Bass of the Week: Sirena Modelo Uno

This week we’re checking out a funky and cool bass built by Jeremy Kirsch called the Sirena Modelo Uno. The four-stringer takes its design cues from similarly funky vintage basses.

“When I drew the original sketches for this bass, my intent was to design an instrument that combined the unpretentious elegance and sound of a funky Japanese or Italian department store bass with the playability of a Fender and the advantages of modern electronics and construction,” Kirsch tells us. “After gigging with it, I feel that for the most part, I have unwittingly succeeded at accomplishing what I’d set out to do.”

The Sirena Modelo Uno features a chambered mahogany core with a maple top, a bolt-on maple neck, and an Indian rosewood fingerboard. While that’s plenty to get some cool sounds, its secret weapon is in the electronics, says Kirsch. The luthier also builds Funktronic pickups.

“The heart of the Sirena Modelo Uno is the uniquely-constructed Funktronic Bass Sidewinder pickup. Using a modular design, the two epoxy-encased coils are sandwiched between three stainless steel blade poles. The result is a stylish, but balanced-sounding pickup that drives an 18v Tillman 2-band JFET preamp. While the tone is deep and bassy like a neck-loaded bass, it has the snap and clarity and the response of an instrument that runs off of a bridge pickup.”

Sirena Modelo Uno Bass Specs: