Author Topic: Spellbinder? (Read 103 times)

jazzyvee · « **on:** August 09, 2007, 07:29:15 AM »

I was just on the Stanley Clarke web site today reading an interview he did with Jazz Review.
The last question gave an interesting answer.
JazzReview: What is next for Stanley Clarke?

Stanley Clarke: We are finishing up and album that will come out this August or September. I will be touring this summer and I have an instrument company that I am starting. I will be manufacturing basses and the company will be called Spellbinder Corporation. The basses will have synthetic graphite on them and different electronics. We actually formed the Spellbinder Corporation in 1980 and produced a limited edition run of fifty basses. We will also be manufacturing amplifiers and strings, regular electric bass strings, tenor bass strings and Piccolo bass strings. You will hear more about that soon.

Here is a link to the article
http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-5433.html

There is no date on the article but since it appears on his site between other items for this year, it appears it's a recent project.

Is he finally hanging up his alembics?

Jazzyvee

FC Bass · « **Reply #1 on:** August 09, 2007, 07:52:59 AM »

Here's some info found through Google: Click here

FC Bass · « **Reply #2 on:** August 09, 2007, 08:00:08 AM »

FC Bass · « **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2007, 08:05:28 AM »

jorge_s · « **Reply #4 on:** August 09, 2007, 08:53:55 AM »

I've seen them on Ebay from time to time. Always very expensive from what I remember. Starting bid around $10K. They have also been discussed here a couple of times.

811952 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 13, 2007, 08:04:46 AM »

I played a few of those back in '84 or '85 when I lived in L.A., and god were they awful. The Bass Center on Ventura couldn't seem to *give* them away. We're talking less than $500 in mint condition, and they had at least 3 of them for a looooong time. I would imagine the design of that instrument is/was tweaked for piccolo bass, because strung up normally the fundamental simply disappeared on anything lower than about an open-D string, if memory serves, and they felt like rubber..

John

edited to add: The roller nut was cool and probably way ahead of it's time for bass guitar..

(Message edited by 811952 on August 13, 2007)

dreambass · « **Reply #6 on:** August 22, 2007, 10:21:40 AM »

I agree with John. I played an original Spellbinder a few years ago that was for sale in a shop for about $1900. It sounded HORRIBLE!!! I love graphite basses, in fact I have 12 of them, but this was possibly the worst sounding bass I ever played. I was stunned.