CUSTOM BASS GUITAR SHOP?

[LIMB BY LIMB]

I am looking for a new 5 string bass and i need to find a Custom Workshop that can make me a neck with double truss rods.. and a bodyshape somewhat like a schecter with a tremolo....I am not trying to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on this thing..I have alot more details but if someone can do this much please pm me

[Big Jimi Cee]

I have been communicating recently with Jon Hill, who is a luthier that builds basses and guitars. Jon had his own shop for about ten years then left to manage the woodworking shop at Dean guitars. He has since left Dean to reopen his own shop in Nashville. Jon builds one helluva bass, his neck throughs are double truss rods and he will build to your spec. That's the good news, Jon's basses and guitars are top quality and he is not going to be cheap. If you are looking for a handbuilt custom bass and have the money to spend, Jon is the guy. Here is the link to his new sight. It is somewhat primitive at this time but the slide show will give you an idea of what he is capable of producing. I have one of his basses and I am very happy with it.

www.bootlegguitars.com

If you are interested, let me know and I can put you in contact with him

[MOONDOGGY]

Hill definitely makes some great basses.

Just out of curiosity, why are you set on a full blown custom? Also, why dual truss rods? If you're worried about any extra tension from pulling up on the trem, a single truss rod, multi-laminate neck w/ graphite reinforcements would most likely be plenty. Are you looking at using a Hipshot trem or a Kahler flush-mount?

If you get a Kahler, they're fairly easy to mount and don't require nearly as much wood to be removed compared to the Hipshots. Any decent tech should be able to retrofit a Kahler trem to a bass fairly easily. The Hipshot trems are like a Strat trem that require a large cavity to be routed in the back for the springs.

Whether you're definitely gonna have a bass built or have an existing bass retrofitted, make sure you do a few things:

- Make sure the strings are as straight as possible coming off the nut. You don't want anything like a Kramer or Gibson 'hockey stick' headstock where the strings have a sharp angle over the nut.

- If it's a tilt headstock, make sure the angle isn't too steep. If it's a flat headstock, use a roller string tree to get proper tension over the nut.

- Get a bottle of graphite powder for the nut slots. You can get this a most hardware stores by the locks and keys section.

Do as much research as you can on bass trems. There are a lot of little things that can keep the tremolo from messing up the bass and keeping it in tune.

Keep us posted.

[Big Jimi Cee]

Dan,

When will you be back in the area again, I would love for you to check out the Hill bass. Drop me a line and let me know

BJC

[JackANSI]

Mark Chaplin put a kahler on my one Yamaha, and did a mighty fine job, for less than $120. (I can't find the invoice and don't remember the exact amount)

[bassist_25]

Once you have a trem on your bass, the coolness of that bass goes up 5x. It doesn't matter if it's a Basslabs, a Jazz Bass, a Ritter, or a Hofner Beatle Bass. It's just cooler with the trem.

[LIMB BY LIMB]

Thanks for all the info guys!!!! I think i am going to wait and see what Mr Hill can do for me. As far as modifying my existing bass I am down to only 1 a schecter stilletto custom 5. So I don't have a back up bass right now I just got rid of my Thunderbird(couldn't keep the neck straight to save my life). And I had a yamaha years ago I got rid of. So my schecter is only my 3rd bass but I love the neck. I play in cgcfa so i have an extra high string instead of using the bottom string as a 'B' like most. Been looking at the reviews on trems and hipshot has a great review in bass player magazine. But many guitarists use kahler...jerry cantrell, kerry king.. So has anyone tried both trems? Which is better in your opinion on a bass? I love the big necks like 35in scale and such and thought a double truss neck would be better being so long. I admit i know little about building a custom bass. I have only been playing 3 years and am all self tought i know very little theory. Any thoughts at all are helpful..

[MOONDOGGY]

I'd say buying yourself a mid or high level production bass and having it fitted with a Kahler trem is gonna save you a LOT of money compared to having a custom bass built from scratch. Now, I'm assuming you want to go full custom solely because of the lack of production basses that come with a factory tremolo. If this is not the case, and you just want a unique custom bass that also happens to have a tremolo, then by all means, go full custom.

As for the neck, I think it's safe to assume that most modern production basses (Schecter, Ibanez, Dean, LTD) all have a fairly similar feel. And dual truss rods come in handy for wider necks to adjust any twist. The wider the neck, the more likely to twist, but it's not going to be a huge difference between a 4 and a 5 string. I still think you'd be ok with a graphite reinforced single truss rod neck, but you certainly won't go wrong w/ dual truss rods. If you go custom, this option may cost quite a bit more.

And as for trems, I've yet to try the Hipshot, but I've had about 5 Kahler equipped basses, and they are amazingly designed bridges. And you don't have to worry about any tone loss from removing all the wood that a Hipshot requires. The Kahlers have a great feel and can divebomb like crazy. And as long as you have the strings moving freely across the nut, it should hold tune great.

Lastly, the newly designed 5 string Kahler trems have a wider, much more comfortable string spacing. The originals from the late 80s/early 90s simply had a 4 string base plate with an extra saddle and different cam. They could only get about 16 mm spacing, which is pretty narrow. The newer ones have a wider base plate and can probably get 18/19 mm spacing.

Hope this helps a little more.

Thanks

Dan