Bass of the Week - Page 26

We featured two basses by Frederiek de Vette last year, and now she’s shared her third ever build with us. This time she took a bit more straight ahead approach, although it’s no less beautiful. “This build is loosely inspired on the Precision bass,” she explains. “I aimed to capture the simplicity, tonal and aesthetical character of the original, and...

Mayones produces plenty of beautiful instruments, but their team makes extra time to create the Master Builder Collection. “If you’re a true gear-hunter only the most unique instruments can stir up your enthusiasm, the Mayones Master Builder Collection is the answer for your demands,” they write. “The Mayones Master Builder Collection is a unique line of unexampled guitars and basses...

Love them or hate them, some “replica” basses really hit the mark, and reader Scott Hayes sent us a perfect example of how it should be done. “The bass is a ’65 inspired p bass with a light relic (closet queen) built by Paul Slagle of Pittman Guitars,” Hayes shares. “The photos are taken by Victor Vega. The Neck was...

I’m not sure what makes a bass with old-school mojo so appealing, but I do know that the Vuorensaku Guitars Mama bass has it in spades. The first bass in the Finnish company’s T. Family collection, the Mama shares several aspects of instruments from the past including a flexible body design. “In the beginning, I was already sure that I’d...

Padalka Guitars went for something a little different on this particular build of their Neptune bass. To begin, they made it a four-string with a longer 35-inch scale and 26 frets. As with the standard Neptune model, it features a Hipshot headless tuning system. Padalka crafted the bass with a one-piece Black Limba body topped with a stunning piece of...

This week we’re checking out the Pocket Baby Bass from Mexico City-based Tamariz Basses. The company specializes in the electric-upright “baby bass” style, and this model is a great example why. Built for bassist Jesus Sanchez Puebla, this Pocket Baby Bass is crafted with a claro walnut body matched to a walnut and Caribbean rosewood neck. Tamariz keeps it simple...

This week we’re checking out a bass from the dark side. The Devil’s Choice EvilOak is a unique bass that brings together several aspects of their existing instruments. “The EvilOak is a custom project [based on] our Manticore model, and the term “EvilOak” was initially a fun name for that particular bass,” Bernd Steuer of Devil’s Choice explains. “[We] put...

This week we’re checking out the Nelson Instruments Paramount, a killer bass that’s oozing vintage appeal. Its funky maple body is matched to a quarter sawn hard maple neck and set with hot hide glue, which Nelson says offers extras sustain and rigidity. The secret sauce to the bass is in its pickups, Nelson adds. “The Paramount comes standard with...

One of my favorite movie quotes has always been a bit of a thorn, as well: In the School of Rock scene where Jack Black converts the cellist into a bassist, he says, “It’s the exact same thing, but instead of playing it like this, you tip it on the side… ‘cello’, you got a bass.” Of course, that’s not...

Gerald Marleaux is hands down one of my favorite bass builders. His artistic touch and attention to detail make all of his instruments play and sound just as good as they look. This week we’re checking out his Contra model, which takes its semi-acoustic design in part from the violin family. “The Contra is made with the same materials as...

Novacorda’s Barbaros bass is a design that’s nearly five hundred years old. Well, at least that’s where the inspiration came from. “The bass guitar was named after Barbaros Hayreddin Pa?a who was an Ottoman admiral of Sultan Süleyman‘s fleet,” the Novacorda website explains. “The design of the bass is based on the cross-section of one of his 16th-century warships of...

This week we’re taking a look at a bass from Swan Custom Basses, a small company from Argentina dedicated to low-end frequencies. The Swan LG II is the creation of builders Hernan Goi and Christian Lebied. “The design is our own. Basically, our idea is to make a bass that’s comfortable, ergonomic and with a low weight to avoid fatigue,”...