Custom Shop Archives - Page 2

As one of the world’s most respected bass luthiers, Mike Lull’s work has been heard around the world. His Seattle, Washington-based shop has allowed Lull to work on nearly all of the instruments used by bands from the area known as “the grunge capital”, including Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and others. His story began as many do, with youthful rebellion,...

After settling up with customers left from the demise of King Doublebass brand, luthier Jason Burns went to work to create a new upright venture catering to the alternative bassist. Blast Cult officially launched this month with their One4Five model bass, a design cultivated from Burns’ 20 years of building. Among the first instruments built under the moniker is a...

After growing up around woodworking, Jon Maghini turned his fascination of instrument building into a reality when he founded M Basses about a decade ago. Though the Connecticut-based luthier has built completely custom basses in the past, he began streamlining his process by focusing on J-style basses late last year with his Mj model, eventually adding a a complimentary Mp...

Founded in 2004, Birdsong Guitars is a company with a distinct reputation for excellent short-scale basses – one that founder Scott Beckwith prides himself on. After getting his start building in the late ’90s, Beckwith set up shop in Texas where he has been honing his craft with the aid of his wife and other luthiers. Most recently he revived...

Shawn May of May Custom Basses started playing as a teen and got interested in building after a chance visit to the local library. Inspired by the distinguished luthiers who came before him, he eventually turned his interests into a business. Intrigued with exotic and “intense” looking woods, May focuses on creating one-of-a-kind instruments for each of his customers. We...

We first heard about Darkglass Electronics by way of the company’s flagship distortion pedal, the Microtubes B3K [check out our review here], and soon met proprietor Douglas Castro. Castro, who hails from Chile but is now based out of Finland, builds all of the pedals by hand. A bass player himself, Castro couldn’t get the sound he wanted from all...

So far in the Custom Shop series, we’ve asked luthiers about building custom bass guitars. This time we got the chance to talk to Ben Verellen to look into a perhaps lesser-known market: custom amplifiers. Based in Seattle, Washington, Ben Verellen of Verellen Amplifiers grew up playing bass and eventually decided to go to school for electrical engineering. Through a...

Meet Jared Carpenter, the sole proprietor of California-based custom shop JC Basses. We first discovered his work after watching Seth Horan, whose custom bass features fanned frets and an eye-catching red finish. After picking up bass, Carpenter quickly realized he couldn’t get what he wanted from a production instrument and boldly decided to make his own, even without much woodworking...

Wyn Guitars is a one-man custom bass shop run by Randy Fullmer, a man with a healthy obsession for exotic woods. An artist at heart, Fullmer got his his start as a luthier at an early age before becoming an animator and producer for Disney. He eventually returned to building instruments, switching to exclusively making basses. Fullmer just finished moving...

Based out of the Houston, Texas area, Bud LeCompte has been building basses since 2004, after acquiring a technical background and inheriting a plethora of woodworking tools. Having been interested bass playing and drawing since his teenage years, LeCompte’s designs vary from paying homage to classic instruments to unique shapes and lines that defy that same tradition. In this installment...

Ansir Music is a custom shop based out of Ohio, consisting of the team of founder Jody Michael and artist Deric Smith. Jody, who has owned and operated a high precision tool and die shop, began to mix his bass-playing hobby with work, designing and creating basses. In turn, his business partner Deric, a self-taught artist with 20 years of...

This week, we continuing the series on the making of Orchid, a custom bass by Rick Toone. If you missed it, check out Part 1 and Part 2. Trapezoid Neck Profile Ebony facing is glued to the headstock. Next, the fretboard, headstock and contours are precisely shaped, including the patented Trapezoid Neck Profile used on these two basses. We’ve all...