on the bench the week of Dec 29-Jan4 - NAMM 2014 content

[Rodent]

it's been a crazy week here at the RGW ranch this past week, and there's still a bit of scurrying left to do prior to heading down to the Big Show in a couple weeks

on the bench this afternoon is a trio of our VRB units - left to right

- VRB 4.2 Vintage burst Alder body with Maple/Rosewood neck, RGW J/J pickup set, Tort guard, and chrome hardware

- VRB 4.3 Fiesta Red body with Maple/Rosewood neck, RGW P/J pickup set, Tort guard, and chrome hardware

- VRB 4.3 oiled Topalox body with oiled Maple/Rosewood neck, RGW P/J pickup set, B/W/B guard, and black hardware. Oiled isn't exactly the correct term for this hand applied, waterproof no-build type finish. We've been testing it for a little over a year now, and it's holding up well unfer intense session/gigging use here in rainy Seattle, hot and arid Albuquerque, and even the humid SouthEast US. If testing continues to go like it's been going, this will become an official finish offering sometime before NAMM 2015


we will have one lefty 4-string at the upcoming show. if there's reasonable response to it, plans are to have it available as a lefty only model. more to come on this once the show is under way

all the best,

R

[andrew]

That Jazz bass looks tasty.

[AzWhoFan]

looking forward to seeing what that lefty surprise is at the show!

[AzWhoFan]

that VRB 4.2 body looks like it's a sweet piece of Alder

[Rodent]

a little more bench goodness from this evening - a 5-string and 6-string Malibu bass ready for a nut and strings

[AzWhoFan]

that 6er looks sah-wheet!

[Rodent]

thanks guys

I'm getting close to having everything ready. barring something unforeseen/unfortunate, we'll have 15 - 17 basses at the show and 4 guitars. I'm down to the wire with just 4 basses left to finish assembling/wiring/detailing and getting set-up. There's also one guitar remaining. Whew! it's been a LOAD of work to get done


for the lefty bass content, it's a MM meets G&L influenced 4-string with a Nordstrand 2-band MM style preamp, Swamp Ash body, and 21-fret Birdseye/Ebony neck with a P width nut. Pics from the floor at NAMM unless I get a moment to snap some before then.

I have this priced to move at $1395 including SKB gig bag (we'll be quoting $1695 at the booth, but anybody from LeftyBassist can snag it for the discounted price by mentioning this post) It's a one of a kind unit ... something we were considering introducing as a new lefty only offering, but decided to focus R&D time/funds elsewhere

all the best,

R

[Rodent]

I needed to get an updated image roughed for a graphic artist, and thought I'd post a pair of the raw images here for your viewing pleasure.

this is our renovated for 2014 VRB model in a 4.3 (PJ) configuration. we've updated several subtle things including more ergonomic upper register access, new in-house wound P/J pickups, new RGW branded strings (nickel is standard, stainless on units with Maple fretboards), a return to a more vintage style bridge saddle, neck mounting ferrules instead of a neck plate, easy access trussrod adjustment slot, option for a standard or reverse (shown) split P pickup configuration, etc ...

as always, our entire VRB model line is available lefty at no additional cost over a similarly equipped righty unit

all the best,

R

[Rodent]

Here’s one of two Regenerator™ SS units we’ll have available at NAMM this year. This one is our take on the classic ’62 Strat

Regenerator™ SS ‘62
• Alder body with vintage 2-tone burst finish
• Maple/Rosewood neck with ’62 rear contour, bone nut
• Lollar ‘Vintage Blonde’ pickup set (http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/mercha ... at-pickups)
• Hipshot hardware (tremolo arm not shown in this image)
• Tort scratch plate
• CTS pots, 5-way switch, .022uf Orange Drop cap, and Switchcraft jack
• Dunlop strap locks

The action, playability, and sound of this unit will give any high-end Strat a run for its life. While not a true vintage replication, my bet is that we’ll have significant interest from players who want the look, feel, and sound, but with the benefits of custom shop craftsmanship and tight QA.

This is one guitar that thin-string players aren’t going to want to put down

[Rodent]

here's a family portrait including 3 of the 4 thin strings we'll have available at the show

L to R

- Regenerator™ SS ‘62
- Shelby™ 22
- Regenerator™ SS

The Shelby™ is our first in-house designed thin-string model, and has a Mahogany body finished in Gibby Red™ stain. The 22-fret 25.5" scale neck features an angled headstock and Pau Ferro fretboard (production models will utilize an Ebony or dark Rosewood fretboard) and a rear contour reminiscent of the ultra thin Wizard series guitars from Ibanez. Electronics are a pair of Lollar Imperial Humbuckers with a 3-way switch wired somewhat uniquely to select from both neck - two outer-most coils - both bridge. There is a single volume control pot, and no tone control. The bridge is a Babicz tremolo with wide Fender spacing. Hipshot tuners and Dunlop strap locks round out the package.

In early Spring we'll introduce the 24-fret version cousin of this model

all the best,

R

[Basshappi]

I really like the Shelby!
The Cherry burst Regenerator is outstanding!

[AzWhoFan]

way cool. I see the cad machine has been quite busy as of late!
Lollar makes great pups. Never met one I didn't like. I've had Imperials, his mini-hums and a couple of other models I can't remember off the top of my head along the way

[Rodent]

the CNC has spent more hours running than I would have ever imagined - need to make a tweak to a pickguard arrangement? no problem - just cut a new template in under 10 minutes, and then get busy cutting plastic.

a couple more images of stock heading for the show. I hope to have everything wrapped up this afternoon in time for a group image shot

[andrew]

I like that black matching headstock.

[fivebass52]

I needed to get an updated image roughed for a graphic artist, and thought I'd post a pair of the raw images here for your viewing pleasure.

this is our renovated for 2014 VRB model in a 4.3 (PJ) configuration. we've updated several subtle things including more ergonomic upper register access, new in-house wound P/J pickups, new RGW branded strings (nickel is standard, stainless on units with Maple fretboards), a return to a more vintage style bridge saddle, neck mounting ferrules instead of a neck plate, easy access trussrod adjustment slot, option for a standard or reverse (shown) split P pickup configuration, etc ...

as always, our entire VRB model line is available lefty at no additional cost over a similarly equipped righty unit

all the best,

R

This is Such a nice looking bass! If the color is close to these pics, that's a head turner! The tort goes well with the color as too.... nice job Ron!

[Rodent]

and we're off!

17 basses + 5 guitars if I counted correctly (the middle seat area was also filled to the roof) ... two trucks filled with instruments, amps, misc gear, and the display booth. it's been a TON of work getting everything ready, but it's great to know it all got done (even if it was done just 15 minutes before load out )

see ya at NAMM

R

[AzWhoFan]

Bon voyage!!! and drive safely

[Rodent]

for the lefty bass content, it's a MM meets G&L influenced 4-string with a Nordstrand 2-band MM style preamp, Swamp Ash body, and 21-fret Birdseye/Ebony neck with a P width nut. Pics from the floor at NAMM unless I get a moment to snap some before then.

I have this priced to move at $1395 including SKB gig bag (we'll be quoting $1695 at the booth, but anybody from LeftyBassist can snag it for the discounted price by mentioning this post) It's a one of a kind unit ...

this left bass is SOLD and will be heading to it's new home at the end of the weekend. congrats to XxXxxXxx on grabbing this bass before it escaped into the wild

all the best,

R

[Rodent]

now that I've had a couple days to kinda catch up from the drive down and back (compared to the drive, exhibiting at NAMM was easy) here's a few random thoughts from this year's show

- the overall mood this year by both exhibitors and attendees seemed the most optimistic since I began attending 5-6 years ago

- logistics for our own booth was significantly more involved that the booth share we've done in years past. getting 22 instruments ready in time was somewhat easy compared to getting all the legalities/insurance/itineraries/hotels/transportation/schedules/etc ... of our own booth and 12 people from across the US together into a 10x10 square for 4 long days.

- even with 6 other guys officially helping as part of our exhibitor team, we were still overrun at times

- we had a total of 5 people who identified themselves as lefty players, and most of these were members here at LB

- if I had any doubts about offering a predominately passive lineup in a sea of custom builders giving Fodera a run on fancy woods and electronics, they are totally gone. our booth wasn't filled with guys endlessly slapping a riff in E what we did have was a steady stream of session players and touring pros (who themselves are not household names, but who support big name acts) stopping in to say that it's refreshing to see a builder that actually gets it

- passive 4-string P & J styled basses easily outsold everything else by 5:1 with the exception of our new Malibu model which was even with the 4's

- I sold more guitars (orders placed) than basses this year, and the trend continues in the first week post NAMM

- our dealer pricing model was embraced by 11 new dealers (consequently, you'll probably see even less of me online this year)

and lastly, I think NAMM 2014 revealed that we have found our niche in the market - players making instruments for players, building the tools depended upon to deliver sonically and ergonomically, and that actually get used in high profile sessions

I have a great team working with me at RGW, and I simply could not have done this without them

all the best,

R

[andrew]

Glad things went well for you Rod!