Trevor Horn is the only player that I've seen that plays these. I know he has several? I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is of this bass. Thank you 
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Anyone play or own a Carruthers bass?
- Thread starter Direct Box Rox
- Start date
I have a 17th Street bass which was built by John Carruthers. It's a terrific bass - lightweight, perfect balance, great feel and tone.
never had the pleasure. i just saw a few online to familiarize: they look like great instruments...and i'd bet that they are marvelous (fun!) to play.
smeet
Gold Supporting Member
What follows is my personal biased opinion. Beware!
I’ve (briefly) owned one and test drove another. They were OK. Not as amazing as his apparently stellar reputation would imply. Workmanship was fine, but I think the current state of the art may have passed him by. I talked to him on the phone a couple of times, and he seemed rude and overly opinionated. I don’t care for EMG active pickups, and I asked him if he ever used anything else. He snapped at me and basically said that EMGs are the only pickups worth using. He was similarly dismissive of most of my other questions as well.
If you love your Carruthers, then I’m sure it’s a great bass. I didn’t have a great experience with the man or his instruments.
I’ve (briefly) owned one and test drove another. They were OK. Not as amazing as his apparently stellar reputation would imply. Workmanship was fine, but I think the current state of the art may have passed him by. I talked to him on the phone a couple of times, and he seemed rude and overly opinionated. I don’t care for EMG active pickups, and I asked him if he ever used anything else. He snapped at me and basically said that EMGs are the only pickups worth using. He was similarly dismissive of most of my other questions as well.
If you love your Carruthers, then I’m sure it’s a great bass. I didn’t have a great experience with the man or his instruments.
Who is Carruthers? He sounds like a man who should be bringing me my G&T as I sit on the veranda of my colonial mansion watching the sun set over Singapore. Or informing me that the local tribal chieftains are awaiting my presence in the library.
smeet
Gold Supporting Member
I too owned a Carruthers bass. It was a nice custom - but not anything that would rival a Sadowsky imo/ime.
John Carruthers had a shop in the Venice, LA area and serviced a lot of the studio musicians in the 1970's and 1980's. That is when I met him. I was referred to him by a rep with Yamaha, as I was playing Yamaha basses at the time and they told me that John had worked a lot with them on the design of the early Broad Bass (BB) series basses. Nice guy. Always gave me great set ups. I ended up buying a custom bass from him after I learned that he was the luthier who had built Lee Sklar's Frankenbass. So, I ordered my own custom bass with mandolin frets - like Lee's. Overall, I was happy with it and it was a nice bass. But, again, it was not nearly as nice as some of the basses I have owned since. I heard he was making basses and guitars under the 17th Street Guitars brand back in the early 2000's. Have not heard much from him since.
John Carruthers had a shop in the Venice, LA area and serviced a lot of the studio musicians in the 1970's and 1980's. That is when I met him. I was referred to him by a rep with Yamaha, as I was playing Yamaha basses at the time and they told me that John had worked a lot with them on the design of the early Broad Bass (BB) series basses. Nice guy. Always gave me great set ups. I ended up buying a custom bass from him after I learned that he was the luthier who had built Lee Sklar's Frankenbass. So, I ordered my own custom bass with mandolin frets - like Lee's. Overall, I was happy with it and it was a nice bass. But, again, it was not nearly as nice as some of the basses I have owned since. I heard he was making basses and guitars under the 17th Street Guitars brand back in the early 2000's. Have not heard much from him since.
Hey I like a no frills bass too, but I'll buy a Fender for that. A quick look tells me Smeet is right on target with his assessment. Uninspired, dated and just plain BOOORRRRRRING
I didn't even look at prices, not interested. Ymmv.
I didn't even look at prices, not interested. Ymmv.
Had a 5 of his for a few years in the early/mid 90's.
Had a crappy B even with the 35" scale.
Truss rod wasn't broke, but didn't easily straighten the neck enough.
The bridge spacing was wide 19mm/.75 inch. At that width, its funny he was such a big fan
of the EMG's (JJ setup) because at that point in time EMG's magnetic field wasn't wide enough
for a wide 5. The B and G strings were about 25% lower in volume than the other strings.
To his credit, I don't remember him charging me for the replacements when wider field EMG J's
became available, even though I bought the bass used from Guitar Center.
The body was big with not a lot of body contouring.
It wasn't terrible, but was one of my least fave "experiments".
Had a crappy B even with the 35" scale.
Truss rod wasn't broke, but didn't easily straighten the neck enough.
The bridge spacing was wide 19mm/.75 inch. At that width, its funny he was such a big fan
of the EMG's (JJ setup) because at that point in time EMG's magnetic field wasn't wide enough
for a wide 5. The B and G strings were about 25% lower in volume than the other strings.
To his credit, I don't remember him charging me for the replacements when wider field EMG J's
became available, even though I bought the bass used from Guitar Center.
The body was big with not a lot of body contouring.
It wasn't terrible, but was one of my least fave "experiments".
Interesting. Thank you for sharing. On a similar note (but in a totally different manner) - if you ever call Zon - Joe Zon answers the phone proll 70% of the time. He'll stay on the phone with you for an hour if thats what it takes to answer your questions. They have so many different options that just about any player will find a combination of pickups/preamps/woods/etc. to meet their needs. He was also extremely accomodating once I moved to a city that had no Zon dealer. I've owned two Zon's and he's had one of my testimonials on his web page since 1995. That kind of service & attitude is what makes me want to continue to support the brand.
FWIW, back when I still had the bass and was trying to sell it, I was gigging in Miami for about a year and a half, and nobody at any of the major stores in the region (including 2 Guitar Centers) would touch it because they had no clue who John Carruthers was.Huh? What are ya new? You don't know who Carruthers is?
As I understand it, John was involved in the design of the EMG active pups, which would account for his enthusiasm in that direction.
About ten years ago I needed someone to route, drill, and assemble a pile of custom parts. I was told John was the “luthier to the stars”, and did impeccable work. I brought my bag of parts to his shop and talked it over. I decided to give him a try, and asked how long before completion. When he said two weeks I let out an involuntary giggle.
He looked insulted, like I didn’t believe him, (which I didn’t). He gave me a short lecture about his business and schedule for the immediate future. As I left I told myself as long as he has started by four weeks I’d be ok.
I wish I could have taken a picture of his expression when, at 10 weeks, I showed up to collect my parts and go elsewhere.
Fren Asken made an amazing bass out of my parts. He said it would take 4-6 weeks, it was ready in 6. It only cast me abou
About ten years ago I needed someone to route, drill, and assemble a pile of custom parts. I was told John was the “luthier to the stars”, and did impeccable work. I brought my bag of parts to his shop and talked it over. I decided to give him a try, and asked how long before completion. When he said two weeks I let out an involuntary giggle.
He looked insulted, like I didn’t believe him, (which I didn’t). He gave me a short lecture about his business and schedule for the immediate future. As I left I told myself as long as he has started by four weeks I’d be ok.
I wish I could have taken a picture of his expression when, at 10 weeks, I showed up to collect my parts and go elsewhere.
Fren Asken made an amazing bass out of my parts. He said it would take 4-6 weeks, it was ready in 6. It only cast me abou
Not that I'm any bass guitar expert, but I'd like to think I know quite a bit - since I started playing in 1991 and think I have a good grasp on brands - even ones you don't normally hear of (Vigier, Esh, etc.). But I've never heard of Carruthers until the other day. I guess this brand slipped by me.
I've made my living in advertising. And if there's one thing I can say is that advertising pays (if done correctly). I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have ever owned two Zon's if I never saw a Zon ad for the Sonus. I was intrigued for 4 years or so until I finally got a Sonus V. But Zon doesn't run ads anymore. So it makes me wonder how many other people there are like myself out there that are oblivious to the brand and will never know about them because of lack of advertising?
Then again - if any company in any industry is 100% fine in their sales figures - then they probably think there is no need to advertise. But if the company has the ability to produce more instruments - then maybe advertising is something to look at.
The old adage "Everyone knows me and/or my store" doesn't fly. Everyone knows of McDonald's, right? But McDonalds spends a bajillion dollars a year advertising because a kid is born every minute that has never heard of McDonalds. Same with BMW, Audi, etc. etc. etc. etc.
But now I want to try a Carruthers and see for myself
When I bought it at an LA (Lawndale), CA Guitar Center in the mid 90's, I had never heard of him either...and he was local. I've never seen an ad for him and I think he is probably more well known (relatively) for the electric uprights (Sub 1?) he has produced.Not that I'm any bass guitar expert, but I'd like to think I know quite a bit - since I started playing in 1991 and think I have a good grasp on brands - even ones you don't normally hear of (Vigier, Esh, etc.). But I've never heard of Carruthers until the other day. I guess this brand slipped by me.
I've made my living in advertising. And if there's one thing I can say is that advertising pays (if done correctly). I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have ever owned two Zon's if I never saw a Zon ad for the Sonus. I was intrigued for 4 years or so until I finally got a Sonus V. But Zon doesn't run ads anymore. So it makes me wonder how many other people there are like myself out there that are oblivious to the brand and will never know about them because of lack of advertising?
Then again - if any company in any industry is 100% fine in their sales figures - then they probably think there is no need to advertise. But if the company has the ability to produce more instruments - then maybe advertising is something to look at.
The old adage "Everyone knows me and/or my store" doesn't fly. Everyone knows of McDonald's, right? But McDonalds spends a bajillion dollars a year advertising because a kid is born every minute that has never heard of McDonalds. Same with BMW, Audi, etc. etc. etc. etc.
But now I want to try a Carruthers and see for myself
I would say he's much less known than even the brands you mention.
I play one and I LOVE it!!Trevor Horn is the only player that I've seen that plays these. I know he has several? I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is of this bass. Thank you
I have one, also, and was looking forward to playing it next Sunday: the gig will be outdoors in 90-degree heat, and this bass wouldn't break a sweat (unlike its more fragile German 3/4 cousins).
When I fired it up just now, it wouldn't send a signal to the amp! I switched cords and even switched basses, but the Carruthers retained 'the right to remain silent.' If anyone knows how to breathe life back into a suddenly-silent Carruthers (or similar) skinny upright, I'm all ears. It has a plastic plate on the back of its skinny body, so there might be a battery in there that has expired.
When it's working, it is sometimes fun to play. There's a body-simulator so you can lean into the side as if you were playing your upright, and it even has a thumb groove alongside the right side of the fingerboard. I say 'sometimes fun' because it has way more Sustain than most uprights, so you have to exercise lots of control over resonance. With judicious EQ'ing, I made it work through a jazz cruise in Tahiti with an extraordinary singer - a gig Isle not soon forget.
Again: any clues as to how to get the bass singing again?
Or: anyone want to buy it, as-is? Tomastik Spirocore Orchestra strings, soft AND hard case.