Bass of the Week - Page 48

The upper horn on the Datum RM Series bass may look cool, but it’s there for more than looks. The G-shape adds more contact between the body and neck, essentially giving the benefits of a singlecut bass to double cutaway design. Handmade in Italy, each bass is available with several options, including the number of strings, fretted or fretless, and...

When longtime friends Edwin Paanakker and Frans Haarmeijer decided to join forces to build basses, they knew they wanted to make something different. Enter the Convolution Bass: a lightweight, handmade bass that shares mechanical properties of an upright bass. Built with a red cedar body topped by Zebrano wood, the fretless bass has a gorgeous ebony bridge with piezos in...

Peter Malinoski is a luthier with an artistic vision for his instruments and passion for uniqueness. With several college degrees in the arts, it’s no wonder his designs stand out. “[My instruments] are a step back and beyond the roots of electric guitars that represent what electric guitars could have been and still can be when mass production and mass...

Fretted and fretless models respectively, the Pedulla MVP and Buzz are the flagship basses based on the design that first brought luthier Michael Pedulla to prominence. The unique body shape and fresh approach to ergonomics set them apart from standard designs. The bass starts with a three-piece laminated maple neck that’s reinforced with a double-acting truss rod and two steel...

This week we take a look at Pavel Musical Instrument’s flagship singlecut bass, the Aryel. Described as the “Roaring Lion” of basses, the bass’s upper horn section connects to the neck at the 12th fret, which the company says adds more tone transmission to the body. The Aryel is hand-built to order in Texas and comes in Deluxe and Signature...

Pino Saracini is professional bassist in Italy. He’s also creative guy. While out on tour, he typically has to play synth bass in addition to his 4-string with little time for changing between instruments. To fix the issue, he came up with the Keyboard Bass, a bass with a Korg Nonokey2 USB controller built in. After designing every detail of...

Based in Avezzano, Italy, the luthiers at Meridian Guitars know a thing or two about style. That’s evidenced in their Aural II bass, and though each one is built to order, this particular Aural II really struck me. The pickups include a pair of Meridian’s magnetic pickups as well as a Roland GK-3 MIDI controller. The control layout, which looks...

The Shuker Singlecut Elite is one beautiful instrument. Built by luthier Jon Shuker in the UK, the bass is highly customizable with options running from number of strings to top wood to construction type. Standard features include a 7-piece laminated neck made of maple, wenge, and padauk, a walnut body core, and a fingerboard of either Rio Rosewood, ebony, or...

This week we take a look at the Citron AE4 and AE5 Swallow Basses built by luthier Harvey Citron in collaboration with jazz legend Steve Swallow. Citron first presented Swallow with one of his acoustic/electric basses, and their work went from there. It was Steve’s perfectionism that pushed the bass builder to invent a new bridge. “Working with Steve has...

Luthman is a company that puts out some pretty intricate work yet also knows simple elegance, the latter of which is evidenced in their Natural model. Handmade in France by luthier Thierry Etienne, the Natural has a unique, fluid body style with customizable options. Available in 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-string configurations, standard features on the Natural include an ovangkol...

There are lots of interpretations of the old J-bass, but one that strikes me most is the BeBop made by Dutch boutique shop De Gier. It offers a little more in the curves department with subtle tweaks to set itself apart from the classic design. Available in 4- or 5-string versions, the De Gier BeBop comes standard with an alder...

In experimenting with neck designs, German luthier Rüdiger Ziesemann was looking for a way to improve sustain in his Bassline brand designs. He came up with a radical neck profile with extended mass and a groove on the back for your thumb. The concept was first introduced into his electric upright model called the Universal, but bass guitarist wanted in...