Maruszczyk Frog model (5 string), fretless and finished in spectacular Black Red. It is an original design and one of the most successful from this brand.
We got to see and test this amazing bass at the Guitar Summit in Mannheim, Germany, in September 2024. The outstanding appearance caught our attention but when we tested it, we were sold. It plays and sounds just as good as it looks.
This bass has a really solid 3 piece hard rock maple roasted neck (super stable) that is joined to the alder body using 6 bolts in a very tight manner (way better than some "famous" basses out there) with unrestricted access up to the highest notes.
We love the top quality ebony fingerboard (2 full octaves)
The narrow 45mm nut coupled with 19mm spacing at the bridge make for a really comfortable bass.
This bass sports two great Delano Xtender 5 HE/S pickups. Also it comes with the new Maruszczyk Toneformer 3 band preamp which really sounds great and offers 3 different mid frequencies for you to choose from. The preamp works at 18 Volts (using two 9 Volt batteries) and this means you get extra headroom when you hit the lowest notes with energy while boosting the Bass EQ.
As much as we love the Active mode on this bass, the truth is it sounds fantastic in Passive mode. In that mode the Treble pot acts as a passive tone so you really get the best of both worlds.
You also get two Single-Series-Parallel switches (one per pickup) so the number of great sounds on tap is just unbelievable. Those switches are really to use so you'll find easily your favorite sounds in a couple of minutes but don't worry: all the available sounds are top class so it's impossible to get bad sounds out of this instrument.
This bass has a unique singing quality and that's really important on a fretless bass. It is really expressive and the palette of sounds is really wide, from a beautiful growl and mwah to stacatto or even a convincing semi upright bass sound. Amazing.
The gorgeous quilted ash top with matching headstock are finished in Black Red and this color pattern is used throughout the whole instrument from the ramp to Guyka metal knobs and Aurora Red strings.
The low B is solid and loud, just as it should be.
To sum up: a gorgeous looking bass that plays like a dream, is extremely versatile and it sounds just amazing.
Maruszcyk Frog Omega 5a Fretless Red Black
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