{"id":638,"date":"2015-02-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?post_type=bass&p=638"},"modified":"2026-09-13T08:46:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T08:46:55","slug":"bass-of-the-week-james-trussart-steelcaster-bass","status":"publish","type":"bass","link":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?bass=bass-of-the-week-james-trussart-steelcaster-bass","title":{"rendered":"Bass of the Week: James Trussart SteelCaster Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most interesting booths we visited at the NAMM Show this year was James Trussart Custom Guitars. The L.A.-based luthier takes a different approach to building instruments and uses steel for his bodies, often giving them a rusted finish. <\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked the look and feel of old guitars, believing them to have a life beyond that of their creator,\u201d says Trussart, \u201cand I wanted to somehow emulate that effect of age and history on my own guitars. I wanted to make a guitar that came with a history and a slight element of neglect, of decay, so it had a personality of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week we take a look at his Rust O Matic Roses SteelCaster bass. The bass features a hollow steel body with a perforated front and back to cut down on weight and eliminate feedback. Its pickguard and headcap are engraved with roses, and the whole body has been given a Rust O Matic finish. Trussart accomplishes this by leaving the bass\u2019s body exposed to the elements to begin corroding, then stopping the process and finishing it with a clear satin coat.<\/p>\n

While most of the bass is steel, the neck is maple and topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The pickups are a handwound P\/J set by Arcane, Inc. It has an active 2-band preamp with treble and bass controls. The volume knob doubles as a pull switch to put the bass into passive mode. Trussart\u2019s website describes the bass\u2019s tone as \u201cuniquely classic, fat and resonant.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Trussart Guitars Rust O Matic Roses SteelCaster Bass Photos:<\/h2>\n
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James Trussart Guitars Rust O Matic Roses SteelCaster Bass Details:<\/h2>\n

For more on this company and the SteelCaster bass, check out the James Trussart Custom Guitars website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

One of the most interesting booths we visited at the NAMM Show this year was James Trussart Custom Guitars. The L.A.-based luthier takes a different approach to building instruments and uses steel for his bodies,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1987,"template":"","meta":[],"builder":[],"class_list":["post-638","bass","type-bass","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass\/638","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\/1987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"builder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fbuilder&post=638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}