I completed the first unit of my Heritage Plus Extreme series late Sat evening, and just in time for me to haul it up to a camp gig on Sun so I could A/B it against my '77 Stingray in a live setting with decent backline amp and PA to a room filled with about 600 incredibly loud kids
![Image](http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/RegenerateGuitarWorks/Heritage/RH09405PE/HeritagePlus4Extreme-Completed-Fron.jpg)
![Image](http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/RegenerateGuitarWorks/Heritage/RH09405PE/HeritagePlus4Extreme-Completed-Back.jpg)
brief specs:
Swamp Ash body, QS maple/maple 34" scale neck, 1-5/8" nut, with graphite stiffening
Nordstrand SCPB + Big Single
Nordstrand 2-band preamp + passive tone (pull to bypass preamp)
Hipshot Type A bridge and Ultralights + Ultralight de-tuner
Vintage sized frets
As you can see, I opted to forget the pickguard and let that gorgeous piece of Ash shine thru
I am totally buzzed about how this came out and how it holds itself in the mix. In passive mode with the SCPB run solo it's about 95% of that old school P-bass, but with some serious added attitude. Rolling off the passive tone brought this right where a SCPB should be when strung with rounds.
Adding the preamp only intensified the growl and spank - and then I added the Big Single into the blend and really dug in. While not a Stingray clone, I can say that I definitely gave the 'Ray a run for it life once I slightly bumped the active bass/treble from noon to 1:00. Slapping with the SCPB on was really giving the 210 Fender amp a workout that it wasn't used to. Overall I exceeded what I hoped to accomplish with this version of my Heritage Series bass line.
I'm hoping to get to the studio this week to cut a few sound clips. If I have time, I may even throw on a set of flats while I'm there and see how they change the sound
Now it's time to start working on the 4-string lefty assembly. The Wilkinson replica bridge is on its way via USPS, so all the parts are pretty much here in the shop now except for the pickguard
all the best,
R