Bass Gear - Page 291

This week we take a look at the Fclef Custom Series II Bass. Introduced as part of their 10th anniversary, the Custom Series II model builds upon their Custom Series and is handcrafted in the United States. The company also boasts that each member of the crew is a bass player, which gets a big thumbs up in our book....

Fifty years ago, Gibson stepped out with an edgy line of guitars and basses, respectively named the Firebird and the Thunderbird. The company is now celebrating the design with a 50th Anniversary Thunderbird Bass. Finished with Gold Bullion in a high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, the bass sports through-neck construction with a mahogany body, a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard with pearloid...

Molten Voltage has released the OZ Looper Controller, a pedal that works in tandem with the Strymon Timeline Delay to offer advanced use of its MIDI capabilities. The OZ connects with a single MIDI cable to access and control the TimeLine’s Reverse, Half-Speed/Double-Speed, Undo, and Redo functions. The OZ also has single-press, soft-touch recording and play back, meaning that you...

It’s been ten years since the Phil Jones Briefcase was introduced, and the company is celebrating the milestone with a limited edition version of the compact bass amplifier. The Phil Jones Briefcase Ultimate will be a modified version of the original, bumping up output from 100 watts to 160 watts. Other upgraded features include new higher power Pirhana speakers with...

This week we check out the Ursa from KR Guitars, a striking multi-scale bass that’s handmade by luthier Kevin Robertson in Vallejo, California. While the bass can be built with whatever woods are requested, this particular bass caught our eye with its 5A California Claro Walnut top and 5A flame maple back. The rest of the bass’s body is The...

Accessories company Goby Labs has introduced the Thingy Series, consisting of the Goby Labs Guitar-hook Thingy and the Stand-top Thingy for iPad. The whimsically-named gadgets attach to microphone stands to provide simple, portable solutions for gigging musicians The Guitar-hook Thingy is an instrument hanger which attaches to a tripod microphone stand with a patent-pending grip that forms a closed loop...

Ken Bebensee of KB Guitars made this gorgeous acoustic bass guitar for jazz bassist Robert Hurst, whose work ranges from stints with Wynton Marsalis to being a member of The Tonight Show Band. The 5-string bass brings together elements of a cello and an archtop jazz guitar for a unique hybrid bass. It’s built with an extra deep body made...

Bassist, designer and copywriter Adrian Elton shares his beautiful 1964 Höfner 500/1 this time around. Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG began building instruments in 1887, later becoming the largest manufacturer of string instruments in Germany. Much of the company’s popularity is attributed to Paul McCartney’s use Höfner 500/1 bass, three-quarters of a century or so later. To this day,...

Killswitch Engage’s Mike D’Antonio and Ibanez have teamed up to release the bassist’s third signature model, the MDB3. Based on the company’s Destroyer model, the bass’s mahogany body features beveled edges to provide right arm comfort while picking. Its three-piece maple neck is topped with a rosewood fretboard inlaid with a MDB logo at the 12th fret. The pickup departs...

David Gage Instruments is adding to their Realist series of instrument pickups with the Realist LifeLine. The new double bass pickup is a self-powered piezo that the company describes as offering a “focused bass sound.” The LifeLine works on basses with adjustable bridges and is mounted on the bridge adjuster without glue or fasteners. Its output jack is held tightly...

Here’s a fantastic bass built by luthier Mike Browne. This particular version of his Milo model bass features some fancy woodwork, especially on the body. It’s built with a Honduran mahogany core, a full face figured walnut top with a maple accent stripe, a walnut back, a walnut center block, and maple center block stripes. The neck is quartersawn hardrock...

DBZ Guitars has introduced the Barchetta Bass, a model based on DBZ’s flagship guitar. The bass follows the company’s trend of blending modern and traditional styles for unique instruments. The Barchetta Bass comes in three versions based on their tops: Standard (ST), Flame Maple (FM), and Spalt Maple (SM). Common features include a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and a matching...