Bass of the Week: Rybski Empathy Bass

Jordan Rannells sent us some details on his amazing new bass by Rybski Custom Bass Guitars. Dubbed “The Empathy Bass,” the instrument features the empathy symbol, which represents two sides reaching out to each other.

“The ‘Empathy’ bass is the culmination of various ideas and concepts about Music and Life that I’ve been spending the past few years exploring,” Rannells shares. “The empathy symbol is something I believe we should all try and spend a little more time thinking about every day. The design was inspired by an old friend of mine from high school. She painted an amazing version of the empathy symbol for me, the ‘arms’ of the symbol made from tree branches. She passed away a few years ago but I like to keep her warmth, spirit and love with me as I play. To me, it’s a beautiful reminder to think about the other people around us.”

The bass was also partially inspired by Victor Wooten’s Yin-Yang bass by Fodera. Rannells has attended the bass master’s camps at Wooten Woods, where he met luthier Slawomir “Rybski” Waclawik. “Rybski always says ‘if you can dream it, I can make it’, and he couldn’t have been more right with this one,” Rannells says.

The Empathy Bass is crafted from an alder body with flamed maple and katalox on top to create the graphic. Its hard maple neck sports a katalox fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. Rybski fitted it with EMG PJAX pickups and a three-band, 18-volt preamp complete with parametric mids and a kill switch. Hipshot hardware ties it all together.

Rannells used his new axe to record his new single, “The Intention,” which is based on a lesson he learned at Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature. “When we search for our own intention, or the intention of others, we can give ourselves what we need, and we can give others what they need,” he ponders. “What is your intention? And where is your attention to make it happen?”

Rybski The Empathy Bass Specs: