NS Design Introduces WAV4 Radius Bass
NS Design has expanded their bass guitar offering even further with the introduction of the WAV4 Radius, a bass that follows the design of their Radius series with a more accessible price point. It carries many of the same features of its predecessors, including a diradial body, a headless design with self-clamping tuning system, an advanced truss rod design, and an NS Polar/EMG pickup system.
Weighing in at 8 pounds, the WAV4 Radius has a contoured diradial body that contours to your body and subtly slants the neck and strings up for comfort and better visibility. Its body shape also includes a deep cutaway for reaching the the highest frets. The one-piece bolt-on neck, which is reinforced by an aluminum double-action truss rod, is topped by a rosewood fingerboard holding 24 frets. The strings are held in place by NS Design’s self-clamping, bridge-mounted tuning system. It accepts any standard single-ball end string and holds the strings tighter as they are tuned up.
The NS Polar/EMG dual pickup system includes a magnetic EMG Radius pickup matched with an NS bridge-mounted Polar piezo system. Both are fed to an active 9-volt preamp complete with master volume and balance controls as well as individual tone controls for each pickup.
The NS Design WAV4 Radius bass comes in Matte Black, Metallic Crimson, and Metallic Cobalt finishes. It is available now with a street price of $1,199.99.
NS Design WAV4 Radius Bass Specs:
| Construction: | Bolt-on |
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Body: | Meranti |
| Neck: | One-piece Maple |
| Nut Width: | 1.6″ |
| Fretboard: | Rosewood |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15″ |
| Frets: | 24 |
| Pickups: | EMG Radius, NS Polar |
| Electronics: | 9-Volt Active |
| Bridge: | 1-piece Aluminum |
| Tuners: | NS Patented Tuning System |
| Colors: | Matte Black, Metallic Crimson, Metallic Cobalt |
| Made in: | Indonesia |
For more information:
NS Design
I wonder how intonation is with that single saddle bridge? It’s always something to think about with piezo acoustic type bridges. Why not have a more accurately compensated saddle for each string? If the acoustic tone is really nice it might be worth it. I feel this set up is more suited for a fretless model where intonation isn’t as much as an issue.
Interestingly enough, the model that this is based on (the CR radius bass) was originally only availible as a fretless. So it’s likely that a fretless version is going to happen sometime soon.
The things I liked about my Steinberger (XLT2A/TT/ULF) are not here. Compact kevlar body, bridge, made in USA etc