Archtop IQ Acoustic Bass 5-String

Woods / Equipment

More and more often, as with this bass, we avoid rosewood due to the complicated CITES regulations. In the present model, back and sides are made of European Walnut and the top is made of Sitka Spruce. All dark parts, such as tailpiece, bevel, etc., are made of ebony.

Like all our IQ guitars and basses, this bass has fanned frets with a scale of 864 to 915 mm. The IQ concept also includes a side soundhole and armrest.

Really unusual are the F-holes, the tailpiece, semi fretless fingerboard and the arched top. The latter, however, differs significantly from conventional archtops. While these are usually carved, the top of this bass is finely sanded and arched transversely. In this way we achieve, in contrast to ordinary archtops, a much thinner top that responds proportionately to vibrations.

In addition to the arching, a completely new bracing system had to be developed. Due to the F-holes, we could do without the cut-out for the sound hole, which is resonance-technically unfavorable. This way we also achieve great sound on the (compared to the "normal" IQ-bass) smaller surface.

Sound

The Archtop bass has an incredibly quick response and sounds very crisp and present. Due to the large proportion of low mids the sound reminds strongly of an electric bass. Its growling sound projects a lot of volume, so it may stand its ground alongside an acoustic guitar. A similar model with 4-string is nearing completion. Details on request