Bass of the Week: KD Basses Picasso
Andy Irvine of The Daily Funk Club shared some pictures of this bass on Facebook and it made me stop scrolling. The Picasso by KD Basses is a colorful, artistic take on the instrument made in Bulgaria.
The bass’s body is built with an Elm core, but luthier Kostadin Dimitrov covered it with an irregularly-shaped piece of maple burl in 10 different colors. The mosaic also extends up the fingerboard and headstock. Its neck is a seven-piece laminate of flamed maple, ebony, and purpleheart.
The Picasso’s pickups are handmade KD humbuckers that blend into the top’s artistic pattern. Electronics include a passive/active 3-band EQ with mini-switches to toggle each pickup between series and parallel operation.
KD Basses Picasso Bass Specs:
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Construction: | Bolt-on |
| Body Core: | Elm tree core |
| Top and Back: | Irregularly Shaped Maple Burl Pieces in 10 Colors |
| Neck: | 7-piece Flamed Maple, Ebony Stripes, Purple Heart Core and Maple Veneer Lamination |
| Fretboard: | Burl MapLe Wooden Mosaic |
| Frets: | 24 Evo Gold Medium Frets |
| Side Position Markers: | “Hanging Dots” Original KD Design |
| Fingerboard Radius: | 16″ |
| Headstock: | Burl MapLe Wooden Mosaic |
| Tuners: | Gotoh |
| Bridge: | Hipshot |
| String-spacing: | 17.9mm |
| Pickups: | KD Hand-Made Humbuckers with Series/Parallel Switches |
| Width at Nut: | 45mm |
| Finish: | Oil |
| Strap pins: | Schaller locking |
| Hardware: | Gold |
| Weight: | 11.5 lbs |
| Other: | Copper shielding protects the entire electronic box and pickups |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
