Bass Gear - Page 320

Finnish custom shop Ruokangas Guitars is now offering fretless versions of their vintage-inspired Steambass, which they introduced last year. The company included stylish fret markers on the ebony fretboard that don’t cross the whole board but instead correspond in placement to the position of the neck – the lower register has markers under the E-string, while the 12th “fret” and...

Godin has added a new model to their Shifter bass series named the Classic 4. The new model, which sports a new Crème Brulee high gloss finish, has Godin’s passive PJ pickups for a more retro style and sound. The Shifter Classic 4 is built with a Canadian Laurentian Basswood body, rock maple neck, and either a maple or rosewood...

Lots of exciting things are showing up this year for Europe’s Musikmesse trade show, including the Sandberg Electra Vs 4. While the wood, routing, and varnish processes take place in Korea to keep prices down, the bass is assembled and checked for quality control at the company’s headquarters in Germany. The Electra Vs 4 features bolt-on construction with a basswood...

Ansir Music has unveiled all-new designs for their custom basses, with the introduction of the Imperial line. The Imperial and Imperial SL models feature ergonomic contouring and the company’s patented “Ansir Industry Standard Playing Angle,” which puts the neck in a more natural playing position. While the two models are very similar, Ansir founder Jody Michael explained the SL (or...

Bulgarian boutique electronics company N-Audio has released a new Tube Preamp DI Box. Built to expand the abilities of a DI to include a preamp, the device features a pair of tubes and an output transformer with two independent secondary coils that allow for two balanced outputs: one XLR and one 1/4?. The guys at N-Audio explain the preamp is...

There’s been an on-going discussion about what constitutes a bass, and specifically how more than four strings is “breaking the rules.” Well, what if there’s only one string? Enter the Atlansia Solitaire. Based in Nagano, Atlansia is known for outlandish designs – so much so that their website has to specify that the instruments are “Made in Japan on Planet...

New for 2012, Dean is now offering Shinedown bassist Eric Bass’s Signature Hillsboro bass in Metallic Gold. Sharing the qualities of his black signature model, the bass features a swamp ash body, bolt-on maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard with pearl block inlays. The bass’s hardware includes an ABM bridge and Die Cast tuners, while the pickup is a Dean...

Warwick is following up on the release of the Jack Bruce Survivor bass, with a new Artist Series edition. Made in Korea, the Jack Bruce Artist Series bass offers many similarities to its German-made counterpart, but at a fraction of the price. Reminiscent of Bruce’s bass from his Cream days, the new model features neck-through construction with a mahogany body,...

Alan Cringean of AC Guitars has unveiled the J-Type series, a line of basses that gives a nod to classic bass design. “This range of basses offers a more traditional body shape but still has features that are typical of the ACG ethos,” the luthier explained. Available in 4- and 5-string versions, the J-Type is built to order and therefore...

Fuzzhugger FX has released the Bass Bloom, a bass-oriented version of their Algal Bloom fuzz. The new adaptation accounts for bass lovers by adding more low-end response and a clean blend to retain their original tone. The Bass Bloom has five controls: Gain, Bloom, Starve, Fuzz Level, and Clean Level. The Bloom knob controls the amount of fuzz added, while...

Whirlwind kicked off the year right by debuting the OC Bass Optical Compressor at NAMM. Voiced specifically for bass, the pedal switches between a compressor and a limiter and features three pre-programmable attack speeds: Fast, Slow, and Medium. Input and Output knobs control the level and gain to help you hone in on the amount of punch and sustain you...

After first introducing it a year and a half ago, Oktober Guitars is now making a production model of their DevilWing bass guitar in addition to the U.S. Custom Shop version. The bass was designed by Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and is aptly part of the company’s Von Frankenstein line. The DevilWing features set neck construction with a...