Brooks TB-12

[Basvarken]

I'm pretty sure most of you guys have already seen the pics on either Talkbass or Facebook.
But I'll post here anyway, since Bassoutpost is still the forum I check on first whenever I log in ;-)

I've been building three twelve string basses at the same time last few months. And this is the first one that is completely finished.

The Brooks TB-12

















Specifications
- Mahogany body wings
- Nine ply Mahogany/Walnut set neck. Neck through
- Opaque white (blonde) high gloss finish
- Abalonoid binding
- Ebony fretboard
?- Circle position dots
- Jumbo frets
- 34" scale
- Buffalo horn nut
- Three ply black/white/black pickguard?
- ETS twelve string brass bridge set
- Two spokewheel double action trussrods
- Carbon reinforcement strip in the neck
- Lace Alumitone Bass Bar in the neck position
- Lace Alumitone DeathBar in the bridge position
- Allparts  stacked pots (volume/tone volume/tone)
?- Mullard capacitors
- MEC on-on switch for coil split (humbucker-single coil)
- Gotoh GB 350 lightweight bass tuners
- Gotoh Stealth ST 31 guitar tuners
- 2 x Pure Tone Multi Contact jack output
- d'Addario EXL 170 - 12  strings
- Weight: 4.25 kg

Wiring and soldering were done by my good friend Bas Becu (BQ Music)

[Rob]

Stunning!
Any sound clips?

[Granny Gremlin]

I love everything about it.

[OldManC]

So beautiful... You do Thunderbirds like they were meant to be done!

[clankenstein]

A stunner Rob. Nice visual harmony between the bridge and pickups and the white finish too.

[Dave W]

That came out great!

[morrow]

Yup .

Beauty !

[4stringer77]

Woah, nice stuff as usual. Wonder how the other two will turn out. Hey maybe play some Byrds for the demo. Bet some Roger McGuinn lines would sound epic on that thing.
Your Thunderbird designs are fantastic. Think you'll ever attempt any kind of semi hollow bass build along the lines of an EB-2?

[Basvarken]

Thank you guys

Think you'll ever attempt any kind of semi hollow bass build along the lines of an EB-2?

Oh yes, I want to do that some time.

At the moment I'm preparing to build a Thinline Telebird.
Which will be semi-hollow.

[Stjofön Big]

Rob: If my reality still had me working, instead of enjoying my retirement, I would spend my dough in your direction! But, as the retire payment is nowhere near that legion, I'll have to stop at admiring your works. Beautiful, Rob! Really beautiful!

[BTL]

Are you building all of the dual-output builds for the same client? That's a very uncommon and old-school spec.

[Basvarken]

Are you building all of the dual-output builds for the same client? That's a very uncommon and old-school spec.

This white twelve-string Thunderbird is for the same client as the previous twelve-string Thunderbird. He wants it wired this way.
But I have used the concept of two dedicated output on several other twelve-string basses too.
The first one That I built had it too per special request of the client (Rob van de Loo).
He wanted to use two separate amps. A bass amp for the front pickup. And a guitar amp (with a few effects in between) for the bridge pickup.
Which does make sense to me, since the twelve string bass is a bass and a (strumming) guitar in one.

Why not a stereo cable? Because mono jack cables are the global standard. You'd need a splitter to send each signal to the desired amp.

On the red twelve string Explorer I also used the rick-o-sound wiring. which means that if you only use one output , all signal goes to that output.


Personally I wouldn't even play a twelve-string bass myself.  I prefer 4-string bass guitars 

[Granny Gremlin]

Why not a stereo cable? Because mono jack cables are the global standard. You'd need a splitter to send each signal to the desired amp.

True, but a splitter cable or even better, being more reliable and less damage prone, a mini size pedal box, if one has a pedalboard in the rig already is much more tidy and ergonomic.   TRS to TRS cables are also pretty standard.... I mean so are TRS to dual TS, just not everyone has one - see mixer insert cables which you can buy at any music store - that's the standard for that.  2 cables strain-relief looped through the strap would be annoying ... though at least on a TBird, with all that real estate behind the bridge at the ass end, it might be far enough out of the way, but you're still trailing 2 leads on stage and that can't be without issues - even just the weight, especially if they are somehow channeled together into a single larger cable so as to decrease tangle/trip risk (and the best way to do that - a custom cable, stereo, but dual TS vs single TRS ends, would be no more standard than a splitter, this would also be lighter/thiner).  Using zip ties or an outer channel would be annoying and bulky, and so would having 2 separate cables.

A splitter cable or box would also be dirt cheap - less than the cost of restringing one of those beasts easily.  I've made some for a few folks (though it was to run between pedals, where one had a TRS stereo out, vs a stereo output instrument, but same thing pretty much).

It is a trade off, and nothing is perfect.

[gearHed289]

Spectacular!

[Basvarken]

Finally found the time to make a short video demo of this bass