Guscott Australia - Quiet Electric Stringed Instruments

Electric Upright Bass

Specifications
(Prototype)

Body and Neck: African Whitewood stained brown mahogany.

Headstock: Traditional scroll (reverse fender style with/without scroll available)

Fingerboard and bridge: Ebonized oak

Machine Heads: Schaller

Truss Rod: Single truss rod to neck (adjustable at bridge end).

Scale: 40.5"

Pickups: Greber hand made quadhumbuckers, 2 coils per string housed unobtrusively in a beautifully handcrafted wood fixture.

Pre-amp: Greber 6v (3v + ve) system with treble cut/treble boost knob and volume knob.

On/Off: On board switch and battery condition meter.

Batteries: 4 AA concealed behind neck bolt cover plate. Batteries should last up to 600 hrs.

Bout: (not included yet) Proposed adjustable body support that will hook into the neck bolt cover plate.

Case: Fully moulded leather-look fibre glass case, foam padded and panne velvet lined. Available in colours of grey, white or black.

When Toowoomba craftsman and musician David Guscott made an electric upright bass (EUB) he chose Seekers bassist Athol Guy to "roadtest" it.

"I knew I'd get an accurate appraisal of its worth from Athol because he has played bass professionally for such a long time," he said.

Electric Upright Bass

"I called him up and when I described the bass to him, he said he'd love to see it." David took the then unfinished bass to Athol on New Years Eve, 1997.

Recently the two men were reunited at Picnic Point in Toowoomba, and the 60's superstar said he thought that David would have no trouble marketing his product.

"It's beautifully made and I look forward to trying it out in the studio," he said.

David's handcrafted instrument is styled after the traditional double bass.

The Guscott EUB has a style that is truly unique. While maintaining the classic lines of a handcarved body and scrolled head, it also incorporates superb electronics.

While it is not intended to be an acoustic instrument, it is audible in a quiet room for practice purposes. It is designed as an electric double bass and this is where the instrument really shines. Thanks to the electronic wizardry of Greg Greber, the Guscott EUB delivers a signal that is so pure that there is absolutely no hum (with strings held tight and amplifier turned full on!).

The Guscott EUB has an amazing sustain quality with the note lingering almost as if it is being bowed. Athol Guy, of the 'Seekers', recently had use of the Guscott EUB for a week and this is what he said: "... the action is really nice ... that free action up and down the neck is tremendous." "That balance right through is tremendous and you get a great feeling of control because of the construction of the fingerboard. Once we tried it with amplification, what we suspected was quite right ... it has a lovely sustain sound." Athol Guy has requested one (out of a batch of five being created at present) to try in the recording studio. David Guscott, the creator of the Guscott EUB, said that the first batch of five will be made from hoop pine that has matured for approximately 80 years. Fingerboards and bridges will be made from Rosewood (ebonized or plain).

Instruments of integrity for a lifetime of pleasure.