Bass of the Week: Nick Lloyd Basses 3/4 Lloyd Standard Model
There’s something uniquely beautiful about the double bass, and Nick Lloyd knows how to accentuate it. This week we check out his 3/4 Lloyd Standard Model featuring gorgeous woods and interesting twist.
The bass’s design includes walnut back and sides with a classic flatback. “Previously I came across some beautiful, centuries-old Italian basses made from Walnut,” the luthier explains. “I found them to be in fine health and producing a strong tone without being “wolfy” and uneven. My first Walnut basses were roundback construction. As an experiment I tried flatback construction and immediately observed a quicker response and punch from the low end of the instrument.”
The twist is its detachable maple neck, which Lloyd says serves two purposes: to make flying easier and to keep the bridge as one piece of wood as opposed to having adjusters. “The height of the strings or ‘action’ is adjusted by a machine screw located on the back of the bass,” he states. “A 3/16-inch Allen wrench is used to move the entire neck forward or backward, and this smooth adjustment is done under full tension after the instrument is setup. Inside the bass neck is a L-shaped carbon fiber bracket. This bracket runs down the entire length of the neck, turns inside the heel, and continues through to the end of the neck foot. Having this carbon fiber bracket not only reinforces the wood grain of the neck, but insures that the pressure points are carbon fiber to aluminum. A 3/16? Allen wrench is used to assemble/disassemble the neck from the body. Removing the neck and packing up can be done in just 15 minutes.”
Many players have asked how the sound is affected by this different neck design,” Lloyd continues. “I did a neck-retrofit on Adam Ben Ezra’s Lloyd #19 bass. He observed no tonal difference and was very satisfied with the results. This video clip highlights Adam’s amazing techniques as well as the natural unprocessed sound of my bass… with a Travel Neck.”
For more, check out the Nick Lloyd Basses website.
Nick Lloyd Basses Standard Model 3/4 Size Walnut Flatback Bass Specs:
| String Length: | 40.5″ |
| Body: | Walnut Flatback |
| Top: | Bookmatched Spruce |
| Neck: | Detachable Maple Neck/Lloyd Scroll |
| Tuners: | Antiqued Individual Tuners |
Beautiful.
Wow!
I played one of Nick Lloyd’s basses at the Twin Cities Bass Camp in 2014. It was absolutely incredible. It had a wonderful tone, and I swear it WANTED to make a nice bow sound… I cannot describe it! His basses are wonderful!