hey all,
sorry to be away for so long, but in my place I imagine many of you would
do the same. now, I give you my impressions of the Conklin 10 string bass...
first, and not even a little surprisingly, the luthiery is amazing! the
woodworking, selection of woods, and the grain in each species are incredible.
the bass is a joy to look at and to handle. there is not a flaw upon inspection
(or repeated inspections).
second, this is an amazingly playable instrument. moving across the strings
is effortless. the neck is superb (my favorite of all the Conklins I've played
-- and that's a lot!). the balance is ideal. because it has a 27 fret neck and
the bottom horn had to be cut away, it doesn't quite sit right when I play in a
chair, but if I keep my strap on it's a joy to play.
third, the sound... oh, man! I am at a loss to do this bass justice in
words. let's just say that I'm really happy I didn't finish the solo album until
the bass was here. no, let's say some more.
I asked Bill and Mike for an instrument that would be different from the
basses that people know me playing. I wanted a slightly mellower tone. these
pickups in conjunction with these species of wood and whatever mojo Bill and
Mike work in the shop have produced a sound unlike anything I've ever heard!
the bass is both mellower than my 8 and punchier. it has a midrange sound
that I can only describe as silky. the high end is not at all brittle or
unpleasant (quite the contrary!) and the low end speaks with authority. the F#
string on this bad boy is, to quote my bandmates, off the hook. I'm assuming
that's a good thing as they were all grinning when they said it.
which leads me to another interesting point: this bass sits in the mix
beautifully. it is neither overbearing nor muted. the notes have an elegance
that I doubt I will ever be able to articulate. I am a happy bassist!
finally, I have unveiled it for a handful of people (I'm playing a solo
show next month where it will make its big N'Awlins debut) and the response has
been uniformly one of awe. when I plug it in, the expression changes to
something like appreciation. it's just a superior instrument and I absolutely
see it becoming my main axe in the near future.
now to anyone who's even thinking it: no, I'm not giving up my 8s. as a
matter of fact, after playing nothing but the beast for a week and a day, the 8
felt like a minibike after riding a Harley and I was moving around on it faster
than I ever have, so they're staying firmly in the arsenal.
so, to sum up... amazing instrument, happy Stew!

from the grinnin' lows,


Stew



-----

'Groove or die, baby.'

-- Kathryn Saffro

http://www.subcontrabassist.com
http://www.brotherhoodofgroove.com

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