The Jazz "Flammy"

Looks can be deceiving. How often have you given something closer inspection, only to realize what you're dealing with is a completely different animal than what a simple first glance led you to think...

Based on the idea behind the original Norton Customs "Jazz Lammy," the second of this year's two ISB show basses melds traditional aesthetics and refined playability with truly unique, custom features:

First is the bass itself - a custom-built Sam Shen "Flame-Top" laminated bass, built exclusively for Norton Customs. The instrument is one of four in existence, with no plans to build more. As the name suggests, the bass sports gorgeous, heavily-figured maple veneers on the sides, back AND top, making for a unique look in its own right, and providing visual impact from ANY angle. The amber finish is shaded, antiqued and and otherwise distressed to give the bass a true vintage vibe with new-instrument quality and reliability.

The details betray further custom appointments... The tuners are high-quality, surface-mounted individual machines with a bold, overbuilt look and excellent functionality. While they are focal points in themselves, they also allow the pegbox to flaunt more of its beautiful maple. On the other end is a Mike Pecanic tailpiece specifically made for this bass and consisting of flamed maple and ebony. Also finished in a shaded amber, the tailpiece compliments the instrument perfectly. Meanwhile, all around the top and back's one-piece figured maple, a hand applied black-natural-black faux purfling accentuates the well-proportioned violin outline of the bass.

The setup caters primarily to jazz pizz players, but still has the ability to be bowed cleanly. The string heights are low and the feel is buttery, though the adjustable bridge (with gold-anodized aluminum adjusters) allows you to crank up the height for situations requiring more punch and volume. The bass is strung with Pirastro Jazzers, wonderful steel strings similar to Thomastik Spirocores, but having a slightly looser feel, fuller tone and better arco-ability.

Note: Being at the mercy of available lighting when these pictures were taken, the instrument's color displays here as slightly off. In particular, the darker browns on the bass appear reddish here; they are not as red in reality. Pictures accompanied by a ( * ) are the most accurate representations in terms of color.

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