This week’s Selection is from Shawn. He’s been building for 10 years and is looking for your feedback to see if he should branch out. Here’s the story in his own words:
My name is Shawn Lowell Long. I am an artist, designer, craftsman and musician who loves making things. I’ve combined my love of these things into an outlet where I can create functional art.
Although I’ve been building basses for about 10 years, I’ve never committed to launching my own company or seriously tried to sell any of my projects. So I’d thought I’d give this a try and see what people think.
Unlike some more proficient luthiers out there, I don’t produce a large quantity of instruments. In fact, I can spend up to year fully realizing a design. I guess you might say that I focus more on the individual uniqueness of each bass as opposed to mass production. This one is called the Fiore.
The Fiore is a single cutaway, neck through, 34 inch scale fretless. It is made of a 4 piece laminated walnut neck, joined with 2 piece laminated walnut wings. A maple fretboard and maple inlays add contrasting accents. In addition, leather padding on the back and lower contour adds to the comfort and playability of the instrument.
Other features include:
– a passive, handmade split p pickup wound to about 11k
– 1 volume, 1 tone control
– aluminum, walnut handmade bridge
– handmade wooden control knobs
– aluminum nut
– hand-applied polyurethane finish
Shawn is asking for your feedback and input. BTW – If you’re going to comment, whether it be positive or negative, please keep it constructive! We don’t approve of haters. [Comment below]
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That is stunning. Wow! Very nice work.
As a fellow bass builder I can appreciate the time, skill and creativity that went into this build. That is a work of art. Nicely done.
Your are absolutely right, quite beautiful, not sure it fits the fibonacci principle.
Great looking instrument!
It’s really beautiful!! How does it sound?
Bass is killer! You obviously have skills. Great design and attention to detail. $$$$
This is a really beautiful instrument. Great design and love your attention to detail. Nice deep tone works well for a fretless. Excellent work!
Our take is simple.
*Anyone* wiling to pour their energy into something positive to create, whether that be music, art, or building a bass is someone worthy of some praise and encouragement.
Putting yourself out there isn’t easy, but us players and builders do it every day.
…It’s inspiring
That’s a very pretty bass. It would almost look at home in The Lord of the Rings.
What a incredible sense of design. And to execute the craftsmanship…
A real beauty.
Personally I think adding a second puck up nearer the bridge would be a great idea.
That is a very beautiful guitar, the woodwork is amazing.
Truly spectacular! Love the tone, too, very upright. Would you be considering selling it?
Hi Bill,
I am willing to sell it. I can be reached at lowelllonginstruments@gmail.com. I’m also encouraging everyone to check me on instagram, @lowelllonginstruments. Thank you for your compliment.
That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship! I love the artwork and attention to detail!
You should totally branch out! I’d buy something made by you!
It’s beautiful , is there a prize under the bridge? Do you offer a fretted version? Yes you should create and sell custom basses.
Peizo not prize. Autocorrect
Lol, I think it could be interesting to offer a secret hidden prize under there! Originally, I thought about blending a piezo with a traditional pickup. For the sake of simplifying the electronics, I’m saving that for another project.
This design is one of the most elegant I’ve ever seen. And of course, it would be great to hear it played in an acoustic environment – and actually FEEL it. But there I’m just dreaming; if life could only be as beautiful as what you’ve created. Resist the temptation to go big scale -the world needs more of this quality, not quantity…
It looks amazing! I would suggest getting someone with some more experience to demo the sound for you. Beautiful work!
Thank you! To be honest with you, the demo was a spare of the moment improvisation and we really weren’t thinking too hard about producing a polished composition.
I echo Jeremy’s thoughts … the bass is stunning looking! But I agree with him also regarding finding someone with serious fretless abilities to do a demo. While the tone seems lovely, it’s difficult to really tell based on the intonation issues on the clip. Keep up the work, you’re very talented!
What a beauty! You truly have a one-of-a-kind instrument here. Anyone would be proud to play this.
Excellent work, looks amazing it nice to see someone step outside the copy’s box and create a unique instrument, my suggestion to you would be to contact some of the high end shops and ask if they would have any work for you, I suspect that it’s hard to find people to do work of the quality you do, best of luck in all your ventures
Congrats for the unique design and for the craftsmanship. For fretless bass I strongly prefer to have two pickups and one of them to be positioned closer to the bridge.
Beautiful , unique design . Nice relief carving and inlay . The sound is very “woody” , almost a semi hollow character . This is the type of instrument that really can not or should not be mass produced , but made as “Fiore” was by the skilled hand . Why not make a few more each as unique as this one , get yourself into a local guitar show , set up a table and display your instruments . You will get tons of feedback in one day , and my guess is it will all be positive .
Hello Shawn, I have built a few instruments as well and have tried to stay true to the art of design, beauty of wood and focus to detail while creating instruments of playability and warm tone. Your design is beyond beautiful, choice of woods are classic and flow of lines and detail of carving are captivating, true art. You should definitely present yourself for commission of custom instruments. However, take time to understand your customer’s wants, needs and personality of expression. Then create for them your interpretation, vision and art. They will be overwhelmed as I am.
This is an example of art and functionallity bonded together.
Love the tone!!!!
Keep on the good work
Shawn,
I would encourage you to continue building in the manner you have been, and make a go of establishing a business. If you build only one per year, that’s okay: it’s a start. Keep your day job, though, because every instrument builder with a dream will tell you, you won’t get rich. Even builders like Jens Ritter work extremely hard to keep their businesses viable. What you have going for you is your design skills and ability to execute at the level you’ve attained. These are not insignificant, and I would argue are in the high 90’s percentile of the custom guitar builder universe, perhaps even comparable to Alembic. There are independent music stores in every city who are highly likely to offer your instruments, though initially they may insist upon a consignment arrangement. There’s no shame in that and the only downside is that your instrument is likely to be available to anyone who wants to pull it off the rack and try it out. But responsible music stores will do everything they can to keep the instrument safe and not abused. Another avenue is to seek out musicians whom you respect and get backstage to show them your work. Stories abound of guitar builders who have gone straight to the people they believe will appreciate their work, they make a friend and become instantly infused into the community of players. And players talk to one another. Congratulations on this instrument, delightful innovations and just beautiful to behold.
Great looking bass. 1 problem i found immediately. The D G pickup magnet bar. The G string just touches the furthest edge of the magnet while the D string has more than enough magnet with what looks like a 1/4 inch to spare. The G sting may lack a little sound frequencies. It’s just my attention to detail.
That’s really nice. I do think a bass like this should have custom tuners also. But…very nice!
Nice bass. Turning what you love to do into a small business requires planning. Nevermind what anyone has to say about it good or bad. As long as your instruments are in demand and at a price point where you can earn a living…do your thing.
Really like this! Forwarded link to clients and other builders I know. (Am a tech/repair/customizing guy w a shop in Oregon). I see a ton of instruments from off/under radar builders and this bass is rare in that it is unique and exotic while having a cohesive aesthetic/design and being solidly functional. I say go for it. Get some footage of some recognized player jamming and drooling on several of your basses and get that up wherever basses go for gear porn. Good luck from Fearless Guitars!
Bassists. Stupid phone keyboard
Wow, Thank you everyone for taking the time to look and comment on my work. I am inspired to see the general enthusiasm for going outside the norm. Sometimes, musicians can be so married to a brand name that they simply won’t accept anything else. It’s a bit of a paradox considering the creative nature of the profession.
To answer a few questions; I am willing to sell the Fiore, pending serious inquiries and I do have several other basses I eventually intend to show. In terms of present and future projects, I am working on a fretted variation of the Fiore style which will feature completely hand made custom hardware. I also have some plans in mind for creating my own full-contact bridges. For the time being, please follow on instagram. @lowelllonginstruments.
Thank you all!
This is one of the most amazing and original basses I’ve ever seen! Love the Art Deco inspiration. I’d have chosen tuners complement the headstock better. Other than that, it’s perfect! Please keep building and innovating.
Hello, I am the bassist for the video and I have been playing bass for over 30 years and what I love about the bass is the versatility of the Fiore it has punch that I can do slapping, popping N pulling and I can kick back do basic run ons. I have played numerous types of basses fretted and fretless and upright and I love being to marry both traditional tones with funky styles of playing. This Bass is that kind of bass! Shawn thank you for being such a talent and bandmate!
Being able to marry….
I’ve been playing a Precision Fretless since 1970. Bought it at DeFiores in Cleveland where I had a studio. Have to fretless necks. Also worked pro audio at Guitar Center. Just had my BadAss bridge counter sunk for more sustain. The guy messed it up. He didn’t align it right. Very disappointed. Maybe I’ll send you some pics. Not sure how I was contacted you. I don’t remember sending out a request. I could easily be wrong. Really nice looking bass. Well done. Not knowing what you played out of makes its hard to say how it sounds. To me it was very boxy and dead. The palyer is either of small build or the AXE is gigantic. No negative remarks intended. I’ve owned a few studios and toured. I can see the craftmanship easily of course.
Firstly, very well done on an excellent and individual build. The design is good, nice proportions similar to early Guild in body size, only much nicer .
If you intend to start selling these instruments (which I really DO encourage) then I think some attention to small details need to be added. I see in these pic’s some issues / breaks in the purfling or binding. There is also tearout on the walnut especially on the head. My advise is to work to your own skillset, making sure you have the tools to carry out the design. Otherwise make it simpler until you have them. It looks rushed. To me this excellent instrument falls short in the detail. It would put me off. Work on this stuff and you will do well. ‘The Devil is in the Details’.
Wow! The bass is gorgeous! I hope you would consider making a short scale version for small women bassists with small hands like me!
The bass is awesomely beautiful and functional. I’d definitely love to own one of your creations.
Hi Shawn,
Yes, do branch out… this is nothing short of amazing. I am stunned by the attention to detail and design thought you have invested in this instrument. It works on a functional as well as aesthetic level – I actually have never seen anything like it. A triumph, in my view!
Well done and best of luck,
Axel
Excellent looking Bass Guitar!
Perhaps, one day, we could see a 5-String, dual pick-up version of this Beauty…??? (My Forte)
Beautiful Work, My Friend!!!
Hi, I really like the design and playability plus it’s very pretty. My thoughts 0n branching out, I took my love and hoby and slowly turned it into a full time business in about 20 yrs. BTW now been in business 44 yrs and still doing it on a limited basis. My advice is go for it you obviously have talent which will get even better over time and with experimentation and just trying different ideas.
Very nice.
Wonderful bass! Beautiful! Also definitely has a LOTR quality to it, like you’d see it encased in a display in Rivendell or Lothlorien.
Incidentally, what riff are you playing on it? I didn’t recognize it. I was wondering if you had other sound samples.
Thank you! A lot of my work tends to have a strong art nouveau influence. I always thought that set and prop design of lord of the rings had a kind of organic flowing energy. Perhaps I was subconsciously influenced at some point.
The rift is actually being performed by my wife. It was a quick, little improvised ditty she came up with to demonstrate some of the more unexpected punch and percussion of the bass. As a result, she played it more like a standard fretted bass as opposed to a traditional fretless approach.
Ah, very interesting. I’d also be interested to hear some more slinky fretless lines as well. Very good work overall. Whether you should go full time or not, that might be an ongoing question or process, but you should definitely start testing the market and see what’s out there, and see where you land in the market place. I’m sure there will definitely be a market out there. That’s one of the great things about guitars and basses. It’s a perfect market that can never be oversaturated. Guitarists and bassists will easily own upwards of 5-8 instruments, tons of effects pedals, several amps, and still not think of themselves as a collector! LOL! Seriously! “Me? No, I’m not a collector. I only (!) have 8 guitars. Now that guy over there? He has 35 guitars. He’s a collector.” It’s a beautiful thing. 🙂
Very cool and gorgeous craftsmanship!
Your approach in design is unique and professional. Because of this you have an instrument that identifies itself septate from any other maker. Use of the ornamental techniques uncommon among today’s string instruments sets it apart even from many expensive boutique models. I hope you will succeed in placing a few stunning handmade models in the discriminating custom bass market.
At first I didn’t like the headstock, but once I saw the whole bass it totally made sense.
Great Art Nouveau details on it, and a really unique shape. I really dig it.
Nice looking bass!
E.
What an amazing piece of woodworking art!!
This bass would be perfectly at home in an Art’s Museum.
I’ll have to think twice next time I want to talk about handcrafted quality.