{"id":171,"date":"2024-02-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?post_type=bass&p=171"},"modified":"2026-09-13T08:46:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T08:46:40","slug":"bass-of-the-week-stambaugh-designs-custom-bass","status":"publish","type":"bass","link":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?bass=bass-of-the-week-stambaugh-designs-custom-bass","title":{"rendered":"Bass of the Week: Stambaugh Designs Custom Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stambaugh<\/p>\n

I love it when readers share their basses with us. Jonathan Chase sent us the details of his new axe from luthier Chris Stambaugh, and it\u2019s a real beauty. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not Chase\u2019s first Stambaugh, as he ordered one some 20 years ago and even used it in a TEDx Talk<\/a>. More recently, he had converted one of his five-string basses to EADGC tuning, but the scale length was causing him wrist issues. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy old 4-string workhorse was a sideman\u2019s instrument: sounds great, looks good, doesn\u2019t draw a lot of attention,\u201d he explains. \u201cI told Chris that I wanted this bass to be different: something flashy, eye-catching, and like nothing anyone had ever seen before. After 20 years as a sideman I wanted a little time in the spotlight. I also work as a public speaker, traveling the country to teach about disability advocacy and autism support, so if I\u2019m opening a conference with some solo jazz why not do it on a memorable instrument?\u201d<\/p>\n

Together they opted for a short 30-inch scale that Chase says is a breeze to play. Stambaugh just the right wood combination to make a gorgeous bass: African Mahogany for the body, maple and bubinga for the neck, a Macassar ebony fretboard, and a stunning Spalted flamed maple top. Besides that, Stambaugh crafted an unbelievable inlay on the fretboard from abalone and flamed maple. <\/p>\n

The bass sounds as good as it looks, too. It\u2019s fitted with a pair of Aero quad-coil pickups as well as Ghost piezo bridge saddles. The magnetic pickups are fed into a Mike Pope Flexcore 4-band preamp while the piezo goes into a Bartolini piezo buffer. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe real magic comes with the toggle switch in the middle, with one volume for the magnetic pickups and one volume for the piezo,\u201d Chase says. \u201cBlending in just a little piezo adds a bite to the attack that slices right through the mix. Cranking it up gives it a unique tone that is both round and full, but with a serious edge. Most of the time I play traditional bass parts with the piezo off, and when it\u2019s time to solo I flip the switch to the middle position with the piezo volume 25-50% up, so my solo comes blazing out the gate with just a little more gain and a snappy edge with each attack, making it stand out in the mix and giving my solo tone a distinct color apart from my normal tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congrats to Jonathan Chase on his new bass and to Chris Stambaugh for a great build!<\/p>\n

Stambaugh Designs Jonathan Chase Photos:<\/h2>\n
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Stambaugh Designs Jonathan Chase Bass:<\/h2>\n
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I love it when readers share their basses with us. Jonathan Chase sent us the details of his new axe from luthier Chris Stambaugh, and it\u2019s a real beauty. It\u2019s not Chase\u2019s first Stambaugh, as\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1031,"template":"","meta":[],"builder":[],"class_list":["post-171","bass","type-bass","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/bass"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"builder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fbuilder&post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}