The NS Design Bass Cello is one of the most versatile instruments I have ever played. Fitting between the NS Double Bass and NS Cello in Ned Steinberger’s complete line of elegant electric string instruments, the Bass Cello’s concept is simple—a fretless bass with a bass guitar’s 34" scale length and an upright’s curved bridge and fingerboard—but the sonic possibilities range from jazzy upright to piercing arco cello, and everything in between. The Bass Cello can be played vertically like an upright or horizontally like a bass guitar, and pizzicato (with the fingers) or arco (with the bow). Until December 31, a well-made graphite Glasser cello bow is included. The Bass Cello also comes with the clever Boomerang strap system, an engineering marvel that allows complete freedom and easy, on-the-fly switching between vertical or horizontal positions. There are also optional end-pin and tripod-style stands. The instrument is designed to cover both the bass and cello range, and NS Design offers custom D’Addario 5-string flatwound string sets for low B, high C, and cello tunings. You can also use standard bass guitar strings.
As with all of Ned Steinberger’s instruments, the NS Bass Cello has a straightforward, minimalist design. The headstock is beautifully shaped, like a hybrid of a classical guitar peghead and an upright bass, and the flame maple veneer is striking. The fingerboard’s curve is followed through into the instrument’s small body, and the overall design gave the Bass Cello a sleek, modern look with strong clear lines. With superb craftsmanship and top-notch materials, the NS Bass Cello looks, feels and plays like a high-quality, professional grade instrument.
The Bass Cello’s sonic range is phenomenal, in part due to the custom EMG magnetic pickups and NS Polar piezo pickup. NS’s ingenious Polar pickup can be switched from lateral sensitivity, to match the vibration pattern of bowed strings, to vertical sensitivity for pizzicato playing. By blending the magnetic pickups with the piezo set for vertical sensitivity, I got a fretless electric sound with a nice warm sustain and plenty of midrange. The low end growls like an upright and fits right in a straight-ahead jazz setting. A whole new sound world emerged when I soloed the piezo, changed the pickup’s sensitivity to lateral, and grabbed the bow. Played arco, the Bass Cello has brilliant overtones and thick beefy low notes, a clear midrange that gave me a strong melodic voice, and a seemingly unlimited high register. I experimented with many different tunings to hear the full range of the instrument: EADGC, BEADG, and C to E in fifths in both the bass and cello range. I especially loved the Bass Cello’s low end; it was fat and warm with clear pitch definition. The upper range was pure cello, and played arco, it could cut through steel. The custom D’Addario strings have great response plucked or bowed. The Bass Cello’s 34" scale length means anyone familiar with fretless bass could play it, but having some upright experience would help. The higher positions can be difficult and the bowing requires precision, but the extra practice is worth it.
When put in the custom gig bag, the Bass Cello is easily portable and would fit in an airplane’s overhead storage bin. I have to admit the idea of traveling to my next gig with the Bass Cello instead of my upright bass’s 7-foot tall, 150-pound flight case is quite appealing.
The NS Bass Cello is versatile enough to be used for any style of music, and may challenge its owner to create some new ones. I think it would also allow for an electric bass player to achieve a more upright bass sound and to open up to the possibilities of playing with the bow. Whatever your genre is, you’ll sound great and have fun playing this bass.