"A Tree With Strings" - Apeiron Bass Classic

A reimagination of my reimaginating. ApeironBass.com
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be good,
Tim

[@johnbhumphrey]

I've been following you for quite a while. You've come a long way with building musical instruments. Someday, when we're all long gone, your instruments will be sought after by the top collectors around the world and will be priceless. I truly believe that. The song played on this video is kickass! Being you played it I'm assuming you wrote it. Dude, it's a great piece of work, the arrangement with the guitar caught my attention, so cool in my opinion.

[@timsway]

Cheers! The music is from my collection of "youtube music" I made for myself a few years ago. A lot of my older videos have that and other, similar musical songs. The part that makes me most proud of that particiular recording is I resisted temptation to add a treble pickup, wah wah "chicka-whacka" track :) And as is typical in artists' trajectories, all the money will be made off my work between private investors as tax shelters long after I'm dead, - making certain I never see any of it! lol.

[@doubledarefan]

No frets? Oh, that's right, don't fret!

[@orifox1629]

it looks beautiful. Just utterly stunning. Never seen a one piece instrument like this before and never seen a hidden pickup like that either. Man if I wasn't broke . . .

[@timsway]

They sell for less than you think! Less than a new, American Fender bass... newperspectivesmusic.com

[@orifox1629]

@@timsway Oh don't get me wrong they're VERY reasonably priced, I just lack any income. I'll definitely send people your way though!

[@ghosthawk65]

Fantastic, your best design/work yet!

[@TotalBoat]

Gorgeous work, Tim!

[@lydiaskinner-noble6830]

I want this...

[@timsway]

you can have it! It's for sale at newperspectivesmusic.com

[@rhyansworkbench]

Great build! Thinking outside the box is always a great place to think. I actually just finished a cigar box guitar that has a similar headstock (although mine is a rectangle). Can't wait to see what comes next!

[@loosepears]

The Apeiron is my guaranteed to by next NSP purchase. I was lucky enough to buy a fret less prototype from Tim many, many moons ago and it is still a wonderful experience every time it touches my hands. (Not to mention the custom Tim made for me not too long ago!) Apropos of nothing, blame it on my Southern accent, but I’ve been saying APE-iron for years now! What a fool I am lol 😭🤣

[@ricos1497]

Actually, you're entirely correct. The apeiron name originated in France in the early nineteenth century. To celebrate victory in battle, Napoleon ordered the building of the arc de triomphe in Paris. Upon completion, there was a grand celebration, to which a mountain gorilla - captured and caged in Senegal (a french colony at the time) - was transported. At the height of the celebrations, French soldiers performed a fifteen gun salute, firing into the air. Startled, the gorilla pulled at the bars of its cage with such strength that the iron was bent in half. Fearing that the animal may escape and ruin his parade, Napoleon ordered that it be shot: "trois fois, dans le visage" (three times, in the face). Impressed by the strength of the animal, Napoleon had it stuffed and its corpse remained at the foot of his bed for the remainder of his years. Parade organisers rescued the bent bars from the animal's cage, and used them - as we would now - as truss rods in two four stringed instruments, of a new design, which they coined: "Les irons d'ape" (iron of the ape). It was said that the instruments were of a deep register, to personify the overwhelming strength of the ape, and many have suggested that these could have been the very first bass guitars. However, only a few descriptions remain of the instruments, which were destroyed by Napoleon himself as his grip on France was waning. The name Ape iron still persists in France to this day.

[@timsway]

Man, I love you for your dedication to this!! www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apeiron

[@timsway]

nice to hear from you! Yea, and we went through it with UPS smashing your custom. Glad to hear the repairs held and they are both being played. I thought the first one was fretted. It's fretless? What the heck do you have? lol.

[@loosepears]

@@timsway it was fretted originally but the neck bowed out, so you took a broken neck of an upright bass and replaced it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqPCpHSYZZyJmposi=feRIVmuJ4Ov0PKbo

[@timsway]

@@loosepears oh yea! Now I remember. That amp is still in my shop and still mostly works!

[@sgsax]

I dig the bass, but I also really dig this soundtrack. Funky bass makes funky music. Thanks for sharing!

[@niltonsilva8182]

Is beautiful the Bass!

[@allenmitchell09]

cool bass line

[@kkupsky6321]

That tune during the video was cool

[@mccypr]

A very cool Bass!!😎

[@zombielynx21]

I think this might be the coolest one of these yet.

[@RyoCanCan]

I absolutely love your philosophy making instruments! One of these days I will own one for sure!

[@LukeTheJoker]

Love it.

[@MrAaroncissell]

I am really blown away by the price of your custom building for the Apeiron. I was expecting t see 3X to 4X the price. Hell at those prices it is a couple hundred under the Fender American Pro. Not to mention it looks just so good. Not like a copy of everything else.

[@timsway]

Cheers. If my motivations were to get rich, I would be doing something else ! Making custom, eco-conscious instruments affordable to everyone is a big part of my goals. Since I have no overhead besides me and my workshop, that saves 100% markup right there over the retail machine, right off the top. A lot (most) other custom makers running small shops like mine charge more because (besides getting ripped off on and ripping you off on exotic "tone wood"), quite honestly, their work is probably "better"! All those little, details, pearly inlays, layers of fancy veneers and perfectly hand-carved volutes, 20-coat finishes - none of which helps you play better! lol. I don't do a lot of that (and when I do on custom builds, the prices go up!) What I'm searching for is a sweet spot in minimal, elegant yet efficient and not time consuming design, that I can make and sell for a price most people can afford, and that I can stay in business. And of course, to not poison the planet as much as the factories.

[@toddpack6301]

Wow! That is an awesome sounding/looking bass.

[@garagemonkeysan]

Great video. Love the clean look of the bass. Mahalo for sharing! : )

[@markfdesimone]

I cannot imagine that staying on the shelf long. It even sounds great on my phone's eency speakers.

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

looks great sounds great...love this tons

[@jeffbridges6110]

man. I love yur channel. But I'm really digging this song on this one.

[@cheapskate8656]

Another innovative build Tim. Excellent work.

[@sapelesteve]

Now that is a fantastic fretless Bass build Tim which should sell pronto! Well done my friend! 👏👏🎸🎸

[@awogbob]

for sure my favorite of your designs

[@markgordon4368]

Really nice work, no cease and desist coming from the corporate makers, it's all you dude 😊

[@SPLENDIDZEN]

Excellent fretless electric bass craftsmanship on your part!... Congrats!...

[@ItsBofu]

I'll have to save up for it, but I'm eyeing the 5-string fretless model. Excellent work!

[@faroironandcustoms6577]

I like it!!!

[@allenmitchell09]

if I had unlimited money, my collection would be a lot of hand made stuff like this. I already have a high spirit guitar, which is a one man operation too and makes everything but maybe the tuners and pots I think. I want an Unquendor guitar, which is too another one man outfit with Daniel out of Holland making incredible instruments. And, he has a great channel on YT as well, check him out. Another guitar in my collection would be a Valiant guitar out of Ukraine. Not a one man show but incredible instruments too. I want a Bilt. Well, from seeing Josh Scott play one. I'm sure I could ramble on and on because of so many beautiful instruments in the world.

[@GoGetFletch]

"A Tree with Strings" and attitude. I love it. Congratulations Tim. Keep up the good creative work man. P.S. - what's the soundtrack to the video?

[@timsway]

cheers. Original "soundtrack music" I created

[@p.o.3889]

I really dig that bass! One thing that might add to that woody tone is making the nut from the same material as the fingerboard.

[@timsway]

On the first one the nut was carved FROM the fingerboard! I switched to ebony to mimic the typical upright bass ebony nut, maple bridge combo. Here's the first if you haven't seen it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4mqi6dqfZpqjsksi=1TI6h7iuAbwlE_2r

[@p.o.3889]

@@timsway Aaah, it was ebony! Nice! This is giving me serious GAS.

[@ultrasignificantfootnote3378]

Super cool, greetings from Rotterdam,the Netherlands😍

[@williamhart4896]

I like the shape and sound and the basic should sell fairly well

[@GeoffBosco]

Is the background music your music? I like it a lot, whatever it is.

[@ricos1497]

Yes, he plays it at the end.

[@timsway]

Yea, I['m due to do some new ones but I recorded a bunch of "KZbin Music" tracks for myself a few years ago using instruments I made (and drum beats). That made more sense for my content (and personality) than raiding the yt music library! lol

[@thetruemorg]

Personally, I've always loved your videos and I've always loved your sensibility around instruments. Genuinely, this feels like Lord of the rings. Elf in the woods sings an instrument into life from a tree brand from a tree branch. That is not to take away from the freaking beautiful design And amazing work you do! More so to say that I love the simplicity And undercurrent you've taken with this design. Like if a thousand years past and the last person that used the instrument just sat it down and Future archaeologists were looking at the thing. They would be befuddled with the right description of how the instrument was created as we are with many skilled Craftsmen of the past. Hopefully buttering your bread Correctly: If rock bands were generational that would be the bass That the 15th generation of led Zeppelin would have passed on for the last nine generations. I think tax time next year. I'm going to look this up and seriously think about getting a fretless from you.

[@timsway]

consider my bread buttered! I'm blushing :)

[@ender25ish]

Thank you for taking us on the journey of the creation of this bass, its a great entry to your lineup! I am curious as to how the knobs work being on the back, is it awkward to change them and do they dig into your side at all? Also, It'd add complication, but have you considered knobs that push in and pop out and the mounting them on the edge of the guitar?

[@timsway]

If you are a player who often uses knobs, like making volume swells with them, they would be a little awkward, but if you are a set it and forget it player or only sometimes change settings (like i think most bass players) it's not awkward at all and they do not touch your body. I have considered side mounts but the instrument is too thin or it gets too expensive (keeping it cost effective and lightweight are also key elements).

[@nostreamavailable9090]

That's really exceptionally cool , sounds really nice too. I really wish l could afford to have you build me something. Maybe one day 👍🏻

[@timsway]

Dunno if you've been to my website, but they're less than you think. Heck, they're less than boring, off-the-shelf American made P-basses!

[@DommoDommo]

Tim you ever get to check out those circular bass pickups I mentioned? The atlansia bass pickups? I would love to see your take on making something like that!

[@timsway]

OK, I can't fully have this convo now, but yes I did and they tie on to something I've been "working on" (thinking about) for YEARS AND YEARS that I'm finally making progress on and will be sharing here, soon. Maybe even later this summer?

[@DommoDommo]

​@@timswayhell yes!!

[@rcjd7834]

have you considered making a 6 string variant of the apeiron? this extended fingerboard seems like a perfect contender for one, and I really dig the body shape

[@timsway]

you can now design and order them in 5 string versions (a couple in stock, too). A 6 string version is totally doable as a custom order. you can contact me via the website, newperspectivesmusic.com, to discuss a custom build.

[@worksucksletsdrink6011]

Good shit Tim!

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

That's a really interesting design. The open headstock looks a little weak, as if it could snap across the short grain if it took a knock.

[@timsway]

Maybe! We'll find out (and if it does, I'll let you know on my YT channel :)

[@jamesadamgleason9471]

Let's is know when, not if, Claypool orders something!!! Top notch

[@timsway]

He has his own line of basses some luthier friends of his make out where he lives called Pachyderm. I don't think he'll be a customer any time soon :)

[@_Olorin]

sick

[@familyengineering5591]

I wanna play it

[@timsway]

If you are local to me (Connecticut) you are more than welcome to come play before you buy! newperspectivesmusic.com

[@MangledGuitars]

That sucker is a badass lookin' bass

[@DominusFeles]

That’s one great evolution right there! I wonder if they would survive being shipped to Sweden 🤔 And if my wallet would survive shipping and import fees 😅

[@timsway]

I have shipped to Europe and even Australia - I'm making one for an Australian right now. It is expensive to ship (figure $150-$200 US) and every country has it's one tariff laws, which can be high, so you'd need to look that up, but I am willing to ship anywhere.

[@jimyounger9490]

Definitely a piece of art. I’m just so anti knot that is my only negative thing to say. But awesome build.

[@timsway]

you mean the knot in the body? Yea, I kinda like that stuff. It's the imperfections in life that make life worth living. If everything was perfect life would be boring! lol

[@FunsongsMusicByPeterRahill]

121st looky-loo view. 26th LIKE posted at the end. Yep - still digging the design and simplicity of it - if it's okay to call it that.

[@timsway]

simplicity is the goal!

[@PerdixDesignLtd]

I wonder if there is a correlation with age? Flashy whistles and bells when younger, but as we... mature (ahem!) we want something that looks like it has been handed to us by a tree sprite. Lovely looking thing.

[@timsway]

How dare you say I'm mature! :)

[@PerdixDesignLtd]

@@timsway OK, we're old! LOL

[@curtiswilliams3241]

How much does it weigh???

[@timsway]

I didn't weigh this one yet but all the Apeirons tend to weigh around 6.5 lbs, give or take 1/2 pound.

[@GianmarioScotti]

How unique is this neck construction - fingerboard and neck in one piece but WITH a trussrod? I see absolutely no reason why all bass/guitar necks wouldn't be done this way, as long as the wood is hard enough for the fingerboard - and with maple, that's exactly it.

[@timsway]

maybe we'll find out why no one else does this together! lol I've experimented in smaller scale (little practice/travel guitars without truss rods) and everything seems cool, but the grain change of gluing a fingerboard to a neck certainly adds some strength that this does not have, however the wood I used is so rock hard I'm not concerned.

[@GianmarioScotti]

@@timsway is it too early to make an assessment now? (not sure you're still reading comments from this old-ish thread).

[@НЕпустаяфилософия]

Тим, назови её именем Джако Пасториуса! Он обязательно бы оценил твой труд!

[@familyengineering5591]

You know what would be cool? Extending the fretboard all the way to the bridge so it effectively acts as a ramp 👍

[@timsway]

there is a ramp built into the body

[@DeadKoby]

Bass players usually like outside the box thinking.......... so it's probably better to play to that game. Then again, there's others that swear "Leo got it right" 70 years ago... but they can just buzz off as far as I'm concerned. I like actually having the guitars that not so many others have.

[@timsway]

Indeed, there are, of course, many types of players, but most of them fit into one of those two categories. I love Model T Fords, but man am I glad the auto industry didn't stop there!

[@DeadKoby]

@@timsway Innovation comes it two forms... Either breaking the tradition... or restoring a forgotten tradition.

[@Makebuildmodify]

SECOND!!

[@timsway]

"If you ain't first, you're last" - Ricky Bobby's dad.

[@Makebuildmodify]

@@timsway Lol!

[@gckbowers411]

At what point did you realize your song sounded like "Come Together"?

[@denfinch5694]

Obviously a great well made and beautiful design but the sound is quite awful compared to conventional other fretless basses! Perhaps the trouble maybe with the grim Fender flatwounds? I have always used roundwounds all my playing life on all my umpteen basses and l realise that they can cause excessive wear but all my fretboards are made of either fine quality, rosewood, pau ferro, maple and ebony! I haven't noticed any heavy wear at all on any of my basses! I tend to go for a more upper middle tone, which this bass doesn't really have. I don't think it would provide a real kick in the mix! Perhaps it has got the ability of producing a more punchy middle tone?...

[@timsway]

there are knobs on the bass, knobs on the amp, etc., that can help with all that stuff! lol. I was playing with the tone knob rolled down on the bass and the little amp flatlined. Indeed strings are a majority of your tone. But the main difference in the sound between this bass and "conventional" fretlesses is the wood bridge. It's not for everyone and that's OK.

[@SuperSquark]

The hollow headstock is going to break along the grain. And its a one piece neck. Yikes

[@timsway]

I doubt it with this rock maple but we'll see! lol.

[@rod_andrade]

Nice, but not awesome. Removing that pickup would be a hell.

[@timsway]

It's not hard to remove at all. 4 screws

[@bronzesnake7004]

Three words come to mind my brother...COOL! FAR-OUT! & FUNKY!! You are the man bro, I love all your designs and the music is always killer!! Man, I remember the channel used to be, and where you are today!! WOW! What a ride you've taken us on!! take care and God Bless you and your family!! Jack ~'()'~ Canada aka "Commie-Da" Ruled (poorly, by the way) by Comrade, Crime Minister Justa Turdhole!!Report on my webi handed