Fodera Introduces the Masterbuilt Nautilus Bass

The top is comprised of various woods such as Maple, Ebony, Quilted Mahogany, and Alder

Author:: BP Staff
Publish date:: Dec 17, 2018

The top is comprised of various woods such as Maple, Ebony, Quilted Mahogany, and Alder

Inspired by the beautiful and intricate Nautilus shell, Masterbuilt – Nautilus utilizes our Emperor II as a canvas for its circular and mesmerizing pattern. The top is comprised of various woods such as Maple, Ebony, Quilted Mahogany, and Alder, inlayed into a solid Maple skeleton. To make sure that nothing disrupts the pattern, its single Fodera / Duncan Dual Coil pickup is camouflage in the top by a top-matching wooden pickup cover that continues the lines of the shell pattern. Additionally, the instrument forgoes our preamp and instead features passive electronics with matching wooden knobs.

While the electronics package serves an aesthetic purpose, it was also chosen to give the instrument a big and warm tone reminiscent of vintage early 60’s basses. To achieve this, the pickup is wired in series as opposed to our traditional parallel wiring, which creates for a bigger sound, and the pickup is placed close to the neck. With its Walnut body and Ebony board, the tone remains clear and smooth despite its lack of a second pickup and preamp. Rounding out the instrument is an Alder tone block and a flame Ebony fingerboard matched to a 5-pc Maple neck w/ Walnut stringers.