Phantom Hollow Body Bass

L.A. Kidwell has been developing a special design process that allows for unique sculpted designs that are repeatable in limited production. The Phantom bass is a another radical new design featuring a full 3D hand-carved hollow body. The Phantom is similar to the Manta bass but it is generally thicker feeling and the horns are pulled in making a little sleeker rake. The rear body bouts are pulled back allowing for more body chamber area than the Manta bass.

The neck extends through the hollow body to the bridge. There is airspace around the neck inside the body. The thru-neck provides superior sustain, strength, and appropriate weight and balance. Since the neck extends through the body, the fret board can be placed forward enabling the player to reach the 24th fret easily. The pickups are mounted to the neck, which further assists in transferring sound to the pickups. Several proprietary  features of this neck design result in an incredible sustain that you wouldn't believe.

Although the instrument's body is hollow, it still has sufficient weight to not feel flimsy. The 3D body is contoured front and back so that it is very comfortable against the player's body. The body thickness increases to 2 inches in the middle allowing for a sufficiently large sound chamber yet retaining the feel of a solid-body instrument. The instrument is dimensioned so that it will fit in a standard P-Bass case.

With Bartolini pickups and active electronics, you have a wide range of control over the sound you can get from this instrument. By setting all equalization flat on both the instrument and the amplifier, you get a clear tone with incredible depth as well as brightness. You can hear the hollow body, but without the empty box tone that many hollow body basses exhibit.

The Phantom bass is available with several options, including: 4-string, fretless, and a solid body version. We also think this design would make an excellent electric guitar body design too.

5-String Model Specifications
Neck
Scale Length		34”	Frets		Two octave 24 fret
Nut Width		1.85"			Width at 24th Fret			2.75"
Configuration		Unique L.A. Kidwell floating neck-through design.
Wood		Maple
Fingerboard		Ebony			Radius			10”
Fret wire		Jumbo
Position Markers		White Mother of Pearl/Black Pearl trapezoidal shaped inlay
Side Dots		3/32ndMother of Pearl dots
Truss Rod		Double expanding				Adjustment		Hex at headstock
Reinforcement		(2) Steel
Nut		Brass – J-bass size
Headstock		Laminated Birdseye Maple
Tuners		Gotoh GB7 - Black (Hipshot Ultralights are optional)
Body
Construction	2-piece hollow body construction with 3D sculpted top and back. The 2-piece body forms a hollow tone chamber. The top and back act as sound boards.
Wood (top to back)	Top: Maple Rear: Mahogany
Bridge	Shaller (Hipshot Type-A, or Custom Shop Contour Tail are optional)
Bridge String Spacing	19mm between strings.
Strap Holders	Standard - Black
Electronics
Neck Pickup	Bartolini M45C Dual Coil Humbucker Soapbar
Bridge Pickup	Bartolini M45C Dual Coil Humbucker Soapbar
Electronics	Bartolini HR-4.6/918   3 Band Active EQ
Controls	Master Gain, Blend, Treble/Bass Gain, Mid Gain with push/pull switch center frequency.
Knobs	Hand made wooden knobs.
Access Cover	Mahogany matched access cover.
Battery	(1) 9V Transistor Battery
Instrument Jack	Switchcraft deep panel stereo jack. Side mounted on bottom.
Shielding	Copper foil tape lining the control cavity
Finish
Body	Color changing paint on black lacquer base
Neck	Antique amber with tung oil finish
Dimensions/Weight
Length				Width
Weight	7.5 lbs. or 3.4 Kilograms			Balance			Balances perfectly at the neck heel.
Case Size	Fits a standard Fender-style bass guitar case
Pricing
List Price	Call or email for a price quote