Some of you guys might remember that RS Guitars was building A couple of Explorerbirds. Well I had sort of forgotten about them but I cruised by their site the other day and saw this (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/godofthunder59/orangebass2.jpg) It should be here Mon. or Tue. Not much makes my jaw drop this did, I can't wait to play this beast!
looks very nice, congrats! I haven't been to the site yet, what are the pickups?
The pups are Lindy Fralin.
they should sound pretty good then, I would think. he rewound the pups in my ripper and they sound better to me.
Whoa Scott! That's yours!!!??? Frickin' Awesome! LOVE the COLOR!! Please PM me about what that cost you...... WoW!
Wow Scott, that rocks!
really cool! Exactly like the fiesta Entwistle one! Really great! Love it!!
Unreal! I love it. Looking forward to playing it! ;)
Thanks Guys I am really excited about this bass ! Back in '76 I bought a Ibanez Destroyer that was Explorer shaped, the only thing I could find in my price range that had that shape ! I still have that bass but don't use it much. The metal scene has kind of highjacked the Explorer shape so I have for the most part shyed away form the style. This bass I had to have, JE was such a huge influence on me and this bass just ozzes his vibe. Me with a orange bass ? I am surprised I like it so much, the color really looks sharp on this bass. Roy at RS Guitars is great to deal with and as you can see from the pictures their work is of the highest caliber. The advertised price was $1800, all I can say is I think I got a deal for a custom built bass. If any of you guys are considering a custom build I highly reccomend RS Guitars. Check out their roster of artists, pretty impressive. Roy is setting her up and shipping today, it's going to be a long weekend.
Quote from: drbassman on March 27, 2008, 04:22:36 AM
Unreal! I love it. Looking forward to playing it! ;)
You dog!
Great bass Scott
Love the Grabber Orange!
;)
You know Scott a new Dodge Challenger would look righteous with that bass?
Dodge Challenger? I bet it would ! To bad I blow all my $ on gear, the only vehicle I can afford is my gear hauler !
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/Car/p_Dodge_Challenger_20.jpg)
That is one sharp car ! I gotta do a promo shot with the car and the bass !You guys know I love my Gibsons but there is nothing like a custom build from a real luthier. For what I think is a bargiain you can get exactly what you want and you won't belive the difference in how a custom bass plays. Till now I have only had one other custom bass built and that is my Jim Lea bass built by John Diggens of Jaydee Guitars in Birmingham England. It was a revelation, like going from watching a '50s tube powered black and white TV then being put in front of a high def plasma screen.
I've always loved the Explorer shape. Pity is that Gibson never did anything worthy with it in the eighties - those mideighties Explorers sans any pickguard were a loveless affair. Even the Epi version looks better (here with TB Plus pups):
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v615/uwehornung/13.jpg)
And though it's not fair to compare a regular line bass to a Custom Shop model:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v615/uwehornung/12-1.jpg)
I'll always identify Martin Turner with an Explorer bass (an early Hamer with original sixties TB pups and bridge, black with binding and a very tasteful headstock), which he played mostly in the latter half of the seventies. These days he generally plays TBirds again, but he does bring out the Explorer for special occasions such as this on stage reunion with old Ash buddy Ted Turner (no relation to Martin though in the seventies they did give up at one point denying that they were brothers - everybody just wanted them to be!). Hamer Explorer appears at around 0.57 and btw Brits can play lap steel guitar too!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sSW845IzyXA
This RS Explorer looks good except maybe for the Badass bridge which try as I might will always look raw and prototypish to me. But I'm sure that the new owner who has a considerable if lamentable record with these "things" won't mind! ;D
Uwe
Uwe I knew you would have something to say about the Badass ! I find it interesting that now Fender has jumped on the bad wagon with the new high mass vintage bridge ! Roy and I talked about the bridge at length, He had a lot of interest in the bass but the BA turned them off, I bought the bass as is I did not order it and I am fine with the BA. I really like the simplicity of the Badass, it is function over formbut I think it fits very well with the basses lines. Btw Uwe very nice Explorers !
You have enough basses already, Scott!
Uwe your are starting to sound like my wife ! Hey I'm just trying to catch up to you !
Your good wife has in fact enlisted my services. I'm handling it as a pro bono matter.
Quote from: uwe on March 27, 2008, 07:21:57 AM
Your good wife has in fact enlisted my services. I'm handling it as a pro bono matter.
We all know where it got Bono- head first into a tree!
Quote from: godofthunder on March 27, 2008, 06:56:49 AM
Uwe your are starting to sound like my wife ! Hey I'm just trying to catch up to you !
Me too! Every time my wife complains about a new bass and the cost, I just tell her to thank God she's not married to Uwe! Works like a charm! ;)
Those are sweet! Here's a pic of Martin with his Hamer explorer. His is serial #0001. This was the second insturment made by Hamer.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/marcnorth/237752624_d4ad236de2.jpg)
The recently passed away Dutch bass player Freddie Cavalli (Herman Brood & His Wild Romance) had a nice Hamer Exploer which is or was for sale for something like 2.500 euros.
Quote from: drbassman on March 27, 2008, 08:33:34 AM
Me too! Every time my wife complains about a new bass and the cost, I just tell her to thank God she's not married to Uwe! Works like a charm! ;)
I've used that a couple of times myself! :D
You know, considering how much Hamer did such a great job of keeping the Gibson guitar legacy alive, I'm surprised that they didn't do the same in their bass line. I would have thought that a Thunderbird replica would have been a big part of their product line. I still think it's funny that the first bass they ever made turned into a coffee table - the whole bass (with whammy bar) got encased in plexiglass, if I remember correctly. I got to see the original Hamer factory - it wasn't in Arlington Hts, IL. It was in Palatine.
Quote from: drbassman on March 27, 2008, 08:33:34 AM
Me too! Every time my wife complains about a new bass and the cost, I just tell her to thank God she's not married to Uwe! Works like a charm! ;)
I'll use that in the near future:) Loes knows nothing about the EB0. Though she knows about the BaCh, she didn't liked my last two purchases...
She always says I have to sell something (which I do sometimes). But then I tell her I'll sell the Ricky 3000 and she loves that bass. She won;t let me sell that one, so she'll say nothing untill the next purchase...
Sigh, I'm happy to serve as the anti-role-model for your collective spouses! ::)
"Eat your breakfast and make your homework. Otherwise you'll end up as a slick lawyer at Europe's financial centre." My mopther always warned me.
Now I have a decent job in the music industry!
;)
Quote from: uwe on March 28, 2008, 04:49:09 AM
Sigh, I'm happy to serve as the anti-role-model for your collective spouses! ::)
Everyone has an opportunity to contribute to society Uwe. Your willingness to serve is much appreciated! ;D
Quote from: Chris P on March 28, 2008, 04:18:33 AM
I'll use that in the near future:) Loes knows nothing about the EB0. Though she knows about the BaCh, she didn't liked my last two purchases...
She always says I have to sell something (which I do sometimes). But then I tell her I'll sell the Ricky 3000 and she loves that bass. She won;t let me sell that one, so she'll say nothing untill the next purchase...
A guy I used to know had a habit of buying very expensive Dunhill pipes. His wife finally put a mark on every one of them to keep track of them. If a new one came in, an old one had to be sold.
They're now divorced.
So keep your eyes open and watch for any strange marks on your basses. ;)
Great story Dave. My original method was very similar. My first 5 or 6 basses were all RED!!! It worked for awhile until my wife noticed the cases piling up in the spare bedroom. Crap, busted again! :P
That's an awesome bass congratulations!
Anyway, explorer shaped basses could also be found from Brands like VOX, Aria and Hondo which all came from the Matsumoku factory in Nagoya Japan. They are a steal.
And let's not forget that aside from Hamer, Charvel and Dean also made explorer shaped basses.
(http://www.drumcityguitarland.com/drumcitygl/stores/1/images/products/1473.jpg)
I have 20-30 cases around at anyone one time plus bases with out cases, not to mention project basses. As a result the missus has really given up trying to keep track. Last night I had the '51 RI P bass out on the couch for the first time and my daughter noticed right away ! Oh Dad is that a new bass ? Um no honey I have had that one for a while now. My wife didn't even look up from her book.
Scott,
I'm just hoping to last the weekend without ordering one of those Expbirds.........Help me!
Mark dear I'm no help ! Call Roy ! I find it's much easier to give in. It would look hot in purple !
Quote from: drbassman on March 28, 2008, 10:53:55 AM
Great story Dave. My original method was very similar. My first 5 or 6 basses were all RED!!! It worked for awhile until my wife noticed the cases piling up in the spare bedroom. Crap, busted again! :P
A couple of days ago a guy at TDPRI started a thread about how his wife spent $750 a month on various beauty treatments so he was going to buy a new guitar every month. It was meant tongue in cheek. I looked at it again tonight, one of the responders said that he just photoshops the new guitar into a two year old photo to "prove" he's had it all along. :D He meant it as a joke, but you know, it does have its merits.
" $750 a month on various beauty treatments" !!!
Whoa, not even I can do that and I'm an ugly woman. ;)
This is NOT the place to try and fight GAS! It's like going to a bar for an AA meeting. You won't get any help here.
Tell me about it. I told myself I was laying off buying anything new, and here I am suddenly bidding on that 1961 Epiphone.
Why fight it ? I can think of worse things to do with your $. Besides a '61 Newport hardly qualifies as new. ;)
What's the weight on that Expbird Scott?
If I only had the money. That Explorer is just great!
BTW: Dean also has this very cheap Explorer. One MM-style pick up, bolt on neck, black. Nice bass, but I don't like the V-shaped headstock. Could be nice for a Explender.
Whats the weight....................... um I forgot to ask ! I bet it weighs a bit !
The bass was delivered to my work yesterday, I could not wait to get it out of the box. Craftsmanship and quality are top notch, this is one beautiful bass. Roy warned me it was big but I didn't find it that big, it hangs and feels just right, not heavy at all. The mahogany body with the maple neck combined wit the Lindy Fralin pups give this bass a lot of authority. Similar in tone to my '69 NR but more power and not as blurry, due in part I'm sure to the maple neck. I took the bass to rehersal and played it all night. I ran it through my Sound City 200 plus and a 1x15 cab. The bass just ozzed JE tone. The bass is well worth the price, anyone considering a build should call Roy at RS Guitar works, you won't regret it. I'll write more later. Oh and one more thing I love the Lindy Fralin pups they really capture the T bird tone Lots of sparkle and mids with warmth and beautiful harmonics.
Great! I'm glad you're happy with it. I've got a set of those pups and they'll probably go into my 98 LP project. It's great that it sound so good!
Nice!
Did the real JAE-one had a mahogany body too?
I asked JAE himself a couple of minutes ago but he only answered 'Meow'. Sounds a bit like 'Mahogany'. Meowgony?
I don't know if the original was mahogany but my guess is yes. The maple neck with the mahogany body is a great tone combination.