As a part of the review team on this magazine, I’ve had the good fortune to encounter some fantastic basses over the years. There have been many contenders, so this list of 30 instruments is very much the tip of the iceberg. Very few basses are sub-standard these days, thanks to advancements in construction technology, which makes the selection even more difficult, but here goes!
A Pedulla Rapture RBJ2000 five-string was one of my earliest reviews, and the package from top to bottom was highly impressive, with tones to die for courtesy of the Bartolini single-coils. With its glass-like polyester fingerboard coating, a Pedulla Buzz confirmed the immense praise I’d always heard being heaped on these basses—it was everything a great fretless should be.
Proving that a great Jazz bass doesn’t have to be expensive, an Indonesian Fender Geddy Lee Signature, a Bass Collection Guy Pratt ‘Betsy’ Signature, and a Squier Classic Vibe ’60s Jazz showed what can be done at an affordable price point. Each one offers exceptional sounds and playability for their respective prices and puts far more expensive alternatives to shame.
The following five-strings had something a little extra special about them. An MTD Kingston Super 5 was an outstanding instrument that delivered a magical sonic performance and felt fantastic. A Clover Avenger was a surprise, with smooth and slinky tones, not dissimilar to a Stingray but with classic looks, supreme playability, and considerable pickup ammo at its disposal... No surprise that it turned my head.
Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Bass Player.
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Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Bass Player.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Freekbass
The funk master talks us through five career high points.
ASHDOWN RM-800-EVO ll
What a lightweight! Kev Sanders tests the new head from Ashdown
DUVOISIN Standard 5
Mike Brooks gives this Swiss-style five a road test…
I WAS THERE!
A historic moment in bass world – recalled by those who were there to see it
BAREFACED - One10T Cabinet
A new Barefaced cab? Kev Sanders feels the quality
KRIST NOVOSELIC
It’s 30 years since the release of Nirvana’s era-defining album, Nevermind, and high time that we revisited this 2011 chat with the great bassist turned political activist, Krist Novoselic, a musician who witnessed a truly chaotic period in music history
BASS PLAYER AWARDS 2021
After a year off thanks to the pesky virus, BP’s annual Lifetime Achievement Awards return—and this time we add a new category. Raise your glass to this year’s winners, Marcus Miller, Gail Ann Dorsey, John Taylor and Charles Berthoud.
RUSH TO READ
Rush’s Geddy Lee will release an “epic” memoir in 2022
STAYING POWER
Tal Wilkenfeld’s recent album Love Remains features a five-string in tenor tuning with a capo. Ellen O’Reilly finds out why…
TONEWOODS EXPLAINED
Do woods really determine tones?
