Grateful Dead Music Forum

I had an old Carvin 5-string kit that I built about 15 years ago. I took it into my luthier and had him gut it and replace all the electronics and re-finish it. The idea behind this build came from Phil's mission control bass which could get a ton of different tones. With this bass I can get upwards of 25 different tones with just the on-board controls. I put a Bartolini quad coil in the neck pickup spot with a coil tap switch. This gives me the option of P-Bass, Reverse P-Bass, or humbucker. In the bridge I put a Bartolini music man style humbucker. This can also be split to a single coil. Then the Bartolini 3-band eq preamp with a mid-boost switch. What do you guys think of her?

Nice, man! Looks really versatile! I love the Barts that are in my first custom, too. I didn't go as far as the quad coil but I probably should have.

What's the preamp? Ken Smith Slickrounds are the strings from the looks of it?

It's got a Bartolini NTMB preamp, with 3 band eq and a mid selector switch. And yea the strings are ken smith slick rounds, great strings for lots of different tones. I just got back from my first rehearsal with it and I love the different sounds and shapes I can get out of it. I can't wait to hear how it sounds on stage!

Hey BassPlayerLB,
Looks awesome and I bet it sounds great! Please give us an update on how it sounded on stage.

-Todd

The real question is what do you think?
Let us know how it goes.

http://archive.org/details/deye2013-05-24.sbd

Finally got a good recording with the new bass. I love the tones I get out of it, and the versatility. I can get any era Phil tone with this bass. During this show I was going for more of a 77-78 Phil tone for most of it. Let me know what you guys think.