The Odello a small bodied acoustic electric upright bass

 Well, where do you start? This one is another idea of Del's. This is a five string (high C) 3/4 scale length, small bodied, true acoustic, electric, upright base made to be played sitting down. Constructed with a carved, tuned, arch top of one piece, quartersawn spruce on a body of walnut and a neck/headstock made from one piece of fabulously flamed maple. The full sized carved scroll has the most expensive handmade machines I have ever come across! Interesting pickup arrangement with 3 separate systems, a Highlander piezo in the bridge, a standard magnetic (all strings) and individual magnetic pickups for each string. The Highlander and standard magnetic can be blended and the signal passed through an EBS 2 band EQ and out via a standard jack socket. In order to reduce volume changes when playing up the neck the magnetic pickup is cantilevered from the bridge and has it's own adjustable 'foot'. This pickup is actually two pickups in one housing (the standard magnetic and a quintaphonic) and was custom made by Aaron Armstrong. The individual string signals can be panned to any position in the stereo spectrum and the signal goes out via a balanced XLR to desk. The active circuitry required for the panning was complex and the small control panel a bit congested! The acoustic tone is surprisingly good considering the size of the body and hanging a condenser mic inside the body cavity produced excellent results.

So it ends up as a stunning looking instrument with huge tonal range and great versatility for stage or studio. One of the joys of my job is getting projects like this to realise for customers.