Life Begins...

...at 40! We visit Chris May of Overwater Basses for a look back across four decades of low (and high) frequencies

Overwater basses have been at the forefront of countless professional bassists’ arsenal of gear for many years. They are one of the first choices for the majority of bass players working in London’s West End theater pits, and a growing number on Broadway, in addition to many of the most popular touring shows both in the UK and internationally. As the basses are known for their reliability, playability, and tonal range, if you own a TV or radio, you will already have heard them providing the backbeat behind many household names.

Across the decades, Overwater has become a heritage brand, enjoying associations with countless eminent bass players from a wide range of musical genres—Rick Kemp, Guy Pratt, Carlos Henriquez, Trevor Barry, William Orbit, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Phil Mulford, Mick Feat, Andrew McKinney, Paul Geary, Sandy Beales, Mo Foster, Martin Kemp, and even David Gilmour among others— Gilmour’s original 1984 C Bass recently fetched an eye-watering $40,000 in his charity sale at Christie’s in New York. Current signature models belong to this magazine’s very own Phil Mann and online educator extraordinaire Scott Devine.

The genius behind the brand is luthier Chris May, who welcomes us into the Overwater HQ, in the Atlas Works —a repurposed Victorian Cotton Mill complex in the border city of Carlisle, just north of England’s Lake District. Working alongside May and his partner Kirsty Cowe is a small and highly skilled team of professional craftsmen, busy in a spacious workshop that is packed to the rafters with specialist tools and equipment. There are some vintage favorites, a few modern essentials, and a selection of custom-designed necessities, surrounded by instruments in every stage of production.