Apollo StratoJazzer

This is an original hand made design by John Kingma. It has 1 volume and 2 tone knobs a 5 way selector switch (strat style). It features 1 Mighty Mite humbucker in the bridge position, and 2 jazz bass pickups in the middle and neck positions. Also a strat style input jack on the face of the guitar.

The neck was crafted from maple with a maple fingerboard (my favorite) and has 22 frets.

The body is a Stratocaster - Jazz Bass Hybrid. It is a little bigger than a standard strat body, but is a little smaller than a jazz bass. The body is cut from a solid piece of Hackberry wood.

The bridge is a standard fender style bass bridge.
The Tuners are standard fender style open tuners.

This bass came with a great padded gig-bag.

John worked with me making suggestions for the bass but in the end he left most of the choices of features up to me. I had a big part in the design of this bass. It has all the features that I could possible want. Its my dream bass. I'm giving the features a 10 because of all the different pickup combinations that are available on this instrument, as well that I picked all the features of it out myself (what more could I want?).

I don't even know where to begin on the sound of this instrument. I have never heard such different sounds come from 1 bass in my life. This is definitely due to there being 3 pickups on this guitar and 5 different pickup combinations.

This bass is very quiet. I don't get much noise from ANY of the positions. Its grounded very well.

Position 1. The bridge humbucking pickup alone has alot of punch. Do you like funk? Get ready for the best sounding Funk bass you've ever heard. I love to slap this bass around in this position.

Position 2 (my favorite) definitely has alot of character (this is the bridge humbucking pickup combined with the middle jazz - bass pickup). This selection sounds like no other bass I've ever heard before. Its strong and powerful, but still smooth and creamy. I like to describe this position as "meaty".

Position 3 is the middle Jazz Bass pickup alone. No real surprises in tone, but is still a very impressive Jazz Bass sound.

Position 4 is the Middle and Neck Jazz pickups on together. This sounds like a standard Jazz Bass. This is my second favorite position on this bass. I've always loved the sound of a Jazz Bass. Nothing sounds as smooth as this pickup combination.

Position 5 sounds alot like position 3 only alot warmer. Just the position of the pickup on the body alone can change the tone. I really like this tone as well.

I had a good friend of mine try out this bass and he liked the tone so much he tried to buy it from me on the spot. Unfortunately for him, this bass will probably not be for sale ever again. But I did tell him I'd be happy to lend it out to him when he needs to get some work done in the studio.

This is hands down the most versatile bass I've ever played or heard. Its a pleasure to have all the different sounds at the convenience of a 5 way switch. Thats helpful for me because I can get lazy with playing around with alot of knobs. I just like to plug in and play.

The bass was setup by John before I came to pick it up. The neck and pickups were both adjusted very well.

It is finished in an impressive transparent red. Its wonderful to see how the grain of the body continues throughout the whole piece. The grain is beautiful on this piece of wood, it really jumps out at you. One of my favorite parts of the finishing process is the handmade mounting ring for the humbucking pickup. Its made from a piece of matching Hackberry again. Adds just enough character to the bass to make it more of a jem.

You can see this guitar under the "Models" section at Apollo Guitar's web site.
http://www.apolloguitars.ca

I would have no fear ever taking this bass on stage and playing live without a backup. The fact that its hand built puts my mind at ease. I know John double checked the solder joints on the electronics. Its built solid!

This finish looks like its going to stand up to alot of punishment.

The neck feels like a dream. It has a lite coat of rub on poly and feels smooth and silky. I love this neck.

Working with John was a pleasure. John e-mailed me regularly with pictures of the work in progress. Always asking me what I thought about certain parts of the project.

I had a very large part in the design of this instrument. John took the time to meet up with me to discuss what I was looking for in a bass. I would draw things out (quite roughly I mite add) and John would bring them to life. It was amazing to see my dream bass come to life. And John made this all possible without charging me a fortune. I'd be happy paying much more for this bass than I did. For the money this bass was a bargain.

Anyone thinking about trying one of John's guitars should just go ahead and put in an order. I'm so impressed with the quality and tone that I fully intend on ordering a 6 string guitar from John in the future.

I know John will stand by his work. And if I ever had a problem I could always just drive over there and ask him to take a peak at it. (I live close enough to John that it wouldn't be a problem)

I've been playing guitar for about 7 years.

If this bass was lost or stole first I would cry. Second I would be typing John an e-mail so fast my keyboard would be smoking. I'd be begging and pleading with John for forgiveness that I was so careless with his work of art and beg him to build me another one.

But all kidding aside, this bass is a dream come true and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Thanks for everything John. Well done!