Bass of the Week - Page 45

Jon Willis shared a photo of his pride and joy on our Facebook page, and needless to say I was floored by the instrument. But the story behind it is even better. The bass is a near perfect replica of Billy Sheehan’s famous Wife bass, which the Mr. Big bassist used from his very first gig in 1971 until the...

The DiPinto Belvedere Deluxe bass is a hot rod with strings. The retro styled bass has is adorned with an extensive pearl pickguard, white binding, star inlays in the fretboard and a sparkle finished headstock. The bass is built with a semi-hollow mahogany body, a bolt-on maple neck, and ebony fingerboard. DiPinto adds some extra flair with chrome covers for...

I got a tip to check out CG Lutherie, a French bass builder, and I’m glad I did. The company’s Sequel bass is an interesting take on a hollow body with multiple sound holes on the bass side of the instrument. This 5-string fretless Sequel is built with a black limba body a neck of garapa and rosewood. It’s tied...

This week we take a look at the Franz Bassguitars Sirius, a stunning bass made in Bavaria by luthier Xaver Tremel. I found this bass through this excellent demo played by German bassist Ralf Gauck: The bass features a singlecut design that comes in either 4- or 5-string versions. Tremel starts the bass with a chambered walnut body with plenty...

We first met luthier Pierre Erizias at the 2010 Summer NAMM Show in Nashville. I was so floored by his basses and his story that it led us to create our Custom Shop series of interviews with bass builders. Recently, he sent me a photo of one of his latest single cut basses, and I had to find out more....

The best basses come with great stories. Jimmy Haslip’s six-string bass from Wyn Guitars, called “Gabriela Rose,” is a great example. Wyn Guitars luthier Randy Fullmer recounts the whole process on his website. “It’s a luthier’s dream to make an instrument for an artist with the stature and playing chops of Jimmy Haslip,” Fullmer humbly states. “I of course handled...

This week we check out the Classic 5 String Bass from Zoov Guitars, a custom shop based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While each bass is made to order by luthier Nicholas Lacroix, this particular fretless version really stands out for its beauty and attention to detail. The bass has a beautiful assortment of woods. Its neck is tigerwood is topped...

This week we check out the Nelson Instruments Coquette Bass, a neck-through bass that blends elements of retro styles. The quarter-sawn hard maple neck is flanked with basswood body wings, which the company says offers enhanced sustain, rigidity, and projection. The bass comes in single and dual pickup configurations. The pickups are Nelson’s Bass Chiefs mounted to the gold-anodized aluminum...

Scott Walker is an independent luthier based in North Carolina. Though his primary focus is electric guitars, his California Bass is more than an after thought. Its construction includes a long tenon design, laminated hard woods, and multiple bolt coupling to eliminate dead spots and promote resonance. The bass starts with a body of Alder or Swamp ash and a...

Can’t decide between a P, J, or MM bass? Spear has you covered with the Flextool, a bass that’s loaded with all three pickup types. The Flextool is built with an alder body, Canadian Hard Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard. Its pickups and hardware are all Spear’s own brand. The pickups include a single coil in the neck position,...

This week we check out the Ronin Prætorian, a bass built with the environment in mind. Central to the instrument is its “Salvaged Old Growth Redwood” (or S.O.G.R.) body, which the company reclaims from old barns, wineries, and agricultural buildings. Each piece is selected for a tight quarter-sawn grain structure, which the company explains offers improved sound transfer and acoustic...

Any instrument named after the monomaniacal captain from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick needs to have a similar aggressive design, and the Prometeus Guitars Ahab delivers in spades. This week we check out a 6-string, multi-scale version of the bass that left me speechless. While the Ahab can be built with varying woods and materials, this particular bass sports a jaw-dropping...