Bass Gear Magazine - Nordstrand Guitars

bass
gear
2009 SHOW REPORTS!
Featuring the NAMM Show and the
just-finished Musikmesse Frankfurt!
All gear, all the time.
bassgearmag.com
Issue 3
Bob
Gallien:
taking
bass
to ever
greater
heights.
$7.50US
GK Fusion 550
Ibanez BTB 5 String
Hartke HyDrive
Does GK’s first tube pre +
solid state power head shine?
We test the very first
maple-board BTB’s.
Can the new Hartke stack
pass our torture test?
Cookin’
with
Carey
Our resident
gourmand,
Tom Bowlus,
samples some of
Carey Nordstrand’s
home cooking.
Nordstrand
NORDY vJ5
T!
S
E
T
bass
gear
bass
gear
33
Travelin’ Man
S
ooner or later, we all come around to
the Jazz Bass. Yes, it's fun to play around
with other styles of instruments, and yes,
those fancy basses have their appeal. But
when it comes to getting the job done
both on the gig and in the studio, many
players find themselves reaching for a Jbass at some point or another. So it comes
as no surprise than many luthiers either
start off with a J-style bass in their lineup,
or else add one at some point. Carey
Nordstrand has made a name for himself
in the custom exotic instrument market,
as well as garnering wide acclaim for his
pickups.
The Nordy line is Carey's take on an
"enhanced" Jazz Bass, and it's also his idea
of a "production" instrument, though
certainly each bass sees a lot of individual
attention. Starting with a
solid foundation, Carey
Nordstrand adds his own
secret spices, some special
sauce, and a whole lotta
TLC to cook up his own
take on the ultimate J-bass.
36
bass
gear
Good things come to those
who... hang out with their
buds? Sometimes this is true.
Carey Nordstrand got his
start in the lutherie business
assembling Traveler guitars,
which at the time were made
out of Caleb's Guitar in
Redlands, Cali-fornia, where
his buddy Ryan worked. The
owner (yup, Caleb) apparently got tired of Carey
just hanging out, and put
him to work assembling
guitars. Following his time
with Traveler, Carey spent
two years working for Steve
Azola, where he handled
production woodworking,
and picked up many of the
techniques he still uses
today. Prior to going solo in
2003, he also spent four
years at Suhr Guitars, where
he did everything from
wiring, to building guitars, to surfacing
and fretting necks.
Carey's process is slower and more
archaic than most. He doesn't like huge
spinning router bits, which he feels are
more dangerous and also lead to more
tear-outs. Instead, he prefers to band-saw
the bodies close to the right shape, and
finish things off with sanders. While he
does use some routering templates, he
likes to finish things by hand. One of his
favorite tools is his Japanese saw file. He
believes that these techniques not only
bring a higher level of accuracy, but also a
higher level of safety to the workplace.
The first Nordstrand basses that I was
aware of were his beautiful (and fancy!)
custom exotics, such as the NJ line and
the single-cut SC's. It seemed like each
instrument was a work of art unto itself,
and Carey's demand soon outpaced his
production. These custom instruments
were very labor-intensive, and this is
partly what led Carey to develop the
Nordy line (and at least temporarily put
the exotic custom basses on the back
burner). Another factor was that it seemed
a lot of these basses were not making their
way out to gigs (often from an owner not
wanting to scuff their instrument). "I hate
to see an old bass that is in pristine shape,"
says Carey, "because that means it is not
getting played." While Carey is not
currently taking orders for any of his
custom models, he certainly hasn't
forgotten any of the skills he picked up.
Our tester vJ5, with its highly figured
maple top, flamed maple neck, and crazy
birdseye board prove that he still has a few
exotic tendencies.
Exotic Production
The Nordy line of 4 and 5-string basses
are supposed to be Carey's "productionlevel" offerings, but all of the basses are
made entirely in Nordstrand's Yucaipa,
California shop. The only thing done
elsewhere is the paint work on the bodies.
The goal was definitely to give the player
a highly functional J-style bass, but also to
take advantage of the latest materials and
building techniques. A "Jazz Bass, Plus,"
you might say.
The 4-string vJ4 and 5-string vJ5
models comes stock with Nordstrand
NJ4/5 single-coil J-style pickups, set up
volume/volume/tone. Volume/blend/tone
is also an option. You can choose from a
variety of Nordstrand pickups (the stock
J-style windings are ‘60s era, though ‘70s
windings are available on request), or add
a 2 or 3-band preamp, if you like. The
scale length is 34" with 20 frets on the
vJ4, versus 34.5" with 21 frets on the vJ5
(though Carey has recently developed a
34" scale 5-string with a one-piece neck
which he says really nails a more vintage
vibe). Carey has chosen a compound
radius (9" to 14" on the vJ4; 12" to 20"
on the vJ5) for enhanced playability. Both
models feature small vintage-style fret
wire, a bone nut (1.5" and 1.81"), 19mm
bridge spacing, and a satin-finished neck.
This test bass features a very light swamp
ash body, with a highly figured (and
beautiful!) maple top. The neck is flamed
maple, supporting a crazy birdseye maple
fingerboard. All in all, this is a good bit
more fancy than your typical Nordy. In
fact, this particular bass was inspired by
one of the first of the "exotic Nordys,"
Adrian Garcia's very own "Charity" –
which was featured in the Fundamental
Support column in issue #1. This – and a
whole lot of love and respect – is why the
heel plate is engraved "In Memory of
Adrian Garcia, 1958 - 2008." This
engraving can be had on any Nordy for an
upcharge of $50, which is in turn donated
in its entirety to St. Jude's Children's
Research Hospital.
The pickups in our test bass are
Nordstrand Big Singles, which give you
single-coil cut, but with a bigger, more
aggressive tone. These pickups are a
popular choice in the Nordy line (80% of
all 5-string Nordys use Big Singles), and
it's easy to see why. In addition to
sounding great, I happen to like the look
of the wider – but not too wide – shells
with their exposed poles. And their
rounded edges make for a great thumb
rest. Another option on this bass is the 3band Nordstrand preamp, developed
jointly with Homebrew Electronics. It
features +/- 12dB for all three bands: Bass
(50Hz), Mids (push/pull switchable for
1kHz or 400Hz), and Treble (4kHz).
There is also an internal trim pot for
overall gain (+/- 10dB). The three-band
preamp employs two dual-channel
opamps, so gain, Bass, Mids and Treble all
have their own channel.
I have been able to play basses with this
preamp in its prototype form, its initial
production form, and now in its final
production form. The prototype blew me
away with its neutrality, and the ability to
boost or cut on any band and still sound
musical. It can do a very convincing
“passive” sound, if you keep the gain set
fairly low and don’t EQ too much
(though this bass also has a true passive
mode). Each subsequent version of the
preamp had some subtle tweaks (my
favorite being the switchable midrange
center points), but the latest models
sounds very much like the first one I
heard (and that's a good thing!).
The finish is a nice, sturdy clear gloss,
with a satin finish to the neck. The tuners
and bridge are both from Hipshot,
though the B-style bridge is an option (a
more vintage-appropriate bent-plate
bridge is standard). Oh, and mounting
the output jack on the side is another
option (top-mount is standard). All
Nordys get a dual-action steel truss rod,
which is flat on top, and rounded on the
bottom. Cary glues some relief into the
neck so that the rod has a little tension on
it. On the whole, the fit and finish is just
killer!
Fancy Meets Function
This is the second vJ5 that I have been
able to play for an extended period of
time. The first one is a little different,
with an alder body, rosewood board, and
Fat Stack pickups. Both are nicely
balanced, clear, full, and solid. This makes
them great for auditioning other gear, and
as such, both have seen a good bit of time
not only in practice and on the gig, but
also long nights spent playing the same
riffs over and over through a variety of
rigs. One of the things which I noticed
right away about the fancy vJ5 was that
the stock Dunlop strings had a very
different feel and tone, compared to the
Sadowsky Black Label SS rounds on my
older Nordy. The Dunlops were definitely
more mellow, and tad more round, but
with less bite. After playing them both for
a while, I also realized that the pickup
heights were a little off, with the bass side
bass
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37
of the pickups on the new Nordy being a
good bit lower. Once I put similar strings
on both basses and set them up about the
same, comparing the two directly, the
alder/rosewood vJ5 is a bit more smooth
and precise, with slightly more full lowmids, and the ash/maple is a little warmer,
a bit more punchy, and certainly the more
growly of the two. Please note, I tend to
use the Fat Stacks on the alder vJ5 in
single-coil mode.
There is no denying the growly, Jazz
Bass tone, but the Big Singles also bring a
certain authority to the tone that you
don't quite get with more traditional
single coils. At a recent rock gig, the vJ5
was hitting hard through a Mesa/Boogie
Titan V-12, PH610 rig. I had nearly
limitless punch on hand, but also deep,
tight lows, and bright, but never brittle,
highs. Favoring the neck pickup brought
a tad more low-mid bark, but it had
plenty of fullness and a nice woody/airy
top end with both pickups full-on, so
that's where I left things (EQ flat, to
boot).
Though I am not overly adverse to
heavier basses (within reason), I must say
that the light weight and excellent balance
left me feeling noticeably lighter on my
feet at the end of two sets. The neck
profile is fairly flat, but not so much so
that it felt thin or fragile. I found it to be
quite comfortable, and definitely on the
fast side. Carey explains, "This is not a 5string version of a 4-string neck; it was
designed to feel and play 'right' from a 5string player's perspective." Fear not,
4-string players! The neck on the vJ4 is, of
course, designed to feel and play like a 4string neck.
Playability was excellent, up and down
the neck, with good string-to-string
balance (after the pickup height tweak)
and nothing worth noting as far as dead
spots are concerned. I like how Carey uses
different looking pieces of maple to form
a consistent, but still very interesting,
overall look. Obviously, a bass with a top
and board like this tends to get more than
a few compliments. But all those knobs
tend to generate their own observations.
At first, people say things like, “How do
you know what to do with all of those
knobs!?!” But once I explain their function
(volume, volume, tone, bass, mid, treble),
most folks reply something like, “Oh, well
that makes sense.” And it does. This knob
layout is actually very easy to adjust to,
despite looking a little busy, at first.
The Bottom Lime
The Nordy line makes it clear that even an
established custom exotic bass builder like
Carey Nordstrand sees the value of a good
Jazz Bass. And this particular Nordy
makes it clear that guys like that never
really lose their flair for fancy woods. Is
this the most authentic J-style bass on the
market? No, not at all. But it was not
intended to be, either. This is a J-bass with
benefits. Pricing is very reasonable for
what you get, especially if you avoid some
of the extra fancy options. But, if you love
the look of an exotic top and fingerboard,
Carey’s got ya covered there, too. Now, if
I could just get him to share some of that
BBQ… bg
:
38
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test
NORDSTRAND
2009
:
bass
gear
Nordy vJ5
5-STRING
BASS
C O N F I G U R AT I O N
Strings
Style
Overall length
Body dimensions
Body contouring
Weight
5
Double cutaway, offset
46”
20” tall x 14.25” wide at lower bout
Moderate
8.7 lbs
CONSTRUCTION
Body woods
Neck woods
Fretboard
Body finish
Neck finish
Swamp Ash/Figured Maple top
Maple
Birdseye Maple
Polyester (gloss)
Satin acrylic urethane
HARDWARE
Strings
Gauge
Attachment
Bridge/color
Nut
Tuners/color
Knobs/color
Pickguard
Cover attachment
Dunlop stainless roundwound
.45, .65, .85, .105, .125
Bridge
Hipshot B-style / Chrome
Unbleached bone
Hipshot / Chrome
Metal / Chrome
None
Plastic
NECK
Scale
Width at nut
Width at 12th fret / joint
Thickness at nut
Thickness at 12th / joint
String spacing at nut
String spacing at saddle
Radius / Shape
String break nut / bridge
Afterlength nut / saddle
Attachment
Pocket gap
Truss rod style / access
Fret count
Fretwire
34.5”
1.845”
2.596” / 2.762”
.845”
.916” / 1.09”
.29” (7.37 mm) between strings
.743” (18.9 mm) on center
Compound 12 to 20” / flat ‘C’ shape
12 degrees / 16 degrees
1.375” to 6.75” / 1.5”
Bolt-on, 4 bolts
None - perfect pocket
Single rod, double action / body
21
78 x 35
ELECTRONICS
Pickups
Pickup placement
Electronics
Controls
Shielding
Power
2 Nordy J-style
2.5” and 6” from the bridge
Nordstrand 3-band
Volume, Volume, Tone, 3 band EQ
Shielding paint and foil
9-volt
GENERAL
Company
Nordstrand Guitars
33575 Yucaipa Boulevard, Suite 4
Yucaipa, CA 92399
www.nordstrandguitars.com
Country of Origin
USA
Warranty
Lifetime Limited
Direct Price
$2,500.00 (base model)
Options
Upgraded woods, 3-band pre, side
input jack, abalone inlays, B-style bridge, and a deluxe gig bag
Accessories
Tool kit
Price as Tested
$3,550.00
Available colors
Numerous
Available options
Numerous
CONDITIONS
Acquired from
Nordstrand Guitars
Dates
November 2008 through April 2009
Locales
Ohio
Test gear
Mesa/Boogie Titan V-12 and M6
Carbine heads, Mesa/Boogie PH210, PH212, and PH610 cabs,
TecAmp Puma 1000 and S210, Reeves Custom 225, EpiFunky 210 &
410, Epifani D.I.S.T. 210 & 115, PJB M-500 & Neo-Power 8B, Wayne
Jones 2x10, Markbass LMII and Studio Pre 500 heads
TEST RESULTS
1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
in­hand
Dynamics
Dead Spots
String to string balance
Access to upper register
Ergonomics
Left hand feel
Aesthetic appeal
Tone (see below)
Value
on­bench
4
4
4
4
4
4.5
5
4
4.5
SONIC PROFILE
Lows – tight and clear; deep,
though not exceedingly full
Mids – fairly balanced, on the
warm side
Highs – bright, clear, not harsh
Overall construction
4
Wood choice
4
Materials choice
5
Joinery
4
Fretwork
4
Fit & Finish of adornments 4
Quality of finish work
4
Ease of repair
4
Potential range of setup 4
Balance on knee
4
Balance on strap
4
Overall electronic quality 5
Solder joints, wire runs
5
Clarity
5
Noise
5
Shielding
5
Quality for Price Range
4
In-Hand Score
4.2 average
On-Bench Score
4.4 average
TONE-O-METER
Jazz Bass on Steroids! Nice
balance from top to bottom,
and it can bring the growl
when you want it.
BASS
LAB
Phil Maneri’s
2009 Nordstrand
Nordy vJ5
5-string
Bass
This lightweight blonde’s familiar curves
were born to carry the Big Single pickups
that are Nordstrand’s marquee offering.
These single coils are wide, flat, and fat
with dual staggered pole pieces under each
string that set off this cross between a P90
and a J-bass pickup perfectly. They yield a
fat but razor sharp deep tone that is both
unique and familiar, and totally addictive.
The 3-band preamp is also an in-house
creation that is unusually quiet. This
electric power plant is teamed up with a
perfectly shielded control cavity, and a
custom fit cavity cover held down with
machine screws so you get a lifetime of
battery changes without stripping stuff
out. As expected with Nordstrand, the
electronics are impeccable.
The ash body is shaped like a traditional
J-bass, and features a uniquely figured
maple top. The neck is traditional maple,
with a nice flame, topped by a birdseye
maple fingerboard. The usual Hipshot
suspects are found for bridge and tuners;
hard to go wrong there. Very light wood
yields excellent balance and an easy
shoulder for those five-hour, four-set
marathon gigs. It’s so light, in fact, that I
assumed it was chambered. Apparently it’s
not. Nice. All the joinery and detail work
is excellent, leaving me little to complain
about.
The fretwire is small, but a traditional
vintage size. The 12 to 20” compound
radius is a strong departure from a vintage
7.25.” Being a vintage nut, I prefer the
smaller wire, but the radius ends up
seeming overly flat to me. In spite of that,
it plays comfortably.
When playing the bass around the shop, I
must admit not being particularly drawn
to it. It has all the stuff it’s supposed to,
and is worth the asking price. It just left
most of us saying “nice bass” but not “I
must have this bass,” like we have with
several others we’ve seen for the magazine.
That really means nothing here though.
Everyone is looking for something
different in their instruments. This one is
a very worthy contender in the price
range. Its electronics alone are worth the
price of admission. Perhaps you can find
your muse in this one.
Top: The perfect pocket.
Above: Famous Nordstrand pickups.
Below: A cavity even a dentist would love.