Electric Bass Archives - Page 91

Mixing retro and modern, Reverend’s Decision bass is their take on the “P/J” style, with the company’s Split Brick pickup in the neck position and their J-Rails in the bridge position. The pickups are blended with a Pan knob, which Reverend says let you go from “funk to thump and all points in between.” The Decision is built with a...

Höfner has reintroduced the Shorty Bass, a model they ran in the 1980’s featuring an extremely short scale and body. The updated version bumps the scale up from 28″ to 30″ for easier playability, as well as utilizing better string spacing, similar to that found on their trademark Violin Bass. Available in black, the Shorty Bass has a basswood body,...

Jens Ritter has introduced the R8-Singlecut, a new design featuring a single cutaway and bolt-on construction. The new instrument also introduces the luthier’s new C-3-S electronics, an active/passive switchable 3-Band EQ with custom adjustable frequencies and integrated boost, all controllable by the bassist. The new model was debuted with four pieces, and though each has different woods and finishes, there...

Luthier Paul Lairat will be debuting a new model at the NAMM Show, named the Sirya. The radically designed body incorporates five types of wood, as the sides are made of walnut, mahogany, maple and ebony while the body itself can be either wenge, maple and mahogany or maple, walnut and mahogany. The laminate neck then contains four types of...

This week we’re taking a look at the Laurus Quasar T900-XR, a bass that takes a step away from the norm without losing its style and sensibility. Hand-made in Italy, the T900-XR is available in 4, 5, and 6-string models as well as fretted or fretless. One of the bass’s most identifiable features is it’s unique headstock and “end of...

Squier’s latest in their Artist Model Series is the Mikey Way Signature Mustang Bass, a short-scale bass made with input by the Chemical Romance bassist. The bass take on the class Mustang features and adds some flair, with a large-flake Silver Sparkle finish with black racing stripes, with a black headstock with a silver Squier logo on the front, and...

Taking a cue from classic design, Xotic will be introducing the XP-1T 5-string bass at NAMM. The P-bass styled instrument debuts the newly designed PV-1 pickup, but also borrows from their XJ-1T by utilizing the Tri-Logic Bass Preamp. The preamp includes a 3-band EQ with toggle switches to adjust the mid and treble-frequencies as well as a pre-set gain control...

Fender’s Custom Shop has announced two new bass models for 2012, including the 2012 Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro and the 1961 Closet Classic Jazz Bass. Both models are built in the U.S. by Fender’s master builders. According to Fender, the Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro combines “the best of the Precision and Jazz Bass models,” which can be partly...

AC Guitars has released a new model, dubbed the “Salace”. Built with the help of Paul Sugden, the bass was intended to be a headless design, but is also available with a headstock. Though AC Guitars builds to suit, this particular Salace is a 6-string bass with a wenge body and Maracarpra top. The neck is made of 7-pieces of...

Hand made in Italy, the Wood & Tronics Chronos is the company’s take on the single cut design, and a great one at that. Wood and Tronics was founded by Enrico Pasini and luthier Erik Furlan after Pasini, who was a frequent visitor and admirer of the Fodera Guitars shop, decided to follow his dream of making his own custom...

Armed with passion and determination, Ontario-based bassist Grant Freifeld got his start building instruments after becoming disgusted with “cheap painted plywood guitars” and basses that are “someone else’s idea of custom.” After apprenticing with Joe Kovacic of Lado Guitars, Freifeld created his own brand, Grant Bass. His humility allows him to be more open to ideas, citing that expanding his...

Fender is kicking off 2012 with the introduction of the Fender Select Series, which they describe as it’s “new top-of-the-production-line best” instruments. The series, which includes new Precision and Jazz Bass models, presents the company’s classic designs with marked upgrades like choice tone woods, quartersawn maple necks with compound-radius fretboards, and specially voiced Select pickups. The Fender Select Precision Bass...