Bass of the Week: Simnett Guitars 5-String Fretless
Jon from Simnett Guitars shot us an email with his latest build, and it’s a beauty. This five-string fretless has some gorgeous features that the luthier put serious time and effort into.
“It’s a 33-inch scale (tuned E-C) ‘piezo-only’ fretless. The Black Limba body is chambered and has a spalted Hornbeam top,” he explains. “There’s matching Hornbeam headstock veneers on the bolt-on neck, which is made from Maple and White Limba, with an Ebony fingerboard and nut. The Hipshot bridge features GraphTech piezo saddles, which are connected to a GrapTech ‘Acousti-Phonic’ preamp, with single volume control and a mini toggle EQ switch.”
While there are no audio or video clips of the instrument’s sound yet, Simnett did post a video of the shaping of the neck, which is just about as beautiful to watch:
Simnett Guitars 5-String Fretless Bass Specs:
Scale: | 33″ |
Tuning: | E-C |
Top: | Spalted Hornbeam |
Body: | Chambered Black Limba |
Neck: | 5 piece Maple and White Limba |
Markers: | Luminlay side dots |
Fingerboard: | Ebony fingerboard with Maple fret lines |
Pickup: | Graphtech Ghost piezo saddles |
Electronics: | Acousti-Phonic preamp |
Controls: | Volume control, and mid/dark switch |
Bridge: | Hipshot |
Tuners: | Hipshot Ultralite |
Strap Locks: | Dunlop Flush Mount |
Hardware: | Ebony knob |
Nut: | Ebony |
Neck Bolts: | Titanium neck bolts |
Strings: | La Bella Strings black tape wound strings |