Author Topic: Bird's-eye Maple & Walnut Europa 4 @ Music Unlimited Monterey (Read 418 times)

moongerm · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2015, 08:03:40 PM »

Beautiful and more beautiful with that fingerboard and killer looking leds. Wow!

bigredbass · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2015, 09:34:27 PM »

In a different world, I would use the connection with Ikebe Gakki into the world of the Japanese builders, take several of the non-Series instruments and distill several models into versions just like this, and have a line of Japanese-only production models (NOT Taiwan, Phillipines, China, and so forth, JDM or nothing) built using an interesting, yet repeatable and reasonable wood recipe just like this. Limited production (hell, number them one of 100 or something along those lines), but do-able while keeping the numbers low enough to make money and stay very exclusive. Certainly FGN or any number of others would do a fine job, and allow more people into this world.

Joey

hifiguy · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2015, 10:41:30 PM »

That fretboard is making me crazy and I'm not a huge fan of maple fretboards. Strong John Lodge vibes here.

lidon2001 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 17, 2015, 05:14:40 AM »

Thanks Mica, your input is always appreciated and welcome.

I see rivers of maple going around the eyes. Amazing how nature puts it together.

rustyg61 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 17, 2015, 03:53:14 PM »

I've never been a fan of Maple fretboards, but I have to make an exception for this one! WOW!!!

sonicus · « **Reply #20 on:** January 17, 2015, 05:09:12 PM »

I remember a preference among some folks in the recording industry and country music scene for ash body maple neck Fender Bass's as what they thought was what they wanted in the mix. This bass might be THAT on steroids . Who nows , a new paradigm perhaps ? Maple neck Alembic bass's for that market demand , and nicer , ten fold to boot then anything else available , the BEST made .

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #21 on:** January 19, 2015, 10:14:55 AM »

Re: sound of a maple fingerboard - as near as I can tell, it's brighter than the traditional ebony. To complicate things, Royale also has three purple heart neck lams, which adds some brightness and makes it difficult to tell how much influence the fingerboard has.

Playability on a fretted maple fingerboard is the same as ebony to me - both are hard woods. YMMV on a fretless - I've never played a fretless maple fingerboard, so I can't comment.