This is bass build numero uno, and it will definitely not be the last. The bass was made for a very dear friend of mine Brad. I have known Brad for a very long time, about 20 years now. We went to school together, played in bands together, went to festivals together; many good times were had to say the least!
There were a number of reasons to build the bass. A big one was the fact that I, through an auction, bought much of the remaining supplies from the Modulus guitar shop, R.I.P. With all this newly acquired hardware, electronics, and wood how could I not build a bass. Brad, being a fantastic bassist and always supportive of his friends, jumped at the opportunity to have me build the bass.
The first design we drew up was waaaay more complicated than the finished bass. We had inlayed crystals with light shining through them and floating bridges with custom tailpieces and an electronic system that I would still be figuring out today. After some more brainstorming we decided to tone it back a few notches and go with something more simple; after all, this was my first bass, the key word there being “first”. There will be plenty of time to get complicated later on.
The fun thing with the Bradford Bass is that the only thing that didn’t come from Modulus, R.I.P., was the cocobolo top which I had bought from LMI on a whim the previous year. The alder body, two piece maple neck, fingerboard, pickups, tuners, bridge and the truss rod all came from Modulus, R.I.P. So technically speaking, this is the first Modulus, R.I.P., bass post Modulus, R.I.P.
As for the bass itself, it is a fairly simple beast. I say beast because it weighs a lot. I kept the body rather thick and heavy to make sure it wasn’t going to be neck heavy. It for sure isn’t neck heavy I can tell you that! Luckily Brad doesn’t mind a little weight on his shoulder. As per request, it as a black mother of pearl infinity symbol inlayed on the 12th fret, and that’s it for inlays. The head stock overlay was fun to do. It’s cocobolo on the front and the back, but just partially done. I’ve done similar designs before but just on the back, this is the first time I did it on both the back and the front. The body has a nitro finish with a sunburst on the back. The neck is finished with tung oil that makes the neck fell oh so silky smooth.
The pickups are two jazz bass style pickups. I have no idea where or by whom they were made. The came from Modulus, R.I.P., and that’s all I know. Were they made in house? Were they made by someone else? It is a mystery. All I do know is that they sound really friggin good. The controls are simple; two volumes and two tones.
Bada bing, bada boom.
SPECS
-Alder body
-Cocobolo top
-Maple neck
-I think the fingerboard is nara, but I am not 100% positive
-35 inch scale
-5 Sting with a low B
-Two jazz bass style pickups
-Two volume, two tone controls
-Nitro finish on the body
-Tung oil finish on the neck
-And more neck bolts than I dare count….
