Author Topic: Phil's Osage Orange?? (Read 374 times)

richbass939 · « **on:** August 07, 2005, 08:26:39 AM »

I am trying to find some color pics of Phil's Osage Orange. If I knew more about searching on the net I could probably find a lot of them on my own. I found a few B/W ones but I would really like to see the colors in it. I would appreciate any help you can give me.
Thanks,
Rich

jseitang · « **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2005, 08:53:38 AM »

go to the showcase, theres a color pic or two ....

richbass939 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 08, 2005, 11:29:00 AM »

I've looked around at these and still can't see if it is made of Osage Orange wood. Does anyone know if Osage Orange is just the name of the bass or if that is the wood used?
Rich

lidon2001 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 08, 2005, 11:34:30 AM »

Osage Orange is a wood type. Enter it in at Google for a few descriptions. One can always use Google first with most general questions one might have on anything.

richbass939 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 08, 2005, 12:41:23 PM »

For wood types there is also a great link that Dave Houck put in this club's Must Reads. My question is Is Phil's bass made of Osage Orange or is that just the bass's name?
Rich

lidon2001 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 08, 2005, 01:19:19 PM »

Part of the Answer: It is made of Osage Orange. Rumor (fact?) says it is the only Alembic made with that wood. I get this info from reading the many posts & history on this site about the bass, so read on. Looks like you have a few more nooks and crannies to search on this site, and there's always something more to learn here wherever that takes you.

Name? From look at the History page again, it appears so.

Who's going out on the limb to ask the elves to build another using this wood? Would they even do it? Is the wood too oily as I have previously read?

(Message edited by lidon2001 on August 08, 2005)

(Message edited by lidon2001 on August 08, 2005)

lidon2001 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 08, 2005, 01:55:19 PM »

http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/1922.html

Nice post on the bass. More out there.

lidon2001 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:00:49 PM »

And this one. Bassmann has some nice info a few posts down, obviously much more knowlegdable than me...

http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/9047.html

Let your search be fruitful...

lidon2001 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:11:23 PM »

As for the picks he uses on his instruments, I found this:

'After experimenting with steel picks (which cut his fingers and, being magnetic, tended to shoot pulses through the pickups), Lesh settled on a pick made of titanium. It's really strong and really light, and it doesn't wear out like the Gibson heavies I used to use, he says. The feel of it is superior for the bass -- you hit the string and it knows it's been hit!'

Searching can be so much fun...

richbass939 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:32:10 PM »

Thank you, thank you. Those thread links told and showed me exactly what I was wondering about.
Rich

lidon2001 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2005, 02:33:54 PM »

Post with pic of electronics and a link for more info:

http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/17388.html

If one does a search for quad I bet even more readings on the bass will be found.

lidon2001 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 08, 2005, 03:01:42 PM »

From my quad search. Check out this link. New quad bass? Cool info on the Wall of Sound circa '74.

Phil is using a new quadrophonic bass, the electronics of which were designed and built by George Mundy and the body and pickups by Rick Turner.

http://www.dead.net/cavenweb/deadfile/newsletter19soundrap.html

(Message edited by lidon2001 on August 08, 2005)

blazer · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2005, 06:32:13 PM »

I just watched a 1978 TV recording of a live performance of the Dead when they performed at Saturday Night Live. Phil is using that bass. He had a very blunt but powerful sound.

Was that bass a shortscale? Based on the fact that it was built around the specs of Phil's modified Guild bass.

jseitang · « **Reply #13 on:** August 10, 2005, 09:39:09 AM »

blazer,
the modified starfire godfather and the osage bass were both medium scale i believe.

cosmic · « **Reply #14 on:** August 10, 2005, 09:54:23 AM »

Medium Scale? Does anyone know if this is indeed fact.
I had always thought Phil played 34inch scale basses. Finding out his Osage bass is a medium scale would come as a big surprise to me.

Anyone? Anyone?