General
Adrian Emsley, Orange's technical director and head designer, is the spiritual godfather of the British amplifier brand's very first electric bass guitar. Actually, the elusive O Bass had been around since 2014, but Orange decided to take it into production after the 2016 NAMM show in California. This Tear Drop Sunburst model's shape and finish were designed to look and sound as vintage as possible.
From soul to punk
The O Bass is able to offer a range of unique sounds because its body is made from special West-African okoume wood and features a Custom Wound Split Coil Humbucker; that's right, a split-coil humbucker. In order to get extra definition and power (or 'growl' as Adrian Emsley calls it) out of this instrument, the pickup is situated 8 mm closer to the neck so it can pick up harmonic tones even better. Depending on the type of player you are, this model is just as suitable for rock 'n roll as it is for soul music. With just the volume and tone knobs, you can fine-tune your sound as desired.
Made to rock
Despite the fact that this is a long-scale bass with a medium vintage profile neck and rosewood fretboard, its single-cut body gives the O Bass a compact appearance. It feels solid, right from the fixed bridge featuring four saddles all the way up to the open-gear machine heads. Then, we come to the pickguard. The bass comes standard with a 3-ply white pickguard, but it also comes with an extra one in tortoise-shell. Adrian Emsley himself said jokingly that the shape of the pickguard reminded him of a Formula 1 racing circuit, or a seahorse, when turned on its side! If you want, you can leave it off completely, to really show off the elegant basswood veneer underneath. Lastly, you can store and transport the O Bass in the included Orange gig bag.
