Prototype Hallmark Basses

[JimPage]

Hey, Mel--

You wrote:
>>am I missing something or are there no pole pieces on the pickups?

That caught my eye, too. The pickup covers were smooth. Again, these are something Bob did as an experiment, but one of my Mosrite Celebrities had one smooth pickup cover and one smooth but with a Mosrite logo cover.

It was the Celebrity I bought from Dennis the Menace. Bob swapped out the logoless smooth pickup with one with a smooth but logoed for me, so they would match!

Maybe Dennis knows whether that was original on that guitar or not. Either way, that is a wonderful guitar!!!

--Jim

[Bob Shade]

Thanks for the nice comments on the basses guys. These are the first 2. The black bolt neck H60C bass is for Hugh McDonald who just returned from Europe on tour with Bon Jovi. He has been a real help with the evolution of this one. My theory behind the Mosrite bass is that while it was very cool, and I own two of them by the way, a 65 and a 63, there was room for improvement.

First, I did away with the 30" scale length and went to medium scale. I also did away with the basswood body and used alder as it is one of my favorite tonal woods, Elliott Easton loves alder as well, we talked about it before when I built him a guitar. It just speaks to you.

These two factors alone made a huge tonal difference.

As well, the bridge pickup on a 2 pickup Mosrite I felt was ill placed. I moved it into the sweet spot where the tone is and this made a huge tonal difference. The neck on this as with all Hallmarks, is a slight bit wider as well for better complex playability.

Mel, correct you are sir, you are not seeing things. The pickup has no pole pieces. A Mosrite bass pickup is basicly a P90 with 4 polepieces rather than 6 for a guitar. That is not the best bass pickup for bass in my humble opinion. I designed a bass pickup, to bring out the complex highs and lows and is not muddy at all like the Mosrite pickup. It does not have polepieces and does now warrant them to be effective. It's all about the tone, and believe me, these have it. It will be interesting to get Hugh's opinion when he gets it in a week or so.

We will most likely have both basses available. The 60 Custom and the 63 Custom. Please let us know your comments, as they are always welcome.

Best reverbs, Bob Shade

[MWaldorf]

Mel, correct you are sir, you are not seeing things. The pickup has no pole pieces. A Mosrite bass pickup is basicly a P90 with 4 polepieces rather than 6 for a guitar. That is not the best bass pickup for bass in my humble opinion. I designed a bass pickup, to bring out the complex highs and lows and is not muddy at all like the Mosrite pickup. It does not have polepieces and does now warrant them to be effective. It's all about the tone, and believe me, these have it. It will be interesting to get Hugh's opinion when he gets it in a week or so.

So, are there poles underneath the cover or just a bobbin over magnets? Are the pickups high output like the guitar units?

Not to take away from the changes you've made to the design of the pickups, wood or scale length, but in my opinion at least, Mosrite basses are pretty great as they are. Idiosyncratic perhaps, but great for a guitar player like me. And muddy certainly isn't an adjective I'd use for them. A Gibson EB-0, now that's mud.

On the positive side, your basses sound different enough from the Mosrite originals to justify having one of both, so everybody wins.

[Veenture]

My theory behind the Mosrite bass is that while it was very cool, and I own two of them by the way, a 65 and a 63, there was room for improvement.

How 'bout some bigger dot markers for those older players amongst us...eyesight isn't getting any better as the years pile on

[JimPage]

Veenture wrote:
>>How 'bout some bigger dot markers for those older players amongst us...eyesight isn't
>>getting any better . . .

Hey, Paul--

That old presbyopia's a drag, ain't it?!?!?!? My wife used to make fun of me getting reading glasses and bifocal lenses. "Oh, that's just in your mind. You just want to be old. I'm just six months younger than you and I sure don't need that stuff!"

Then one day I started noticing pairs of reading glasses in different rooms of the house. "Hey, Patty; are these your reading glasses, Miss It'll-Never-Happen-To-Me?!?!?!"

Her reply: "Oh, SHUT UP!"

Funny how that seems to come on so suddenly, too. One day you wake up and your vision just seems different than it was the day before.

That being said, I like the neck markers on these basses, though I did think about how little the markers were when I saw them, and that the markers would basically be invisible on a dark stage.

--Jim

[Bob Shade]

Hey Mel, in regards to the pickup, it is a slightly different design than the Mosrite pickup. This pickup has a sound bar that comes through the bobbin and covers the whole magnetic field. No poles. More or less a Bill Lawrence type deal. It sounds fantastic. Yes it is wound fairly hot and is punchy.

Ok, perhaps muddy was not exactly the best description. What I can say is there must be a reason these basses are not widely used and it is certainly not the looks.

My goal with these basses is to offer something that you can't find elsewhere that stands up to the demands of the concerning musician. In other words, if we can provide something familiar but fresh or improved in bass players eyes, I think we are on the right track.

My first year at NAMM the bass player from the Stray Cats came to my booth and picked up the Swept-Wing bass, he said he thought it was really cool, asked what scale length it was and when I replied 30", he put it down and said he would not be able to use it. I am not saying there is anything incorrect about a short scale bass, but, I have learned from already offering them that most guys shy away from them. So not to be redundant but, I am simply trying to offer something that has not been offered before using what I have learned over the years to try to improve the instrument. This is what builders do, like Seymore Duncan just as an example, he offers an alternative that he thinks is improved in some ways, that compliments the original design. It is a theory at the very least.

Thanks Mel and keep rockin!

Bob

[oigun]

They look great Bob! I like to put a blade/sound-bar in my pups too. So expected beginning 2012?

[Bob Shade]

Yes, we expect to have these ready in 2012. Yes the blade pickup design has been around since the beginning, Charlie Christian pickup, Bill Lawrence, I guess about everyone has made their version of it right? I like them alot for bass, they have a nice wide range. Clean and punchy too!

Bob

[wstagner]

Bob....any chance you'll be bringing one of these bases to show off at the Ventures Fan Jam in PA?
I also hope you plan on bringing some guitars to sell. I know at least 1 attendee who's ready to buy.

See you there!

[Bob Shade]

Yes we will absolutely bring the 3 tone burst bass. Yes, we will bring as many pieces to display as possible.

There is a guy who e-mailed me a couple of days ago that wants me to bring a H60C in Pearl White and he will purchase it. If there is any buyers who would like me to bring a specific color just let me know and I will do my best.

Many thanks!

Bob