Bass Gear - Page 165

Wing Instruments expanded their product lineup at the NAMM show this year with the Wing Bass NT and Wing Bass 30. The company describes the new models as representing an evolution in their philosophy that “life is short scale.” Similar to the original Wing Bass, the NT measures up at just 21 inches and plays like the top range of...

Darkglass Electronics wowed NAMM attendees this year with a brand new pedal called the Alpha Omega. Co-designed with Karnivool’s Jon Stockman, the stompbox is a departure from their previous circuits and preamplifiers. “[The Alpha Omega] is fully operational amplifier based and has two distinct distortion circuits (Alpha and Omega) which can be selected or blended using our Mod knob,” Darkglass...

Ashdown debuted the Origin series at NAMM this year, including a 300-watt bass amplifier and a tube preamp and DI pedal. Both units are designed to be “lightweight, portable and stripped back” for a strong yet streamlined bass signal. The Origin amp starts with an active/passive input switch and effects loop. It has a five-band EQ section with Bass, Lo-Mid,...

January is always a big month for new bass gear, thanks to the NAMM Show. The No Treble crew attended the show, and our coverage will contiune in the coming weeks as we sort through the notes. There were some big stories thanks to this year’s show. Here are the top 10 reader favorites for the month of January. 1....

This week we’re checking out a bass that went viral on Facebook. If you didn’t see this video of the Lawalin Chamele yet, watch it, and you’ll understand why it was so popular: Besides the incredible light show, the Chamele is not your typical bass. It features a hollow fiberglass body that’s fitted with programmable LEDs as well as a...

Sadowsky Guitars has released a compact version of their preamp pedal called the SBP-2. The new outboard preamp has the same circuitry that the company fits into their basses but in a slimmed down design. “[The SBP-2 is] perfect for crammed pedalboards as well as vintage basses where onboard preamp installation would affect resale value,” Sadowsky writes. “It works with...

J Ferro Basses was showing their full lineup at the NAMM Show this year including the brand new Kilian Duarte KD-5ES bass. Based on their Escalon model, it features a mahogany body with a solid flame maple top, a five-piece maple and mahogany neck, and a maple fingerboard with black pearl inlays. Electronics include custom wound J Ferro pickups matched...

Schecter announced the CV Series of basses at the Winter NAMM Show this year. Available in four and five-string versions, the model centers around its electronics with a new set of the company’s Diamond J-Bucker pickups. The pickups, which visually resemble guitar humbuckers, can be switched between series, split, and parallel operation. Instead of a typical blend knob, the pickups...

Taylor expanded their GS Mini series with a new compact bass model called the GS Mini-e Bass. The instrument has a small 23.5-inch scale, which the company explains is about 10 inches shorter than a standard bass guitar. Even with the reduced scale, the bass’s setup creates deep tones. “Part of the magic is the custom nylon-core strings (with phosphor...

Trace Elliot is back in a big way in a tiny package. The ELF bass amplifier weighs in at just 1.6 pounds and produces 200 continuous watts RMS at 4 ohms. Its input section has three regions of operation: uncompressed, variable multiband compression, and overdrive. The three-band EQ section has the company’s proprietary filters with low center (80 Hz), mid...

After introducing the American Professional line in December, Fender has unveiled the Limited Edition Exotic Collection. The series includes the 2017 Limited Edition American Professional Jazz Bass FMT, which combines the features of the Professional model with a figured maple top. The bass is built with an alder body, quartersawn maple neck, and rosewood fretboard. The neck has a slim...

Ampeg launched two new pedals at the Winter NAMM Show this year with the Classic analog bass preamp and Scrambler bass overdrive. The pedals represent either side of Ampeg’s other pedal offering, the SCR-DI, into two smaller focused pedals. The Classic pedal allows for dialing in an Ampeg tone with its three-band tone stack as well as Ultra-Lo and Ultra-Hi...