Inspired and encouraged by our 30 years of experience and communication with professional players and customers throughout the World, The Bass Centre is proud to present an all-new Bass Collection for the 21st century.
From the authentic sounds, eye-catching looks and period-accurate appointments of the Jive, Power and Detroit Basses, to the cutting edge PowerHouse, the sleek, small bodied Speakeasy and the revival of the unique, rubber string Ashbory Bass, you simply won't find better attention to detail, build quality and expertly set-up instruments at this price point.
BRITISH BASS MASTERS
Affectionately known as "a few basses we built with our mates", the British Bass Masters series extends the award-winning Bass Collection range with an exciting selection of artist-inspired instruments that pay tribute to a galaxy of Brit bass all stars, including several long-standing Bass Centre customers and friends.
NS DESIGN UK
With decades of dedicated brand knowledge, the Bass Centre offers superlative customer service and comprehensive stocks of the complete NS Design range at the BEST prices in Europe, with FREE SHIPPING to the United Kingdom and selected EU mainland destinations on all instruments.
I aquired an almost new, left handed model in salmon Pink that had only been used by a good friend of mine from new on just one session (I won’t name names) and he sold it to me when he was done because he mainly plays guitar. He’d had it fitted by the Bass Centre with Elites Flatwounds.
I play a few different basses, but mainly Fender Precisions, sometimes Rics, sometimes Hofners. This bass came to my attention, and after some guidance and inspiration from the man himself, Bruce, on Facebook, I decided to try it out and also leave on the flatwound strings (I’ve always used round wounds).
Wow, what can I say? This thing is amazing!
The neck is the most comfortable you can possibly imagine, the weight and feel is like an old favourite pair of gloves, and the sound... Jeezus H, this thing is a monster! The power from the output is amazing, and the tone is sublime. The stainless flatwounds almost have the same growl as rounds, but with more refinement, and it pops from a live mix with absolute ease.
I’m hooked.
I tried it at a gig last night for the first time... Boom!! Even one of my hardened critics at the show said that it sounded amazing. I love it, and I hope this helps anyone interested in buying one of these to take that chance and try it... you won’t be sorry!
The only thing I noticed was the D and G strings don’t quite line up exactly with the pickup pole peices, but this doesn’t in any way affect the sound or the output, the pickups work absolutely perfectly.
I’m extremely happy with this bass, and am looking forward to one day trying it with Elites roundwound strings... but until then, the flats are killing it
The bass arrived yesterday and I am just over-awed at the quality of it. Not just the construction quality, which is sublime (and it's strange how we fawn over such things as neck profiles and finishes!), but also the colour. I wish I could either bottle and drink, or dive right into, or both?!
I haven't done a full test of it yet (it's a busy week for me with various Easter related things with the kids) but I plugged it into my "fly rig" (essentially my Line 6 HX Stomp and other peripherals) and I don't think I've ever played or heard such a responsive bass - Every nuance is picked up, the notes are as clear as a bell plugged in, or not plugged in, and of course the pickups are beyond compare; I'm glad they're still being sold by Martin Sims because the tonal options for me are endless.
I loathe carrying 3 or 4 different basses to gigs, rehearsals, studio work etc, and I think those days are beyond me now with the Powerhouse, who I have already dubbed Ruby; it really will save a lot of time and effort, and of course, I'll enjoy showing her off to everyone and demonstrate the mystery of the Super Quads! That's not to say that my Betsy will be demoted, mind you - both basses are of excellent quality and craftmanship and I could pretty much go on forever about them (and often do).
I've never met (veteran Bass Centre tech) Chris Ward, but he just seems to "get me" - both Betsy and Ruby have had his eye over the setup and both play sublime. In my more mature years, I'm less of a digger inner and more of a player, and both guitars are perfection. Andy Corns (who is Gary Kemp's guitar tech and lives down the road from me) will have a lot to live up to when he gets these in his mitts (when he finally has space, isn't away, on tour etc etc etc!)
I'm due in the studio on 13th April, and in the meantime, I will keep telling people to stop buying F**d*rs and to start buying Bass Collection basses - supported strongly by my Bass Centre cap, which I will wear at EVERY festival I'm at over the summer!!
I bought this bass because I needed a true P-Bass tone, but I loved the idea of a thinner neck and the old school bridge for easy string spacing adjustments. The included flatwound strings were a bit heavy for my liking so I swapped on some lighter EB Cobalts and after some adjustments for neck relief and intonation the bass is perfect.
I mean, it's perfect.
I play a lot of Queen and the notes on the upper frets are true everywhere. I can reach them without contorting myself. The output from string to string is even. There are no dead spots on the fretboard. It is comfortable and balanced. The pickup is a monster and I rarely have it all the way up.
I'm just so pleased with this bass and my hat is off to Bruce Thomas and Bass Centre for putting together such a high quality instrument for under $700 USD. Out of my four basses, this one is the best.
