Bruce Johnson Extremely Strange Instruments

[grossmit]

Le site est pourri et la dernière update date de 2003. Je lui ai envoyé un mail pour savoir si il est toujours en activité et c'est le cas.

www.xstrange.com/

Je suis tombé là dessus en fouillant à propos des Eastwood EUB-1 / Ampeg EUB-1.

Donc c'est une gars que fait des basses tout seul, il fait vraiment tout, lutherie/micros/accastillage, il sent bon l'amérique Bluegrass vintage bottes de paille qui traversent la rue et je trouve que ce qu'il fait vaut le coup d'oeil, juste par curiosité.

voilà la copie du mail qu'il m'a renvoyé et qui donne -énooooormément d'infos (désolé c'est qu'en Anglais et vu comme c'est long, trop chiant à traduire ) :

Hello Thibaut;

Oh yes, I'm still building Scroll Basses. Here's an update:

I'm now building the Series IV models of the AEB-2 (fretted) and AUB-2 (fretless) Scroll Basses, which have many new improvements over the Series III models shown on my site. I now make all of my own pickups, and the Series IV model has a whole new system. There's a special 4-coil modular pickup in the center, combined with a mechanical percussive pickup under the bridge. The percussive pickup has the same type of deep thumping tone as Ampeg's "mystery" pickup did in the original AEB-1's, but with more sustain and clearer tone. In the studio, the Series IV sounds closer to an upright bass than any other electric bass that I know of. Other new features include a 24 fret length fingerboard, and a 4" fingerboard radius. Externally, the Series IV model is cleaner looking than my previous models, more like an original Ampeg AUB-1.

Right now, I have about 2 years' backlog of orders for new Scroll Basses. I'm building them as fast as I can, but the orders keep coming in. I don't have any new, used, or vintage instruments available in stock.

The price for a Series IV Scroll Bass is US$3900. Yes, the price has gone up a lot. These are very labor-intensive instruments to build; I spend over 100 hours on each one. I build every part of every one of them myself, including the metal hardware, pickups, and the hand-rubbed finish. If you want to get on the list for one, I just require a $100 deposit; the balance is due when your instrument is ready to ship.

I'm finally in the process of upgrading my web site, which I'm embarrassed to say is seven years out of date. Below are some links to several portions of the updated site which are in place. These are draft pages right now, so many of the links at the top aren't connected yet.

Here are three pages of pictures of recent Series IV Scroll Basses:

http://www.xstrange.com/Gallery/AUB067.html

http://www.xstrange.com/Gallery/AEB068.html

http://www.xstrange.com/Gallery/AUB069.html

A new option is the "Scary" color scheme of #069. It's black with red inside the F-holes and around the inside of the headstock.

Here are links to three strings of web pages that you may also enjoy. My updated site will include a new section called Building Scroll Basses, about 25 pages and hundreds of images. It covers the entire process of how I build these basses in great detail. Most of the images are from 2009, of instruments #066 and #067. The links are to the strings of pages on the construction of the necks (9 pages), the bodies (5 pages), and the pickups (5 pages). I'll be adding more over the next few weeks and months. There will also be sections on Hardware, Finish, and Final Assembly. Again, these are draft pages right now, so many of the links aren't connected yet, and I will be doing some more editing of the text and alignment of pictures. The Next Page and Previous Page links should work.

http://www.xstrange.com/Building/Buildingneck1.html

http://www.xstrange.com/Building/Buildingbody1.html

http://www.xstrange.com/Building/Buildingpickups1.html

Also, I finally recorded a quick audio clip of a Series IV AUB-2 at a friends' recording studio:

http://www.xstrange.com/AUB-2.mp3

Here's some pasted text with more general information about the Series IV models:

What It Sounds Like:

My Scroll Bass is a specialty instrument, and isn't for everybody. Its real strength is in the studio, where you particularly want a rich, warm, percussive tone. Plugged directly into the mixing console, with no amp at all, the tone is very close to a good upright bass or a cello, except with longer sustain and a clearer high end. It's a real jazz/blues type of sound. This bass likes to be plucked hard with lots of right hand technique. With the new pickup system that I've developed, the notes actually snap and roll up, as they do on an upright bass. The tone is unusually dynamic, with a powerful pop and warble at the beginning of each note, which then settles into a smooth sustained tone at a lower level. I don't know of any other electric bass that does this. But the Scroll Bass can also be surprisingly good for a heavy metal sound too. Played through a good cranked-up tube amp, like an SVT, the tubes' distortion is magnified down in the low-mid range and the sound is thick and thundering. Because the flatwound strings don't have the high metallic ring that you normally get from roundwounds, the distorted bass sound is deeper and richer. The Scroll Bass's weakness is that it won't "cut through" screaming guitars in a loud live environment as well as many modern basses. Its tone is rich and warm, not piercing and metallic.

Ordering, Prices & Delivery:

I have about a 24 month backlog of orders for my Scroll Basses right now, which is why I don't do any advertising other than my web site. I'm building them as fast as I can, and I can barely keep up with the orders! I hope to complete at least 12 of them in 2010, and work my way up to 24 per year. All of the instruments under construction now have long been pre-sold, and I don't have any in stock for sale.

The current price for an AEB-2 (fretted) or AUB-2 (fretless) Series IV Scroll Bass is US$3900. This includes your choice of color scheme, a gig bag and shipping within the US. The flight case/gig bag combination, if you want it, is an additional US$480-$550, depending on options.

Sometime in 2010, I'm going to be introducing a special hard shell case that I'm having made up by another company. I don't know yet whether it will be an extra cost option or included as standard.

Because of my backlog, a US$100 deposit is all that's necessary to reserve your place in my schedule. This deposit is fully refundable if you change your mind. Check, Money Order, or PayPal (to [email protected]) are fine. The balance is due when your bass is ready to ship. I assign the serial number of your instrument and your place on the list when I receive your deposit.

Warranty:

If you're not happy with my instrument for any reason, I'll take it back for a full refund (assuming it's undamaged and unmodified) within 30 days or so. I literally have lists of people waiting for my Scroll Basses, so if you ever don't want it any more, I can easily line you up with a buyer. To my knowledge, only about ten of my Scroll Basses have ever been sold by their original owners so far, and a few others have been traded back in to me for newer models. In nine years of production, I've only had three Scroll Basses returned. Two were from the same guy, and they were all more than eight years ago.

Color schemes:

These are custom order instruments and I'll make yours any (reasonably tasteful!) color scheme that you like. The most popular colors so far have been the classic Ampeg red/black sunburst, and all black. Another option I call Antique Varnish; a transparent semi-gloss golden brown in the center, fading to dark reddish brown around the edges. The idea is

to make it look like an old upright bass. I've done Blue/Black Sunburst, all white, all natural (clear satin), red/black body with a natural neck, and a few other combinations.

Here's some more pasted text with detailed information about the new features of the Series IV Scroll Basses:

Just to clarify the terminology, I call my basses the AEB-2 (fretted) and AUB-2 (fretless). This is in deference to the original Ampeg Scroll Basses of '66-'68, which were the AEB-1 and AUB-1. Since I introduced the AEB-2/AUB-2 in 1997, I've continued to develop and improve the design. I made the original Series I model in '97 -'98, and these were the ones that were sold through Ampeg as the "reissues" and had the Ampeg logo on the pickguard. Ampeg/St. Louis Music and I ended our arrangement on a friendly basis at the end of '98. I upgraded the design to the Series II in late '98, which included improvements in the pickup system and chambering in the body. The Series III, in '01, had many changes in the pickup system, controls, tailpiece, and body chambering. The Series III models are what are currently shown on my web site. The last of the Series III models was serial number 059, and I don't plan to build any more of them.

The new Series IV models are the best yet of the Scroll Bass series. I've put many new features into them, including a whole new pickup system which combines a main pickup in the center of the body with a new-generation version of Ampeg's "mystery" pickup under the bridge. This percussive pickup is more than just a pickup. The whole bridge assembly is mounted on a pair of spring steel bars, so that the bridge physically moves during heavy plucking. I've tuned the geometry of the spring bars to recreate the elliptical snapping motion of the bridge of an upright bass. When you pluck an upright, the flexing of the top and the rocking of the bridge causes a warm percussive snap, a slight rolling up of the pitch of each note, and some subtle sympathetic harmonics from the other strings. These effects are very dynamic, and are controlled by the players' plucking style. My spring bar system brings this character out of an electric bass through the mechanical motion of the bridge. A pair of large magnetic coils underneath the spring bars pick up the complex motion of the bridge, and the output is a warm percussive thump, which transitions through a subharmonic "warble" into a smooth sustained tone. The output from this percussive pickup can be used by itself or blended in with the main pickup.

The original mystery pickup on Ampeg's AEB-1 basses (and Baby Basses) tried to capture this effect by mounting the bridge on a steel diaphragm, with magnetic coils underneath. It had a warm percussive thump, but the overall frequency range was very limited and there was an annoying high harmonic ring. In my opinion, the resulting motion was too constrained and one-dimensional. I believe that I've solved these problems with my design on the Series IV AEB-2. My spring bar design is more stable and tuneable than the diaphragm, and it allows the bridge to roll sideways and forwards in addition to moving up and down. I've also made the magnetic coils much more efficient, which increased the frequency range and sustain.

The main pickup in the center of the body of my Series IV basses is also unique. It's really four individual pickups, one for each string. Each has three 1/4" Alnico V magnets aligned in a row along the length of the string, and the four pickups are wound and wired in series. The arrangement of the coils covers a wide area of each string, and gives a warm, rich tone to the flatwounds. Each pickup is individually adjustable for height, so the player can balance the output levels of each string to their preference. I've found that this is important on a bass with flatwound strings, because players have very different right hand techniques, which result in various plucking strength on each string. This pickup design is in some ways a derivative of the pickup on Ampeg's AMB-1 basses of '68-'69. The AMB-1 pickup has a separate coil for each string, although they are round, with a single magnet each, and fixed in height. As with the mystery pickup, I've started with Ampeg's idea and improved on it. I now make all the pickups myself, including winding the coils and casting my own bobbins. I've designed and built my own coil winding machine specifically for making the pickups of my Scroll Basses.

The electronics on the Series IV are a simple passive circuit with Volume, Blend, and Tone (high roll-off) controls. The blend control mixes the output of the percussive pickup with the main pickup. There are three output jacks. The main output jack carries the signal from the volume, tone, and blend circuit. The two output jacks next to the tailpiece are wired directly to the two pickups, bypassing the main circuit when cords are plugged in to them. The forward jack is the main pickup and the rear jack is the percussive pickup. The Volume, Blend, and Tone controls have no effect on these outputs, and you'll hear that they have a little extra high end that normally gets soaked up by the pots. In the studio, you can plug one of the direct outs right into the mixer channel, or record both direct outs at the same time as two separate tracks, which can be blended together during mixdown.

On the Series IV, I've used a 4" radius on the fingerboard and the bridge. This is somewhat rounder than the 7 1/4" radius on my previous models, and much rounder than the 12" radius found on most basses today. The 4" radius is very comfortable for the left hand, but its primary purpose is to allow more aggressive plucking with the right hand. This bass is designed to be played hard, like an upright bass. Other new features include extending the neck further into the body to 24 fret length, a thicker body, and more refinements in the internal chambering. The Series IV's tailpiece is a rectangular-shaped block at the back, reminiscent of the AEB-1, and requires the special super-long strings (which you have to get from me). It has that Ampeg look, and the extra length of strings behind the bridge helps the spring system of the percussive pickup move around. As on my earlier models, this bass is specifically tuned for flatwound strings. You can put roundwounds on it, but they will be very, very bright sounding! I don't know of any of my customers that currently use roundwounds on their Scroll Basses, although a few have tried them. If you want to try other more commonly-available strings, I can provide an optional second tailpiece which extends up closer to the bridge. The two tailpieces can be swapped at any time.

The new Devil Bass is mechanically similar to the Series IV, but with the long-horned body and slightly different headstock. Its fingerboard extends to 28 frets, and the neck is smoothly blended into the tang of the body, although it still unbolts. As on the AEB-2, the body shape is close to the original Ampegs, but slightly reshaped for comfort and appearance. It also has the percussive pickup under the bridge and the main pickup group in the center of the body. The new Devil Bass is the same price as the Series IV AEB-2/AUB-2.

The Series IV Scroll Bass is designed for bassists who remember and love the original Ampegs. It's like a super AEB-1 and a super AMB-1 combined into one instrument. Although the Ampegs have a history in rock music, they have always had more of a jazz/blues tone. I plan to build the Series IV models for many years, as long as there is a demand for them. In another year or two, I'll be offering a few special versions of the Series IV, such as a 5-string model (which I've had a lot of requests for) and possibly a short scale model. I also may soon be offering an "AMB-2" model, which will be nearly an exact replica of the Ampeg AMB-1. Beyond that, I've started preliminary design work on the Series V, which is an upscale version of the Series IV with more elaborate detail work, and an acoustic/electric version of the Scroll Bass, but that's a few years away.

I intend to be building Scroll Basses, and other unique instruments like them, for the rest of my life. I started my musical instrument business as a sideline thing, and I've deliberately been building it up slowly to eventually be my "retirement" business. In the past few years, I've had to do a lot of other things (working part time for Disney, building components for other luthiers, etc.) to make sure the bills are paid, which limited how many Scroll Basses I could build per year. Now, I'm free of most of that. I've been averaging about 6 per year, but in 2010 I hope complete 12, and eventually work my way up to 24/year.

The Scroll Basses are my own premium line and I'm going to keep refining the design and building them for a long, long time. I build every part of every one of them myself, including all the metal hardware and the paint. And it's going to stay that way. I'm never going to hire a shop full of people or farm out parts to other companies just to increase the production rate.

(End of pasted text)

I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have.

Bruce Johnson

Edited April 4, 2010 at 12:56 PM by grossmit

[Rao]

Aaaaaaaarrrghhhhh Je viens de perdre un oeil sur sa AEB-2. Tout me plait, le corps, la tête, la couleur avec ce délicieux filet blanc..... Aaaaaaarghhhh

[Fractal-M.]

sa bosse dur et sérieux en tout cas et sympa d'avoir tout détaillé c'est vraiment intéressant, j'avais vu une ampeg devil y a pas longtemps sur ebay US et c'est la première fois que j'en voyais une (et même que j'en entendais parler) particulière c'est sur mais vraiment intéressante. L'AEB passe mieux niveau design après moi c'est pas ma tasse de thé étant dans le moderne mais sa me déplairait pas d'en tester une pour voir car elles sucitent vraiment plein d'interrogation.

[Olaye]

Le coup de 1 micro par corde, je trouve ça intéressant. En même temps, c'est juste une bidouille à deux balles, ou ça peut servir à quelque chose? Parce que un bon vieux humbucker,et on a tous les réglages possibles sur chaque plot.

[Jexmatex]

sacré boulot sur les tetes oO

[Jan]

En tout cas, il bosse bien

J'aime beaucoup le fait qu'il partage son approche de la fabrication de A a Z

[Hebfrueman]

Je suis rarement fan du design des basses de luthier, mais là je dirais pas non.

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Punaise, il a du courage le collègue : ça fait énormément de travail! Et il a l'air de bien bosser.

[DolganoFF]

Et le micro sous le chevalet - c'est justement une idée que j'avais depuis quelques années, décidément on ne peut plus rien inventer

[sfbabali]

Passionné c'est clair...

C'est ça qui est bien aux US... ça serait beau que Noguera ou Aquilina ou même David aient 2 ans de commandes devant eux...

big up strange

[grossmit]

je trouve ces basses très très belles, ça fait très freak show , Tom Waits... Limite il te faut un nain sur scène à côté de toi pour avoir le package complet. Que le gars en fasse 12 par an et en faisait 6 avant quand il bossait en même temps, j'ai envie de m'en prendre une rien que pour lui dire bravo ... même si ses prix ont apparemment beaucoup augmenté (à l'échelle de tout le boulot bien sûr), là c'est quand même 3900$. Après encore une fois, je pense que ça les mérite...

[Narc]

La Eb 67 est .. lovely !

[nouroog]

Salut à tous

désolé de déterrer ce sujet, mais je voulais signaler que Bruce Johnson a, depuis l'ouverture de ce sujet, effectivement commencé la production de son AMB-2, qui est sa réédition, ou plutôt recréation, de la AMB-1 d'Ampeg (basse de George Biondo de Steppenwolf, ou de Rick Danko de The Band, entre autres).

Le prix est moins dissuasif que la AEB-2 series IV, mais quand même 3000USD. Elle sera plus simple et plus orienté rock dans sa sonorité et sa conception, que la AEB-2.

Pour les intéressés anglophones, beaucoup d'infos ici http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/love-ampeg-other-scroll-basses-843684/

Bruce Johnson arrive dans la discussion à partir de la page 3.

J'espère pouvoir présenter un petit avis sur l'instru quand j'aurai reçu le mien, vers mi-2013 (si tout va bien).

Merci à Grossmit d'avoir posté sur ce sujet, désolé d'arriver deux ans après...

[nouroog]

Salut

pas de réponse à mon post précédent. L'intérêt s'est peut-être perdu avec le temps. Dommage car les basses fabriquées par Bruce Johnson sont réellement extraordinaires.

j'ai finalement opté pour une AEB-2 series IV

Je poste ici quelques photos. Si vous êtes intéressés par une revue plus détaillée de l'instrument, dites le moi.

Edited February 11, 2013 at 09:18 PM by nouroog

[redcarp]

Yes, une revue détaillée. Elle est superbe cette basse, ça m'intéresse.

[nouroog]

Ok je ferai une revue détaillée, avec plaisir.

Ça va me prendre un peu de temps, mais l'instrument vaut vraiment le coup qu'on en parle.

[redcarp]

merci.

[KoZo]

Géniales ces basses !

[Knoxz1]

J'aime bien ce style de tête.

[redcarp]

faut reconnaître que c'est la grande classe. les soundclips du premier post ne m'on pas vraiment convaincu, du coup j'attend la rewiew de nouroog avec impatience.

[nouroog]

Je posterai avec ma revue des clips audios.

A la différence de la basse qui a servi à Bruce à faire ses clips, la mienne est frettée, donc le son est un peu différent. Par ailleurs je trouve que ses clips ne rendent pas justice au son de la basse.

Je ferai aussi des clips DI versus sortie d'enceinte.

Ça va me prendre un peu de temps, il faudra attendre un peu, mais puisque vous êtes intéressés, je suis motivé pour faire une revue vraiment détaillée

Edited February 11, 2013 at 10:20 PM by nouroog

[redcarp]

je partage ton avis je pense que les enregistrements sont très mauvais et certainement très compressé. J'attend la suite impatiemment.

[nouroog]

Vue en pied

[trois6]

Ta review m'intéresse aussi, le post sur talkbass c'est de la torture tellement il y a de modèles monstrueux à chaque page ...

En tout cas, avec ça, tu es surement identifiable en France ! Ça pour sûr, tu ne seras jamais le énième bassiste à sortir une precision ou une jazz lors d'une soirée concert, et c'est tant mieux pour la culture du public !