custom bass guitars

I was recently set straight regarding the Internet when complaining about the astonishing ignorance and the masses of stupid vermin found on guitar forums. I was told by the fourth most dedicated Z player that "You put it out there on the Internet. There is no moron filter available for e-mail. It is what it is. Get over it."

But its just astonishing to me! They all live on guitar forums and masturbate around a circle with their equals. This is why I call them Circle Jerks. Its just not a good scene. Its nothing more than a disgusting public toilet. In fact that is exactly what a guitar forum is. A public toilet. There you have losers from everywhere congregating for group support and growing their stupidity under the cowardliness of anonymity. They don't have to prove any ability or accomplishment, not even their identity.

Take this for example: "I really like his guitars. too bad you gotta kiss his ass for him to even consider making you one."

No you don't have to kiss my ass. All you need to do is prove to me that you can actually play the guitar and prove to me that you are not a moron. Just give me evidence for these two simple requirements and I will make you the best guitar in the world. Its as easy and simple as it gets.

Or how about this circle jerk?

I just don't know what kind of person would want to be part of that particular club. :dunno

The ones part of this club are all those who have proven that they can play the guitar and have a certain amount of intelligence. They now own and play the best electric guitars in the world.

Speaking about actual players and not forum circle jerks, you should see these vids from Eli Friedmann. Incidentally this is someone who sent me links to his recordings in his first correspondence to me. That act alone made him qualify for a Z.

NOTE: I had to recently remove links I had posted here before because Eli lost his YouTube account. He now started a new account and has uploaded most of his Zachary guitar demonstration videos to his new account. Just click here for Eli's new YouTube page Eliguitar1 and you will be thoroughly impressed, even if you despise this nasty website.

A short while ago I bought back a Z2-T 240503 because it was not being used. Six years later it was like brand new. This is a horrible tragedy. That is something consistent with a guitar purchased by a forums poster who cannot actually play the guitar or some ebay slime, who changes guitars more often than his shorts but not a true Zachary owner. Fortunately, Zach Fenner came forward to take her home and give her everything he's got to give.

Watch these videos to see Fenner in action and click on the other vids in the same series. You will agree he passed the Zachary qualifying requirements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju2eA21dnWM guitar solo around the middle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn7qcB5b0LI guitar solo around the middle

An hour before shipping this Z2-T to Fenner a few days ago. I made this video in one take. When I came out of my stupor, I realized that it was over 13 minutes long, so I had to post it in two segments. I am trying to justify being worthy of a Zachary guitar owner myself. I have a higher power to answer to. I was the one picked to be the creator of Zachary guitars and I don't take this gift for granted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ewZ2yxTWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUnckf0Kmas

I just don't know what kind of person would want to be part of that particular club. :dunno

You stupid piece of shit,... we are the ones who make up this club. Why? Because we can! ... and you can't.
So get back to your guitar forum you shameful jerk, you worthless anonymous piece of crap. That is where you belong.

Well, that's all to report for now. Next time I will not hold back with my opinions

Is the 5 String Bass Guitar the Evolution of the Electric Bass?

The 5 string bass represents a fascinating branch of the electric bass guitar class. Can you guess the name of one of the original bass guitar makers that held off on adopting the 5 string to its main product line despite introducing the first ever electric 5 string instrument? Read on to find out more about the 5 string bass.

Origins of 5 String Basses

5 String basses didn't really start to appear until the late 70's when Alembic, Ken Smith and (by his own admission) Michael Tobias built one. The first veritable production 5 string was the Musicman Sting Ray 5 which debuted in 1986. Within a couple of years, 5 string basses were surfacing in more and more low-priced models by major manufacturers such as Ibanez, Peavey, Yamaha and Washburn. Strangely enough, because a certain bass manufacturer stayed away from offering 5 string versions of its bass guitars until the1990's, a cottage-industry of lookalikes started to appear. Custom bass guitar luthiers began to rise in popularity by meeting the need for a 5 string bass guitar with vintage styling. Companies like Sadowsky, Lull, Lakland and finally Allevo Coppolla filled this void.

Companies including Spector, Warwick, F Bass, MTD, Ken Smith, Zon, Fodera, Pedulla and ESP offered 5 strings with their own unique designs. One particularly unique design is the fanned fret system used on Dingwall basses that helps extend the scale length of the low B string substantially.

Producing the perfect 5 string electric bass required some particular considerations, with the uneven number of strings, the neck had to be assembled for increased stability. Figuring out the best string spacing, neck width, neck radius, electronics and scale length took many years and a lot of different attempts. Early five string bass concepts often had necks that were too broad, or that attempted to cram 5 bass strings into the same size neck as a four string bass; neither of which were ideal for most players. 35" scale basses became progressively common as a method to 'tighten up' or add definition to the low B string.

While adoption of the 5 string attained mainstream acceptance in the 90's with players like Tom Hamilton of Areosmith, Jason Newsted of Metallica, David Ellefson of Megadeth and Billy Gould of Faith No More et al., many other celebrated bassists chose to remain with the four string bass. Bassists such as Geddy Lee, Flea, Marcus Miller, Billy Sheehan and Victor Wooten proceed to do the bulk of their recorded or live performances entirely with four string basses.

A recent movement towards detuned 4 string basses with a 35 inch scale that share the equivalent low notes as a low B equipped 5 string happened in the early to mid 2000s. While the five string bass appears to be here to stay, it seems that it has yet to fully replace the 4 string bass in the fashion that the electric bass essentially supplanted the acoustic bass in the 1960s.

5 String Electric Bass Tunings

The more common tunings for the 5 string bass are either E-A-D-G-C (high C) or B-E-A-D-G (low B) with the latter tuning embodying the most prevalent. Low B tuned five strings are popular in Gospel, Hard Rock and Metal music genres while the high C tuned 5 string bass is more common in Jazz, Fusion or bass solo recordings.

The Perfect Low B

With the low B string, 5 string electric bass players have fought to find the right amount of punch and presence to give definition to the lower frequencies without it sounding like 'mud'. Finding the 'perfect low B' in terms of sound and feel is a perpetual quest for many players - often warranting the expense of arranging a custom-made bass guitar from a luthier.

I hope you enjoyed this taste of what the 5 string bass guitar is all about. As for my question at the top of this article - Did you guess that the company was Fender? That's right, Fender introduced the "Fender V" in 1964 in limited quantities. It seems that this particular instrument didn't feature a low B string, and John Paul Jones was known to have played one for a time in Led Zeppelin.