Lowe Shop Notes

[Highlander]

Do a search on "Phoenix" and you'll find the thread, Brad... it's somewhat elderly now... owned the beastie a long time now and (thankfully) no provenance... PC used to do some works on this and other instruments I own as I lived a few miles from his (then) home... used to work out of a garage in those days...

[BTL]

Cool. I like the Ric-inspired one and the 2+2 headstock. Do you make the necks, or are they "Fender licensed" from somebody else?

Thanks!

All current production bodies and necks are CNC-milled by Best Guitar Parts - the OEM shop well known for its work with Fano, Gigliotti, Lull, Nash, Soloway, Tedesco and others.

Do a search on "Phoenix" and you'll find the thread, Brad... it's somewhat elderly now... owned the beastie a long time now and (thankfully) no provenance... PC used to do some works on this and other instruments I own as I lived a few miles from his (then) home... used to work out of a garage in those days...

That is so cool...I remember that project!

In a lot of ways early on your work was inspirational to me.

[Highlander]

Thank you... nice compliment and appreciated... only thing for me is that it's still an unfinished project...

[BTL]

I didn't realize it was never finished.

Life gets in the way, doesn't it?

Well...it seems I've stumbled on an interesting "gap" in the bass market.

It appears as though no one makes a a 34" to 32" scale "conversion" neck that fits a standard 2 1/2" neck pocket.

Warmoth's 32" neck fits its 30" bodies, and Fender's 32" necks only fit the bodies they are built for.

It's and easy enough problem to solve.

Just shorten the truss rod and move the nut and headstock to the first fret...DONE!

I'm going to do this with my standard 21 fret neck with overhang, so the resulting "conversion" neck is still 20 frets.

Here's an example where Plug&Play at TalkBass had a luthier build a 32" neck for a Lakland.

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/lakland-converted-to-32-medium-scale.1107348/

[Rob]

Clever and I suspect there is a market.

[chromium]

Nice!
Mid-scales are a lot of fun.  Not everyone's thing, but I like them.

[BTL]

Hopefully this will be another little innovation that differentiates my work from other builders'.

I've really been inspired by the hot-rod and custom-cycle movements, so I'm intensely focused on ideas that make modifying and upgrading my instruments as easy for the player as possible.

This just seemed like a no-brainer.

[Dave W]

There are at least three companies making Fender-style conversion guitar necks (for 24 3/4" scale) that don't require any modification, so there ought to be enough of a market for a conversion bass neck.

[BTL]

I know, right?

I'm surprised nobody is already doing it.



So, the latest...Ridler #1 in Dakota Red, mocked up prior to PLEK:





...and the new polished stainless truss rod cover by Hipshot:

[BTL]

You know, as distinctive as both headstock shapes are, the shiny black and chrome combined with the tiltback almost makes them seem camouflaged.

It's like they kind of disappear or blend in with the background...it's an interesting effect in person.

[gearHed289]

You know, as distinctive as both headstock shapes are, the shiny black and chrome combined with the tiltback almost makes them seem camouflaged.

It's like they kind of disappear or blend in with the background...it's an interesting effect in person.

I like black headstocks, but matching the body color might be cool too, especially on the 2 + 2 version.

[BTL]

My first instruments all had either matching or maple headstocks, so I'm enjoying the change.

Still, I can see how matching could really pop with the new shapes and colors...hmmm.

[BTL]

2014 has been a year of quantum leaps for Lowe Custom Guitars, and 2015 looks even more promising.

In 2014 we introduced several new models, the Chromasonic V, the Thund-R-Luxe, the Thund-R-Luxe NR, and now the Ridler.

We also refined several design elements including adding a TV Jones hex-plate pickup ring and adding a polished stainless steel truss rod cover.

In 2015 we expect to offer a 5-string bass option for all of our existing body shapes, and we will add a few more 6-string guitar options.

Continuing our drive to innovate and refine existing designs, we are developing a 32" scale 4-string bass "conversion neck" that will fit standard 2.5" x 3.875" neck pockets.

Finally, we plan on offering unfinished "project" bodies in select shapes for DIY builders who want to do their own finishing, and in a nod to our origins, we may even offer a few of these with "art" finishes.

Thank you for helping to make 2014 such a success, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[Highlander]

And you to Brad...

Hopefully 2015 will be a great year for us all...!

[drbassman]

And you to Brad...

Hopefully 2015 will be a great year for us all...!

Amen!