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Meta Guitars is a small independent company that dedicates itself to building custom made guitars and basses. They are based in Fresselines, France and  each Meta Guitars instrument is fully hand made and tailored to meet your needs and requirements   We met Fred and Pilar at the Guitar Summit in Mannheim, Germany and we were impressed by attention to detail, bold design and really well thought concept.                                                              

Meta means “after” or “beyond”, and when combined with other words, it also means “change” or “alteration”. It is with this concept in mind that Fred has pursued and developed his creative and artistic passion of making beautiful, unique, modern and innovative basses and guitars.  

As a luthier, and music lover, both sound quality and ergonomics are his primary concerns. Fred believes that the instruments should suit the musician’s requirements and become an extension of them and their art.  

Each Meta instrument is entirely handmade using the most noble materials and the best components and hardware available. The design is ergonomic and it’s been made for the most demanding  musicians.  

From the initial piece of wood to the final instrument, the concept of transformation always guides the luthier in a creative manner.  

Throughout this process, he endeavours to express abstract concepts through shapes, materials and colors.   Fred loves creating fine pieces suiting each musician’s requirement. The dynamic and slender shapes, the feeling of a unique object, and the comfort of the instrument are the key elements in every creation. Every model can be customized and carefully tailored to meet the artist’s needs.  

Meta is an entire transformative process, a kind of alchemy.  

Headless design Removing the machine heads and headstock allows weight to be reduced and makes the instrument more compact while improving balance and therefore ergonomics at the same time. No more neck diving issues. These basses are also easier to play on stage and of course easier to travel with. This design reduces the chances of hitting the headstock and/or breaking it when dropped.
 And every bass will fit into a conventional guitar case! The lack of tuners at the end of the neck in headless designs improves tuning stability. Also the length of the string after the nut is shorter and this is again a bonus.  

Fanned frets The whole idea of this design is that each string will have its own length which balances the tension between treble and bass, resulting in a better tone and intonation. It’s exactly the same principle of a grand piano where low notes need longer strings than high notes. Simple and effective. The multi-scale might seem strange and difficult to play at first, but actually it’s a very natural process for the arm and wrist to accommodate this fretting layout.  It’s really a matter of minutes (or not noticing it at all) to feel comfortable with it.  

Single cut and ergonomic carve The single cut design makes the neck stiffer on the bass side, reducing the elasticity of the neck, making for a tighter tone and adding some sustain at the same time. The result is a very clear and straight tone when playing low notes. Even those below low B are full bodied and clear.   A lot of energy has been put and research done in the ergonomic aspects, therefore the carves and shape are not only aesthetic choices. They are primarily ergonomic choices that became aesthetic afterward. Form follows function. The unique shape creates an instrument that you can hold on your right leg (casual position), on your left leg (classical position) effortlessly. The bass will stay balanced on your lap with no hands on it and without the need of a strap. The deeply carved body can be specially appreciated in standing position. The rib cage, carved heel and arm rest fit the musician’s body just like a glove.  

Veil Medium scale V4M Sea Fog

This is the first Meta bass we have at the shop and it’s a Veil model in Medium Scale version. A standard scale for a more growly and mid range instrument to groove and get through the mix. Providing an elegant pure line. Sure, this is a bold design but the good news is that it’s extremely comfortable to play both seated and standing. This is the aforementioned “form follows function” concept. We love original design instruments, especially if they are so well executed as this one. It’s easy to see the luthier’s unique approach and his concept when coming up with this design.  

Scale length in this case goes from 33.5” to 35”, meaning it is comfortable throughout the neck and string tension is just right. It works great with standard EADG tuning but drop D or even baritone tuning (BEAD) will work great too.  

While the Singlecut design might look radical (it meets the neck at the 10th fret), it’s actually comfortable to play and benefits string transmission and sustain. And of course the headless design makes for a very compact instrument that’s easy to travel with. It’s also a lightweight instrument at just 3.8kg The body is made from quartersawn chestnut and it looks incredible in the “Sea Fog” matt finish.  

The neck is made from a stunning piece of flamed maple and the dark blue color is incredibly cool. We can see that a lot of attention has been put in aesthetics as the fingerboard, pickguard and backplate are all made from Pau Ferro.  

The bridge is made by Mera (not Meta) and it is actually 4 individual bridges (monorail) which reduces crosstalk. Pickups are Lace Alumitone Bassbars passive units and the locations and slant have been carefully chosen to capture the best sound from this instrument. Electronics are 100% passive and you get Volume-Volume-Tone  

You could think that a rad looking bass as this would have a wildly modern sound but we are happy to report that the opposite is actually true. This bass sounds really warm and midrangey. It’s very organic and natural sound, almost as if you could hear the wood itself instead of the electronics. With the tone pot wide open you get a traditional sound with plenty of low end (this is also thanks to the construction method) with a very characteristic midrange that can be tamed by rolling the tone down halfway. Set the tone to the minimum position and you get a perfect old school fingerstyle sound that’s almost hard to believe it comes from such contemporary design.  

The good news is that if you use and external EQ or the EQ from your amp it’s also easy to get a more modern (but always warm and beefy) type of sound. Just by boosting the Bass and Treble EQ and cutting the High Mids on an amp will get you an all round modern sound. Cool.  

To sum up: a true work of art that comes from the mind of a great luthier and offers the player a unique playing experience. We love it.