Martin Sims is a music manufacturing
renaissance man. His
foray into the biz began with Sims
Custom LED, the predominant source
of instrumental LEDs, used for both
position marking and overall stage
vibey-ness. After five years, Sims
began to expand, first with a custom
spray shop and then with a turnkey
custom shop for bodies, necks, electronics,
hardware, and every other
component in the typical bass. It’s
this background that led Sims to
develop his own line of instruments.
Each incorporates the many innovations
he discovered over his years in
the OEM and custom-build business.
Named for his father’s race-boat company,
Enfield Marine (Sims used to
work there), Enfield Guitars makes
custom high-end basses with a unique
and creative engineering touch.
The predominant technical innovation
of Enfield basses is the Super 8
pickup. Sims sees the pickup as the primary
tone determinant, so he offers maximum
electronic flexibility to achieve
sonic versatility. Through an ingenious
switching system, the 8-coil pickup allows
for up to 15 discrete pickup combinations.
Front-to-back, both halves of the
massive pickup can be used in a J-style,
P-style, or soapbar configuration. Governed
with dual 3-position switches, the
tri-color LEDs denote the setting, with
red indicating P-pickup, green indicating
a J-style coil arrangement, and blue denoting
the humbucking soapbar setting. Each
polepiece is height adjustable to further
tailor the tone.
Both Enfields were beautifully constructed,
with an attention to detail commensurate
with their high price. Their
lovely finishes accentuated the figured
tops, although the rainbow-burst 5-string’s
palette was definitely not my thing. It’s no
matter, though, as Enfield has extensive
custom finish options. The 4-string incorporates
an intriguing carbonfiber-wrapped
neck. With it, Enfield wraps a Brazilian
cedar core with a thin carbonfiber layer
to improve rigidity and capitalize on the
resonant characteristics of cedar, a wood
not usually used in necks.
The Enfield’s hardware goes beyond
the typical outsourced stuff. The custom
bridge is massive and fully adjustable, plus
it looks great. The rubber-ringed domed
knobs are another proprietary design.
They’re visually appealing, but I found the
concentric design tough to operate in practice.
The contiguous slope of the dome
shape made it difficult to differentiate the
two rings on the fly, so I found myself
often inadvertently turning the wrong
knob. This would be solved somewhat if
they were more resistant.
Each bass was comfortable and
ergonomic, despite their broad Wal-ish
body contour. The sides and back were
well contoured to mesh better with my
body, and the treble-side cutout allowed
for unimpeded high-fret access. My
biggest playability gripe was with the
sharp V-profile neck, which I could never
quite get used to.
The Enfields feature a custom John
East preamp with a boost-only bass control,
a boost/cut treble filter, and a semiparametric
midrange. The control cavity
has trim-pots for each filter’s knee frequency.
Pulling up on the blend knob
engages a passive tone control. I love tone
controls, although it’d be even hipper if it
were always available, even with the preamp
engaged. Given the Enfield’s flexible
pickups, it’d be especially cool to see a
totally passive version. Again, this is something
Enfield will do on a custom basis.
The basses also have a balanced output
for direct interfacing with a mixer.
SOUND
The Enfields each had a clear, precise, and
articulate voice. There was a pleasant
bounciness to their low-frequency
response and a full-throated complexity
in the midrange that proved especially
compelling in the high register. Neither
was particularly sizzly with the EQ set
flat, but the abundant EQ ably added the
appropriate airiness for extra definition.
The Super 8 pickups add extraordinary
flexibility to what would otherwise still be
a pretty- and precise-sounding bass. Everything
from J-pickup skronk and bite to
pillowy P-pickup roundness was available,
with the soapbar settings yielding
the most elegant, broad-spectrum tone.
One advantage of the system is the ability
to try unusual pickup combinations,
like a blended P-P configuration, or a J in
the neck/P in the bridge setting. The Bstring
response was tight and precise on
our 5-string tester.
I dug the Enfields, and was wowed by
the Super 8 pickup concept. I especially
appreciated the basses’ left-of-center
design philosophy and their remarkable
sonic flexibility. Anyone looking for a
unique high-end instrument with a potent
array of solid tones should seriously consider
these British imports.
ENFIELD BASSES
Street Approx. $4,000-5,000, depending
on options
Pros Awesome flexibility, excellent construction,
innovative design
Cons Knobs are a bit finicky
TECH SPECS
Finishes Extensive finish options
Made in England
Warranty Lifetime limited
Contact www.enfieldguitars.com ;
www.thelowend.net