6-string Bass Archives - Page 5

Ibanez has further expanded their BTB model range with several incarnations. This summer they expanded the BTB700 series with four and seven-string models, plus their BTB Premium line will now have options for figured maple tops. The BTB is typically a five or six-string bass, but the BTB740 and BTB747 take things one step further as a four-string and a...

This week we’re checking out a beautiful six-string Solo model bass built by luthier Brady Muckelroy. Its owner, Chris Taylor, shared the specs and photos of the gorgeous beast. “It plays like an absolute dream and the electronics allow for some amazing tone versatility,” he writes. The sleek design features neck through construction with a five-piece wenge, maple, and Ecuadorian...

This week we’re checking out a unique instrument made by Rikkers Guitars. Made in the Netherlands, the Treeline is a lightweight single-cut design derived from their Powerline model. “The Treeline is a tribute to wood as a natural product. No trees no life – let alone custom basses,” Rikkers writes. “The single-cut construction allows for optimal energetic transmission of the...

Ibanez announced the expansion of their Portamento Fretless bass series with a six-string version. The SRF706 will retain the features of its four and five-string predecessors while adding a high C string. The bass is built with neck-through construction featuring a five-piece maple and bubinga neck, mahogany body wings, and a rosewood fingerboard. Ibanez fits it with a pair of...

Bass builder Stephan Mongeon sent me some photos of his latest build and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. The Stellart Guitars Nemesis is a six-string neck-through semi-hollow fretless bass. Judging by these pictures, it’s a work of art, too. Mongeon builds basses with his wife, Ella, in Quebec where they’ve been honing their craft for...

Kiesel Guitars has expanded their bass lineup with the Aries series, which comes in four-, five-, and six-string versions. The made-in-the-USA model is based on their Aries guitar and carries similar aesthetics in a bigger package. As with the rest of Kiesel’s custom shop instruments, the Aries bass is available with a wide range of woods for the body, neck,...

Master luthier Gerald Marleaux unveiled a brand new model at the NAMM Show this year called the Tiuz. Named after the mythological German god, the bass is designed to be lightweight, customizable, and flexible. That flexibility is due in part to Marleaux’s new pickups and preamp. “The heart of the TIUZ lies in a brand new electronics package,” the Marleaux...

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...

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....

Meshuggah’s Dick Lovgren has gotten a crazy new bass from Zon Guitars, and it’s our bass of the week. The one-of-a-kind Zemi Acoustik is based on Zon’s Sonus body style but has a thicker, hollow mahogany body with a stunning flame maple top. Its set neck is made of a composite, while the phenowood fingerboard holds 24 frets. The pickups...

Eve Guitars has unveiled the Lunna Bass, a single-cut model that’s made in the UK. Available in four-, five-, or six-string versions, the bass is described as sitting at the top of the Eve range and “fully customisable to meet your own preference and playing style.” It’s crafted with a quartersawn sapele bolt-on neck topped with a wenge fingerboard, but...

Steve Lawson has teamed up with Elrick Bass Guitars to release a signature model. The Gold Standard Steve Lawson Custom Bolt-on Neck Bass Guitar is a semi-hollow body that features the company’s “heel-less” body design. The bass is built with a maple body topped with marbled walnut. Its quarter-sawn maple neck sports a 33-inch scale and is bolted to the...