Fishbone Bass Guitars

[Groove Mama]

Anybody ever hear of or play a Fishbone? I was in St. Louis last weekend and had dinner with a friend of John Piskulic, one of the owners. They have a patent pending on their bridge system.

 

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm28/nhopp/Fishbone.gif

[picker]

Cool looking fish!

[kenfxj]

Interesting. At the very least, it's pretty.

[rizzo9247]

I like it as well. Well maybe except for the bottom of the neck through, not very aesthetically pleasing, but the rest looks fun.

[b5pilot]

I went to their website and read about their bridge system. Very interresting. It would be fun to check one out. Nice body design although the wood layers are a tad too busy for me.

[jcadmus]

Did someone say...Fishbone?

 

http://www.pagecrush.net/go/featured/2009/03/fishbone_promo.jpg

[Groove Mama]

Did someone say...Fishbone?

Maybe that was the inspiration!

 

 

[Groove Mama]

I went to their website and read about their bridge system. Very interresting. It would be fun to check one out. Nice body design although the wood layers are a tad too busy for me.

I thought it was kinda purdy.

 

For those too busy to follow the link, here's their description of the bridge system, which strikes me as somewhat Dingwallesque, at least as far as the independent suspension for each string:

 

"We have long since had a beef with conventional bridge design. Obviously, basses produce a lot of low-end harmonics (and fundamentals). The string height on conventional bridges is adjusted by turning set screws in the bridge pieces. These very small, pointy set screws are the path of transmission for all the string vibration, through a large metal plate and into the wood. This results in a very poor coupling between the string and the instrument. Whats the point of paying for a neck-thru construction, only to de-couple the strings at the bridge? Some contemporary bridge designs attempt to solve this problem by locking the bridge pieces together horizontally. This results in a solid, but massive block of metal that, although has good sustain, tends to interfere with rather than enhance the natural tone of the wood. The Fishbone bridge system (patent pending) provides an extreme amount of coupling via almost a full square inch of contact area directly into the wood. The forces on a Fishbone bridge system, by nature of the through-body string capture, combine to force the bridge pieces down into the body. Conventional bridge systems forces are working towards pulling the bridge off of the wood. Finally, separate bridge elements help to isolate each string from its neighbor. The result of all this is that you get more of a natural warm and complex wood tone with plenty of sustain. It really works!"

[jeremy c]

so how do you make bridge adjustments?

[rizzo9247]

Zooming in on the picture shows that there is a split in the middle of each pole piece; perhaps the height adjusts by turning the lower part of the knob?

[b5pilot]

so how do you make bridge adjustments?

 

That was something I was curious about. Now so much the height but intonation adjustments.

[jcadmus]

Kind of a "hippy sandwich" -- not my thing -- but a pretty bass nevertheless.

[davio]

Looks interesting. The individual bridge thing has been around for a long time...it's not just Dingwall. My first 1/2 decent bass was an Ibanez BTB400 with individual bridges.

[Groove Mama]

The individual bridge thing has been around for a long time...it's not just Dingwall.

Oh. Shows you how much I know.

[Groove Mama]

so how do you make bridge adjustments?

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm28/nhopp/Fishbonesaddlecloseup-1.jpg

According to John Piskulic, "Each bridge piece has a saddle that slides in a groove in the top. These can be adjusted and then locked in place with set screws that come in from the side."

 

More info on the design:

 

"We offer 4 body styles and are named as follows: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. These styles vary from the more conservative Earth to the more exotic Fire with the Wind and Water styles be a step in from each extreme. All basses are one-of-a-kind; We have never built the same combinations of woods twice (unless someone wants a matching set...fretted and fretless for example). Let me list some of the key features of our instruments:

 

1. Patented Fishbone Bridge System: This design evolved over the course of about 5 years and the results, I'm happy to say, are everything that we had hoped. It provides a number of key benefits:

 

a. Improved transmission into body: The supporting member of each string provide a cummulative full square inch of contact area resulting in much greater interaction with the wood and the vibrations of the strings. Why do I want this? The wood vibrating causes cancellation of certain harmonics and reinforcement of others giving the bass a more "woody" tone. Without this canceling and reinforcement the tone would be sterile and lack character.

 

b. Improved sustain: With the string captured in the body of the instrument, the vectors of force on the bridge piece are working to push the bridge piece into the body of the instrument (not so with a standard bridge). That along with the larger contact area results in a much greater sustain.

 

c. String-to-String Isolation: Each string is mechanically isolated from its neighbor, which limits the harmonic affects of other vibrating strings.

 

d. Aesthetics: By virtue of its function the bridge is part of the instrument, as opposed to something bolted on. (Form Fits Function)

 

2. Multi-laminated necks: 4-string necks are 5 piece lamination stacks, 5 and 6-string are 7 piece lamination stacks (with veneers these stacks end up more like 7 and 9 piece). Many include decorative veneers among these. The large number of laminations along with the wood choices (bubinga, wenge, and maple) result in an extremely stable neck with amazing tonal qualities. These woods have been chosen over many years for their excellent tone.

 

3. Arched bodies: The Wind, Water and Fire styles have their bodies slightly curved, making them extremely comfortable and ergonomic. Since the Earth is the most conservative style, we decided not to arch this particular body design.

 

4. Electronics: Owing to our combined 41 years of experience in designing audio electronics (some of this being for Ampeg) we have designed our own electronics, taylored specifically to our instruments. The basses come standard with a volume and pan. An optional Hi and Low EQ is also available with 4 selectable cutoff frequencies for the Hi shelving EQ.

 

5. Matching coverplate: Our rear coverplates are recessed to be flush with the body and are matched with the core wood. These coverplates are held in place by 3 neodymium magnets for easy access to the electronics.

 

6. Hipshot Ultralight Tuners: The best!

 

7. Seymour Duncan Bassline Pickups: These pickups have an incredibly wide tone that can range from HiFi to round and classic.

 

8. Attention to detail: The craftsmanship is exemplary. To quote Mr. Phil Jones of Phil Jones Bass, "These are superior instruments". There is an extensive use of decorative veneers, contouring and detailed finish work. [John mentioned that the bass pictured at the top of this thread was "a wild one we did for a guy a few years ago."]

 

9. All basses include a Protec Contego bass case.

 

10. All knobs are custom made to match the body design.

 

[The Bear Jew]

Kind of a "hippy sandwich" -- not my thing -- but a pretty bass nevertheless.

 

Agreed. It's not my kind of thing, but it's a lovely piece of workmanship.

[Groove Mama]

Kind of a "hippy sandwich" -- not my thing -- but a pretty bass nevertheless.

Agreed. It's not my kind of thing, but it's a lovely piece of workmanship.

He described the one pictured at the top of this thread as a "wild one" they made for a particular customer. Wait until he posts to his website the other pics he shared with me. These instruments are absolutely gorgeous.

[b5pilot]

Oh I see how the bridge works now. Pretty clever. I'd like to see some more pictures of his offerings.

Hey Mama, have you tried one of these? How about a review?

 

[Groove Mama]

Hey Mama, have you tried one of these? How about a review?

 

I haven't had a chance to try one yet, b5. A friend of mine who knows the owner, John Piskulic, told me about Fishbone, so I emailed John. He was kind enough to invite me to try one out the next time I'm in St. Louis. I go there fairly often, so I will definitely take him up on the offer at the next opportunity.

[b5pilot]

Sounds good! I'll be waiting.

[wraub]

IMHO that bridge design looks pretty darn cool.

 

But the bass pictured? Man, that's a lot of glue. Pretty, but...

I'd have to hear/play one.

Peace,

 

wraub

[_Sweet Willie_]

You're a lotta glue, homey.

 

Peace.

--s-uu

[_Sweet Willie_]

Norwood plays Warwicks these days, doesn't he?

 

Peace.

--Dub $$