Bass of the Week: KB Guitars Robert Hurst Acoustic Bass

KB Guitars Robert Hurst Acoustic Bass - closeup

Ken Bebensee of KB Guitars made this gorgeous acoustic bass guitar for jazz bassist Robert Hurst, whose work ranges from stints with Wynton Marsalis to being a member of The Tonight Show Band. The 5-string bass brings together elements of a cello and an archtop jazz guitar for a unique hybrid bass.

It’s built with an extra deep body made with bubinga for the sides and back and a carved spruce top. The bass sports a 34? scale and is tuned E-A-D-G-C. Pickups include an adjustable position Bartolini dual coil magnetic pickup and piezo bridge saddles. The electronics run on a 9-volt battery that slides out from the control panel.

For more, check out the KB Guitars website.

KB Guitars Robert Hurst Acoustic Bass Specs:

  • Body: Bubinga Sides and Back
  • Top: Carved Spruce
  • Neck: 5-piece Laminate
  • Scale: 34?
  • Tuning: EADGC
  • Pickups: Adjustable Position Bartolini Dual Coil Magnetic, Piezo Bridge
  • Bridge: Wood

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Share your thoughts

  1. close to what I’m looking for but I want 4 strings…….D.G.C.F is how I tune.

  2. Got a Guild acoustic- flat top spruce ; like carved aspect of KB RH. Plywood maple sides and back on Guild good ; piezo, I ordered it out of an ad wasn’t a production model at all-never thought about depth. 34 ” scale and five strings unique on KB; woulda have gone four and shorter scale for string tension. Still great, they say we are in the golden age of lutherie. I learned a lot from Charlie Fox up in Vermont in 1977. The beauty of guitar research and design.