I have never named an instrument, and this one is no exception.  Although I am considering naming it Walter, after my dog (RIP).  He was great.

But THIS BASS!  It’s completely great.  Here’s the story:

I bought a totally amazing instrument in 1991 or so.  I think it was July 1991, but I can’t remember.  That bass, an Alembic Series I, was a work of art, magnificent and amazing…but I never liked it.  It’s nothing about the bass, it’s just one of those things; it never really felt right to me.  I can go into detail on that, but since – really – the instrument was amazing, it’s not worth detailing.  But it sure was pretty:

So, I sold it.  I used that money to buy a few things I had been needing (a multipattern large-diaphragm condenser microphone, killer midi controller, etc.) and then got to work on replacing that bass with something else.  And I HATED everything I played.  Every off-the-shelf bass I played felt like I was playing a baseball bat, and none of them sounded good at all.  Eventually, I gave up and decided to risk it all by having a custom instrument built.

My luthier – Steve Morrill, aka Guitar Repair on Mass Ave in Boston – recommended Warmoth for the neck and the body.  Eventually, I picked out a Jazz Bass replacement body (ash) and a Precision Bass replacement neck with pearloid inlays.  I added to it Schaler tuners and bridge.  All that was left were pickups and a preamp – I chose Sadowsky, both for the humcancelling J pickups and the onboard preamp.

As parts started coming in, I delivered them to Steve, who then put the bass together just in time for my New England Conservatory of Music faculty recital (Feb 1, 2015, 3pm).

Pictures are attached and I’ll upload sound files as I get them.  This thing ROCKS.

Rick