Electric bass was first invented in the 30s by Paul Tutmarc, then it was mass-produced in the 50’s by Leo Fender and the rest was history. They were initially made to do what the upright bass do in a smaller, more portable package. It was first made with frets on so that it’s easier to play, what’s also why it was called the precision bass.. Throughout the years, there were many variation and improvements over all kinds of combinations and designs. There was first the Violin bass by Hofner in German, then until recent year, another German luthier Marleaux had build a semi-hollow electric bass with upright bass in mind.
Background:
Marleaux bass has been around since the early 90s building hand made instruments, They’ve been building very unique instruments that you’ve never seen before, and only few dealers in North America has a few of their instruments. There’s the Diva with unique look, the single cut bass, and many other models that covers all kind of bass needs. Contra is their semi-hollow model, comes in both fretted and fretless form. I’m extremely lucky that I get to try out both. Here’s comes some thoughts about the fretless one .
Spec:
- Semi hollow Maple body
- Spruce Top
- Maple neck
- Somekind of neck-thru / single cut construction
- Ebony fingerboard
- Fretless with fret lines
- 24 frets
- 34” Scale Length
- 19mm string spacing
- Delano pickups in wooden housing
- 9.3lbs
- House electronic
- Controls are Vol / Pan / Tone(passive only) / Stacked Hi+Lo Boost&Cut , push/pull vol for active/passive switching, this bass runs in passive as default.
Playbility:
This bass plays like a dream. It’s on part with any of the highest end, most expensive basses out there. The shape and design is tasteful visually and thought after ergonomically. Balance perfectly in both standing and sitting position. The neck joint is carved nicely that it’s effortless to reach all position throughout the fingerboard. Action is low and tight.
Sound:
Although it’s built in the construction and look of the upright, overall sound is still like an electric fretless , mostly because it has 2 magnetic pickups and not some kind of piezo system . But don’t get me wrong, this bass sounded extremely musical and unique. The amount of resonance from the semi-hollow body is crazy, it has a full, rich and sweet overall sound plus a very unique air-ness in the sound quality. This bass defaults in passive with tone control, and can be switched to active mode with a 2 band EQ . Very musical, very responsive . It’s not the most grawly sounded fretless, but it’s probably the most rich one so far .
Thoughts:
I was literately shocked when I first plug this in . I’ve played some of the best fretless basses out there such as Rob Allen, FBass, Fodera and Ken Lawrence. This Marleaux Contra is on par with any of them yet has its own entity. The overall package is mind blowing, the craftsmanship is top notch and makes this bass a piece of fine art. And you just don’t get to see something like this everyday. Don't let my awkward playing fool you, this bass is full of inspiration.
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