Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in March 2016

We covered a lot of gear in March, and these are the top 10 reader favorite gear stories of the month.

This comes with our usual warning: may cause GAS.

Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing.

Hofner Celebrates With 60th Anniversary 500/1 Violin Bass

1. Hofner 60th Anniversary 500/1 Violin Bass

An icon was born 60 years ago with the Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass, and now the company is celebrating with a special anniversary edition of the instrument. Limited to 60 instruments, the 60th Anniversary 500/1 Violin Bass stands out among its peers with original graphics by a bass legend…

Gittler Instruments Unveils Bass Models at NAMM 2016

2. Gittler Instruments 2016 Bass Models

First introduced in the 1980s, the minimalist Gittler Guitar was reborn in 2013 thanks to musician and titanium expert Russ Rubman. This year Gittler Instruments has unveiled three new bass models, including four-string, five-string, and fretless versions…

Sadowsky Introduces Satin Series Bass Guitars

3. Sadowsky Satin Series Bass Guitars

Sadowsky has unveiled the Satin Series, a lineup that brings their chambered, NYC-made basses to nearly half the cost of a built-to-order custom instrument. The instruments include their 21 fret Vintage Style J Bass and 24 fret Modern Bass models built in batch with limited options…

G&L Unveils USA JB-5 Bass

4. G&L USA JB-5 Bass

G&L has been making made-in-Fullerton jazz basses for about 10 years, but they’ve now expanded the US-made line to include a five-string. The G&L JB-5 adds a low B-string with a fast neck featuring a 1.775″ nut width and slim rear profile…

Schecter Adds To Session Series With 8-String, 5-String, Fretless Models

5. Schecter Session Series 8-String, 5-String and Fretless Models

Schecter expanded their Session Series of basses this year with an 8-string version of their Riot bass, a 5-string version of the Model-T, and a fretless version of the Stiletto…

Orange Introduces 4 Stroke Bass Amplifiers

6. Orange 4 Stroke Bass Amplifiers

Orange Amplification has introduced the 4 Stroke Bass Amplifier, an all-analog bass head available in 300 and 500-watt versions. The Class AB amps are described as staying “crystal clean and expressive all the way up, without ever becoming sterile or fatiguing”…

Larry Kimpel Teams with Combe-Luthier for Signature Bass

7. Combe-Luthier Larry Kimpel Signature Bass

Bassist Larry Kimpel has teamed up with French luthier Mathieu Combe to create LK5 Signature Bass. Kimpel, a seasoned session and touring bassist, worked closely on the bass’s design. The LK5 is built with a French ash body, three-piece hard maple neck, and compound-radius maple fingerboard…

Providence Introduces Vitalizer BF VZF-1 Bass Pedal

8. Providence Vitalizer BF VZF-1 Bass Pedal

Providence has unveiled the Vitalizer BF VZF-1, an active impedance converter designed specifically for bass guitars. The compact pedal acts as a buffer to convert high impedance signal, which the company says is more likely to degrade the sound quality by picking up noise…

Rock N’ Roll Relics Announces Thunders Bass

9. Rock N’ Roll Relics Thunders Bass

Rock N’ Roll Relics has unveiled the Thunders Bass, a short-scale bass oozing with old school flavor. The instrument is their first set-neck bass model and comes in a variety of colors and aging. Made in the USA, the Thunders is created with a two-piece, lightweight African mahogany body…

Ibanez Introduces Adam Nitti Signature ANB306 Bass

10. Ibanez Adam Nitti Signature ANB306 Bass

After launching the Adam Nitti Signature series last year, Ibanez introduced the ANB306 model. The bass is a production model of the ANB1006, carrying many of the same features at a lower price point…

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