Bass of the Week: Beardly Customs “Piccolo Bass”
Rick Link of Beardly Customs shared one of their latest builds, and even he’s not sure what to call it. The four-string bass was ordered to mimic the unusual instrument used by a famous bassist.
“Steve’s ‘piccolo bass’ is all done. Piccolo bass is in quotes because I’m not really sure what to exactly call it,” Link wrote. “The concept for this instrument is based on Manowar’s bassist Joey DeMaio’s Rickenbacker. The neck is nontapered, 1 5/8” wide the whole length, and 10mm spacing at the bridge. A very unique and wild ‘bass.’”
Link crafted the bass with a body made from shedua, padouk, and walnut with a flamed maple neck. Its ebony fretboard has oak face dots to mark the 24 frets. The luthier added more touches with a walnut and Birdseye maple headstock with a padouk rear center block.
Similar to DeMaio’s setup, the bass is strung up with super thin strings, and given the unusual setup, the bass also has an awesome set of electronics. (If you’re unfamiliar with DeMaio’s style, check out this playthrough.) Link fitted it with a pair of DiMarzio X2N pickups. Each pickup has its own volume control as well as its own output jack for stereo operation. Finally, it has Hipshot bridges and locking guitar tuners.
Beardly Customs “Piccolo Bass” Photo Gallery:
Beardly Customs “Piccolo Bass” Specs:
| Scale: | 33.25″ |
| Body: | Shedua/Padouk/Walnut with Padouk Rear Center Block |
| Neck: | Flamed Maple |
| Fretboard: | Ebony |
| Frets: | 24 |
| Inlays: | Oak Face Dots |
| Pickups: | DiMarzio X2N |
| Controls: | Stacked Volume/Volume with Stereo Output |
| Bridge: | Hipshot |
| Tuners: | Hipshot Locking Guitar Tuners |
| String Gauges: | 50/40/30/20 |
| Other: | Spalted Figured Maple Control Cover, Bitterroot Guitars Hardware, Walnut/Birdseye Maple Headstock |
It seems to me that after all the years of making something simple that sounds better the older it gets should tell us something
Less is more when it comes to feel and sound. Get it naturally