New custom Alembic bridge :: 1999 DeArmond Starfire Bass [9.7 lbs]

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A 1999 DeArmond Starfire bass in for a custom Alembic-style bridge and tailpiece installation.

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The tricky part of this installation requires routing the tone block of the bridge into the arched top.  The photo above shows my custom saddle slotting jig modified with guides sized to rout the mating pocket in the top.

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You can see the original DeArmond factory routs extending outside of the new bridge.  The player and I considered various cosmetic options to hide them.  In the end we decided to just let them show as they are not that much of an eyesore and fit the vibe of this player-grade workhorse. 

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This bass is decked out with a crazy amount of wiring ala Phil Lesh.  The pickups are Fred Hammon "Dark Star" pickups that are based on the Hagstrom BiSonics.  These pickups are recreations of the originals that were popularized by Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) and Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) in the late '60s.  Note if you are interested in these pickups, check out Curtis Novak as Fred has stopped producing them.

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1985 Philip Kubicki X Factor [8.6 lbs] :: setup

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A wild Kubicki bass in for a setup.  A few high frets up the neck needed to be tapped back down and the output jack rewired to improve the connections.

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How about this bridge?  It's not the best for fine tuning the action as you can olnly rotate the saddles in 180° increments.  But the "water wheel" tuners are pretty unique.  I always have to think a little harder when the tuners aren't up on the headstock.

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Oh and check out the built in drop D capo!  #slickness

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Major heel break :: Rickenbacker 4001 bass

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A pretty gnarly heel break on a 1987 Rickenbacker 4001 stopped in this morning. The player admits he's pretty rough on his bass but has no idea how this happened. He just opened the case one day and ~!!!BAM!!!~ found this carnage. 

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He did mention he left it in a hot car once, so extreme heat could have helped pop the neck apart.  It came in strung to pitch and when I went to slacken the strings the neck immediately fell backwards.  The neck was only held to the body by a thin slice of wood.  Yikes!

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That thin slice of wood ran up the neck like a wave, so the trick was figuring out how to clamp this piece down.  The heel itself was straight forward, but how to go about that piece running up into the neck ...

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I ended up wrapping a large industrial rubber band around the crack running up the neck first and then the clamps.  The rubber band worked out extremely well and saved me from fitting a time consuming caul.  Rubber bands to the rescue!

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1986 Yamaha Motion MBII bass [8.0 lbs] :: setup

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I'm lucky to have a great bassist that is always bringing me interesting basses he picks up.  Here is an 80's Yamaha 4 string in for while-you-wait setup.  The player likes super-low electric guitar action so it's always a fun challenge to see how low you can go.  Working with this player has made me totally rethink my approach to bass setups.

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Check out the round over on the treble-side horn - the pearl white finish flashes slight pink in certain light.  Really subtle and very cool.  Also the bridge is a unique design that I have not seen before, but the head stock really got my attention.  I don't know why, but this folded head stock looks killer!

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Replace flush mount jack :: Ibanez Soundgear SDGR SR300 bass [8.0 lbs]

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A four string bass in for a checkup and a spotty flush mount output jack.  Flush mount jacks are notorious for wearing out and are not nearly as robust as a traditional Switchcraft jack.  But many are willing to sacrifice reliability for looks.  This bass was also giving me a weird hum, but it turned out one of my cables was going bad.  Check out the video below from the vlog.

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