new bass day - when it rains

[nostatic]

Two new basses within 12 hours - when it rains it pours. The first one is a used bass but you'd have a tough time knowing it. 7.5 lbs, sounds like an old P-bass with big booty and bell tones. The second is one I ordered a few months back. 30" scale, fretted with pizeo. Huge, fat tone.

[nostatic]

[azasadny]

Gorgeous basses there! Someday, I'll get my Rickenbacker 4003!!!

[Jim Richards]

Hmmm. I was expecting a thread about...

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by azasadny

Gorgeous basses there! Someday, I'll get my Rickenbacker 4003!!!

Rics are interesting - they have a rabid following, but they aren't for everyone. An odd mix of style and brutish industrial design.

I'm evidently in the Rob Allen camp these days. Family photos:

[Aurel]

Damn, I thought you went fishing on a rainy day...nevermind.

[lm6y]

I'll have the one in the center, in the four string flavor please.....

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by lm6y

I'll have the one in the center, in the four string flavor please.....

Glad to be of service

Rob Allen Deep 4 Fretless | Club Bass® Canada's Bass Store

[slakjaw]

Very nice

[lm6y]

Just listened to them on the Rob Allen Website, and they sound like nasty funk wrapped in crushed velvet. Maybe one of these days......

[Don Plumley]

Nice.

[targa911S]

wow! They are ALL nice but of course I like the vintage one with the pick guard. REALLY sweet!

[nostatic]

I thought you'd appreciated the Solid 4. Played it yesterday at a surf band audition. Kills on the whole P-bass thing. The previous owner had it strung with 40-95 strings - I thought I was going to slice a finger off. It has been so long since I bought 4-string sets that I am out of touch. I used Zon strings on my Zons. Went and got some DR LoRiders 45-105, which is I think what I used to use back in my 4-string days. Not digging them though - feel incredibly stiff compared to the ones that were on it (and compared to my La Bella flatwounds that are on the RA). I'm thinking maybe Elixer 40-100 as a compromise between the two.

[herr_oberst]

Man, good taste and the means to collect.

I DO like that maple colored number with the tortoise pick guard.

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I thought you'd appreciated the Solid 4. Played it yesterday at a surf band audition. Kills on the whole P-bass thing. The previous owner had it strung with 40-95 strings - I thought I was going to slice a finger off. It has been so long since I bought 4-string sets that I am out of touch. I used Zon strings on my Zons. Went and got some DR LoRiders 45-105, which is I think what I used to use back in my 4-string days. Not digging them though - feel incredibly stiff compared to the ones that were on it (and compared to my La Bella flatwounds that are on the RA). I'm thinking maybe Elixer 40-100 as a compromise between the two.

I know what you mean. I use a 5 string set on my 4 string basses. Tuned BEAD. Now when I play a 4 string that is strung EADG it feels like a tenor guitar to me. VERY nice basses buddy.

[nostatic]

Yeah, I'm spoiled. Then again, I work my arse off these days, so I figure I can get away with it. Plus I'm playing a couple times a week, so these all get gig use. The new Mouse did two gigs today.

Part of the string issue is that the La Bella nylon tapewounds that Rob uses are fatter than roundwounds, so I've gotten really used to that. Plus they are very flexible. I think I know why the previous owner ran the 40-95 strings - they were pretty flexy. The DRs are like playing a graphite rod. I need to get some nicklewounds...

[futuresoptions]

Man, those Rob Allens look like pieces of art....

[nostatic]

Rob truly is an artist. He sweats insane details. For instance, on another guy's bass he had made the bridge, knobs and pickup cover out of brazilian rosewood as the fretboard was also made out of that. The problem is you can't get big pieces of it, so he had to use other stock to make the pieces. After he was done finishing the pickup cover piece took up a little more finish oil than the others and turned out darker (barely). He was going to pull it and do another one.

The other thing is that while he charges a fair price, he is pretty much a 2 person operation, and everything is done in-house. He has his own CNC machine for doing the bodies and necks, then he hand finishes everything. Also his goal is to make instruments that inspire musicians. They have a unique tone, and are original. He also hasn't offshored production or created an "import" line like a lot of other boutique makers. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that, but he wants to be involved in the whole process. And with him it is all about the wood. He's got some insane pieces stashed away for future pieces.

[sammyg2]

My dad played bass in a dance band to pay his way through college.
What he played was a little different than those tho ........

[john70t]

Injuns would bury a fish(like a bass) under a corn seed before planting the base of a foodstock. Stupid engerish.

(edit: sweet pics)