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Gear Reviews

Mbasses MEJ6: Gear Impressions and Luthier Spotlight With Jake Wolf

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Review by Jake Wolf –
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Jon Maghini of Mbasses grabbed my attention several years ago when I met him at NAMM. I had a brief chance to noodle around on a couple of his basses, and by the time I left his booth, I was already a fan. His basses deftly combine smooth intuitive designs, killer wood choices, awesome playability, and wonderful tone. The MEJ is one of his newer models, aiming to combine the quality and features of his popular M3 line with a slightly more traditional body shape. The MEJ6 arrived extremely well packed (I’m always surprised how often this is not the case), and included a set of tools, a custom bass invoice with all the specs, a “care and maintenance of your new Mbass” sheet (which is a great FAQ-type list), and an electronics layout and description for the onboard Aguilar OBP3 preamp. Its worth mentioning that Jon was extremely helpful and organized in getting me a test bass, I imagine that a custom order process with Mbasses would be easy and straight forward, a welcome departure from my personal experiences in the past working with gifted but flighty custom builders.

The MEJ6 sports an unusual cherry wood body with a big leaf maple burl top, separated by a classy and understated purpleheart laminate. The 35″ scale 3 piece quarter sawn maple neck sits beneath the beautiful and ample kingwood fingerboard. Subtle but sexy abalone face dots add nicely to the upscale vibe. 19mm spacing may be a bit of a stretch for some, but it was perfect for me, being used to my Fbass 6 with the same spacing. Even though the neck was a little fatter front to back than my F, I did not find it hard to play at all. The neck felt supple and quick. A compact headstock features Gotoh tuners and is capped with more of that stunning maple burl. The MEJ6 had exemplary fretwork; frets were perfectly polished and crowned, none of the frets had sharp edges. Not surprisingly then, this bass was capable of killer low action without buzz. Jon chose Seymour Duncan dual coil pickups covered in matching kingwood, and an Aguilar OBP-3 circuit. In my testing, the bass was easily capable of a wide range of great usable tones. This bass came with an acrylic urethane finish. It looked and felt very nice, sort of a combination between a satin and high gloss finish. The finish had a great organic feel, and was much less plasticky then some of the polyester finishes we’re seeing nowadays. Recessed straplocks were a nice addition.

I was able to bring the MEJ6 to a couple of gig settings, a Latin jazz trio, and a blues/R&B quartet. In both settings the Mbass ruled with fat low mids, bottomless low end, and natural treble response. The warm cherry body and the fat sounding Aggie preamp no doubt had a hand in the MEJ’s overall warmth and thickness. I had no trouble getting enough warmth and clarity from the bass; it oozed with fat buttery low mids but retained plenty of definition up top. Soloing above the 12th fret on the G and C strings was a joy, the MEJ sounded full and warm where a lot of 6’s lose their body and sound clanky or thin. In general with things set flat, the bass sounded natural and clear with nice lower midrange warmth and complexity, and a nice transparent snap in the treble range. I was able to coax some P bass tones out of the neck pickup with a slight bass boost, and the bridge pickup sounded articulate and burpy, but maybe not enough for the jazz bass purists that want maximum grunt from their bridge pickup. Equipped with DR sunbeams, the bass felt pliable and lively, offered solid fundamentals, and helped showcase the rich detail naturally present in the midrange.

I am hard pressed to find anything wrong with the MEJ. I will say that I’m not a huge fan of the knobs Jon chose for this bass. The rubber knobs take a little away from the high end vibe. Also the neck shape was a little fatter than I’m used to, with more bulk on the shoulders. Luckily, both of these gripes are A: subjective, and B: particular to the way this bass was spec’d out as a custom build. You could easily order this bass with a custom neck profile and different knobs. In the end there is nothing inherent about the bass that I didn’t like.

Overall, I was very impressed with the MEJ, its killer form factor and sweet tones won me over and as I told Jon; even though it’s a completely different animal, this is the first 6 that I’ve liked nearly as much as my beloved F bass BN6. It’s obvious that Jon has put a lot of time and energy into designing his basses inside and out. This axe has the looks, the sounds and the playability to put it on par with many of the well known exotic bass kingpins. By the way, this MEJ as tested prices out at about $4500, but it also is pretty tricked out and includes about $940 in optional up charges. If you are in the market for a high end boutique custom, I whole heartedly recommend checking out an Mbass.

For more info, go to www.Mbasses.com


Jake Wolf welcomes your comments and questions… drop him a line

Bass Videos

Reviews: Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17

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Reviews Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17

Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17 Reviews…

In this issue, we take an in-depth look at two new amps from Phil Jones Bass, the Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17.

For more information, visit online at pjbworld.com

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Bass Videos

Review: BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass

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Review - BITE Custom Bass - The Black Knight PP Bass

BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass Review…

I am sure many of you saw my review of the Snobby Steampunk Bass from BITE Guitars back in February of 2021 and will remember what a remarkable bass it was. BITE has been building custom basses since 2019 and has a unique custom approach where you can configure your bass to your specs.

I am very excited to have another Bass From BITE Guitars in my hands, The Black Knight PP Bass! 

The need for a P-Bass in one’s armamentarium is pretty standard for bass players and I recall chatting about this with Marty O’Brien about a year ago. It turns out that Marty and BITE Guitars got together and came up with this excellent configuration that gives you a P-Bass with a whole lot more.  Marty even played his own Black Knight PP bass at the 2024 NAMM show. You can see his review here.

Join me as I take an in-depth look at this very cool instrument and share all the details.

Here is The Black Knight Bass from BITE Guitars!

For more information, visit online at bite.guitars/product/black-knight-pp

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Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass

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Gear Review: Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass

Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass Review…

Throughout the evolution of music, bass players have sought tools to sculpt and enhance their sonic landscapes, and one indispensable ally in this pursuit has been compression. Origin Effects, a name synonymous with premium audio craftsmanship, introduces the Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor, a pedal that pays homage to the legacy of compression and brings forth a new chapter in bass sonic mastery.

As we delve into the world of the Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor, we’ll explore how Origin Effects seamlessly weaves together the heritage of compression and contemporary bass demands, promising a pedal that not only honors the past but propels your bass playing into the future. Join us on this sonic expedition as we dissect the nuances of the Cali76 Compact and uncover the secrets it holds for bass players seeking the perfect blend of vintage warmth and modern versatility.

For Starters, the Cali76 is a studio-grade FET compressor pedal, based on the classic Urei 1176, but with some features optimized for bass guitar. For those of you who are not familiar with it, a FET (Field Effect Transistor) compressor is essentially a solid-state tube compressor emulation that allows for fast and precise control over the attack and the release parameters; allows for extreme compression ratios; and finally adds the typical 1176 color and character to the sound.

Together with the common controls we see in most compressor pedals – Ratio, Attack/Release, input (just like the original 1176, the threshold in this pedal is fixed), and output (makeup gain). The Cali76 offers two more controls dedicated to us bass players.

A Dry control – This allows us to mix in our dry, uncompressed signal to the pedal output. This is great for when we want to add back some of our playing dynamics to the compressed sound or for when you want some volume back in situations where the compression starts taking away the volume.

A High Pass Filter control – Low frequencies on a bass guitar signal normally overwhelm compressors. This high pass filter allows the compressor to only react to higher frequencies, which helps preserve the natural dynamics of our playing while keeping the low end intact.

Metering on this pedal can be a bit hard to get used to at first. There’s a single LED light on the pedal, that not only serves as an On/Off light, but it’s also our meter. It glows red when no compression is applied and orange for active compression. The brighter the light, the greater the amount of gain reduction. Yellow signifies that the gain reduction reached 27dB and maximum reduction occurs around 38 dB.

In practical terms, it’s all about working with the input and the LED to find the sweet spot (turn the input to zero, start playing and slowly increase the input level until you start seeing the LED glowing orange, which means there’s reduction going on).

With 6 highly interactive knob controls, this pedal implies some degree of compressor knowledge and also some amount of tweaking and experimentation to find the perfect settings. The good news is that it is very hard to make this pedal sound bad…

It can go from very subtle compression settings to very extreme, and it can do everything in between. Also, the team at Origin has been kind enough to add a couple of sample settings in the manual to get players started and to help us understand better how the pedal works.

Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass

Dynamic Control is a setting that provides natural compression, balancing dynamics between various playing techniques. It is a subtle compression that will work almost out of the box almost all the time. Having a medium setting for the High Pass Filter ensures an honest translation of the lower string dynamics.

Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass

Parallel compression is a popular studio technique, where both compressed and natural signals are blended. We get the sound and feel of hard compression while retaining the natural playing dynamics.

Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass

Percussive, lively & Fat is a setting that uses a slower attack time to accentuate the start of any note. Then using a fast release allows the compressor to recover between notes so that the phrases sound more percussive. Ideal for slapping and other percussive techniques.

Finally, I would like to mention the classic 1176 tonal coloration. It’s not a secret that engineers all around would sometimes use the 1176 compressor, without applying any compression, just to get the tonal coloration into the instrument sound.

And the Cali76 compressor is no different, it has such a rich, warm, and full coloration that’s super pleasing to the ear and makes you want to have it ON all the time. So be aware, that if you want a transparent compressor, this pedal is not for you!

All in all, it is easy to understand why this pedal became a favorite of so many bass players around the world. The Cali76 Compact stands as a testament to the meticulous craftsmanship and thoughtful engineering that Origin Effects is renowned for. It seamlessly navigates through the rich history of compression, offering bass players a gateway to the soulful resonance of the past while empowering them to sculpt a contemporary sonic future.

Whether you’re a seasoned bass maestro or a budding virtuoso, the Cali76 Compact invites you to embark on a sonic journey where every note is held in a delicate balance between tradition and innovation. As we bid farewell to our exploration, we do so with the realization that the Cali76 Compact is more than just a pedal; it’s a sonic companion that elevates the artistry of bass playing

For more information, visit online at origineffects.com

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Gear Reviews

Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass Review

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Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass Review

Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass Review…

Not long ago, I did a review of the Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass and I have just been given the honor and privilege of reviewing the Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass. I have to say, another great bass from Spector that is hard to put down! While there are some similarities between both basses, there are also some noticeable differences which is why I believe having both is essential to any bass arsenal.

Spector, widely used by many rock and metal bassists like Ian Hill, Alex Webster, Colin Edwin, Doug Wimbish, and many more, just to name a few, has a long-standing in these genres. Well, that’s about to change! The bass I used for the review, didn’t see any of those genres, matter of fact, I used it on a few classic country gigs and at church too! However, when at home in the studio, I let the funk out. The NS Ethos HP 4 Bass is an all-around great bass for any genre and will not disappoint.

Let’s get into the specs about the bass, and here we will find the differences between the HP 5 Bass and the HP 4.

Forget that one is a 5 string, while the other is a 4, while that is a difference, that’s not one that I feel needs to be noted as both models are available as 4 and 5 strings. The Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass has a 34” scale, 24 fret, 3 piece maple neck through construction with solid alder wings, ebony fingerboard along with centered and side dots and the 12th fret Spector logo inlay with a brass nut.

While the pickups are different as the NS Dimension HP 5 Bass uses the EMG 45DC and the NS Ethos HP 4 Bass sports the EMG 35DC pickups, they are the same pickup configurations, the difference being, one for 4 string, the other for 5 string. The electronics are the same, consisting of a Darkglass Tone Capsule preamp which consists of +-12dB @70Hz for Bass, +-12dB @500Hz for Mids, and +-12dB @2.8kHz for Hi Mids. Controls for Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass consist of Master Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, and Hi Mid controls. The electronics are powered by a 9-volt battery.

The bridge is a Hi-Mass locking bridge with intonation screws and the tuners are sealed die-cast. All hardware is black. Same as the Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass, the HP 4 Bass is available in 4 different finishes, White Sparkle Gloss, Gunmetal Gloss, Plum Crazy Gloss & Black Gloss. The bass also comes with a very nice and well-padded gig bag.

Check out the Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass at a Spector Music Retailer today near you or visit online at spectorbass.com/product/ns-ethos-hp-4/

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Gear Reviews

Review: Italia Leather Straps

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Review: Italia Leather Straps

Italia Leather Straps…

Whenever I get a new bass, I like to get a new strap to christen it and I also like to find one that is “color coordinated” to my new instrument. I recently had a 6-string fretless bass created by a local luthier named Frank Brocklehurst, which started my search for a new strap.

There are a few points that I always look for when searching for a new strap. 

1-Comfort 
2-Width
3-Great color
4-Price

My most recent quest put me in touch with “Italia Leather Straps.” Italia has been in business in California for about 20 years and has been selling factory direct for the past 18 years.

When you order your strap it begins its “made to order” build process and after shipping more than 50,000 straps they certainly have it well in hand!

To answer my 4 questions regarding comfort, Italia uses some of the most comfortable and luxurious leather in a wide variety of colors. I was able to match almost perfectly the color of my bass and the color of the leather.

You can order it in either a 2.5” or 4” width as well as a standard and long model for tall players. I prefer the 4” for all of my basses. 

I received my strap and I must tell you, the leather was soft, supple, and truly comfortable when I attached it to my bass.

I must commend Italia Leather Straps for their attention to detail and beautiful selection of leather. I would say that when you go looking for a new strap, these guys should be on your shortlist.

Call or visit Italia Leather Straps online:
831-324-4277
www.italiastraps.com

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