Twisting Shadow

those look kind of familiar... The three octave one looks a lot like this Wal bass Even still; they all look very, very good.

I like #1, or #3...probably #3 just a little more... Anyway; this is looking great (I always loved the six stringers...), keep the updates coming!

I think you save money by building over buying... I mean I could drop $800 on parts for a guitar; but I bet the guitar would cost over $2000 to buy from fender (or the like)... Anyway; I was just going to ask how much you sacrifice by cheaping out on pickups? I mean sure Active EMGs are going to be better than a cheapo Mighty Mite, but how crappy is the Mighty Mite to begin with? If there's no huge difference, I'll use (a little) cheaper pups in my basses; and really cheap ones for my non-gigging axes.

As phenominal as those fiber optics are (and they really are good!); I'm distracted by that finish. If you would be so kind; could you let us know how you did that satin black? It looks great...

Man that's nice! The headstock (for lack of better word) is suprisingly elegant for something so inventive. If it weren't for the lack of a zero fret, I'd hail you as a god... ...Screw it, I'M NOT WORTHY *bows down*

Looking good! That is a bass you should really be proud of; not only does it look great, but it's unique too! Anyway; I have a question for you: is there a possibility that you could get a photo of the head-end of the neck? Headless basses have alway's intrigued me..

@Mledbetter; much thanks for the link (it helped alot!). About the price; $583 US is around $740 Cdn, and after some warranty/setup/etc stuff, my local shop is selling the phoenix for $800ish; which comes to just over $900 after tax...That's just under a grand (I hate the canadian dollar). @Moreau; Yes, the bridge is metal, but I won't mind polishing it daily; I already give my craptastic Samick Corsair a daily cleaning. I'll just do it after I wipe down my strings (when I finish playing). As for saving up more...I've got alot of stuff to finance (everything from paintballing to computer upgrades), so I've got to keep a strict budget; that means I'm sticking to a limit of (about) $1000 for a bass, unless I find a sweet deal on a musicman/warwick (highly unlikely). Thanks for the replies so far, lets keep 'em coming! - Xander

Ok; I was shopping for a new guitar the other day (a bass, rather), and I came across a brand I'd never heard of before: Traben. They looked like they were the real deal (3 band active EQ, quilt maple top, 5pc neck, etc), so I picked on up, and played on it for a while. I was amazed. It played quite well (VERY well), and the active PUs were fantastic. Quite possibly the coolest feature of these basses are the bridges, they're HUGE, not to mention gorgeous. Supposedly the large size (and numerous bolts holding it on) increase sustain of the bass. Anyway, here's their home page, and here's the bass I'm looking at getting (Probably in blood red). This thing's going to run me just under a thousand bucks (cdn), which is quite alot for someone on my budget, so I'm just wondering if anyone could tell me if the quality is there, and if Traben is worth buying from. Thanks in advance! - Xander

If the only disadvantage of a zero radius is chord-fretting difficulty, is there any reason for a Bass not to have one? - Xander

Jay; If you read my post a little more thoroughly, you'll see that it's not quite the same thing as all the other trussrod related threads on this board (which I did, in fact, investigate beforehand). For example, I asked if why/if to get a double action over a single action; not what a double action is. Also; I didn't see any threads about carbon rods, either. Thank you, though, for your response . thedoctor; what's a rein rod? might you be reffering to a carbon rod (pardon my query)? Anyway; I've got the whole guitar building thing down except for PU selection (not wiring), and Truss rods (they just perplex me). I guess my only remaining question is about the double/single action; Is there any good reason to get a double action over a single? Obviously you could tweak it a little better, but is there any reason besides that? - Xander

Ok; I'm not a complete newb or anything, but I've got a few questions on truss rods. 1) Are they necessary? I understand the importance of thier function, but I've seen examples of guitars/basses with 5/7/9 piece necks, and they claim not to need truss rods... For example this site (found under tutorials section on the project-guitar main site) 2) Is there a reason you to get a double action over a single action (or vice-versa)? 3) Do you even need an action (could you instead use one or two reinforcement 'beams')? 4) Which kind is best suited to a neckthru (5 pc maple/ebony neck) 5 string bass? Thanks in advance for any and all answers! - Xander

Ok; I'm planning out my first Guitar (well...bass), and I'm trying to find suitable pickups. On every site I've checked so far, I've yet to find any PUs less than $90 US. I can't tell if bass PUs don't come that cheap, or if I'm just incompetent. For figuring pu type, here's the guitar's general specs: Maple Neck (neck-thru) Basswood Wings 2 octave maple fingerboard 4 Strings (E-A-D-G) Built to play Rock/metal/punk/alternative/fusion I'm only want one pickup (preferably passive), so I was thinking either a P-style one, or a nice big Musicman style humbucker (I'm leaning towards the latter ATM). The sooner I figure out the details of stuff like this, the sooner I can build this beauty, so any help would be much obliged. Thanks in advance! - Xander PS; If it helps to motivate you all to help me, I'm intending to make a picture-laden tutorial...