Author Topic: Will's Custom 5 String (Read 1827 times)

willie · « **on:** January 23, 2014, 07:02:37 AM »

Here is a picture of my custom 5 string. Europa body and peg head.
35 scale. Vermillion core with maple laminates.
Coco Bolo front and back. Maple, Purple Heart, Ebony neck. Ebony fingerboard. Signature electronics with bass and treble overall cut and boost switches. Red side LED's and red front laser LED's with off, on, both switch with dimmer.
Best looking and sounding 5 string bass I ever saw or heard in person.
I'll take some more pictures of it and post them soon.
Will

willie · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2014, 07:10:12 AM »

Here is a photo of it relaxing with some friends while preparing to shake the neighborhood.
Will

mtjam · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2014, 07:59:39 AM »

Congratulations! Can't wait to see more pictures of your new arrival. Enjoy it!

rjmsteel · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2014, 11:35:32 AM »

I bet that roars with the scale length, ebony stringer and Low B!

Beautiful bass there willie!
Nice crew you got there too.

FC Bass · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2014, 01:33:48 PM »

Droool! Thats all sorts of awesome, congrats!

charles_holmes · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2014, 07:58:48 PM »

Hey Willie! That's an awesome bass there! Congratulations! I would like to tell everyone that about 2 yrs ago Willie stopped over my house and he's a heck of a nice guy (and avid fisherman too) and can lay down some great bass lines ta boot! PS
Willie don't get eaten by those fish that you catch...they are really gruesome looking! Hee Hee!
Chalie

willie · « **Reply #6 on:** January 24, 2014, 06:30:52 AM »

Thanks everyone. I'll post some more pictures soon. These basses definitely roar. Each one is different as far as sting gauge, scale length and woods. But they all sound great. The 5 string can literally shake the ground but is crystal clear from top to bottom. I knew only Alembic could make a extra long 5 string with that clear powerful sound right down to the low B. I hope to have a 4 string version of it built soon. The King Deluxe is a medium scale with 30-90 strings and is perfect for Mark King's style and sound. What is amazing is how punchy and deep it is while still being very bright, snappy and fast to play with a tone that is out of this world. The Europa is a long scale and can do anything and the short scale Small Standard is great as a tenor bass and is great for Stanley's sound.
These 4 basses are going to be deployed soon in Operation Seismic Disturbance in Southeastern PA and hopefully beyond.
Charles. Thanks for the nice words. I didn't know you would remember who I was. That was a nice visit. It was great meeting you. You have a nice setup and basses as well. A shame my hands were beat up and frozen from fishing all day. I'll be coming up there this spring to chase those Muskies again. That's if I can tear myself away from playing these amazing instruments. You should come out fishing and see one in person. I showed the replica of the 56 pound Muskie I caught to someone last night and they could not believe the size of it and its mouth and teeth. A true killing machine. If you have a dog or small child, don't let them swim in the river! I'll post a picture of it so everyone can see what you're talking about. I read about your smaller rig and wanted to talk to you about it. I tend to keep going in the opposite direction. Bigger and more and more power. 16000 watts now if I hooked everything up at once. But the 12000 watt main rig does the job very nicely. I had to build a rig worthy of playing these basses through that can accurately reproduce their sound. Your rig sounded great and I look forward to hearing your new version. I'll send you an e-mail and hopefully see you soon.
Thanks again everyone.
Will

willie · « **Reply #7 on:** January 24, 2014, 07:36:18 AM »

Here is a picture of the 56 pound Muskie I caught. It would have broke the PA state record for Muskie if I kept it and got it weighed. But that would have meant killing it. I gave up holding the official record to release the fish unharmed. But I did receive an award from the PA Fish Commission and held the record for the largest fish caught in PA for several years even though it was listed at its minimum possible weight. It is not finished being painted yet in this picture. Joe Fittante, a taxidermist from Wisconsin who is regarded to be one of the best at creating replicas of Muskies to promote catch and release sent it to me for approval before finishing the painting process. It is Joe who is holding the fish. It turned out much greener after the painting was done. I'll take some pictures of it now that I have it and it is finished and post them soon. I just wanted everyone to see what the gruesome fish Charles referred to looked like.
So do you want to try to catch one this year Charles? I'd be glad to take you out fishing for them.
Will

jazzyvee · « **Reply #8 on:** January 24, 2014, 08:28:18 AM »

Superb Bass

Jazzyvee

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #9 on:** January 24, 2014, 09:20:22 AM »

It's a muskie - a bass would be much smaller.

willie · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2014, 10:49:09 AM »

Thanks Jazzyvee
I know you like Europa style basses. Your Quilted Maple 5 string is amazing.
Yes, it's a Muskie. It could swallow the Walleye on the wall behind it whole in one bite.
Luckily basses don't weigh as much as the fish.
And basses don't bite or slice you open with those gill plates.

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2014, 11:14:17 AM »

Ex-Wisconsinite here.

Tales of catching giant muskies, sturgeon and walleyes abound in cheeseland, but that bad boy is a whooper even by those standards.

Well-done!

willie · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2014, 12:38:37 PM »

Thanks Dave
Ah, someone who can appreciate that fish.
That is definitely up in the heart of Muskie country. Ones that size are hard to come by in PA. The Allegheny Reservoir is about the only place to match or beat that one. I caught it in a river that is only 3-20' deep normally.
I would like to catch a giant Sturgeon. They are rare and protected here.
I put a lot of research, time, effort and lets face it, Money into catching that fish. People thought I was crazy for trying so hard and now that they see the replica they know it. But I was determined to catch the biggest one I could. Now that they've seen what I was after, no one wants to fish with me. Can't figure out why though.
The finished replica is beautiful. Joe did a great job on it working from just two pictures.
Thanks again Dave
Will

keith_h · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2014, 03:04:23 PM »

Well Will if I'm ever up your way I'll go out with you. Haven't gone fishing for Walleye since I was much younger. Would go out with my grandfather to the dam at Keokuk, Ia. Before my wife and I left Illinois in the early 80's I would go up to Wisconsin with my drummer and a few of the guys for Northern Pike and Muskie's. Never came close to catching anything that big and I'm not sure what I would have done if I did. Water ski maybe?

Very nice bass by the way.

Keith

charles_holmes · « **Reply #14 on:** January 24, 2014, 03:14:55 PM »

I wonder if the mother-ship can turn that fish into a bass?
I really dig your Bass though Willie. If I get enough cash I'll look into a five string like yours!!
And ..I haven't been fishing since 1969 with my dad near the Philadelphia Airport in an area called Elmwood where my family lived before the whole area was razed to put up a shopping mall.