CB Basses D Bass

First: Construction

Cliff Bordwell is an incredibly talented bass builder in Orlando, Florida, USA. This 4 string bass has a Spanish Cedar core, a RIDICULOUS piece of amboyna burl for the top, and an equally-obscene piece of birdseye maple for the back. There are bloodwood accents throughout the body. The neck is a five piece neck made of 3 pieces of quartersawn maple with 2 black stringers (of which wood I do not know the origin), a nicely figured birdseye maple board, an amboyna burl headstock cap, and a bloodwood nut. It has a beautiful oil finish...you'd think it was satin poly, since it is applied so evenly and well. The bass is a set-neck design with a deeply carved neck heel. It is a 34" scale bass, has 24 medium-small frets and the neck has a J-bass taper. It came with a Levy's gig bag.


Second: Electronics

It is fitted with an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, with a layout of v/v/t/m/b, and a pair of Nordstrand single-coil J-pickups.

Weight: 6.7 lbs...as we say in Boston, "It's a feathah!"

Sound:

Here's where I get giddy! I have been a dear friend of Carey Nordstrand for over 12 years....I've known him since his days at the Redlands Guitar Shop, and seen his rise as one of the prominent bass builders around today. I've played and owned his earliest pickups and basses, and have been proud to watch his business flourish to where it is today. I am sad to say, however, that I never gave his single-coil J pickups a chance....I was always drawn to his SE design, since it sounds so damn GOOD!!!! I figured, why mess with the possibility of 60 cycle hum when I can get all of this Jacoey-goodness out of the SEs? Oops.....big, BIG mistake!
The single coil pickups in this bass are THE TRUTH!!!!!!!! Just freakin' UNREAL!!!!! All of the punch of the SEs, but with so much more detail in the top end...anyone who thinks these pickups sound thin does not hear good tone the way I hear it...sorry. Jaco burp for DAYS, and the slap tone is wicked with both pickups fully on! These pickups have made me a true believer in his single-coil design! It doesn't hurt, however, that Cliff has the cavity shielded up like the Franklin mint!!!! Silent. Even with one pickup soloed. Yowza!!!!!
They work incredibly well with the OPB-3, especially the mid boost. The Aggie bass boost can get a bit unruly, but due to the nature of singles, I think this is a good thing, especially if you want to thicken up the bridge pickup sound. These pickups were undoubtably THE match for this bass....thanks Carey and Cliff!

Playability:

Well, the bass came from humid Florida to sunny, windy and dry Southern California, and right out of the bag, it was VERY playable! All I really needed to do was put a 1/2 turn on the truss rod, and the neck was DEAD-flat, and it needed no saddle adjustments whatsoever! Some people complain about having to make a truss rod adjustment on their bass after it is shipped to them, and they complain about the quality of the action, fit and finish....are they nuts??!!?? When a bass is shipped ANYWHERE from a different climate, the neck is going to move, no matter who the builder is. I've shipped and owned over a hundred high-end/custom basses, and the neck on this CB Bass is more stable than any other wooden-necked bass I've owned...I'm surprised that it was as flat as it was...it almost didn't need adjustment.
Cliff really knows how to dial-in the action on a bass! Usually (with the exception of any of Carey Nordstrand's basses), I need to do an extensive setup to get the relief/string saddle relationship just right, but Cliff had it nailed! Speaking of the truss rods, I do believe that Cliff makes his own, since he has a machinist's background. I've gotta tell you, I don't know how he achieves it, but that rod feels as if it's gliding on teflon when you adjust it...smooooooovvvveeee as silk!!! Very nice touch!! It screams "This is how every truss rod should feel!" Seriously, every boutique luthier should be getting their truss rods from Cliff.....like nothing I've experienced.

The action is nearly laying on the deck....about 3/64ths or so. It's DOWN there! I play primarily over the back pickup, so I can get away with low action without the string travel "bottoming out" on the frets. Well, the frets are so well seated and leveled that even when I dig in over the back pickup, there is NO fret rattle whatsoever, even when it's played unplugged! Plugged in, it's got this evenness about the feel of each string. I usually feel that when I'm playing around the 12th fret or so, as I'm coming down in one position, I have to dig in on the A string a bit to keep even "burp" on the notes, but this one doesn't require any change in my right hand to keep the punch coming out of each note evenly! A sign of a very well built and layed-out design. Kudos!!!!!
I play with the pickups adjusted so they are right under the strings, and they were setup perfectly (for me) right out of the box.

This bass is built to be played! As far as reliability, it's a no-brainer. Cliff stands behind his basses 100%, and he's a great guy, to boot! Anyone buying a CB Bass will not have any problems.
The hardware is all high end Hipshot, and the buttons are Dunlops, so it needs NO tweaking!

Cliff is a rock, and so are his basses....when you call, you get HIM on the phone. He's a one-man shop, and treats his customers like gold. The bass has a lifetime workmanship warranty to the original owner.

I've been playing for 30 years, and am a professional bassist and percussionist....I own a Nordstrand, F Bass, Roscoe fretless, an R bass, and this CB bass, as well as EA amps and Furlinetto custom cabinets.
I would replace this bass with another CB bass is a heartbeat if anything were to happen to it. I've owned a ton of high end customs, and this bass is THE ONE! The only bass that stands in its league, IMO, is a Nordstrand. You name it, I've owned it. The CB Bass and a Nordstrand are as good as money can buy.

If anyone is considering purchasing a bass from Cliff at CB Basses, you probably haven't had the opportunity to play one first. All I can tell you is that I am THE pickiest guy I know about gear, and this bass satisfies my needs fully....take the plunge; you'll be SO glad you did!