# Can you spell "classy"? (Sei 9 string bass inside)



## MF_Kitten (Jul 27, 2009)

found this on the ERB forum. i love how it looks! it's just totally classy! 

















i like the bright woods in this one, especially combined with the dark neck


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

that thing looks awesome. i didn't know bass strings got that thin!


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## MF_Kitten (Jul 27, 2009)

i was surprised by the highest string on my 7 string bass when i got it. it was definitely a bass string, yet it was so thin! i can only imagine what this monster feels like!


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

i think i'd be way too tempted to just play it like a guitar with that many strings. especially if they get that thin


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## phaeded0ut (Jul 27, 2009)

Damn, that's a very pretty bass. Looks like it is either semi-hollow or a hollow-body. Incredible woodwork and inlays. Not quite digging the headstock as much as the rest of the instrument. Any other information on this sweet thang (manufacturer, electronics, hardware, etc. , ...)?


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## s_k_mullins (Jul 27, 2009)

Amazing 
This is a beautiful instrument..I especially like the way the back looks (the grain of the wood)
Is that spalted maple? or what?


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## hufschmid (Jul 27, 2009)

thats awesome, looks like a walnut fingerboard, thats very original and gorgeous 

I dont like the shiny finish, a natural warm oil finish would have been epic....


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## synrgy (Jul 27, 2009)

Spalted = Win, damn near every time. This one certainly being no exception.


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> thats awesome, looks like a walnut fingerboard, thats very original and gorgeous
> 
> I dont like the shiny finish, a natural warm oil finish would have been epic....



i don't think the gloss is that bad, but an oil finish would have been


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## MF_Kitten (Jul 27, 2009)

hah! i totally agree on the finish! i never liked glossy finishes 

anyways, the specs:

"* Wenge / Bubinga through neck (maple accent stripes)
* Chambered ripple ash wings
* Two tone Bubinga fretboard
* Spalted silver maple facings
* Delano quad coil 'musicman' pickup and Audere circuitry
* Graphtech acoustic and midi outputs
* Strung B, E, A, D, G ,C, F, A ,D
* Cheat switch round the back (drops the top 4 string pickup coils effectively making it a 5 string bass)"


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## synrgy (Jul 27, 2009)

MF_Kitten said:


> and midi outputs



Double win.


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## hufschmid (Jul 27, 2009)

MF_Kitten said:


> hah! i totally agree on the finish! i never liked glossy finishes
> 
> anyways, the specs:
> 
> ...



nice, bubinga is red, this means that the board naturally oxydized and became braun.... 

This also happens with padauk....

But not with bloodwood which stays red


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

chambered...

i'm assuming that's like the "tone chambers" i've been hearing about (someone on here is building 2 guitars this summer and used em). what's the deal with these tone chambers? never heard about this til recently.


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## hufschmid (Jul 27, 2009)

Konfyouzd said:


> chambered...
> 
> i'm assuming that's like the "tone chambers" i've been hearing about (someone on here is building 2 guitars this summer and used em). what's the deal with these tone chambers? never heard about this til recently.



In most cases it make the instrument lighter which is nice on some big instruments like this one for exemple...

Some makers also believe that it can change the tone of the instrument in some ways...

I wont enter a debate but thats the 2 things which can be said about tone chambers.....

And it can look very nice and give liberty of expression to the creator to design a sound hole...


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## synrgy (Jul 27, 2009)

Konfyouzd said:


> chambered...
> 
> i'm assuming that's like the "tone chambers" i've been hearing about (someone on here is building 2 guitars this summer and used em). what's the deal with these tone chambers? never heard about this til recently.




Pretty old concept. It's just another way to alter the tone of the instrument. Think semi-hollow, but without any f-holes, if that makes sense. It theoretically gives the instrument a more open 'woody' sound. I think I've read in some places that it can boost sustain, but that was likely mis-information, and not a theory I'm convinced about. I'm sure one of the other guys (who actually know what they're talking about ) can weigh in more adequately.


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

^ oh ok. first one seems to make the most sense although i'm sure there's a number of things it could potentially change.

EDIT: ninja'd



synrgy said:


> Pretty old concept. It's just another way to alter the tone of the instrument. Think semi-hollow, but without any f-holes, if that makes sense. It theoretically gives the instrument a more open 'woody' sound. I think I've read in some places that it can boost sustain, but that was likely mis-information, and not a theory I'm convinced about. I'm sure one of the other guys (who actually know what they're talking about ) can weigh in more adequately.



hmm... well now i guess i'll just have to play one and see what's going on.


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## MF_Kitten (Jul 27, 2009)

it's chambered, yeah. which basically means, as Patrick said, some parts are hollow, and in some cases, like this one, they carve soundholes in them as well. the idea is, aside from weight relief, that the chambers will have a resonance, and this resonance will carry into the general tone of the instrument. i can imagine how that would work, since it's basically an acoustic chamber, and it'll be acoustically louder when played. when an instrument is acoustically loud and resonant, that will "feed" the strings, so to speak, and it'll end up affecting the tone of the instrument.

whether or not it's big enough a difference to really matter, i wouldn't know. i would either go hollow/semi-hollow or solid. no in-betweens, unless it makes a substantial difference. i like big differences though, so that might just be me 

by the way, Bulb's blackmachine F8 has a chambered mahogany body. i don't know how much that does for the tone, but the guitar sounds great, so it's definitely not ruining it


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2009)

^ from what i can tell all of bulb's axes are pretty sick. i'm definitely going to try this chambering business out at some point. i'm intrigued.


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## phaeded0ut (Jul 28, 2009)

Morten, thanks a bunch for putting up the information on that beastie. Really is a gorgeous instrument. Haven't worked with any of the electronics mentioned. Quad coils... hmmmmmmmm...  

Patrick, many thanks for the information on the woods being used. Just love the colours of the different woods and their grains, ... very tasty!

Have to disagree with folks not digging the gloss coat on this beastie, really love that glass-like finish to it. Would be seriously crying if I got it scratched up. LOL! Never was a fan of oil finishes, but then again, this has to deal with living in a fairly humid area. 

Would love to hear some different samples from this beastie, too!

Morten, who made this bass? Any websites?


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## hufschmid (Jul 28, 2009)

phaeded0ut said:


> Would be seriously crying if I got it scratched up. LOL



I can scratch a gloss finish in a half a second... Want a demonstration? Bring your guitar over  

Any finish can scratch, its not like the guitar has an extra terrestrial high gloss finish which is based on diamond and spider nets molecules 

Good thing about an oil finish and this is something which does not come up very often:

You made a mistake and scratched your oil finished instrument? NP, sand the scratch off and put some oil in the spot you just sanded and your done...

Made a scratch on a epoxy based finish? Well you are serioussly screwed because you cant tough up those finishes so basically you have to strip it all off and re finish the instrument 

Got the point?


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## Fred (Jul 28, 2009)

I think he was just saying that he'd be pissed off if he scratched the finish, not that the gloss would prevent that from happening, haha.

Beautiful looking beast, could never play it but fuck those are some nice woods!


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## phaeded0ut (Jul 28, 2009)

Fred said:


> I think he was just saying that he'd be pissed off if he scratched the finish, not that the gloss would prevent that from happening, haha.
> 
> Beautiful looking beast, could never play it but fuck those are some nice woods!



Yeppers! 

Oil finishes look awesome, but then again they don't help you with humid weather. No doubt you (Patrick) could readily scratch it up (belt buckles and shirt buttons are my tools of opportunity) with either a gloss, satin painted on finish or oil for that matter. It'd still make me cry to see this beastie get scratched up.


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## hufschmid (Jul 28, 2009)

phaeded0ut said:


> It'd still make me cry to see this beastie get scratched up.



But it would then become a beastie distressed bass


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## vontetzianos (Jul 28, 2009)

That fingerboard is gorgeous.


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## phaeded0ut (Jul 29, 2009)

We'd both need some counseling and work afterwards. LOL! Would love to know who built this bass, it really is some gorgeous work.


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## caughtinamosh (Jul 29, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> Made a scratch on a epoxy based finish? Well you are serioussly screwed because you cant tough up those finishes so basically you have to strip it all off and re finish the instrument
> 
> Got the point?


 
Assuming that I'm right about what an "epoxy based finish" is (a generic clear-coat), you can sand the scratch with some high-grit sandpaper, and then polish it.

FWIW, I actually like the glossy finish on this instrument.


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## Apophis (Jul 29, 2009)

that bass is just AMAZING


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## MF_Kitten (Jul 29, 2009)

the bass is made by Sei, as stated in the title 

do a google search 

as for the finish, i wouldn´t demand an oil finish specifically, but a satin finish or a wax rub, or a wax-based oil, would all work. as long as it´s not glossy, and looks wet/dark, you know what i mean?


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## Waelstrum (Aug 29, 2009)

MF_Kitten said:


> * Cheat switch round the back (drops the top 4 string pickup coils effectively making it a 5 string bass)"




What would be the point of such a thing? Then you'd just have extra dead weight without the extra range? Or am I missing something?


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## MF_Kitten (Aug 29, 2009)

Waelstrum said:


> What would be the point of such a thing? Then you'd just have extra dead weight without the extra range? Or am I missing something?



the point is that if he´s going to play along with others, and doesn´t need all that range, or if he´s covering a song played on a normal bass, he can turn the other strings off, so he doesn´t have to mute them at all.


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## TimSE (Aug 29, 2009)

spalted maple glossy is the best ever


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## Esp Griffyn (Aug 29, 2009)

hot hot hot


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## MF_Kitten (Aug 29, 2009)

i prefer satin finishes on spalted maple (And pretty much everything else) myself


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## phaeded0ut (Aug 29, 2009)

Sorry, had never heard of "Sei," prior to this post.  I've always been a fan of both satin and glossy claro walnut over sassafras or Brazilian mahogany.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Aug 29, 2009)

Mmmm.... bass...


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## InCasinoOut (Aug 29, 2009)

Gorgeous! Even the pickup cover is bookmatched!


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## TomAwesome (Aug 29, 2009)

I somehow missed this originally. I think that might be just a little too much spalt at once for my taste, but that's a gorgeous bass.


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## Teaboy (Aug 30, 2009)

Am I the only one that finds these huge basses ugly?


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## Ramsay777 (Aug 30, 2009)

Teaboy said:


> Am I the only one that finds these huge basses ugly?




Nope. I ain't a great fan of them either


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## vampiregenocide (Sep 1, 2009)

Beautiful instrument, ERB ftw.


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