March 2002

Growling Tiger
Kent had a bad case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). It's understandable, after working for an Alembic dealer, and then later Alembic, he'd certainly seen his fair share of our fine basses. He started with an Epic 5-string and later got himself a fine Rogue bass (it's the Wenge 6-string in our current brochure). When the GAS for a new fretless could not be denied, he decided to get himself something really special.
One of the features that was important to Kent was the 35" scale length. The Rogue body shape with its extra-long upper horn was the perfect choice to keep the bass well balanced and also allow great access to the uppermost positions. The extended scale length and the special pickup placement lend a super growly tone to this instrument. When the neck pickup is closer to the end of the fingerboard, the tone changes to a bassier and more upright sound.

Satin Neck

After the guitar is completely finished in polyester paint, the final surface can be a gloss, satin or a combination as on this bass. The dark color of the Coco Bolo looks best under a glossy finish, but Kent preferred the touch of the satin finish on the neck. If you look at the highlights along the inner edge the lower horn and at the heel carving, you'll see how the reflection changes suddenly where the satin finish begins on the neck.

CWB

Since the particular board Kent selected was really interesting with an almost tiger-like color and pattern, Continuous Wood Backplates were a natural choice. These plates are cut from the back laminate with a scroll saw before the body is glued together. Combined with a bookmatch to center option, the back laminate is wall to wall Coco Bolo goodness.

peghead front peghead back
Since Kent lives very close to our shop, he selected the woods for the top and back himself. We dug through a good bit of the Coco Bolo stack before settling on a single long board with that would yield the top and the back.
We also decided to make the peghead veneers from the same board to keep the proper mojo working. We were inspired by The Church of the One Tree, a Santa Rosa landmark made from the lumber of a single Redwood tree.
sidelines

Unlined fretless fingerboards sound the best. The Ebony is very smooth and with no inlays or inlaid fretlines to slide over, the sound is very consistent over the entire length of the board. But a little fret "reminder" is nice, so this bass features "side lines" small inlays of Maple where each fret is usually expected, on the side only to leave the surface clear.

Front back

SPECIFICATIONS

  • 6-string Rogue
  • 35.00 long scale
  • Coco Bolo top and back
  • Bookmatch top and back to center
  • Maple pinstripes
  • Signature electronics with side jack
  • Special pickup location
  • Unlined fretless surface, sidelines
  • Ebony fingerboard
  • Continuous wood backplates

Price available on request

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