A brand often described as a “modern bass” (as the presenter will state in the video below,) the Spector NS-4 has a body that’s smaller and a shape designed to be comfortable. The pickups loaded in are EMG 35DC, touted as having ultra-low-noise (which they do.) But in the end, do you feel it’s worth … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here This week’s feature bass is a successful attempt at building a bass uke. Builder Maurice Coutanceau from Maurice Paul Guitars writes: My sister plays bass in a uke band and has done so for some time now using one of my acoustic basses with silicone strings, … Read more
The video below explains nicely the main differences between an early-1960s 500/1 and the changes that were made for the 1964 model year. In ’64, the neck went from fat to thin, neck binding was added, headstock logo changed and control panel size changed, among other things. Here’s the video explaining the details: Vintage collectors … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here Dave Johnson, who gave us many thank-yous as you’ll see below (to which we say thank you right back, and that we were happy to assist,) built quite the exotic for his bass build. Dave writes: I began building this bass in July, 2014, after realizing … Read more
From Vigier comes this 24-fret skinny-necked beauty, the Excess II. Vigier states that the finish is a varnish that “dries for 5 weeks minimum,” uses Schaller custom machine heads, uses a quick release bridge, and has active electronics that feature a hum-canceling circuit, among other things. Cool or not? You decide. Check out the video … Read more
Note up front: Carving a neck is largely about feel rather than process; this is not something that can be described as a 1-2-3 method, nor would we even attempt to. Neck carving is a fundamental reason why luthiery schools exist, and is best learned in that style of environment. However, we will do our … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here It’s safe to say that this is one of the best “travel basses” we’ve ever seen! 🙂 Builder David Remy writes: This Bass was built for Griff H. he contacted me by email and wanted a bass that he can travel with. So the Birth of … Read more
At this point, the frets have been installed, but the fret ends are sticking out from either side of the neck and need to be dressed appropriately. The tool needed to start dressing frets is known as a fret cutter; this tool is generally available online, but not so much in hardware stores as it … Read more
See Michael Pope’s business listing here This is a continuation of the interview from part 1. Is there a relationship between the MPP preamps and the new Trickfish Bullhead 1K? Yes. Richard Ruse, the owner of Trickfish and conceiver of the Bullhead 1K approached me sometime back about integrating the MPP-1 plus a few refinements … Read more
See Michael Pope’s business listing here Michael Pope is one of the rare breeds in the industry that is not only the designer of one of the best preamps you can buy, but also a great player as well. You’ve played with lots of pretty well known musicians since the mid ’90s… Chick Corea, David … Read more
