Bass Gear - Page 231

This week we check out the Brubaker Brute MJX series. A production version of luthier Kevin Brubaker’s design, the MJX hints at classic basses with a modern take. The Brute MJX series is available in 4- and 5-string versions. Each bass is built with an alder body, maple neck, and maple fretboard with 22 frets. They sport an MM/J pickup...

Bartolini Pickups and Electronics has introduced the NTMB+ 3-band preamp module. The new model takes the place of the NTMB/918, which was comprised of two modules. The new preamp module is also 30% smaller than its predecessor. “The NTMB+ reduces the pre-amp size by 30%, which will better fit guitars and basses that have small cavities,” says Bartolini president Clyde...

Hartke’s new HD Series of bass combos loads the company’s HyDrive speakers into four models aimed at the beginning or intermediate player. Starting with the 25-watt HD25, each model steps up in speaker size, wattage, and features. Common features to the series include a built-in limiter, an 1/8″ auxiliary input, and a 1/4″ headphone output. The HD25 is built with...

Two years ago, Warwick presented Bootsy Collins with a one-of-a-kind “Space Bass” made in the company’s custom shop. The star-shaped instrument garnered so much attention that Warwick has now introduced a similar model to their more affordable RockBass Artist Line. The Warwick RockBass Artist Line Bootsy Collins Space Bass is built with a mahogany body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard....

Fuzzrocious Pedals has unleashed a new pedal called “There is No Dana… Only ZUUL.” Named after a line in the movie Ghostbusters, the pedal is an oscillator that is semi-clean blended and driven into an overdrive. It has three controls: Volume, Blend and Oscillator. Turned to the left, the Blend knob mixes your signal in with the oscillator. Turning it...

Reverend Guitars used the NAMM Show this year as an opportunity to introduce a 4-string version of their Mercalli bass. The bass had previously only been available as a 5-string. The Reverend Mercalli 4 is built with a korina body and a five-piece maple and walnut neck that’s finished in a satin amber. It comes with several options, including a...

Orange Amplification introduced the new OB-1K bass amplifier at the NAMM Show this year. The 1000-watt solid-state amplifier is inspired by bi-amping and splits the signal into two separate paths. The first side offers a tight, clean bass sound while the second features two stages of controllable gain and is rich in upper harmonics. Each channel can be toggled or...

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 members of Korn are getting new signature instruments from Ibanez this year including bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu’s K5 Signature Limited Edition bass. The updated K5 takes an opposite aesthetic approach of Fieldy’s black signature bass and features a flat white finish as well as a white painted maple fretboard. The white theme is accented with a set of blue...

Zon is going old school with their new Mosaic Mojo model. The new bass carries a classic style and are fitted with a set of Aguilar 60 series pickups to get a vintage sound. The Mosaic Mojo is built with a three-piece maple neck with either a maple or rosewood fingerboard. Zon offers the bass with either ash or alder...

Carvin unveiled the Xccelerator Series of basses at NAMM this year with its introductory model, the X54 5-string bass. The X54 sports several new features for the company including a fast-playing, thinner maple neck that’s reinforced with graphite. Its body also has a new shape with deeply sculpted cutaways for better access to the higher registers. The bass is built...

Spector was showing lots of new instruments at the NAMM show this year, including the NS-2000/5 Dan Briggs Signature bass. It’s modeled after the same NS-2000/5 that Briggs has owned and played since he was 16. The bass features neck-through construction with a 3-piece rock maple neck, a rosewood fingerboard, maple body wings, and a quilt maple top. The body’s...