This week’s build is brought to you by Justin Goodman, who is displaying his second-ever bass build. Read the story in Justin’s words here:
Story of build:
I’d like to introduce EVE, my second build (after ADAM, of course). She started out as being my dream bass and somehow has transformed into something altogether different. Being that I have no background in woodworking, this process was a very daunting one. This is really the
result of a process taking about 5 years in total. I had dreamed of doing this for years, and finally for my birthday, August 2014, my wife and I decided to take a drive from New York down to south New Jersey to a wood supplier I found online. That day we laid out nearly $500 on what I felt were choice woods. I pictured it all in my head, I dreamed, I daydreamed… It became painful. I looked at those pieces on my shelf for 2 1/2 years before I got the nerve to do anything to it.After getting some ‘gentle’ pressure from my wife, I finally decided to start working on the body. I created an MDF template from my original drawing, and set out to cut the profile. Doing this was so nerve wrecking that I backed away from it again.
It took me a year to get my nerve up again, but this time, i decided to experiment on some cheaper supply. ADAM (a 6 string, which I hope will appear in another submission) was born from wood bought from Home Depot. That wood combination totaled about $80, so I really didn’t mind too much if I made mistakes. But making ADAM happen, gave me the courage to go back to EVE and really try to push myself to make something special.
Details of the Build:
6 string
Neck- five piece sandwich of maple and purple heart
Maple fretboard
Headstock front cap- Fishtail Oak, Back cap- Maple
Body- Bookmatch Fishtail Oak top on 2 piece Ash
Finish- Odies Oil
All magnetic cavity covers and Truss rod access
34″ scale
24 fret
zero fret
Luminlay Side Dot Markers
Black Tusq nut
Hipshot Ultralite Tuners
Hipshot B-style Bridge
Bartolini Classic Candybar Pickups
Aguilar OBP-3 18 volt Preamp with active/passive switch, volume/passive tone stack, blend, treble/bass stack, mid push/pull for 400Hz/800Hz frequencies
EVE is pretty much everything ADAM is, just with some nicer features and more pronounced curves. (Get it?) Anyway, she’s got some amazing range, deep, warm, woody low end, a nice barky midrange, and a singing top range.
I love that low end thump! Works great in gospel. I dig it!
Great looking bass and sounds great with fingerstyle. Totally gets lost playing slap. You can hear the low notes fine, but the ghost notes and pops are missing – at least through my Bose and my Sennheiser headphones.
This is fairly common in a lot of mixes. There’s just too many instruments occupying the frequencies where slap sounds best and it gets covered up. Dropping the low-mids out of a bass mix loses the definition of the bass in the mix and typical slap EQ is set with boosted bass and treble and scooped (cut a LOT) low-mids. Sounds great like that when playing solo, but totally gets lost when playing with other instruments.
You may have to dial back in the low-mids if you want to be heard in the mix. Anywhere between ~250Hz (where I dial in a little boost) and 500Hz will make a huge difference. Experiment around to see how it comes across “in the mix” taking careful notes with each change you make, and only make one change at a time.
Great looking and nice sounding bass. And Justin Cunningham is no slouch playing it. He really put it through its paces.
Noted. Just take into consideration the video is using cell phone audio. You’re only hearing what’s being played thru the bass amp it’s being played thru. You’ll have to take my word for it that there is more detail in a direct mix. But thanks for your input.
Magnífico el 1º traste ,al lado de la cejilla,pocas marcas lo montan.
Impresionante trabajo.Enhorabuena,gracias por mostrarnos tu gran trabajo.
Eres todo un profesional…
Gracias por las amables palabras.
nice build and you deserve a bass like this, well done!
Unbelievably good for an amateur!! The neck profile and side dots, not to mention the rest of it, look like they have 30+ years of experience behind them. Well done. Great playing too
Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated. And Cunningham is my guy, been a great friend for over 10 years.
Weak in the knees…awesome bass mate
Tha is a bunch bud
Great looking and sounding bass! Congrats!
very attractive bass. well done. what brand string tree is that?
Thank you. All hardware on the bass including the string tree is Hipshot.
Well done even Joseph the carpenter would be pleased
Very nice and really a “professional” look.
Incredibly inspiring. Just a truly beautiful build. That neck-side detail is brilliant. I’m blown away.
Thanks for that.
wow man what a beautiful bass!! I think you might have found your calling. cant see what the next one looks like. Maybe you can make a couple for sale one day, I’d buy either 6 that I saw you playing
Wow, thank you for that. If you’d like, shoot me an email and we can speak further.
Thanks a bunch. Much appreciated.
What a Beautiful Bass!
Looks like it was built by an expert builder with years of experience.
The design is gorgeous!
It was worth the wait.
Thanks for the kind words bud. Much appreciated
Justin, your Eve, is beautiful cuz. Thanks for sharing your many talents.
Thanks cuz. Much love.
G’day from Australia, amazing second build. The detail of the side dots really speak of a more than competent builder, even the concept alone. Also, the overlooked magnetic covers! I keep seeing instruments presented with screws on the back, and I always wonder why, in this day and age. Magnets don’t ruin your shirts! Anyway, thats just me, this is a great build. Can’t wait for #3!
My sentiments exactly. I’ve had neckties and shirts basically destroyed by screws on the back of the bass. I tried to take into consideration all that I’ve taken note of while working on basses for the last 11 years. Whatever I like, I keep. What I dont like, I get rid of. Just trying to make something I like, and hope that other people like it too.
Justin, you knocked it out of the park with this, and taking your time obviously paid off in the long run! Would love to see/ hear your first build ( Adam ) as well!!
Oh, and question: was the oak tough to work with?
Hey man, thanks for the kind words. Actually no, it was pretty easy honestly. Now my third build, is Padauk and Maple. Padauk is beautiful but I hate working with it. I’m waiting on some custom knobs to come in before I show that one off. Hopefully that one can be featured here too.
Your amazing my dude keep up the good work
Thanks bro. Happy new year! Peace to you and the whole fam.
Felicidades por excelente trabajo. Una obra maestra. Este bajo es bellísimo y a pesar de que fue grabado por celular y en la posición en que estaba más cerca de la bateria y el volumen del sonido del organo estaba más alto me parece que este bajo tiene muy buen sonido.
Truly nice work. I really like the wood combination. The workmanship looks first class and I like your relaxed playing style. Thanks for posting the video.