Watson Single-Cut 6-String

Watson intended our test bass to reflect the top of his line, with components and detail-oriented design touches borne out in its $6,230 retail price. It’s hard to imagine a more luxurious bass (strike that, I’m sure one could “frost” it with diamonds). The Single-Cut’s woods were beautiful, and the skillfully applied polyester resin finish brought out their rich, three-dimensional figure. The figured koa top (from the tree’s “crotch,” the point where branches meet the trunk)—with matching pickup covers—was especially extravagant, offending some of my more ascetic bandmates. By temperament, I’m inclined to agree, but that’s highly subjective, and the bass was built as a showpiece anyway. Equally salacious was the neck, a nine-piece hanger deck of jet-black ebony and flame maple, stiffened with dual carbon-fiber rods and topped with a beautiful Anjico fingerboard and abalone/mother-of-pearl inlays.

Hardwoods are nice, but it’s how you use them that counts. Watson is a sophisticated builder, relying on CNC precision where it’s helpful (body routs), but also handcrafting many of the instrument’s crucial features. The resulting bass was expertly constructed. A highlight? The magnetically affixed covers for the control cavity, trussrod, and battery compartment. This method dethrones threaded-brass inserts (a BP buzz phrase of the ’90s) as the perfect cover-attachment method—strong, stable, but easily removed without tools. Watson sourced the de rigueur high-end components for the bass’s hardware, including Hipshot tuners and bridge, Dunlop strap locks, and a Neutrik locking jack—which, to me, has always been a solution looking for a problem. (What’s wrong with the old cord-through-the-strap method? Plus, the Neutrik’s bulk is visually disruptive.) The bass was reasonably light, considering the prevalence of dense woods, and the small body contour lent it a general sense of manageability. On a strap, the single-cut body style contributed to excellent balance, although the heavy neck hampered lap balance. The Watson’s playability was excellent, except I had a hard time dialing out of bit of fret buzz around the 16th fret. I know, you Luddites are asking why there even is a 16th fret, but a bass like this, with all those strings, should invite high-range excursions. Beyond that, the wide string spacing and shallow-U-profile neck made playing pleasant.

The Single-Cut’s electronics package is extensive. Watson embodies another recent design trend that I dig, when done effectively: self-made pickups. The dominant pickup companies like Bartonlini, Seymour Duncan BassLines, and EMG make excellent products, but it’s cool that some boutique builders are extending their comprehensive design philosophy to include pickups. On our tester, a coil-tap switch extends the dual-coil pickups’ versatility: Each pickup gets a 3-way switch to choose between series- or parallel-wired humbucking and single-coil operation. The pickups feed an 18-volt David McKeen preamp with 3-band EQ.

Sound-wise, the Watson was immediately striking for its outstanding evenness and balance. Whether played low beneath the B-string’s 5th fret or high up on the C string, the Single-Cut’s focus and clarity remained consistent. Each note rang with precise pitch definition, sharp attack, and generous sustain. I found the all-flat-EQ sound bright for my taste, although as the strings mellowed, the brilliant highs lost some of their initial bite. Overall, the Watson was a delicate-sounding bass that seemed most comfortable in sensitive settings that allowed the instrument’s remarkably uncluttered, harmonically rich voice to shine. Chords worked particularly well, as even typically murky closed voicings spoke clearly thanks to the lucid string-to-string definition. The EQ was nicely voiced, especially the treble control, which ably took off the edge for a pretty bridge-pickup fingerstyle tone. The pickup switches added a lot of versatility, with each position offering different flavors—from a juiced-up and full-throated series setting to the more subtly different, hollow and woody-sounding parallel and single-coil modes.

I don’t subscribe to the stereotype that boutique basses are only for slick funk and fusion cats, but the Watson is a total fusion funkster’s delight. Its meticulous tone brims with overtones and extends deep into both ends of the frequency spectrum—qualities that find comfort in contemporary hi-fi fusion and funk, but are the antithesis of the porky midrange and lard-assed low end of a traditional passive bass. I delighted in the Watson’s opulent tone and look, and the instrument was built with high skill and painstaking attention to detail. Next time, though, I want to see the low-end model, just to learn what else this exciting new builder can do.

TECH SPECS

Scale length 34"
Weight 10 lbs
Top Hawaiian koa
Body Mahogany
Neck Nine-piece laminated maple and Gabon ebony
Fingerboard Anjico
String spacing 1/4"
Pickups Watson High-Output Dual Coil
Tone controls Bass, mid, treble
Pickup switch function 3-position switch for each pickup: dual-coil parallel, single-coil, and dual-coil series
Hardware Hipshot Type A bridge; Hipshot ultra-light tuners; Dunlop strap locks
Options Numerous wood and electronic options

Made in U.S.A.
Semi-hardshell case Included
Warranty Five years limited

Direct $6,230
Pros Stunning, luxurious construction; clear and clean tone with excellent string-to-string balance
Cons A bit of problematic fret buzz
Bottom Line A top-of-the-line beauty with a sweet, delicate voice and preening good looks.
Contact (951) 659-8616 www.watsonguitars.net