Bass of the Week: Norton Guitars Wraith Bass

Norton Guitars takes a unique approach to building instruments by utilizing what they call the “Norton Mainframe” – a skeleton made of T6061 aircraft grade aluminum. The bass is then built with wood and electronics from there.

A prime example of their work is their Wraith model bass.

Norton Guitar's Wraith Bass

Featuring the “Tube” frame version of the Norton Mainframe, the Wraith is built for versatility. The aluminum frame is augmented with radial wound carbon fiber tubes that the builder says “produces extraordinary depth and clarity”.

Interestingly, the central assembly of the bridge, neck and pickups can be tilted up to 27 degrees in either direction, for comfort.

The pickups, which are passive Seymour Duncan Basslines, are on sliders which can be adjusted and locked down for honing in on the sweet spot.

The Wraith has a bi-laminate maple neck with a choice of woods for the fingerboard and body wings. Several finishes are available as well.

Designed and crafted in the U.S., the Norton Guitars Wraith bass is available for $4,060. For more details, check out the Norton website.

Norton Guitars Wraith Bass Photo Gallery:

Norton Guitars Wraith Bass Specs:

  • Norton Mainframe: Tube frame with radial wound carbon fiber tubes and machined anodized T 6061 aircraft aluminum
  • Body: Choice of Woods
  • Neck: Bi-laminate Maple
  • Fingerboard: Maple or rosewood
  • Nut: Aluminum
  • Nut Width: 1 11/16?
  • Scale: 34?
  • Radius: 12?
  • Pickups: Seymour Duncan Basslines
  • Features: Locking tilt mainframe assembly, movable and replaceable pickup modules

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Leave a Reply to Paul J Vigeant Jr Cancel reply

  1. WOW I haven’t GASed for a bass like this since I got my Dingwall.

  2. They beat me to it Kevin. I’ve had a design like this in my head for a couple years now. Ok, next. ;-)

  3. Looks FANTASTIC. What they should really do, I feel, is give a custom option for the body shape. So the aluminum is standard, and the wood can be individually done.

    Also – finally! Someone realized that the grabber’s pickup needed to be locked down to be a good idea!

  4. Holy shit! This is awesome!

  5. such a savage bass.

  6. It looks amazing. Wonder how it sounds?

  7. the tilt seems like overkill, I get sliding pickups, Gibson did it in the 70’s and others have tried since, but the tilit thing seems useless.