Daily Base
Front to back, the Daily Base’s luscious wood combination looked gorgeous. Like a chocolate swirl dressing the world’s smoothest latte, the wenge laminate looked especially tasty sandwiched between the richly flamed maple body and the enticing bird’s-eye-maple top. Owing to its singlecut body style, meant to maximize neck-body contact for sustain and clarity, the Daily Base looked like a backbreaker with all that beautiful hardwood—but at just nine pounds, it felt surprisingly light.
The bass’s alluring satin finish felt fabulous under my fingers, but I had to watch myself around the bridge, since the mono-rail tailpieces’ sharp edges could bring pain. No big thing, but a bummer on an otherwise inviting instrument. After its arrival, the Daily Base’s battery compartment began giving off a nasty electronic crackle. Removing the assembly and bending the copper tines made a quick fix (look out, MacGyver!), but I was bummed having to bust out such skills.The bass felt a tad neck-heavy, but its sexy contours and tight string spacing made it a comfortable fit.
With articulate highs and a strong midrange, the Daily Base seemed made for jazz and R&B, where its smooth sophistication would sit well. Still, this chic fiver had guts, spitting out something vicious when prodded with a pick. The Häussel single-coil pickups had a clear, open high end, and the neck pickup’s creaminess complemented the bridge pickup’s more angular focus. They paired beautifully with the Glockenklang preamp, which Human Base selects for maximum transparency. Functioning like a traditional tone control when in passive mode, the treble knob darkened the sound as I eased it back from center, allowing me to explore the Daily Base’s more subdued colors.
TECH SPECS
Body Flamed maple & wenge
Top Bird’s-eye maple
Neck Bird’s-eye maple with wenge stringers
Fingerboard Ebony
Pickups Häusen single-coils
Preamp Glockenklang
Controls Volume, blend, high (± 18db @ 18kHz), mid (±9dB @ 550Hz), bass (±14dB @ 40Hz)
Nut Graphite, with zero-fret
Hardware Gotoh, with Human Base mono rail bridges
Scale length 34"
Weight 9 lbs
Made in Germany
Gig bag Included
Warranty Three years
List $4,199
Pros Luscious look and sound
Cons Tester’s battery compartment required minor repair
Bottom Line Though pricey, this handmade 5-string sounds as smooth and creamy as it looks.
Salwender International
(714) 538-1285
www.salwender.com, www.humanbase.de
BaseX.oc5
With its extraordinarily deep neck pocket and six countersunk screws, the BaseX.oc5 attempts to bridge the gap between bolt-on and through-body neck designs. It’s a pocket I’m into—I suspect it contributes to the 5-string’s depth and quick response. The neck’s shallow profile and close string spacing felt finger-friendly, and the 5-string maintained focus across its entire range.
Right away, the BaseX.oc5 made me think it had taken on characteristics of its Orange County brethren; forward as a horde of Laguna Beach partygoers and animated as a posse of surf punks, the BaseX.oc5 has an assertive edge. Though versatile enough to manage any gig, the bass’s fat, hollow thump is topped by considerable high-end sizzle, and seems to scream “rock & roll.” The instrument’s Delano humbuckers and Glockenklang preamp combine to cook up some delicious fare, but I was turned off by the treble control’s brittle sound and excessive noise. Like the Daily Base, the treble knob doubles as a passive tone control. Übercool.
TECH SPECS
Body Ash
Neck Maple
Fingerboard Rosewood
Nut Graphite, with zero-fret
Pickups Delano humbuckers
Preamp Glockenklang
Controls Volume, blend, high (± 18db @ 18Khz), mid (±9dB @ 550Hz), bass (±14dB @ 40Hz)
Scale 34"
Weight 9.5 lbs
Assembled in U.S.A.
Gig bag Included
Warranty One year
List $1,700
Pros Punchy
Cons Highs can be brittle
Bottom Line Quick and punchy, the BaseX.oc5 is ideal for carving out a deep, thick channel of sound.
Praxis Musical Instruments
(714) 288-9563
www.humanbaseusa.com
BaseS Covered
The BaseX.oc5 seems born to carve deep and wide, its in-your-face personality able to cut through any sort of sonic sludge. Though it isn’t short on guts, the German-bred Daily Base seemed to shine in more refined settings, where its articulate voice could speak clearly without needing to shout. Easy on eyes and ears alike, both Human Bases are fine examples of German design and engineering, and both deserve due attention as high-end 5-strings.