Bass Gear - Page 182

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled their first fully passive basses with the Caprice and Cutlass models. The basses, which were debuted at the NAMM Show this year, feature brand new body styles that are influenced by old school design with modern playability. Even with new body styles, players will be familiar with the necks as the Cutlass borrows the...

Alembic’s basses have been a big influence on custom builders, and it’s easy to see why. They started in 1969 as a live sound consulting operation. Founders Ron and Susan Wickersham then moved into instrument electronics, creating low impedance pickups and what would become first set of active electronics for a guitar. Their first bass was built in 1972 for...

Sire Guitars has teamed up with Marcus Miller once again to introduce the Sire Marcus Miller M7 Series. The dual humbucker design, which has been in the works for some time, is now open for pre-order and will be shipping on April 30th. Available in four and five-string versions, the M7 has a modern body shape made of either alder...

Jackson Guitars is now shipping the CBXNT IV Concert and CBXNT V Concert basses. Four and five-string models, respectively, the company describes the basses as perfect for metal or other styles that demand low, punchy bass. Jackson says the heart of the bass is in their electronics. “The heart of this beast is a pair of Jackson High Output Humbucking...

Cort has updated their B5 Plus AS bass with a new set of electronics. The model, which is part of the Artisan Series, now comes with the Markbass MB-1 EQ to match its Bartolini MK-1 pickups. The bass’s preamp is described as providing a “very natural and transparent boost” that won’t color the instrument’s natural tone. “The crystal clarity and...

Levy’s Leathers has introduced the M317HPR Harper Designer strap, a deluxe pull-up leather strap decorated with a ridge down the center to accent its pull-up nature. Available in Rust coloring, the strap is 2½ inches wide with a soft suede backing. It’s adjustable from 37 inches to 51 inches. It will be available with a suggested retail price $122.26. Levy’s...

After introducing the Custom Shop Series of tuners this year, Korg has added to the lineup with the Sledgehammer Custom 100 clip-on tuner. The tuner offers tuning accuracy of ±0.1 cents and works with both bass and guitar. It’s powered by a single AAA battery, which provides about 100 hours of use before needing replacement. The Sledgehammer clips on and...

Hot Wire Basses took a page out of the old school with their Blues Bass. Modeled after the early fifties Kay Electric Bass, the Blues Bass is a vintage-style hollowbody, which the company notes was often played by four-stringers backing up Blues legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. While the design imitates an old Kay, Hot Wire made some...

New York Bass Works has announced the Reference Series, a line of basses that bring together luthier David Segal’s custom work with the classic J-bass platform. “The Reference Series Basses are instruments infused with the DNA of nearly 20 years of custom bass projects, complex renovations, and pain-staking repairs of nearly every brand of instrument,” the company writes. “The empirical...

Ernie Ball Music Man’s 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” StingRay Bass is now available for pre-order. Unveiled at the 2016 Winter NAMM Show, the bass is named after a prototype from 1976 that was designed by Leo Fender and gifted to Sterling Ball. Central to its design is a 10-pole piece pickup that gives it a smoother tone. “We recently revisited...

One of the biggest reveals at the Winter NAMM Show this year was the Darkglass Electronics Microtubes 700. Since the outing Darkglass has been further refining the the head, which is their first amplifier, but now they’ve announced a target release date of July. “This transition is very important for us, it’s a big challenge,” founder Douglas Castro said in...

Effects pedal manufacturer Pigtronix has introduced the Pigtronix Power, which they describe as a “robust, multi-voltage analog power supply.” The device has eight individually isolated outputs with several variable voltages. The first two outlets are 9-volts at 100mA, while the next four are variable (9V/12V/15V/18V) with two at 100mA and two at 300mA. The last two outputs provide 18 volts...