Electric Bass Archives - Page 27

Warwick unveiled a bass counterpart to the Framus Idolmaker at the Winter NAMM Show. Produced in the custom shop or as part of their German Pro Series Teambuilt line, the Warwick Idolmaker Bass is built with a carved mahogany body and a bolt-on wenge neck. It comes in four or five-string versions as well as fretted or fretless. Warwick uses...

Instrument builders always bring their best gear to the NAMM Show. As we were wandering the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center we found the Boutique Guitar Showcase, which brings builders from around the world to show off their work. We saw tons of great instruments, including the jaw-dropping Cintra bass from Portugal’s Ergon Guitars. Luthier Adriano Sérgio was on...

One of the booths at the NAMM Show that always has tons of buzz is the Marco Bass Guitars display. This year they introduced the N1 bass, which they describe as a game changer. Although the bass is their entry-level model, it’s still made in the USA in the Marco shop. “Marco Cortes has spent over three decades perfecting his...

Ned Steinberger and NS Design unveiled the latest in their Radius bass guitar series with the NXTa Radius. The headless bass carries many of the same features of the lineup while adding their NXTa battery-free active electronics. “The new NXTa brings together the brilliant ergonomics of the headless neck and body configuration, the NS self-clamping tuning system, custom NS/EMG™ pickups,...

Ernie Ball Music Man’s StingRay has been a time-tested model for decades, but both the four and five-string versions will be getting an update for 2018. The company made the announcement at the Winter NAMM Show. “For 2018, the StingRay4 and StingRay5 have been reimagined with new features and appointments that provide a new level of playing comfort while retaining...

This week we’re checking out a slick four-stringer by R. Low. Vaughn. Built by luthier Rob Vaughn, the bass is one of his newer models. “This particular bass is the 3rd one of that style I’ve made,” Vaughn says. “It started out as a concept for a bassist over in Britain named Alysha Moore who got the first one last...

Rickenbacker announced the return of the 4003S/5 bass at the 2018 Winter NAMM Show. The five-string bass, which has not been offered for over a decade, has been updated with a slightly wider string spacing, a Schaller 3D-5 bridge, and a new single coil pickup design. The pickup was re-engineered with two blade magnets that angle further out towards the...

Ibanez is continuing to grow their Soundgear bass lineup this year with the SR870, SR875, and SR876 models. The new basses, which they describe as some of the most visually striking basses in the series, were unveiled at the Winter NAMM Show. Each of the basses is built with a mahogany body topped with flamed maple. The 870 is a...

Sadowsky Guitars unveiled a new line of basses called the MetroExpress series at the Winter NAMM Show this year. The line will be made in Japan with the company’s own preamp, pickups, strings, and hardware. “The MetroExpress is made in Japan to Roger Sadowsky’s exacting standards under the supervision of Yoshi Kikuchi,” Sadowsky writes. “Roger and Yoshi began working together...

While scrolling on Facebook, I came across the Owl Bass by Schorr Guitars and had to learn more. Its half-minimal, half-futuristic design exudes a funky style with a cool finish to boot. “Schorr Guitars is a one-person operation,” luthier Nicolai Schorr tells us. “I build instruments in Berlin, Germany based on my models – The Owl and Neptune – to...

2018 marks forty years since F Bass owner and founder George Furlanetto started the company. To celebrate, the company has announced a special limited edition 40th Anniversary PJ based off of the first ever fretted F Bass. The model will be limited to four pieces each of which will be crafted, signed, and numbered by George Furlanetto. Although it’s based...

The Daily Funk Club’s Andy Irvine is a guy who knows what he wants in a bass. That’s why he reached out to Rick Wilson of Moonshine Guitars with some specifics in mind. “He contacted me after seeing pics of my bass, he was looking for the feel of a well-played early 60’s Jazz as with the vintage look as...