Extended Range Bass Archives

Extended range bassist Lucas Gonzalez was approached by luthier Emiliano Bernal to collaborate on a series of ERBs. He shared the first of the results with us, dubbed the Burazco Series BS0001, and it’s beautiful. The hand-crafted instrument is built with a Bolivian mahogany body, a zebrawood top, and a two-piece quartersawn hard rock maple neck topped with a birdseye...

Prometeus Guitars has a way with creating interesting body shapes that still function well. They also have a knack for extended range basses. Both of those features are showcased on their Kirlian 8, a multi-scale eight-string bass that will stop you in your tracks. The Prometeus is built around a padouk neck and wenge fingerboard with fanned frets. The strings,...

Megatar Touchstyle Basses has been reborn with a change in ownership and the launch of redesigned instruments, including the Megatar 12-string extended-range bass. Optimized for two-handing tapping, the Megatar’s strings are divided into two sets with space in between to eliminate crosstalk. The first half is strung like a six-string bass tuned BEADGC, while the second half is tuned closer...

Adding to their extended range bass lineup, Ibanez has introduced the Limited Edition BTB7. The 7-string bass adds a high F-string to the company’s existing 6-string BTB configuration. The BTB7 features neck-through construction with a 7-piece maple, bubinga, and walnut neck sporting maple body wings topped with walnut. Its body shape follows the BTB style with deep cutaways and an...

Here’s an awesome clip of 9-string bassist ChaotH (aka Frédérick Filiatrault) playing the song “Words” from his band UneXpecT’s album Fables of the Sleepless Empire. ChaotH, who admits that his hair is the source of his bass playing power, takes full advantage of his extended range instrument with some beautiful chordal playing reminiscent of some Tony Levin’s Chapman Stick work...