5-string Bass Archives - Page 16

This week we’re taking a look at a beautiful model by the UK’s Anaconda Basses. This particular Anaconda Tribute J5E Elite was built for Joe Sam, a pro bass player from London, with a special twist. “He’s an avid Prince fan and wanted a bass which had certain design cues to pay tribute to the master,” builder Andrew Taylor-Cummings explains....

AC Guitars has unveiled the latest in their bass lineup with the RetroB. The retro-styled bass is a departure from luthier Alan Cringean’s typical designs. “Over the years I have been asked to build copies and have alway turned down the work because it was not something I was interested in, there are more than enough J Basses out there...

Schecter introduced the Stiletto Stage four- and five-string models at the Winter NAMM Show. The basses are designed to be a stripped-down, performance-ready bass at an affordable price point. Available in white and black gloss finishes, the neck-through basses are built with a mahogany body, a carbon-fiber reinforced maple neck, and ebony fretboard. The frets are marked with mother of...

Warwick unveiled their annual limited edition bass this year and this year is a landmark. The Thumb NT 2017, which comes in four and five-string versions, also marks the company’s 35th anniversary. The master-built instruments are built in Germany and limited to fifty units of each the four and five-string versions. Taking its cues from the standard Thumb NT model,...

Three decades ago, Ibanez first introduced the SR bass. This year they’re celebrating their flagship bass model with four new instruments. “Throughout the past 30 years, Ibanez has been improving and developing the SR series by closely following market requirements and opinions from various artists and valued customers,” they write. “SR is now one of the most popular and distinctive...

This week we’re checking out a cool new bass from Lorita Basses. The Century Series II carries the same singlecut body shape as the Century model, but with a solid body construction and a bolt-on neck. This particular bass has a headless setup and is constructed with a swamp ash body, burl elm top, hard ash and hard maple neck,...

ESP Guitars added the AP-4 and AP-5 basses to their LTD Series at this year’s Winter NAMM Show. The four and five-string models are traditionally-based designs with ESP’s own twist. Both models are built with an alder body, bolt-on maple neck, and an ebony fretboard. They are fitted with a set of EMG pickups in a P/J configuration with volume,...

Kiesel Guitars teamed up with TesseracT bassist Amos Williams to create the Vader AW5 Signature headless bass. The new model is based on the Vader bass with several differences including a 34-inch scale 23-fret fingerboard, and a single high output HB series humbucker. As with all Kiesel and Carvin instruments, the AW5 is available with a number of options. Standard...

This week we’re checking out the Manne Guitars Moab, which they describe as their flagship luxury bass model. The bass comes in four, five, and six-string versions with a korina body topped by walnut, Italian Yew, or poplar. Its multi-laminated neck is fitted with a thin “F resin” fretboard, which Manne says allows for precise attack without dead notes. Its...

J Ferro Basses was showing their full lineup at the NAMM Show this year including the brand new Kilian Duarte KD-5ES bass. Based on their Escalon model, it features a mahogany body with a solid flame maple top, a five-piece maple and mahogany neck, and a maple fingerboard with black pearl inlays. Electronics include custom wound J Ferro pickups matched...

Schecter announced the CV Series of basses at the Winter NAMM Show this year. Available in four and five-string versions, the model centers around its electronics with a new set of the company’s Diamond J-Bucker pickups. The pickups, which visually resemble guitar humbuckers, can be switched between series, split, and parallel operation. Instead of a typical blend knob, the pickups...

Ibanez’s BTB Standard series is getting a facelift for 2017 with several new features across the line. The BTB845, BTB846, BTB745, and BTB746 all have a new refined body arch, a zero fret, and come standard with D’Addario NYXL strings. Each of the basses are still constructed with a neck-through design featuring a five-piece maple/rosewood neck and an Ash body....