NS Design Announces CR5 Radius Bass Guitar

NS Design excited the bass community at last year’s NAMM show by unveiling the NS Radius Bass Guitar. This year, the company has introduced a production version of the headless bass. Made in the Czech Republic, the CR5 Model shares all the same dimensions as its U.S. counterpart.

The CR5 Radius Model is a 5-string bass that comes in three finishes – Amber Satin, Natural Satin, and Charcoal Satin – and is available as a fretted or fretless. It’s built with a maple body and top, a maple neck with a carbon fiber core, and a phenolic fingerboard. The Diradial body is internally chambered for lateral balance, and its front and back are differentially radiused for playing comfort.

As with the U.S. Model, the new bass has a unique “patented self-clamping tuning system” that clamps down onto the string as you tighten the tuner. When you loosen the tuner, the string is detuned and eventually released. The system accepts normal single-ball type strings.

NS Design stocks the Radius with dual low-impedance custom EMG pickups as well as their own bridge-mounted system. Controls on the bass include a switch for blending between the magnetic pickups, another switch for blending between the magnetic and piezo pickups, and treble and bass cut/boosts.

The NS Design CR5 Radius bass guitar should be hitting the market in March with a retail price of $3,600 and an expected street price of $2,700. For more info, check out the NS Design website.

NS Design CR5 Radius Bass Guitar Specs:

• Strings: 5
• Overall Length: 43?
• Body: Radiused, Chambered Maple
• Top: Maple
• Neck: Graphite Reinforced Maple
• Scale: 35?
• Nut Width: 1.85?
• 12th Fret Width: 2.54?
• Frets: 24 Medium-Jumbo or Fretless
• Fingerboard: Phenolic
• Pickups: EMG Magnetic Pickups with NS Design Bridge-Mounted Piezo System
• Electronics: Volume, Treble Cut/Boost, Bass Cut/Boost, 3-way Magnetic Pickup Toggle Switch, 3-way Magnetic Pickup/Piezo Toggle Switch
• Bridge: Adjustable Height Bridge With Anodized Aluminum Saddle
• Tuning System: Patented Headless