NBD: Six! Six Scales! AH-AH-AH!

[Grand Moff Tim]

Yup, I got a multiscale six string bass.

Nope, it's not a Dingwall.

What is it, you ask?

An AC Guitars Skelf R Type fanned 6, I answer.

Looky looky:

Specs and pics simultaneously:

Body: Sycamore core, figured redwood back and top.
Finish: Clear satin acid catalysed lacquer.

Neck: 7-piece flamed maple/wenge/bloodwood

Fairly thin/flat profile:

Fingerboard: Acrylic impregnated quilted maple.
Scale: 33"-36"
Radius: Flat/infinite

No inlays. Black side dots only.

Hipshot Ultralites

Spokewheel trussrod adjustment.

Zero fret

Bridge: Custom multiscale Hipshot A-Type. Hand-machined, because Hipshot didn't even have a template for a multiscale A-Type 6.

Pickups: ACG FB pickups, handmade by Aaron Armstrong of Kent Armstrong Pickups. Housings are sycamore & ebony, parallelogram-shaped to allow for resting the thumb on the edge more easily than a slanted rectangle.

Controls: *Deep breath*

Stack 1: Vol / Blend.
Stack 2: Neck pickup low pass filter / overshoot peak level control, with push/pull low mid boost.
Stack 3: Bridge pickup low pass filter / overshoot peak level control, with push/pull high mid boost.
Stack 4: High pass filter / treble level
Knob 5: Master tone, with active/passive push/pull.

5 bolt bolt-on neck joint.

Upper fret access:

And for good measure, a shot of my main stable at the moment:

Left to right: Fender Tony Franklin fretless Precision, ACG Skelf 6, Bacchus Woodline P/J.

Review in next post.

 

[axxessdenied]

Gorgeous bass! HNGD!

 

[Xaios]

That is one sweet bass.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

I bought this off of SSOer Max / theoctopus. Stand-up chap to deal with. Would recommend.

When I initially went for it, I was a bit worried I wouldn't be very comfortable on it. I have small lady fingers, so it was a bit of a concern going to not only a 6 string, but a 36" 6 string. Not to mention it's my first multiscale, and first flat radius board.

Gotta admit, I was worried for nothing. It's super comfortable to play, and I'm not having any difficulty at all with the length or the width. I can't properly express how stoked I am to have found a sixer I'm so comfortable on. I thought my tiny hands had cursed me to the land of 4 and 5 strings for all eternity, but this thing is actually even easier to play than my Ibanez BTB 5. I'll admit my thumb cramped up a bit the first day, because it wasn't used to having to reposition itself quite so much as I move up the neck, but it was a very slight adjustment.

As most people who get multiscales will tell you, there really isn't much of an adjustment to it at all. It's a touch awkward maybe on the first fret at times, and then again way up at the other end, but it hasn't been an issue yet.

I do enjoy reaping the tonal benefits of the mutliscale, though. I'm accustomed to 5 strings having an annoying drop off in volume from the E to the B, but this does away with that almost completely. I've never heard a louder, clearer B. I was so busy marveling over the B that I didn't even notice how much better the low E sounds, too, until my band's drummer pointed it out at practice the other night. Of course, the high C is also nice and not brittle like it might be at a longer scale, which is nice.

The flat radius isn't really even noticeable, since most wide basses have fairly flat boards to begin with (Ibanez sixers have a radius of something like 950mm/37"). I haven't noticed it causing any awkwardness.

The fretboard looks incredible, obviously. The acrylic impregnation process stiffens the wood and allows luthiers to use woods that are often too soft or brittle for fretboards, like the quilted maple on this one. It's nice and hard, so it has good snap and attack. The frets aren't huge, which is a plus in my book. The more it feels like a fretless, the better .

The pickups sounds great, especially the neck pup. Running the neck and bridge together still sounds a touch off to me, but that's not because they aren't great, it's because they're both humbuckers and all of my other basses have single coils. I'm just not used to bass HB tone yet.

The preamp is fvcking bonkers. I don't even really know where to start with it, hahaha. I'm still doing ALOT of tweaking and experimenting with it, because it's so different from the types of preamps I'm used to. I haven't really been able to dial in a slap tone on it that I'm 100% happy with, but hopefully I'll have that sorted out by the time I've frown accustomed to slapping on the narrower 18mm bridge spacing .

Overall, I really love this thing. I can't imagine how I could be much happier with it. Plays great, sounds great, feels great, and is legitimately unique (it's the only one of its kind ACG has made).

Anyway, that's all I've got off the top of my head. If I think of more I'll add it, and I'll be glad to try to answer any questions.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

Herpderp shot at band practice Friday night.

My bandmates got a huge kick out of it. They had never expressed any interest in my gear before, but the guitarist and the drummer both wanted to have a go on this bad Larry.

 

[brutalwizard]

Thats amazing man. You look too pumped on band practice.

 

[Alice AKW]

I can't get over how figured just about every piece of wood is on this bass, yet it doesn't look too busy. I approve, and can't wait to hear it!

 

[Nmaster]

Gorgeous bass man! Happy NBD! I am loving that quilted maple fretboard, it looks so smooth to play on.

 

[Cloudy]

What did I say about impregnating your frebtoards?


HNGD man! ....ing love the fretboard on it.

 

[theoctopus]

Da bears.

Glad you're enjoying the bass. I miss it.

 

[Skyblue]

Mad fretboard, it looks almost liquidish.

HNBD!

 

[Hollowway]

Haha, I knew you were making the Count laughing sound there!

That bass is beautiful. I'm pretty sure it's way the hell out of my price range, but how much are they? The don't have any of that mode FS on their website.

 

[Radau]

Very nice! Reminds me of a Roscoe a little bit

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Alan does great work. That's a beautiful bass. I love curly redwood.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

Haha, I knew you were making the Count laughing sound there!

That bass is beautiful. I'm pretty sure it's way the hell out of my price range, but how much are they? The don't have any of that mode FS on their website.

Hard to say, since I bought this used and he doesn't really have anything similar in the for sale section currently. There's a short scale 6 for sale that's missing some of the fancier options and costs 1800GBP / $2700, so a safe bet on another one like this would be upwards of that, since you'd have to go custom.

This isn't from a series or anything, it's a one-off custom order. The general consensus on Talkbass seems to be that his prices are crazy good for the work he does, though, so it's something to consider for someone who's looking for a fancy boutique bass but doesn't want to pay Ken Smith, Fodera, etc prices.

 

[Hollowway]

Well, if you got that used you scored the bass of the century! That is easily one of the most beautiful, and loaded, basses I've seen. I'm always looking at 6 string basses, but I really should concentrate on sucking less at guitar, first!

 

[Mwoit]

Tasty. Excellent bass!

 

[FretSpider]

Man that's pretty! How does it sound?

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I'm flabbergasted. If I had such a beautiful bass, id have it impregnated, too

 

[skeels]

That's cool! Very cool! Ah-ah-ah-aahhh!