Electric Bass Archives - Page 60

Ernie Ball/Music Man is now taking orders for their Neptune Blue edition of basses and guitars as part of their Premier Dealer Network. The series is based around an African Mahogany body with a custom Neptune Blue finish and can be ordered on most models. Each bass will be built with a figured, roasted maple neck with a gunstock oil...

Gerald Marleaux is a world-class bass luthier based in Clauthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. His designs bring together the highest degrees of form and function into 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses. Today we check out Marleaux’s Consat Signature, the luxury version of his flagship Consat model. Standard features include a 3- or 5-piece birdseye maple neck with wenge strips, an ebony fretboard with...

Sterling by Music Man introduced a new natural finish to the left-handed version of the Ray34 bass at this year’s Summer NAMM show. The natural finish allows for the bass’s lightweight ash body to be show through. The bass retains the features of the Ray34 series including maple neck, a single alnico humbucker pickup, and an active 3-band pickup. It...

Sometimes you see photos of a bass posted on Facebook, and you just have to stop to check it out. This gorgeous Soame Custom Guitars PJ435 bass was one of those for me. Handmade in Argentina, the bass features a Northern ash body and a bookmatched flamed maple top that really pops thanks to a stunning Bahama Blue satin finish....

Luthier Brad Lowe launched his custom instrument business in 2009 in order to combine his lifelong interests of the musical, visual, and industrial arts. His flagship bass model called the Chromasonic is proof that he’s on the right track. Available in 4- and 5-string versions, the bass is designed with a unique body shape that includes his “forearm facet” to...

OZZtosh unveiled their latest creation, the LUMA Bass, at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee last week. The bass follows suit with the rest of their LUMA series and is CNC machined from a 6061 solid aluminum billet. The instrument is then hand polished and assembled in the U.S. Weighing in at 8.7 pounds, the LUMA is P-style bass...

Sometimes if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. We love it when bassists take building their instrument into their own hands, and Jim Colby nailed it with his bass that he calls “Glitzy.” ”‘Glitzy’ came about due to my love of 60’s Fender basses, and a meager paycheck,” the bassist shares. “Built in 1995 and...

Ella Basses has introduced a new singlecut model called the Isaac. Named after luthier Jeff Power’s son, the bass is handmade and can be ordered to suit. The Isaac has been made in 4- and 5-string versions with standard features including set-neck construction, Bartolini pickups and electronics, and Hipshot hardware. The first 4-string Isaac is built with a stunning spalted...

This week we check out the Custom AG by Belgian luthier Paul Belgrado. Finished in a root beer color nitrocellulose finish, the bass gives an air of classic ideas with a modern approach. The AG is built with an alder body, maple neck, and madagascar rosewood fingerboard. It gets its meaty sound from a pair of Lindy Fralin double coil,...

We love innovative basses, so when Jonathan Dauphinais announced the Keybass 3.0, we were pumped. The instrument is a bass guitar with a keyboard synthesizer mounted to its lower half so that each can be played simultaneously. Dauphinais first started experimenting in 2007. This is the third model of his concept, which was completely custom made. “I did major modifications...

PRS Guitars has introduced the first bass models of their SE line: the SE Kingfisher and the SE Kestrel. The basses, which are designed in Maryland and built overseas, are both described as traditional character with modern upgrades. SE Kingfisher Bass The SE Kingfisher is a neck-thru design built with a swamp ash body, a 24-fret maple/walnut neck, and a...

Stanley Clarke has not only pushed the way people play the bass, he’s helped to push the way people build the bass. The legendary player is known for experimenting with new concepts in bass designs ranging from body materials, electronics, and tunings. In 1979, Clarke commissioned luthier Thomas Lieber to build an all composite bass. Their partnership resulted in a...