Archive for Featured basses

Zeta bass

Now you all know the electric uprights built by Zeta, right? And you probably know their crossover bass as well…
Some of us think that EUBs need to be played upright. That gives us a cool look and a better sound. Well, have a look at the following video, which shows us a Zeta Crossover being played by Will Karling. Nice playing and a great sound, Will…reminds me a bit of the bass in the recording of Cowboys and Angels by George Michael.

Frankenbass

Meet Frankenbass, an electric upright bass made from Motoguzzi motorcycle parts.

Another video by wrecknroller showing a motorcyble bass:

Coolest bass on earth!

During a major hard drive cleanup session I found this photo of one of the coolest basses ever. It seems to be made of plexiglass and looks as if it’s just not there. Does anyone know who is playing it and who is the manufacturer of this piece of minimalistic art?

A plexiglass bass is… at AnswerGarden.ch.

Harp basses

Luthier Barton Applewhite wrote me in an email about his harp bass. This is an interesting and beautiful instrument, and I’m curious what the harp strings are intended for. Look at the details…

Van Zalinge Bass

At the Speurders (kind of Ebay) website, there is a Van Zalinge Bass for sale. A rare find: the Dutch bass luthier Henk van Zalinge built 264 basses in the early eighties. If you buy this one, you know there is only a maximum of 263 copies in the world! And Sting probably still owns at least one of them, unless he decided to get rid of his copy. (owww…that Mickey Mouse T-shirt…)

The prize of these basses currently is relatively high (for 3500 euros you can buy a decent handmade new bass), but nostalgia often has its prize…

Or you could try to build one yourself, like Eric Borst of Eribo Violins did.

I “borrowed” the photos of the ad, before the bass is sold and the images removed from the Speurders site:

Speaking of Van Zalinge Basses, have a look at this old video of Jo Didderen playing his Van Zalinge. (More nostalgia for the Nederlanders: yes, that’s the good old television show “Reiziger in Muziek”…).

Any opinions on the Van Zalinge? Any pointers to information, sounds or videos?

Double Bass “E”

On a Dutch Ebay, Speurders, I found this exotic electric double bass. I have never seen this one before. The prize, accessories and the fact that it features an MP3 input point to a Chinese factory, but I could be wrong.

And, just in case, you can buy it here.

Do you know where this bass is from? Do you own one and love the sound? Let us know!

Feature: Sendel Baby Bass

Fernando Garcia from Colombia sent me the following picture of one of his baby basses with the following all-caps message:

HI I AM FERNANDO GARCIA FRONT COLOMBIA I MAKE BABY BASS AND MY COMPANY IS SENDELINSTRUMENTS I WHANT TO BE IN YOUR WEB SITE THIS IS A PICTURE A BABY BASS

Sendel Intruments

Sendel Intruments

Well, that is a cool bass. It looks left-handed to me, but I could be mistaken.

You can find more on babybasssendel.com. Beware, the sound design of the website can really scare the hell out of you…

Feature: The Dutch Dieges

Rogier Dieges contacted me and sent me some photos of the Dieges EUB. This is a semi-acoustic solid body bass and – as far as I can see – a very well-crafted instrument. Currently, there is one model with different types of hardware. Pickup is a Fishman Full Circle Double Bass Pickup.
More at the Dieges Website.