Basses - Page 85

Guild has reissued the Starfire Bass along with eight other models as part of their Newark St. Collection. Introduced in the ’60s, the original Starfire Bass was made popular by bands including the Byrds and Jefferson Airplane. The new model sports an extra-thin, semi-hollow body made of laminated mahogany finished in Cherry red and accented with black and ivory purfling....

Fender has expanded its American Vintage series with four new basses including the ’58 Precision Bass, the ’63 Precision Bass, the ’64 Jazz Bass, and the ’74 Jazz Bass. As with the rest of the line, the new basses are reimagined to bring new life to the original designs. Each bass was picked for significant milestones in the model’s lifespan....

D’Angelico Guitars has been reborn for 2013. The brand, named for luthier John D’Angelico, has relaunched several instruments including the EX-Bass, which will be part of their Standard Series. With its single-cutaway, semi-hollow body, the 32.25? scale bass bears the company’s classic vibe and vintage feel. It also pays homage to D’Angelico’s New York roots with a machined aluminum truss...

About a decade after introducing their Private Stock model, Paul Reed Smith Guitars and bassist Gary Grainger have teamed up again to introduce the Grainger 4 and Grainger 5 basses to the company’s Core production line. The new models are modified slightly from their predecessors to add more universal appeal to players. Made in PRS’s Maryland factory, the basses are...

Dean unveiled several new basses at NAMM this year including a 5-string version of the John Entwistle Hybrid bass. Sharing many of the features of the 4-string Hybrid, The Ox’s new signature model sports bolt-on construction with an alder body and a maple “C”-shaped neck. Other features include a pair of EMG HZ Humbucker pickups, a dual purpose die-cast bridge,...

ESP has introduced a new line in their products called the LTD Elite series, which splits the difference price and quality between ESP’s high-end instruments and their more affordable LTD line. The new line is built in Japan and are based on the company’s most popular ESP models, including two basses: the J-4 and J-5. Four and five-string models perspectively,...

Schecter and Nikki Sixx have teamed up to release the “Schecter Sixx” Bass, a 4-string signature model for the Motley Crue bassist. Sixx, who also is an accomplished author and radio show host, collaborated with the company to create the instrument. “It was an exciting and creative process to work with Schecter on the new Schecter Sixx Signature Series Bass,”...

Kala is unveiling a new U-Bass at this year’s Winter NAMM show called the Rumbler. The new ukulele-sized bass offers new custom engineered electronics and proprietary strings. The Rumbler’s electronics include a piezo pickup matched with an active EQ and built-in tuner. Its strings are Kala Silver Rumbler Strings, which are made with a special Nylgut compound with calcium carbonate...

Warwick has a new RockBass version of their hollow body Star Bass model. As with the rest of the series, the RockBass Star Bass is built in China and checked by a German Warwick employee for quality inspection. The Star Bass is made with a laminated maple body and a maple neck with Ekanga veneer stripes, while different fingerboards are...

Avenged Sevenfold’s Johnny Christ has joined Schecter’s artist roster and has a new signature bass with the company. The Schecter Johnny Christ Signature Bass features a brand new body shape and headstock. Built with an ash body, 3-piece maple neck and ebony fingerboard, the new bass is decked out in black with gold hardware. The hardware is accented by gold...

Fender’s 2013 additions to their Select Series includes the Fender Select Active Jazz Bass. Described as the company’s “top-of-the-production-line”, the new bass features an alder body with a flame maple top and hand-stained Tobacco Sunburst finish with a gloss-lacquer topcoat. The Select Active Jazz bass sports a neck made of quartersawn maple, with a modern “C” shape and reinforced with...

Status Graphite has introduced the Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass, which the company says retains most of the classic Status design with a few features tailored to the Muse bassist’s tastes. The bass is built around an alder body with a graphite shell on the front and back faces, which is matched with a woven graphite through-neck topped with a phenolic...