See the business listing for this bass builder here
This week’s BotW, according to the instrument’s buyer, Bryant, was made by John Carruthers whose shop is in Camarillo, CA, but he was in Venice Beach, CA at the time this instrument was built.
Bryant writes:
I asked master guitar luthier, John Carruthers to build me a 5 string based on the jazz bass format back in 1991. His basses had the best sounding B string that I had ever heard and it is still rare that I hear one that rivals the Carruthers’ 5 string design. I chose a nice piece of flame maple on top of an Alder body, and a bird-eye maple neck with a stripped ebony fingerboard; the neck is a “heel-less” design that is set-in. John installed active EMG pups/preamp that he tweaked himself, and Gotoh hardware. I have since replaced the bridge with a Badsass, and when my EMG preamp died, I had Sadowsky preamp and pups installed. This bass sounds amazing and is still the most comfortable bass I’ve ever played.
For a bass built in 1991 that’s now 23 years old (wow!), this is certainly a testament that good wood stands the test of time.
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From the owner: Please note this bass has not been babied and kept in a closet for 23 years. It’s traveled all over the country and has been player nearly every weekend since 91. There are a few nicks scratches, but it’s just a tough cookie!
The bricks in the background were the shop’s front wall at 346 Sunset Avenue in Venice. I worked with John for 12 years, and we’ve continued to improve the design. John still has his shop at 4700 Calle Carga, Camarillo 93012.
Correction my man, the photos were taken a few weeks ago (8/2014) and the bricks in are in my backyard, but I do remember the wall at John’s old place.