1. Modern Bass Guitars
Yamaha BB2024X:
This bass is a compromise of all modern woods and equipment yet can give that
raw, punchy retro sound easily so it is optimised as a perfect all rounded bass for an
average price of £2,024 (two thousand and twenty four pounds). It compromises a
lot of high end mechanics and engineering that would ensure that the bassist who
has one of these can rely on their instrument fantastically well. It features a 5 piece
neck which uses both maple and mahogany woods. Shown below is how the neck is
constructed. The pickups have a ceramic magnet through which the coil can pass
over fluently and will not wear down so the pickups keep their sound over time as
fresh as ever. The strings are placed at a 45 degree angle (called Thru-body
Stringing) to that of a normal bass to reduce stress on the body and neck so it stays
level easily and makes playing rather comfortable and simple. And the nut is a blend
of nickel and silver which would be the same as most strings so the strings don’t
buzz and resonate unwanted sounds when playing open notes and also reduces
stress on the strings so they last longer.
The neck is a blend of maple and mahogany which is a blend of light and hard
woods to give a hollow but deep sound. It also reduces warping which is
common more so in low budget basses. The mahogany strips run through the
headstock down into the neck to provide strength and depth of tone.
However, the mahogany is the main piece of the headstock and the maple
pieces simply fit into place around it balancing out the weight of the head. The
neck however is mainly maple with the mahogany pieces “slotted” into place around the maple. This
balances out the stress given to the different woods and gives the bass a nice dive and balanced feel.
This was from http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el-
basses/bb/bb2025x/?mode=model#tab=product_lineup&psort=latest&mode=paging
James Lomenzo from the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufqvQqxSn5o) states that:
“The pickups on this bass give each string their integrity and the resonance is just fantastic”
This shows that the bass itself has modern pickups to give each string their own dynamic range
across the frequencies and is helpful to do so. (However he was testing the 5-string version yet the
pickups stay the same across these models)

2. Ibanez ATK 200:
This bass from Ibanez
compromises some of the older
designs of bass necks and new
style controls that makes it one
of the most versatile bass
guitars on the market today. The
metal plate on the bridge gives it a natural bright tone and added with the one pickup (CAP Double
Humbucker). The bass itself gives a great sounding tone that anyone can get to grips with easily and
find their comfortable output sound rather easily. The single pickup although placed at the bridge
position can be selected to be magnetised at either the bridge, centre or neck position to give
different sounds to different players. To accompany this, the 4 control knobs contain a volume and a
3 band bass EQ instead of the more common volume and tone options for each pickup. It gives the
player more control over the sound and more clarity instead of fiddling with amps or pedals thereby
making it more accessible for a starting or low-budget player. The average price is between £260-
£300.
(http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/u_eb_page13.php?data_id=217&color=CL01&year=2013&cat_id=2&series_id=116)
The CAP double Humbucker originally developed by Ibanez holds a different method for producing a
great sounding bass guitar with the use of one pickup and different switch positions:
These pickups work by placing two magnets with single coils
placed at different polarities to match each other and cancel out
the hum like any normal pickup. The difference though in these is
that the pickups themselves are separated from each other with a
ceramic sheet in the middle and each pickup can be magnetised
at a separate time. For instance in the picture shown the “Neck”
position can activate the magnet furthest towards the neck giving
a more distorted and deeper tone making the bass sound and feel
a bit “dark”. Contrastingly when the pickup is selected at the
“Bridge” position, the sound is much cleaner and the sound is
tighter and sounds more vintage as it gives more of a higher end
to the sound. This is more common in choice with this bass as the
Ash wood body and Maple neck give it a naturally bright tone so
the bridge pickup selection only enhances this. With these two positions however, some hum is
picked up due to the pickups originally being a single coil style which gives a bright tone at the bridge
and a more fuzzy sound at the neck. However when both of these magnets are activated, the hum is
cancelled out and gives the bass a good tonal mixture of bright vintage sounds and a modern EQ to
enhance it that little bit further. This pickup is only used on the Ibanez ATK Series at the current
moment and this is what defines this bass and makes it one of the most versatile basses today.

3. AXL Badwater Bass:
The AXL Badwater Bass series is all about
creating a good looking bass and stylish
features rather than creating a ground-
breaking good sounding bass. The body is
made from a 1-piece solid alder wood
which is a hardwood and produces a
muffled and dark tone. The neck is a rock
maple based neck again in 1 piece and is a bolt-on form. This equates to a generally low ended and
dark sounding bass that is more common with the rock and metal genres of music.
For an average price of around £150 this is a very good quality entry level bass that is used mainly
for rock players due to its design, paint and playability features also because it is mainly a rock bass,
the precision style pickups and large scratch plate make it a good feature for players who prefer to
use a pick rather than their fingers for that harsher sound of playing.
(http://www.axlguitars.com/basses/badwater-bass-series)