2015 Carl Thompson Custom 5 String Electric Bass Guitar Scroll Les Claypool

Up for sale, a 2015 Carl Thompson five string electric bass in exceptional, near mint condition and perfect working order. Carl Thompson is a renowned bass builder out of Brooklyn, New York, widely regarded for his custom crafted instruments, built one at a time using the best available materials. Working with bass players who are also considered masters of their own craft, Thompson is also credited with building the first piccolo bass for Stanley Clark (Return to Forever, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz), and the first 6 string electric bass for Anthony Jackson (Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan), but is perhaps best known for building basses for Les Claypool of Primus fame, who owns at least 7 Carl Thompson creations.

Due to the custom, one-of-a-kind nature of these instruments, there is typically a two year wait list, with some more exotic builds taking 3-4 years to complete. Combined with the fact that as of February 2014, Carl Thompson is no longer taking custom orders, these instruments are in short supply and consistently increasing in value, which make them valuable investment pieces as well as exquisite playing and sounding basses!

This bass is a custom ordered five string model with several different exotic woods utilized in the string through body construction, affectionately referred to as a "hippie sandwich" style. The body consists of several types of walnut, which tonally can be described as a slightly brighter, more articulate version of mahogany, with beautifully figured flame maple wings, while the neck is made of bloodwood, which is a dense, dark tropical wood that offers plenty of sustain and shimmery treble response. Weighing in at a very manageable 8lbs, 4oz, this bass has a warm and pleasingly smooth midrange response, and clear low-end played acoustically that translates well through the custom wound Kent Armstrong pickups. The neck pickup, while not sounding exactly like a P Bass, slots into a mix in a very similar way, providing a little more pillowy low end than a typical Jazz bass type neck pickup, and the bridge pickup has plenty of punch and "burp", which absolutely growls in the lower register.

The bloodwood neck has a medium C shaped profile that never feels obtrusively thick, and a 1 3/4"nut width and 14" fretboard radius make quick passages a breeze. The bloodwood itself has a very smooth feel, which glides under your hand and never feels sticky. The ebony fretboard is classy and sleek with no inlays on the face, but the edge sports pearloid side dot position markers. The 24 medium jumbo frets are in immaculate condition, showing virtually no wear and playing cleanly in all registers. The headstock boasts a carved and engraved Carl Thompson logo, as well as a set of Hipshot Ultra-lite tuning machines that turn smoothly and hold pitch well, as well as relieve some weight off the headstock helping the bass balance well on a strap.

The body has an oiled finish over the densely flamed maple, set off by hand-carved pickup covers and input jack, as well as gold tophat knobs, and a black Hipshot A Style bridge which features adjustable string spacing allowing you to dial in the feel of the bass to your personal taste. Electronically, everything works as it should, with the Kent Armstrong pickups wired passively to a three-way pickup selector, another mini-toggle that acts as a mute and high cut switch, and master volume and tone knobs. This bass is in fabulous cosmetic shape, with almost nothing worth noting in the way of wear. There are a couple very small and shallow nicks on the bottom edge of the lower bout, just south of the tone knob and at the very center of the lower bout, where the strap button is traditionally located. Overall, this is a very well cared for and highly collectable bass that sounds and plays at the high level expected of a custom-made, boutique instrument from a lauded luthier.

A well padded gigbag is included.