Simplicity is the name of the game with these single-pickup basses, which arrive with an updated okoume build, a choice of Orange and Black finishes, and trio of pickguard options
Launched in 2015, the O Bass series has a stripped-down retro aesthetic, with single-cut body housing a single split-coil pickup positioned just north of the median line between neck and bridge positions.
The idea was that it’d look and sound old-school, trafficking in deep, warm bass tones that pair nicely for old RnB, soul, and rock. The new for 2022 O Bass range retains that vibe, but now offers a black painted headstock that looks the part with the single-ply binding.
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The build is different, too, with the 2022 O Bass now arriving with a solid West African okoume body, with a purpleheart fingerboard on its bolt-on maple neck.
The O Bass has a 34” long scale, a 43mm nut, a nickel top-loading bridge and matching open-gear tuners, and its single pickup is controlled by volume and tone controls.
Orange is offering the O Bass in Orange and Black finishes with white, tortoiseshell and black pickguard options.
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It ships in a padded gigbag and makes for an interesting proposition to any player who thinks only of amplification when they think Orange.
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But for a midpriced thumper – the O Bass is priced $549 / £399 – with a retro vibe, these look well-worth auditioning, and they are available now. Head over to Orange Amplification for more details.
And if it still freaks some people out that Orange makes basses, let it be noted once more for the record that the brand now has its own hot sauce line, Super Natural. In this business, anything's possible.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.