4R-5  The “J” Bass

Our 4R-5 4-string J Bass takes the best features of the models we all love and serves them up in a rear-routed pickup orientation, with no pickguard to conceal the beauty of the wood. We use the 1970s bridge pickup location for added punch and have worked closely with Artisan Guitar Electronics to formulate the ideal pickups for great bottom end, J growl and strong mid-range. 

4R-4 Standard Specs:

• Body - Reclaimed heart pine or similar J Bass profile with ergonomic heel

• Neck - Reclaimed maple with choice of reclaimed maple or reclaimed tropical wood fingerboard, 20 frets (Jescar), 9.5" radius, 34" scale

• Bridge - Choice of Hipshot A, Hipshot Kick Ass, Babicz Full Contact or Ray Ross Saddleless bridge

• Pickups - Dual J pickups - choice of Aguilar 60s, 70s, humcancelling, or Artisan Guitar Electronics Custom StoryWood J

• Controls - Passive - Volume/Volume/Tone or Master Volume/Pickup Pan/Tone

• Tuning machines - Hipshot ultra light clover peg

Options:

Book-matched figured-wood top – For the Deluxe model, we have access to a variety of reclaimed and salvaged species of tonewoods that make incredible book-matched tops, including redwood, mahogany, walnut, pistachio, and port orford cedar.

Active Electronics

Bound and Blocked fingerboard

Fretless – We’re happy to make your bass a lined or un-lined fretless and can use passive or active electronics to shape your tone.

Graphtech Ghost piezo system – For acoustic tones, we use Graphtech piezo saddles and the Ghost pre-amp system

Call us at 919-946-4700 or email us at sales@storywoodmusic.com and hit us up with all the questions you have! 

upgraded bridge

StoryWood basses benefit from a higher-mass, upgraded bridge. The natural sustain of the reclaimed body and neck wood coupled with an upgraded bridge yields increased dynamic range, sustain, and pitch stability as well as increased string vibration transference from the vibrating string to the body. StoryWood recommends one of several amazing bridges from Hipshot, Babicz or Ray Ross.

HipShot ultra-light tuners

During a long gig, instrument weight can be an issue. And neck dive is a nightmare. We use Hipshot ultra-light clover-peg tuners on our StoryWood basses for performance as well as weight reduction. They hold tune very well, have smooth gearing and look amazing.

boutique pickups

While we have access to your favorite pickups from a variety of manufacturers, we are fortunate to have a top-notch pickup guru in our backyard here in Raleigh, NC. We have worked closely with Artisan Guitar Electronics on most of our instruments, and their J Bass pickup recipe produces great bottom end, J growl and mid-range punch. The magnets are staggered to match the radius of the fretboard as well for a more even output.

We also recommend Aguilar bass pickups for our instruments. Their line includes a 60s or 70s flavor of J single coils as well as humbucking J and MM style pickups.

We also recommend Aguilar’s line of active pre-amps.