{"id":433,"date":"2019-01-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?post_type=bass&p=433"},"modified":"2026-09-13T08:46:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T08:46:49","slug":"bass-of-the-week-citron-guitars-byron-f-style-bass","status":"publish","type":"bass","link":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?bass=bass-of-the-week-citron-guitars-byron-f-style-bass","title":{"rendered":"Bass of the Week: Citron Guitars Byron \u201cF\u201d Style Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Seeing a \u201cviolin\u201d style bass is fairly common, but Byron Isaacs<\/strong> decided to go a different direction. Known for his work with Levon Helm\u2019s Midnight Ramble Band, Olabelle, and The Lumineers, Isaacs dreamed up a bass mixed with another small instrument: the mandolin. He approached master luthier Harvey Citron to make it a reality. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective for the bass I built for Byron was to pay homage to the Gibson \u2018F\u2019 style mandolin (Byron\u2019s dream), and also embody all of the insights I\u2019ve had over the years in both solid body and hollow body bass construction,\u201d Citron told us. \u201cMy job was to create a shape that looks like the \u2018F\u2019 style but works as a bass. In its design, I made sure that the proportions would allow the top of the scroll to end up at the 12th fret, which has the bass hang and balance perfectly. I also used recessed strap locks to not offend the shape when without a strap.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bass features a 32-inch scale with a unique bolt-on construction that has two bolts in the back of the body and two 1\/4-inch lag bolts transversely screwed in through the neck pickup route. Its body is made from Honduras mahogany with an x-braced Adirondack spruce top. \u201cThe body is hollow with a separate fully shielded compartment for electronics, and two Honduras Mahogany struts from neck to tail that doesn\u2019t touch the top, back or braces, for body stiffness without hampering cavity resonance,\u201d Citron notes. A three-piece laminate of Honduras mahogany and purple heart is utilized for the neck, which is then topped with an ebony fingerboard. <\/p>\n

For electronics, the \u201cF\u201d style bass is fitted with a pair of Citron\u2019s custom blended humbucking pickups with ceramic magnets as well as six EMG piezos. \u201c[The piezos are run] through an internal custom EMG board with 3 adjustable buffer circuits, treble\/bass boost and cut,\u201d the luthier explains. \u201cThose electronics merge with an Audere EQ system that is then used for both the magnetic pickups and the piezos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

\n\t\t <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\n\t\t <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seeing a \u201cviolin\u201d style bass is fairly common, but Byron Isaacs decided to go a different direction. Known for his work with Levon Helm\u2019s Midnight Ramble Band, Olabelle, and The Lumineers, Isaacs dreamed up a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1616,"template":"","meta":[],"builder":[88],"class_list":["post-433","bass","type-bass","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","builder-citron-guitars-byron"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass\/433","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\/1616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"builder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fbuilder&post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}