Custom Fretless "Chain-Links" (C 14588 USA)

[edwardofhuncote]

Keith, when I told Mica I was going un-lined fretless, she highly recommended fretless sidelines, and specifically referenced your "Orion Nebula".  So, Thanks for that!   

Rob, 'East-Meets-West' electronics are Vol./Pan/Filt./3-position Q, like Essence, or Elan, but with the added ability of Bass & Treble boost/cut rotary pots, like Epic/Orion/Excel.  The 3-position Q-switch was an upgrade over the standard 2-position, but since having the 3-position switch put on my Persuader 5-string during restoration, I've found it to be indispensable. 

*and regarding the wood... Mrs. W. has quite an eye for choosing wood... I simply removed myself from that particular decision. She nailed *exactly* what I had in mind. 

[Twocan]

Beautiful! Congrats!

[FC Bass]

Stunning Greg, you're in for a lot of fun! Congrats!

[edwardofhuncote]

I've been resisting the urge to hit the tracking number link every hour or so... instead, I've been cycling through the official archived pictures Mica sent.

I haven't even held this bass in my hands yet, but it already feels like a dream, realized.... I'll have an in-hand report next weekend, but enjoy these for now - I sure have!   

[keith_h]

Waiting for the delivery is the hardest part.

[rv_bass]

Beautiful bass, Greg, I'm sure it will sound magnificent!

[tbrannon]

One of the strongest olfactory memories I have is the smell the first time I opened the case of the custom Elan I had built.  Take a moment to soak in that smell when you open the case. Beats 'new car smell' by a mile!

[rv_bass]

The grain in the maple neck wood is cool the way the thin dark lines parallel the Purple Heart laminates as well as the grain in the Birdseye top and back woods. Everything ties together nicely. 

[rraymond]

Fer cryin' out loud, how do those people do it?! That's a magnificent looking bass, congrats Greg. Three purple heart stripes, ebony finger board, neck through construction equal plenty of fundamental, that bass will have a BIG sound. My second Alembic was a Bird's Eye Maple Epic which was beautiful! Your bass has at least a few hundred more bird's eyes than mine, truly amazing. One question, did you go with Fatboys, or AXYs, pickup-wise? I like one of each, Fatboy at the bridge, AXY at the neck. Enjoy!

[edwardofhuncote]

...One question, did you go with Fatboys, or AXYs, pickup-wise? I like one of each, Fatboy at the bridge, AXY at the neck.

That's exactly what we did... Fatboy at bridge, AXY at neck, each offset by 5/8th's of an inch.

[rv_bass]

Greg, what do you accomplish by putting a fatboy in the bridge position?

[edwardofhuncote]

Greg, what do you accomplish by putting a fatboy in the bridge position?

That was a suggestion I adopted without personal experience Rob... the advantage I suppose is simply; physics. The strings are not traveling quite as much back up against the bridge as they are up near the neck, so the signal isn't quite as hot, but I'm told the Fatboy helps with some of that disparity. I think Mica described the Fatboy as just having a little wider aperture... it 'hears' a little better I guess. 

This bass also features the new Pan module, allowing gain adjustment for both pickups. I recently did that mod on my Persuader too, which has the weaker J-type pickup in the bridge position... big improvement.

It should be noted, other Club members have swapped out their AXY's for Fatboys with a mix of reviews... if I recall correctly Joey had Fatboys at bridge and neck on the Big Red Spoiler, and loved it. Conversely, Jazzyvee tried one on his Stanley Clarke Sig. but found he preferred the stock AXY. So while I'm going into it with the only firsthand experience being the AXY's on my Distillate, I look forward to exploring its potential. As for the upgrade, it's totally reversible too, so really not much to lose. Mica seemed of the opinion it would be especially advantageous for this bass. That was good 'nuff for me. 

[rv_bass]

Thanks, Greg.  I've read that it can be a little boomy in the neck position, but can add some fullness to the sound of the bridge pickup.  I'd be interested to hear what you think...won't be long now.

[rraymond]

I did a search and found a couple of quotes I liked regarding the Fatboy pickups:

“it really adds punch and girth to the treble position and allows the bass to stand out a bit in the mix.”

- 5a_quilt_top

“I do know I like FatBoys WAY better than AXY's, which to me sound like studio monitors; FatBoys sound like really hot home speakers.  Maybe the difference in a Neumann and an SM57.  Still mighty clean, but a bit meatier for my ears. “

- bigredbass

I agree with both of them.

[edwardofhuncote]

Tomorrow is the day. 

UPS was running ahead of schedule, and moved my delivery up one day... unfortunately, there is no earthly way I can take tomorrow off, so it will be held at the hub in the morning instead of going Out-for-Delivery.

Guess I know where I'll be spending lunch hour tomorrow!