Bass Gear - Page 316

Epiphone has announced a new, limited edition of the Jack Casady Signature Bass in a rare Silverburst finish. Limited to 500 instruments, the semi-hollowbody bass is built with set-neck construction with a mahogany neck and laminated maple top, back and sides for the body. Designed by Casady in collaboration with Epiphone, the bass sports a low-impedance JCB-1 humbucker. “I went...

Ibanez expanded their Promethean combo series this year with the P3115, a 300-watt combo amp with a 15? driver and an HF dome tweeter with a passive crossover. Unique to the P3115 is an on/off switch for the tweeter, allowing for more tonal variety by eliminating unnecessary high frequency overtones. It also features a Class-D power amplifier and internal limiter...

While looking up videos of Jack Casady on YouTube, I stumbled upon a real head-turner of a bass: the Lane Poor Minima. Poor, who is renowned for his pickups, designed and manufactured the bass in the early ’90s. Besides the obvious headless and stepped-tuner body design, the Minima had a graphite fingerboard with special epoxy “frets”, which as Bob Gollihur...

Fodera is now offering a Janek Gwizdala Signature Imperial model, based on Gwizdala’s own bass. Hand-built in Fodera’s New York shop, the 5-string bass sports a 33? scale and comes tuned E to C. The instrument has a walnut body with an alder tone block and a stunning non-solid Buckeye Burl top. The 3-piece ash neck is paired with an...

Genz Benz has released their newest generation of the Shuttle Series bass amps, including the Shuttle 6.2 and the Shuttle 9.2. Featuring a tube preamp and a Class D power amplifier, the new line builds upon its predecessors with increased tube gain and the addition of the company’s “3 Dimensional Power Management” circuitry (3DPM), which adds heft and girth to...

String company Pirastro has introduced a new set of double bass strings called the Flexocor Deluxe. Building upon their pre-existing Flexocor range, the Deluxe strings offer wider tonal range, longer sustain, and better overall playability. Pirastro explains that the Flexocor Deluxe’s structure allows the string to possess great resonance and “unsurpassed carrying power.” It’s core material is high-stability steel rope....

Announced at the 2012 Winter NAMM show, Ibanez is now shipping their 25th anniversary of their SR model basses. The SR 25th Anniversary Limited Edition bass series includes a 4- and 5-string edition, both premium model basses built at Ibanez’s “Premium factory”. The basses sport a Padauk top. The company says the wood’s “subtle reddish hue has long captivated fine...

New for 2012 is the Ibanez SGBE series acoustic bass guitars, available in Natural and Sunburst finishes. Also fit for electric sets, the basses feature under-saddle piezo pickups and Ibanez’s AEQ202T Preamp with a 2-band EQ as well as an onboard tuner. Featuring a grand concert body shape, the SGBE series is constructed with a mahogany neck, back and sides,...

This week we take a look at the Skjoldslayer by Skjold Design Guitars, which luthier Pete Skjold came up with the design as a take on one of his singlecut models. “The Skjoldslayer came about after the Damian Erskine Whaleback,” Skjold explains. “I basically made a doublecut version and that was the inspiration for it. It has become one of...

Swiss company Schertler has introduced the LaFaro Deluxe, a 2-channel, 280-watt bi-amplified combo amp designed specifically with double bass in mind. The amp’s name and image are a tribute to jazz bass icon Scott LaFaro, who revolutionized jazz bass in his short career. It sports an 8? woofer designed specifically for the amp with a long linear extension for strong...

New for 2012 is the Framus Vintage 5/150 Star Bass, a reissued version of their classic model from the ’50s made famous by Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The bass oozes retro vibes with a single cutaway body made of laminated maple for the sides and top with a laminated AAA flamed maple back, a set mahogany neck, and a...

In 1982, Warwick opened up shop in Germany as a boutique company and launched their flagship Streamer bass. Thirty years later, the company is celebrating with the Streamer LTD 2012 Warwick 30th Anniversary Bass. Limited to 75 pieces, the bass is said to “represent the soul of Warwick.” Made in Germany, the Anniversary bass’s body utilizes U.S. cherry wood that...