4-string Bass Archives - Page 59
Bass of the Week: F Bass BNF Fretless
The F Bass BNF is a fretless version of their BN model that the company says offers a “traditional fretless tone.” Available in 4-, 5- and 6-string versions, the BNF features a sleek Gabon ebony fingerboard, a 3-piece quartersawn maple neck, and a body constructed of a maple center block and ash wings. Its pickups are a pair of stacked,...
G&L Introduces MJ-4 Bass Guitar
G&L has introduced the MJ-4 Bass, a bass with a familiar feel that the company says is part of an evolution of bass features. The model sports a pair of G&L’s new Bi-Coil Alnico V pickups, which they say looks like a classic single-coil but actually contains two side-by-side coils configured in series-humbucking mode. The pickups are matched for a...
Rybski Introduces Sean O’Bryan Smith Signature Basses
Rybski Custom Bass Guitars has introduced the Sean O’Bryan Smith Signature Bass. Currently available in Deluxe and Standard versions, the Nashville bassist’s new bass brings together classic elements of a traditional P/J bass with modern craftsmanship and a 21-fret J-profile neck. “Sean’s career incorporates a successful solo career and also a highly successful recording career with artists worldwide,” a press...
Jackson Introduces Quilted Maple Top Concert Basses
Jackson’s Concert Bass series has grown this year with the introduction of the JS3QM and JS3VQM models. The new versions take all the features of their brethren and add a quilted maple top. Four and five-string basses, respectively, the JS3QM and JS3VQM Concert Basses feature basswood bodies, bolt-on maple necks, and 24-fret, compound-radius rosewood fingerboards. The four-string model sports a...
Review: Cort T54 and Curbow 52 Basses
This review will cover two Cort basses, the T54, and the Curbow 52. These basses are not the Cort basses of years past you may remember when you went shopping for one of your early basses. For an entry level intermediate basses, I was truly impressed with the features, fit and finish, and the sound. It has been many a...
Ernie Ball Introduces Classic Sabre Bass
After a limited release for their Premier Dealer Network, Ernie Ball has reissued the Music Man Sabre as a standard model. The original Sabre, first introduced in 1978, was Music Man’s first dual humbucking bass. The new Classic Sabre is the first production of the instrument in twenty years and brings back the vintage design with updated electronics, classic mini...
ESP Introduces LTD BB-4 Bass
ESP Guitars unveiled a host of new basses at NAMM this year, including the LTD BB-4. Available in Natural and Black finishes, the new model features neck-thru construction, a P/J pickup configuration, and active/passive electronics. The ESP LTD BB-4 is built with a 5-piece maple and walnut neck with an alder/swamp ash body. The rosewood fretboard holds 21 XJ frets....
Jackson Introduces Dave Ellefson Signature Kelly Bird Bass
David Ellefson now has a signature model of the Jackson Kelly Bird bass, which he helped design last year. The new 4-string bass stands out with the Megadeth bassist’s signature red pinstripe finish over its modern body shape. The Jackson David Ellefson Signature Kelly Bird Bass is built with a basswood body, and a bolt-on bound maple neck with 21...
Dean Announces New Edge Basses with EMG Pickups
Dean has introduced a new variant of their flagship Edge series of basses. The new Edge 4 and Edge 5 basses distinguish themselves from the pack with upgraded electronics including a pair of active EMG pickups. Both of the new models feature bolt-on construction and sport 35? scales. They’re built with basswood bodies, maple “C”-shaped necks, rosewood fingerboards, and 24...
PRS Guitars Adds Grainger Basses To Core Line
About a decade after introducing their Private Stock model, Paul Reed Smith Guitars and bassist Gary Grainger have teamed up again to introduce the Grainger 4 and Grainger 5 basses to the company’s Core production line. The new models are modified slightly from their predecessors to add more universal appeal to players. Made in PRS’s Maryland factory, the basses are...
Bass of the Week: Carvin SB4000
In 2009, Carvin teamed up with Sekou Bunch to create the SB4000, a bass the company says was designed with “vintage vibe.” The U.S.-made bass is a 4-string, though a 5-string SB5000 is available with many of the same specs. Standard features on the SB4000 include an alder body, eastern hard rock maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard, though they only...
ESP Unveils LTD Elite Basses
ESP has introduced a new line in their products called the LTD Elite series, which splits the difference price and quality between ESP’s high-end instruments and their more affordable LTD line. The new line is built in Japan and are based on the company’s most popular ESP models, including two basses: the J-4 and J-5. Four and five-string models perspectively,...