5-string Bass Archives - Page 17

As a double bass player, I love seeing old basses and wondering what stories they could tell. But I also love seeing the creation of new masterpieces, including this Kanzian & Traunsteiner five-string bass. Alex Kanzian and Fabian Traunsteiner are luthiers based in Vienna, Austria that opened their own shop about five years ago. “We are both classically educated violin...

After unveiling the Satin Series earlier this year, Sadowsky Guitars has announced the Deluxe Satin line. The basses are made in the company’s New York City shop in batch to keep costs down. The series will be available in their traditional vintage-styled 4-21 and 5-21 models as well as their more modern 4-24 and 5-24 models. The Deluxe Satin basses...

NS Design’s WAV Radius electric bass now comes in a five-string version. The WAV5 Radius Bass carries the same features of the WAV4 with the exception of the specs to accommodate the fifth string. Its scale is extended to 35 inches, while the string spacing is reduced to 18 millimeters. As part of the Radius series, the bass has a...

Kiesel Guitars has introduced two new multi-scale versions of their Vanquish bass. The VM49K and VM59K are four- and five-string basses, respectively, that are the Kiesel custom shop’s first multiscale bass instruments. The design includes fanned frets and offers some technical improvements. “The advantage of a multiscale bass over a traditional instrument is that the lower strings have a greater...

Fender has unveiled the American Professional Series, which takes the place of their recently discontinued American Standard line. The new series will, of course, include Precision and Jazz bass models, but each will have new features. Updated specs include a new fret shape, new pickups, new electronics, new hardware, and new colors. Both the American Professional P-Bass and Jazz Bass...

Andy Irvine of The Daily Funk Club shared some pictures of this bass on Facebook and it made me stop scrolling. The Picasso by KD Basses is a colorful, artistic take on the instrument made in Bulgaria. The bass’s body is built with an Elm core, but luthier Kostadin Dimitrov covered it with an irregularly-shaped piece of maple burl in...

Fodera unveiled the third bass in their Masterbuilt line this past week with a special version of their Emperor II 5 Elite. The one-of-a-kind instrument is called “Brooklyn” and pays respect to the New York City borough that the company calls home. “Brooklyn, NY has been a part of the heart and soul of Fodera Guitars since the founding of...

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled their 2017 Spring Collection, including a 30th Anniversary StingRay5 model. The 5-string version of their flagship bass was first introduced in 1986 and the company is celebrating gorgeous limited edition version. The bass is built with an ash body covered in a transparent buttercream finish that’s accented with a red tortoise shell pickguard. The...

Roger Sadowsky and crew have introduced a vintage version of their Single Cut model, which was introduced earlier this year. The bass retains the specs of the original bass with two key differences: different pickups and the inclusion of a pickguard and control plate. Sadowsky gave us the scoop on the new pickup set, which includes a single J-style pickup...

The extended range specialists at Strictly 7 Guitars have officially launched a new line of bass guitars. The series includes three models: the Copperhead, the Sidewinder, and the Python. “The Copperhead was the original bass model we started in 2013 with Simone Bertozzi of Mnemic,” the company writes. “We needed it to produce a low F frequency with some balls...

Jamaica-born, Australia-based luthier Dwight Cunningham creates some stunning basses, including this gorgeous RLJ-5 Splendour Jazz Bass. The semi-hollow bass features a myrtle and alder body loaded with a Nordstrand Bigman pickup in the bridge position with a split coil in the neck position. Its seven-piece neck is crafted from Myrtle, Indian Rosewood, Maple and Mahogany. The lined fretless fingerboard is...

Eastwood will be introducing a five-string version of their Classic hollow body bass as part of their crowdfunding platform. The Classic 5 Bass will be built with a bound laminated maple body, maple top, and bound f-holes. Similar to the four-string, the fiver is fitted with a pair of EW-Retro humbuckers controlled with a 3-way switch. Its knobs are set...