Orange O Bass Off-Black electric bass guitar

General

If you think you've seen the O Bass before, you probably have. It's actually been around since 2014, but Orange only decided to take it into production in 2016. This bass in Off-Black is the creation of Orange's technical director and head designer Adrian Emsley. It has a familiar looking single-cut body, but the headstock, pickguard and pickup are all unique and funky, much like the sound of this bass as well.

Broad sound palette

The funky sound of this bass is due to the remarkable Custom Wound Split-Coil Humbucker pickup. According to Emsley, this is what gives the O Bass its 'growl', in combination with the fact that it's positioned 8 mm closer to the neck than on a standard bass, enabling it to pick up more harmonic tones. It also gives the bass an aggressive edge when necessary, while making it suitable for playing emotional ballads as well. The pickup is screwed onto the classy-looking white pickguard, which can be replaced with an included tortoise-shell version. Adrian Emsley himself said jokingly that the shape of the pickguard reminded him of a Formula 1 racing circuit, or a seahorse, depending on how you look at it.

Native British

The British O Bass has a body made of okoume, a type of lightweight wood with a gorgeous tone that comes straight out of West-Africa. For a bit of extra shine, it's been fitted with a basswood veneer top. Its bolted-on maple neck has a vintage medium U-shape profile and features a rosewood fretboard with 19 medium jumbo frets for great playability. On the headstock, the open-gear machine heads look especially tough together with the vintage-looking Off-Black finish. Lastly, you can store and transport the O Bass in the included Orange gig bag.