Napoleon Bass

Let us introduce you to the specificities of our “Napoleon” bass, which we designed and developed to suit all players, from the beginner to the seasoned professional.

It is offered in two versions, Standard and Deluxe, in 4, 5 and 6 string, fretted or Fretless.

The Standard

• Two-piece body, Alder or Red Willow
• American hard Maple neck wood
• Rosewood fret board
• Passive electronics
  • One neck pickup volume
  • One bridge pickup volume
  • One tone control

The Deluxe

• Double wood layer sandwich separated by veneer
  • Two-piece Alder, Maple, Mahogany, Walnut or Ash body
  • Dark or light veneer
  • Precious wood top, bookmatched to centre
• Matching headstock plate to body top
• Flame Maple neck wood, alternatively Walnut or Mahogany
  • Optionally Padouk, Purpleheart, Rosewood or Quilt Maple
• Active electronics. Our offer is the following:
  • Glockenklang 2 or 3 band,
  • Noll 2 or 3 band

The Fretless

• Same design as Deluxe
• Active 2 band Electronics
  • One bridge pickup only
    
  • associated to a 2 Band Preamp
  • 2 way switch (single coil – humbucker)

Check out our Fretless webpage

The Alex Lofoco (AL)

• Same design as Deluxe, with a walnut body and a maple or non-oily dense wood neck
• Extra space between neck heel and neck pickup for slap
• Ramp between neck heel and neck pickup again to ease slap
• Active 2 band Electronics
• Two EMG pickups
  • Neck: 35P4
  • Bridge: 35J

The specs were given to us by Alex. His goal was to have a bass that would be precise and in the highs, allowing him to play solos “nearly as a guitar” if he so desires.

The “Framptonite”

• Same design as Deluxe, with an alder body, a maple neck and a curly/flamed maple top
• A colour, either top (and headstock) only, or the whole bass
• Active custom 3 band Electronics by Glockenklang
• Three EMG pickups
  • Neck: Humbucker (Here: 40DCX)
  • Middle: Single coil (Here: 40P5X)
  • Bridge: Humbucker (same as neck)

This bass was inspired by Peter Frampton’s  famous “Phenix” Gibson guitar, combined with the iconic Alder/Maple combination for bass guitars invented by Fender in the second half of the fifties. Glockenklang made us a special 3x volume 3 band preamp, as the idea was to be as free as possible in searching one’s tone. One pickup, one volume, the way you want it and however loud you want it. There is a passive push/pull on the first volume. As you know, EMG pickups are active pickups, so one cannot say that by pulling the 1st volume knob, you go into passive mode, but at least you switch off the EQ. The tone function is then supported by the Treble knob.

The Kessel Run

• Same design and specs as the Deluxe
• A custom colour, either top (and headstock) only, or the whole bass, based on a buckeye burl top
• A precious wood rear top

The colour of the bass evokes the “Kessel Run” layed out in the “Solo” movie, by Lucasfilm. Whether your technique and joy of playing evolves in under 12 parsecs has no importance. This edition is here to stay and can be replicated with all the nuances you can wish for (up to a certain point!). This very custom colour was actually first shown on a Ganesha, and is here to stay.

COMMON SPECS

– The Front –

DOT INLAYS are centred on 4 & 6 string basses, shifted between the E and A string for 5 string, so they remain visible for the player and his audience.

Every bass is built with an ELBOW CONTOUR for your playing comfort.

– The Back –

We chose American Hard Maple as our standard NECK WOOD… but for our Napoleon Deluxe Model, all options are open.

The bass is a BOLT-ON neck construction. Four screws, each with a steel insert, no plates. Nice, solid, efficient and simple.

Every bass is built with a TUMMY CONTOUR for your playing comfort.

To shop ’til you bop or simply to check the detailed specs of all our basses, either available for sale or already sold, just visit our Webshop page, where you will find our “Wall of Bass”. You can clic on each and every bass and land on its detailed data sheet… Enjoy the ride.