Marc started us off with some great observations and photos, so I thought I'd chime in and post what I discovered as well, since I'm not sure how to organize all this info. For the sake of keeping my thoughts in one place, I'll post my pix here as well for now and perhaps we'll just consolidate all pix in a separate post once they're all in.
It was great meeting everyone and putting a face with the name. I'm sorry to say I was quite disappointed to discover that everyone was taller than me, though in my defense I did stand next to Victor Wooten at the Fodera booth and he only came up to my chin. ;^)
As a first timer NAMM attendee, it was a bit chaotic and a major sensory overload at first, but once you settle in you can't stop moving, much to the dismay of my broken toes that I got 3 days prior. >:^( There's literally somebody well-known, well-respected, or well-maligned walking by every minute. Got to meet some bass building legends (Neal Moser, Mike Pedulla, Stuart Spector, Bill Bartolini). Spotted many bass greats such as Tony Levin, Geezer Butler, Michael Manring, Rudy Sarzo, Victor Wooten (who seemed to endorse every booth there. Saw him perform 3 times. Videos coming), Bootsy Collins, Stanley Clarke, Steve Bailey, Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, etc., and even had Kevin Bacon on my incoming flight and Martha Stewart on my outgoing flight. Strange days indeed.
Not surprisingly, there were not many lefty basses on display, as even companies like Schecter who are normally very lefty-friendly didn't bother to bring any. And, also not surprisingly, the range of available lefties almost always fell into one of two groups: extremely low end stuff and extremely high end boutique stuff with little middle ground. Most lefty offerings available this year were no different from last year's, but, fear not, there was some positive and encouraging news to be found!
I only managed to actually play a couple of basses through an amp, but I did play nearly everything I saw unplugged to at least check the build, feel, weight, etc.
Ernie Ball/Musicman: EB wins the award for having the most lefty basses on display in their booth with 4, with the lower end "Sterling by Musicman Ray34LH" being their latest lefty offering:
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It's made in Korea and only comes in black with maple neck/rosewood fretboard, 6 bolt neck joint, and swamp ash body. Aesthetically, the matching black headstock gives it a touch of class beyond the normal garden variety black we always get. But like Marc, however, I wasn't blown away with the feel either. Especially when compared to a "real" Stingray, which was on the opposite wall:
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There was also a Stingray5:
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And the aforementioned metallic red Bongo:
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Other than the Sterling Ray34, none of these available lefties has changed from previous years, and EB still isn't offering left handed Big Als, 25th Anniversaries, or even 2 PUP 'Rays or Sterlings yet.
http://www.music-man.comSpector: Spector has a new offering, a lower end Professional Series Legend Classic:
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It comes in 4 or 5 string, black cherry only, and features a basswood body, quilted maple top, 3 pc. bolt on maple neck, and 24 fret rosewood board; Passive SSD humbuckers with active Spector TonePump Jr. preamp. I did get to plug this one in, and I liked it. It captures the punch and attack of a real Spector, though the build wouldn't be mistaken for the higher end basses. Still, if you're looking for a Spector on a budget, this is it. Street price: under $600.
http://www.spectorbass.comWarwick: Warwick had several new models on display (Bootsy Collins signature, Adam Clayton Reverso, Starbass, etc), though I only saw one lefty. Nevertheless, nearly every model they make can be ordered left handed. The bass on display was (yet again) a budget model Corvette RB Basic Active 5 string fretless:
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I REALLY liked this bass. It was well-built, slick looking, felt great (not at all the infamous baseball bat neck that Warwick typically uses these days), and way beyond the quality level of their Rockbass, IMO. Best of all, it has a street price of under $799! I didn't get to plug it in, and I don't normally care for Corvettes, but if it sounds as good as it plays, I might be grabbing one of these.
http://www.warwickbass.comTraveler Guitar Escape MK-II Bass:
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Cute idea and could be useful if you need a portable bass, but it sounded like crap and you'd be better off getting a Steinberger Spirit, which can actually function as a bass. Even with treble fully rolled off it was all clickety clackity with zero "bass" or low end.
http://www.travelerguitar.comFender: New for 2010...same as last year, except now they've discontinued the Active Jazz.
They had 1 American Standard Jazz on display, which I did get to try through a Fender Bassman:
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Considering all the hype these new American basses have been receiving, I was underwhelmed. The neck definitely feels chunkier to me than previous Js, most notably nearly every lefty J I've played that was made prior to their discontinuance in '84(?) and the most recent MIJ and MIM ones I've played. For a J neck to feel alien to me after playing one for over 25 years, they have to be doing something wrong. I did appreciate the higher mass bridge, and did notice an improvement in sustain and resonance, but if when all is said and done it doesn't translate to an perceivable tonal improvement (to my ears), than what's the point? I think you could get more mileage with a MIM J + upgraded PUPs and a Badass II bridge for far less money, but that's just my opinion.
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?section=bassesMain Street: Nothing exciting here, just a Chinese made P bass knockoff, but it's pink!
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MTD: Tobias is still offering their KZ line of basses in 4,5, or 6 strings for lefties, which are a great bang for the buck budget bass once you gut the preamp and install an Aguillar or something similar. I'm not a 6 string player, so I can't offer an educated review, but I found the neck to be a bit too wide for my liking. Light as feather, incidentally:
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http://www.mtdbass.comThere were a few other lefties on display that I didn't photograph (black Rick 4003 owned by Bill of Hipshot), Elrich, Wyn), so hopefully someone will chime in on those.
Others: This is where it gets really interesting, IMO. Nearly all high end boutique companies will make a lefty..for a price obviously, and I really didn't bother discussing lefties with many of them because I know they're available if you've got the money and anything over $4000 is a pipe dream, at least for me. Still, there's a few worth mentioning:
Wyn: Really beautiful handmade stuff, and he had a lefty neck and body on display, which gets props in my book because at least he had the where with all to recognize that it might be helpful letting lefties know that he can make them. Apparently he couldn't get it fully built in time for the show, so he brought the partial build instead. Very nice guy and I believe his prices start in the low $3000 range.
http://www.wynguitars.comEastwood Guitars: I own two of their basses and can attest to their customer service, which is tops. I recently cracked a PUP ring on my Hi Flyer bass, and Mike sent me an entire new pickup w ring! They specialize in resurrecting those oddball guitar/bass designs of bygone eras such as the National Airline guitars, Ampeg AEB Scroll bass, or Mosrites, to name a few. They're made in either Korea or China, with the Korean stuff noticeably better in quality. Mike's a good guy, and we chatted at length. He's really open to reintroducing/reinventing new models and is open to suggestions. He told me that he'll be putting out a left hand version of his Map Bass in Feb/March. He's taking suggestions for a color preference now. Most of his basses are short scale, though he mentioned he wants to put out a long scale one this year and he asked me if I had any suggestions. Before I had a chance to blurt out my obvious choice, he said, "I'm thinking of doing a version of the Ovation Magnum Bass", and my jaw almost dropped. He had read my mind! He asked me to remind him to do it, and I will every other day. The best part: He's quick to dismiss the lame argument we get from other manufacturers that they don't get enough orders to justify doing lefties, (Especially since CNC equipment has made it very simple to do so with minimal to no retooling involved). His manufacturers only need 12 lefty orders to make any of his instruments happen. So get your orders in now. I WANT a lefty Ovation Magnum!
http://www.eastwoodguitars.comDipinto Guitars: Another super nice guy who specializes in oddball designs, all of his basses have been available left handed except for one - The Mach IV - a flashy Mosrite copy. He is now making them available, and he also indicated that he would only need 12 lefty orders to do any of his instruments
http://www.dipintoguitars.comChristopher: Specializes in orchestra instruments and mid-priced Uprights. They'll do any model in a lefty.
http://www.concordgroup.comMarleaux: Of all the boutique companies I saw/tried, this one blew me away the most. Stunning instruments that were exquisitely hand built and sounded amazing. I watched a duet of bassists play two different models, and I loved how each bass had it's own unique voice distinctive from the other. I also played one upside down. They make lefties, though they're not cheap (Cheapest is $3200, up through $8000).
http://www.marleaux-bass.comQuest International: They make concert uprights, EUBs, and acoustic basses, all available in lefty under their Landscape name brand. Lead time about 4 months on an order. Made in Japan, though pretty high end and pretty pricey too. I took a picture of their righty Landscape ARB204FL, since I thought it was beautiful:
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http://www.quest-md.com/landscape.htmWolf: Just a Korean company that makes virtually all fo their instruments left handed.
http://www.wolfguitar.comSpear: There was a discussion on the forum a while ago about these elusive basses. I met the managing director, Hank Lee, of SPHK Corp, who makes them, and he had righties on display. They were a very nice quality for the money (Under $500 US), and he makes lefties, but he doesn't have a US distributor. Perhaps he found one at NAMM, or perhaps someone here wants to go into the distribution business?
http://www.spearguitar.comSt. Blues: St. Blues had a nice righty PJ King Blues bass on display in honey sunburst with white binding. They do make a left hand version and Jerry's Guitars has one on stock:
http://www.saintblues.com/King-Blues-Bass-p-51.html http://www.jerrysleftyguitars.com/saint_blues_guitars_st_blues/king-blues-bass-left-hand.htmlhttp://www.jerrysleftyguitars.com/saint ... -hand.htmlOther Cool Stuff:
YouRockGuitars: Dumb name, right? Well they're a niche company that makes a guitar controller for Guitar Hero. No big deal, except that their controller has a true fretboard AND it's also a midi controller. The toy I tried feels just like that: a cheap plastic toy, but he's also going to be putting out better made wooden ones in the spring AND left handed ones as well. Furthermore, he told me that basses will be released in the second or third quarter including lefty ones. So what's so great about this? Well, first off, it worked great as a midi controller, which is really what makes it so intriguing. So hooked up to your laptop running soft synths or an outboard keyboard/sound module you have access to literally thousands of sounds, including bass samples. Get the picture? This is a left handed poor man's Variax Bass, bass synth, or Ztar for under $500. Last I checked, a Ztar bass was over $3000.
http://www.yourockguitar.comVisionary Instruments/Video Guitar: Makes guitars and basses with an LCD screen in the center of the body to display videos and any other visuals you want stored on it's built-in internal 2 gig HD (expandable to 8). (Guitarist in Porcupine Tree plays one). Also features illuminated side dots. Only weighs about 8-1/2lbs, and YES! He'll make lefties too. Price: Under $2500, which I thought was very reasonable considering all the bells and whistles. Purely for show, though the guitar sounded better than I expected considering it only had 1 piezo pickup in the sweet spot.
http://www.visionaryinstruments.comJam Kat Pick Holster: a unique pick holder ring that's spring loaded so it automatically flips up and out of the way when you want to play fingerstyle. they make lefty versions too. But at $20 a holster, I'm not jumping on it yet.
http://www.pick-smith.comBob Kilgore's Harmonic Capo: This was a fun little device that is ambidextrous and can be used on bass as well. The capo features 6 little rubber pressure saddles that you lower down to the strings to just "kiss" them, resulting in the harmonic. You can place the capo anywhere where natural harmonics are created (i.e. 5th, 7th, or 12th frets), and you can lower any one or all of the saddles to create harmonics on either one or all of your strings. You can also fret in front of or behind the capo too. On guitar, it had a pretty chimey mandolin/harp-like sound. On bass, who knows.
http://www.weaseltrap.com
