Sometimes we get a really special bass at the shop and this is the case here.
This is a bass handmade by Spanish luthier Xavier Lorita who has a long background at bass building (first for a very well known high end company, now on his own). It is also a signature model for bass extraordinaire Tomás Merlo.
But there's more: it's not just his signature bass but his own bass too. Tomás co-designed this instrument along with Lorita to get exactly what he wanted and this is the result. Tomás has used this bass for three years (mainly in the studio and at home, just a few gigs) and now he has decided to part with it not because he doesn't love it (which he does) but because he is not using fretless bass a lot these days and he is sort of trimming down the herd and keeping basically just what he needs for his every everyday work (fretted 5 string, double bass and Chapman Stick). This means you are buying the artist's bass itself. This is pretty unique and we really think that the lucky person who buys this bass will also own a little piece of bass history.
This bass went back to Lorita's shop a couple of times to get some minor updates and improvements as requested by Tomás Merlo, meaning you get it in better than new condition (regardless of the logical signs of use)
The bass itself belongs in the Reference Series by Lorita. It has a traditional body and neck design but with some modern appoinments such as:
- Oil finish to achieve a natural relic finish in a few years. Tomás is a huge fan of used basses so he wanted a new one that would have all his specs but that would look classic in a few years. The current dings and little scratches made over the last 3 years prove that he made the right choice because the bass now has a natural light relic that will evolve over time as the bass gets used.
- Classic design Lorita single coil pickups. He chose 70's locations because he felt that many 60's Jazz Basses lacked that punch from the bridge pickup
- Fretless fingerboard with lines and dots. Just the right amount of epoxy on the fingerboard for protection and ease of use. Some other fretless basses that try to follow the Pastorius concept come with too many coats of epoxy and this kills the sound and makes for a less natural playing feeling.
- Feather light
- Aguilar OBP-1 Preamp. 2 band boost only for extra punch and definition.
- Tone works both in passive and active modes
- Removable ramp
The sum of all these specs is just perfect. This is a fretless bass with a true singing voice. Using only the bridge pickup and the tone control you can play just about every style with a really elegant sound that will cut through and/or sing as needed. Right hand placement is crucial here. A little bit of practice will reward you with lots of great tones. And that's just using one pickup. When you add the neck pickup you get a rounder and slightly hollower type of sound that will find its place into lots of different styles of music. The neck pickup, especially in passive mode achieves a really cool pseudo upright type of sound, especially when you play with your right hand on the fingerboard.
Fretlines are of big help for intonation. If you are coming from fretted bass you'll find these really useful.
Hardware is top quality and lightweight: Hipshot bridge and Schaller tuners.
Here is Tomás playing one of his compositions: https://youtu.be/d7fXq-O2XAw
And here's an audio file where you can hear some more cool tones (Tomás playing again): https://soundcloud.com/tom-s-merlo-pascual/lorita-fretless-signature?ref=whatsapp&p=i&c=1