4-string Bass Archives - Page 53

Jeff Berlin has teamed up with Cort for a new signature bass for 2014. Dubbed the RITHIMIC, the model features an alder body with a striking padouk and spalted maple top with a matching spalted headstock. Its hard rock maple neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The bass is set up to Berlin’s liking with low action and a...

Schecter has introduced the Session series of basses, which they describe as combining “no frills looks with high end electronics.” The series includes four and five string basses in the company’s Stiletto and Riot body styles. Each of the models features a contoured swamp ash body and 6-bolt Canadian Maple neck. The 24-fret maple fingerboard is accented with ebony offset...

Swiss luthier Tino Tedesco has unveiled The Primal series of basses, including the 4/21 and 5/21. The new line aims to reduce the amount of options to be able to offer a professional instrument on a budget. “We have retained a lot of important features also present on our other models like the graphite reinforced necks, the 2-way trussrods and...

This year marks Gibson’s 120th anniversary and they’re celebrating with a plethora of new and upgraded models including the 2014 SG Special Bass. The 30-inch scale bass incorporates features from several of Gibson’s electric basses to create a unique and affordable bass. Starting with a solid mahogany body in the classic SG shape, the bass is built with a glued-in...

Fender’s Custom Shop has unveiled the 2014 edition instruments of their annual Custom Collection. The lineup includes two basses: the 2014 Proto Precision Bass and the 1964 Heavy Relic Precision Bass. Fender Custom Shop 2014 Proto Precision Bass Formerly named the Pro Series, the Proto Series is the Fender Custom Shop’s “proving-ground” line built with distinctive features requested for master...

This week we check out the Nelson Instruments Coquette Bass, a neck-through bass that blends elements of retro styles. The quarter-sawn hard maple neck is flanked with basswood body wings, which the company says offers enhanced sustain, rigidity, and projection. The bass comes in single and dual pickup configurations. The pickups are Nelson’s Bass Chiefs mounted to the gold-anodized aluminum...

Bass legend Chuck Rainey has a new signature model from Xotic called the XPJ-1T, a bass designed with versatility in mind. Rainey collaborated with Xotic on the bass which features a P/J pickup configuration with elements of the company’s XP and XJ models. The XPJ-1T starts with a ash body and a bolt-on maple neck with 21 frets. Its original...

Scott Walker is an independent luthier based in North Carolina. Though his primary focus is electric guitars, his California Bass is more than an after thought. Its construction includes a long tenon design, laminated hard woods, and multiple bolt coupling to eliminate dead spots and promote resonance. The bass starts with a body of Alder or Swamp ash and a...

AC Guitars has added a new line of basses with the introduction of the Über Graft Spec Series. The new basses build upon the company’s Graft Series of handmade basses, which are made in batch to keep them in an accessible price range. This line offers five body shapes: Finn, Recurve, Harlot, Gallas, and J-Type. Über Graft basses will be...

Can’t decide between a P, J, or MM bass? Spear has you covered with the Flextool, a bass that’s loaded with all three pickup types. The Flextool is built with an alder body, Canadian Hard Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard. Its pickups and hardware are all Spear’s own brand. The pickups include a single coil in the neck position,...

Educational instrument maker Fretlight has introduced their first bass guitar, the FB-525. The bass is the four-string to feature the company’s built-in LED learning system that teaches you to play by lighting up dots on the fretboard. The FB-525 comes in right and left-hand models and features a P/J pickup configuration with a 3-way toggle switch. Its neck is made...

This week we check out the Ronin Prætorian, a bass built with the environment in mind. Central to the instrument is its “Salvaged Old Growth Redwood” (or S.O.G.R.) body, which the company reclaims from old barns, wineries, and agricultural buildings. Each piece is selected for a tight quarter-sawn grain structure, which the company explains offers improved sound transfer and acoustic...