee"]#164 Clip[/url]



With her big Sister!

Edited May 27, 2010 by wavey_davey