Lamont Guitar Company
Flatback Guitars
The Lamont Flatback models are made by Craig Wickstrom in our Custom Shop in Olympia, Washington. The Flatback Sideman is named for the person who is busy behind the scenes recording and backing up the headliner. He/she needs the best quality, best sounding, solid wood instrument with a minimum of ornamentation. This bass is the “go-to” tool, day after day that can be counted on to sound great. This bass is personally handmade and tone tuned by Craig, one by one. You can request that he build one especially for you. Please call.
Wood this size is VERY difficult to obtain through wood suppliers so our luthier has to cut these pieces from large billets he has located and climatized. Our Flatbacks come with Black Nylon wrapped strings that are preferred by most acoustic bass guitar players. Phosphor bronze strings are available for those who prefer a brighter “raisin in the sun”, Brian Richie-style sound. The Flatback Sideman has an all solid wood Mahogany back and sides with AAA Alaskan Sitka Spruce tops with an inlayed rosette but no purfling or binding. It is finished in a satin that will hold up for years and can be re-newed if needed. A dual action truss rod, monitor port and Fishman Presys EQ/Tuner. A gig bag is provided and a hard-shell case is available as an option.
At some point a player is going to “get off the porch and onto the stage” and will need a pickup. For your convenience we include the high quality and transparent Fishman PreSys 421 bass undersaddle pickup with EQ and tuner on each Flatback we make. If you prefer an instrument without a pickup for your personal installation, we will be glad to build it for you.
The Flatback Performer I & II: This is for a real player, perhaps a former sideman, that is fronting a group and needs the same level of solid-wood, quality-built instrument with a touch more ornamentation. The Flatback Performer I comes with solid Mahogany back and sides and AAA Alaskan Sitka Spruce top, Ivoroid binding, and Herringbone purfling and rosette for a vintage “Martinesque” feel. It has a dual action truss rod, monitor port and Fishman Presys EQ/Tuner. A gig bag is provided and a hard-shell case is available as an option.
The Flatback Performer II comes with Tortoise shell binding and all the specifications of the Model I.
The Flatback Performer Xtreme Model shown below has a solid, California Claro Walnut back and sides, AAA Sitka Spruce top with herringbone purfling and rosette, with Ivoroid binding. The body is hand-polished high gloss lacquer. The neck is a Moses Graphite Inc carbon graphite with 150 pieces of Abalone and Mother of Pearl inlaid into the fingerboard. This is truly a one of a kind instrument in tone and ornamentation from Craig Wickstrom at our Custom Shop.
The Lamont Flatback Standard model.
Let’s talk reality. I LOVE AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS! Our luthier makes a limited number of instruments a year in his small shop in Olympia, Washington. He carefully molds each instrument by hand with care and the best materials we can find. However, the demand for a quality Lamont Flatback Bass has exceeded his ability to supply them. After years of searching and prototyping from different sites, we have found a small custom shop in China who has the same high standards we have. They are committed to one thing: making the best handmade instruments. To assure quality we supply the AAA Alaskan Sitka Spruce tops to the custom shop in China.
Our Standard model Flatbacks are handmade to our specifications following the hand drawn blue prints provided by our luthier. Solid wood this size is VERY difficult to obtain for the back and sides so we are able to provide this model at a savings to you by offering laminated back and sides. This makes these instruments stronger and less easily dented—a problem with this size instrument. We find they project the sound equally well. The Standard Model has Mahogany back and sides, solid AAA Alaskan Sitka Spruce tops, Herringbone, rosette and matching purfling, Maple binding on the body adds a classy luthier’s touch.They have the same dual action truss rod, monitor port, Fishman Pre-sys EQ/Tuner and Phospher Bronze D’Addario or Black Nylon Wound strings as our other models. A gig bag is provided and a hard-shell case is available as an option.
SPECIFICATIONS:
The Lamont Flatback is 18” wide at the lower bout, 12” wide at the waist, 14” wide at the upper bout, 6” deep, 25” long at the body and 49.5” overall length. It has a 34” scale, Fender Jazz style, 4 string neck which joins the body at the 12 fret.
The Lamont Flatback Sideman, Performer I, Performer II are made of all solid woods: Rosewood fingerboard, bridge, truss rod cover and headpiece with fleur de lys, dual action truss rod, unique “Cupid’s Bow” fingerboard point, Maple neck, book-matched, Sitka, AAA grade, Spruce top, matched Mahogany back and sides, with Herringbone rosette, bone nut and saddle, monitor port, Gotoh tuners and Fishman EQ/Tuner for “when you’re ready to get off the porch and onto the stage.” The Performer I in addition has Maple binding and Herringbone purfling. The Performer II has vintage Tortoise shell binding and Herringbone purfling to match the rosette. The Performer Xtreme is built with solid California Claro Walnut back and sides and Moses Inc. carbon graphite neck.
We can supply LaBella Deep Talkin’ Bass, Black Nylon wrapped strings on the instrument for ease of playing and for more of an upright bass sound; or Bronze round wound if you prefer a brighter sound with more sustain ala “raisin in the sun” by Brian Richie of the Violent Femmes.