Bass of the Week: Di Donato’s Hasaki Bass “Quattro” Is a Gold-Leaf Short-Scale Stunner
Ten years ago, Di Donato Guitars introduced its innovative Hasaki guitar, and now they’ve unveiled a bass version. The Di Donato Hasaki Bass “Quattro” features the same design principles that focus on the purity of energy transfer from the strings to the soundboard.
“As with the guitar, the bass uses aluminum to create a sort of backbone onto which, at four well-defined points, the instrument’s soundboard is connected. This is completely independent of the neck, pickups, and electronics module. The only element that touches the soundboard is the bridge, which transfers the string vibrations directly to the soundboard,” Di Donato explains. “The bridge is made from a single piece to maximize vibrations, and the string height is adjustable via a mechanism located inside the neck-body connection that allows the neck to move up and down, thus varying the instrument’s action.”
The short-scale Hasaki Bass is crafted with an Italian Spruce body, a flame Italian Walnut neck, and a Pau Ferro fingerboard. The body features a gold-leaf finish reminiscent of the “Moresco” fabric design by Mariano Fortuny. The pickups are a pair of the company’s single coils with volume and blend controls. A three-position switch toggles between “3 interesting sounds, series, parallel and punchy and bassy ‘Motown’ sound,” the company states.
Hear it in action with this small demo by Daniele Vianello:
Di Donato Hasaki Bass “Quattro” Photos:
Di Donato Hasaki Bass “Quattro” Specs:
| Scale: | 30″ |
| Body: | Italian Spruce, Aluminum 'Back Bone' |
| Neck: | Flame Italian Walnut |
| Fingerboard: | Pau Ferro |
| Frets: | 22 |
| Inlays: | None |
| Pickups: | DiDonato Single Coils |
| Controls: | Master Volume, Master Tone, 3-Way Switch |
| Bridge: | Aluminum |
| Finish: | Gold Leaf ″Moresco″ Design |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
