Best of 2012: The Top 10 Basses of the Week

Fifty-two times a year, we celebrate low-end instruments ranging from beautiful to bizarre in our weekly Bass of the Week spotlight.

Here are the top 10 most read and shared Basses of the Week for 2012. Sorry for the GAS.

Bass of the Week: Atlansia Solitaire

1. Bass of the Week: Atlansia Solitaire

There’s been an ongoing discussion about what constitutes a bass, and specifically how more than four strings is “breaking the rules.” Well, what if there’s only one string? Enter the Atlansia Solitaire. Based in Nagano, Atlansia is known for outlandish designs…

Bass of the Week: Norton Guitars Wraith Bass

2. Bass of the Week: Norton Guitars Wraith Bass

Norton Guitars takes a unique approach to building instruments by utilizing what they call the “Norton Mainframe” – a skeleton made of T6061 aircraft grade aluminum. The bass is then built with wood and electronics from there. A prime example of their work is their Wraith model bass…

Bass of the Week: Lemmy Kilmister’s Nick Page Gott 4 Bass

3. Bass of the Week: Lemmy Kilmister’s Nick Page Gott 4 Bass

Apparently, Lemmy Kilmister has one of the coolest bass collections on the planet. One of our very first Bass of the Week features was of the Motorhead frontman’s signature Rickenbacker. This week, we’re checking out his Nick Page Gott 4, which the luthier built specially for him…

Bass of the Week: Convolution Bass

4. Bass of the Week: Convolution Bass

When longtime friends Edwin Paanakker and Frans Haarmeijer decided to join forces to build basses, they knew they wanted to make something different. Enter the Convolution Bass: a lightweight, handmade bass that shares mechanical properties of an upright bass…

Bass of the Week: Schecter Blackjack ATX C-4

5. Bass of the Week: Schecter Blackjack ATX C-4

This week we check out the Schecter Blackjack ATX C-4, a 4-stringer with attitude. Available in Sunburst, Black Satin, and Aged White finishes, the bass is built with a mahogany body, 3-piece mahogany neck, and an ebony fingerboard. The company explains ebony has a “snappy, crisp attack” that lends itself to picking…

Bass of the Week: Thin Gypsy Thief Studio’s RevolveR Steampunk Bass

6. Bass of the Week: Thin Gypsy Thief Studio’s RevolveR Steampunk Bass

This week we check out something a little different: The RevolveR Steampunk bass made by Kyle Miller, aka “Thin Gypsy Thief”. Miller, who works as a visual artist, luthier and propmaker in Vancouver, was commissioned to build the fully functional instrument for rapper T-Pain…

Bass of the Week: Esh Stinger I

7. Bass of the Week: Esh Stinger I

Designed by Jochen Imhof, the Esh Stinger I is described as the company’s “dark side” and was even used by Type O-Negative’s Peter Steele. In addition to several finishes, the German company created a Monstergreen finish with green pickup covers and block inlays as a tribute to the fallen low-ender…

Bass of the Week: MechBass

8. Bass of the Week: MechBass

Science just got a whole lot cooler thanks to Victoria University of Wellington engineering student James McVay. As part of Bachelor’s degree, McVay designed and built the MechBass, a 4-string robotic bass guitar. And yes, it rocks. Built with lasercut and 3D-printed parts, MechBass has four separate units for each string controlled with PCBs…

Bass of the Week: Lane Poor Minima

9. Bass of the Week: Lane Poor Minima

While looking up videos of Jack Casady on YouTube, I stumbled upon a real head-turner of a bass: the Lane Poor Minima. Poor, who is renowned for his pickups, designed and manufactured the bass in the early ’90s. Besides the obvious headless and stepped-tuner body design, the Minima had a graphite fingerboard…

Bass of the Week: Moses Vertical Jump Bass

10. Bass of the Week: Moses Vertical Jump Bass

Known for making graphite necks, Moses Carbon Graphite Guitars has always been into making forward-thinking products, and the Vertical Jump Bass is no exception. Built to be played vertically or horizontally, the bass has a swiveling bout horn for proper balance when wearing it with a strap…

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