Carl Thompson (Born in 1939) is a luthier specializing in the construction of high-quality custom bass guitars, based in Brooklyn, New York. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ... For other meanings, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ...

Born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania to a large musical family, he moved to New York City in 1967 to pursue a career as a jazz guitarist. After working in a guitar shop to supplement his income, he started his own guitar repair business. He made his first instrument in 1974 and quickly gained renown in the craft. Pitcairn is a borough located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A blonde haired, very skilled worker with a 70s look. ...

Unusual custom bass guitars made by Carl Thompson are the piccolo bass - a guitar of the same dimensions as a normal bass but tuned an octave higher - and five and six-stringed contra-bass guitars. Carl is attributed with creating both the first electric piccolo bass (commissioned by Stanley Clarke) the first electric 6-string bass (commissioned by Anthony Jackson) as well as the first fretless six string (later converted to a fretted instrument and now owned by Les Claypool). Leslie Edward Les Claypool (born September 29, 1963 in Richmond, California, USA) is a singer/bassist, best known for his work with the alternative rock band Primus. ...

Les Claypool's six-string fretless, the "Rainbow Bass," which is made up of bands of different woods, is one of his trademarks. Besides the Rainbow Bass, Claypool owns six other Carl Thompson creations. The Rainbow Bass is a 6-string fretless bass guitar owned by Les Claypool of Primus. ...

Other artists for whom he has built instruments include: Stanley Clarke and Anthony Jackson. Stanley Clarke (born 30 June 1951) is an American musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as his numerous film and television scores. ... This article is about the musician. ...

The process of creating a Carl Thompson bass begins with a trip to Constantine's in The Bronx, NY, where one of the finest rare wood distributors is. Carl will spend literally hours looking over the wood to make sure it has the proper grain, no imperfections, and the correct look. Carl then begins to cut the wood into the various shapes of his basses and constantly measures and remeasures each piece to make sure that it is perfect. A single mistake can cost a lot of money and time. Carl then assembles the pieces using special brackets and looks over the assembled woods to make sure that he is comfortable with it. Once he is satisfied, he glues all the wood pieces together and lets it set. Then it is cut, routed and sanded, and the body is ready for electronics.

The neck is prepared in a similar manner and they are joined together in a special design perfected by Carl. Carl was concerned when creating the six string basses that there would be too much tension on the junction between the neck and the body. His unique design, since copied by numerous luthiers, ensures a solid joining between the two and little chance of problems in years hence. Carl often said that he should have patented the design, but it is nonetheless not surprising to see this design show up on guitars made by other prominent luthiers. Carl's influence on the electric bass design is at once subtle and profound.

Thompson basses are sought after and he maintains a two year waiting list, though some orders can take well over three years to complete. The cost for a basic four string bass made by Thompson is about $4,000. Basses such as the "Rainbow Bass" can cost well over $10,000 although Carl will not make copies of the bass for his clients despite being asked to do so in the past - he maintains that all his basses are "one of a kind".

He continues to be an active musician, practicing several hours a day, and performing once a week at a local Brooklyn restaurant. He has a fascination with jazz singers, and is a respected vocal coach of young singers, using his impressive record collection of old recordings to make a point with a young singer, calling on the past so that the incredible musicianship of the 20th century can be passed on to future generations.

Carl is known to have a musician's sense of humor and all kinds of wonderful and crazy things are known to happen when he is around. There is a story that once Carl and a friend went to the Jazz Club "Sweet Basil's" in NY for Sunday Brunch. Carl noticed a gentleman sitting at a table by himself with dark sunglasses on, an older gentleman. He said, "I wonder who that is? Let's go find out." So the two approached the table and stood on either side of the man. The man, obviously blind, heard them approach and stirred. Carl said, "I'm Carl. What's your name?" The man said, in a sonorous voice, "My name is Al Hibbler." Carl practically screamed, "AL HIBBLER? The singer for Duke Ellington! I can't believe its you!" Al stood up in this moment and said, "Help me to the bar?" Carl said, "it's right over here. We are having Screwdrivers." Al said, "hmmm. I think that I should have a screwdriver too, and he put one arm around Carl and another arm around the other fellow. Carl was as excited as a child to meet this charming and wonderful man. Carl said, "I do this vocal coach work and I always play your recordings to my students to understand vocalization." Hibbler said with great gusto and humor in his voice, "Oh Carl... Do you think that *I* could be a vocal coach?" Carl laughed hysterically at that and said, "Why sure!" Al soon took the stage with Doc Cheatem's quartet and sang an amazing and sonorous "Embraceable You." It's just another typical and wonderful story about Carl.

External links

• Carl Thompson Basses web site