# 10 string conklin bass review (not mine)



## Desecrated (Jul 5, 2007)

10 String Conklin bass review

I found this review and thought I would post it here: 


"I have been playing basses with extra strings for a long time. When I met Bill Conklin and had him build my first 8 string, years ago, I knew that I&#8217;d found my dream bass. At the same time it did nothing to diminish my desire that I own an instrument which would always keep me off guard and push me to be better. Bill and I have always had an open, on-going discussion about instruments and together we have worked up a fairly long list of basses I&#8217;d like him to build me one day, and the idea of a 10 string came up after a conversation I had with Mike Apperson (who works with Bill Conklin) and Greg Campbell (my collaborator in Depth). We hammered out the details over a few months and Bill completed the bass in 2004.

Generally I have favored a dark tone with a bit of bite in my fretted basses, so I usually prefer woods like walnut, wenge, and ebony, but the point of the 10 string was to be as different as possible from what I normally use. Bill suggested what he calls dragonwood for the body wings (the bass is neck-through in its construction), which is ultra light and has a very bright, punchy tonal character. For the top and headstock cap, we went with a lacewood and Bill found some unreal grain. My original choice for the fretboard was redheart, a stunning species very similar to bloodwood, but Bill didn&#8217;t have anything that was wide enough and had a grain that he thought was on the same level as the top wood, so we went with a gorgeous piece of bubinga. To really finish the bass right, we went with a pair of Conklin custom pickups.

Oh, one more thing: There are no position markers on the fretboard or on the side of the neck.

Where does that leave us? With one of the most incredible basses I have ever seen or played! Bill and Mike truly outdid themselves with this instrument. Not only is it unique, but I believe that this is the finest neck Bill has ever built. I had about two weeks to get used to the beast before I did a 2 month national tour with the Brotherhood of Groove starting in December 2004 and I have to say that the bass really blew me away in terms of performance. It probably held up better than I did!







It has a range of 6 octaves of fretted notes, from a low C# (around 17Hz) to a high Bb string. The tuning is in fourths, like a standard bass. In fact the middle 4 strings are the same as a traditional axe. Spelled out, here are the strings:

C# - F# - B - E - A - D - G - C - F - Bb

This allows me to hit lows like a pipe organ and highs like a guitar, if I&#8217;m so inclined. From the standpoint of composition, this is wonderful. I am able to flesh out wonderful chord voicings and explore sound textures of all kinds.

Tonally, it has a very midrange-y sound, but it is not nasal or unpleasant in the least. In the low and middle registers it is punchy but inescapably a bass. In the highest registers it is just silky in a way I&#8217;ve never heard an instrument. I cannot get over the sound of this thing!

And playability. Everyone comments that the neck must be impossible to navigate, but the truth is that this is one of the most natural necks my hands have ever touched. It has a satin finish (as all my basses) and I keep the action comparatively low. Everyone who has messed around with it comments on how surprisingly easy it is to play.






Then there is the matter of weight. This is probably the second most frequent comment I get: &#8220;That thing must be, like, a ton! Do you really wear it on stage?&#8221; Yep. I have worn it for hours at a time and not found myself in any kind of discomfort. I will not say that it is a light instrument by any stretch, but it balances perfectly and there are times when I forget that I&#8217;m playing something so absolutely enormous. It really doesn&#8217;t feel as big as it is.

One last point: People often ask me about the fact that I choose passive basses and no controls. Here is my rationale and, more specifically, how it applies to this bass. With active electronics one is able to generate such a dizzying array of tones that, for me, it becomes a matter of what sounds coolest rather than what sound is fundamentally mine. Were I a studio player more of the time, I would no doubt view this differently and I may have a bass built soon to deal with those situations, but at the moment and for the last several years I have been trying to get at the route of my sound. With no tone circuit, I am responsible for every nuance of every sound that comes out of the bass. I like that challenge and that responsibility. With an instrument as unique as those built in the Conklin custom shop, the tones are inescapably mine. Playing these things inspires more along the path I&#8217;ve chosen and I am an incredibly happy musician!

So, in conclusion, do I think this is a bass for everyone? Not any more than I think a Fender Precision is for everyone. But I think that the reality of this bass is something that has to be experienced to be believed. If you play it, you will rethink your position on extended range basses: I guarantee it!"


----------



## distressed_romeo (Jul 5, 2007)

Good read. I'd love to try a nine+ string bass sometime.


----------



## Devontariel (Jul 5, 2007)

Very sad. Im pretty sure thats the 10 that Stew lost in new orleans to Hurricane Katrina.

Beautiful bass.


----------



## Murder Soul (Jul 5, 2007)

bass review said:


> I have to say that the bass really blew me away in terms of performance.





Devontariel said:


> Very sad. Im pretty sure thats the 10 that Stew lost in new orleans to Hurricane Katrina.
> 
> Beautiful bass.



How ironic.


----------

