Brooks Thread

[gearHed289]

That would be a cool build. Personally, I'd go 32'' scale. I've thought about the idea of a Tech 21 VT Bass built-in to a bass, so I like your SansAmp idea.

[godofthunder]

 As always Rob your ideas are always impressive! I second the suggestion of a 32" scale.

[Basvarken]

Thank you guys.
I'm curious to learn why 32" would be better than a 34" scale?

[Psycho Bass Guy]

With a 34" scale, 12ers can get really tight with string tension. I have a 34" 12, and it was Tom's evaluation model from Waterstone before his signature line came out. The change he requested: 32" scale.

[Basvarken]

I choose 34" because I want to be sure the bass strings deliver a profound tight tone.
Twelve strings is a lot. And hitting three strings in one stroke can get messy or muddy pretty easily.
I really want them to sound like a grand piano.

[gearHed289]

Yes, string tension. 34'' is fine, but given a choice, I'd go 32''. I have a couple in the collection now, and the low E is fine.

[ilan]

My Yamaha SB-50 is 32" and the E is good. The G sounds a bit meatier than on 34" basses.

[Basvarken]

But that's a four string. My question is why 32" would be better for a twelve string bass.
Other than "Tom asked for it" and "tight string tension", still haven't heard a convincing answer...

[ilan]

Better balance on a strap with a 12 tuner headstock?

[Basvarken]

Better balance on a strap with a 12 tuner headstock?

Haha, that's a good one! 

But the twelvers that I've built never suffer neck dive. Grace the Gotoh lightweight tuners.

[Basvarken]

Good news! The customer gave me the green light to go bulld the Quad Bass.
Looking forward to building this monster.

[Dave W]

And I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress.

[clankenstein]

Holy Quadaroly Batman!


Do you have any contenders for the vt bass like circuit? I sold mine because I found the bass control frequency too high .I like around 40hz , like on an svt.

[morrow]

It will be fun to see this take shape.

[Basvarken]

About the scale length.
I found this online.
A bass player called Kevin Macza sums it up pretty well

Compared with my original 30½" scale B12S, the 34" Chaparral has a tighter, more throaty sound to it. Overall, the longer scale length adds greater definition to the notes and makes harmonics stand out more. The tone in general seems more aggressive and piano-like than the B12S.

Overall, the mahogany body is quite acoustically resonant and adds a woody warmth to the tone when compared to the hard rock maple used in the B12S which sounded very bright. Surprisingly, I found that the B12S had more low lows and high highs while the B12L has more throaty mids, probably due somewhat to the difference in body woods. The B12S sounded more like a harpsichord while the B12L sounds more like a piano if that analogy helps.