Italia Maranello Bass

Korean made. Carved Agathis LP style body with giant silver glitter, pearloid wrapped maple neck with 22 medium frets & rosewood fingerboard. 2 passive Wilkinson humbuckers with chrome covers. 2 volume 1 tone hat knobs on a cool plastic floating control plate, angled output jack. Wilkinson chrome adjustable bridge, chrome tail stop with Italia logo. Sealed Gotoh tuners with white plastic buttons. Pearloid Rick-style headstock with chrome metal Italia logo. It looks like a copy of a rare early Hagstrom bass you can see it here : http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/images/Visitors/HorstWeichert23.jpg

Amazing sound. Much like a Gibson EB-3 or a Ovation Magnum. Very rich and full (a bandmate referred to it as "lush"). Neck pickup is rested against the neck so it's full and boomy, good for reggae, soul, and 60's rock. Tail pickup is pretty useful, but to me has less impact, more of a midrange contour due to it's placement. Both together is perfect, warm and tight with plenty of mids and lows. Not as much bite or punch as a Maple or Ash bass, more like a Mahogany tone wise, but potentially versatile in the right hands.

The finish is stunning, you will be floored at the funky glitter and full pearloid wrap up the back! Upon closer inspection it's not perfect, but for the price it's fine. Besides, who's going to inspect it but the buyer? The action on mine was nicely set with small amounts of fret buzz only audible from the neck. Tons of sustain. The neck is fatter at the nut and may not appeal to Jazz/Funk types looking for speed (this is a retro design, made for tone). But the neck curve is comfortable and just takes some playing to get into. The body is heavy and the neck dives like crazy, but it's well balanced in the hands... I have a sticky suede strap that helps keep it steady. All joints are tight and well built. Frets are dressed nicely and the thick black binding is smooth as glass. Pearloid neck is a little sticky if you have clammy hands, so get some baby powder.

Solid build, seems reliable. Haven't gigged out with it yet but I would without hesitation. Bridge is tank like with nice features, nut is graphite and tough. Tuners are Gotoh and seem reliable, although mine was bought second-hand and had a broken one, I would replace it with the same without a second thought. Lacquer looks nice & thick, pearloid looks tough too. Strap buttons on mine were swapped for locks but are positioned well. I would gig without a backup but I always do.

Here's the kicker: Since I got this bass second hand I have no warranty, so I'm not sure how it would shake down in a dealer situation. But as someone in a city with no dealers who carry Italia's, and no warranty I seem to be f'd as far as getting service. I tried contacting Italia directly, as well as the US distributor concerning a new machine head and have hit a wall. But I've already decided to swap the tuners out for chrome ones so I will stop whining. Like I said if I had a dealer and a new instrument it may have played out differently. I will rate it a 5 for "benefit of the doubt".

I'm gonna say 10 here because I love instruments like this. For value and originality you get a lot. And to me the tone and playability are superb. I have a Ovation Magnum I that is very similar in tone apart from a bit more bite and clang from the electronics and the ebony neck. I also have a newer G&L L2K and an 83' G&L SB-2 and they serve my bright punchy growl needs. But I like to have smooth boomy tone as well, and this axe serves it up in armloads. I play low & slow, very much in a Jah Wobble meets Adam Clayton sort of style. I mostly play indie rock & post modern styles but I love retro sounds and the Maranello suits me fine in that respect. I don't slap but I go back and forth between fingerstyle and picking and it works well in both of those worlds. Overall I would have to say if you play any pop or rock, and tone & style are a priority the Maranello may be for you. I know I dig it.

Realy good looking bass, catches the eyes of the audience at any gig. Lovely retro touch. A bit les pauls inspired body shape.

Great full distinctive warm sounds, capable of different sounds. I have roundwound string on it, which suits the bass just fine. If you play it with your fingers, you get a realy nice warm deep, and if applied in a proper way it can be very dark and moody (like a menace even), tone out of it. But if played with plectrum, and with the knobs turned to maximum treble, you get a more aggressive although yet warm bright sound. With a little narrowband EQ boost at around 200 HZ, and a roll off of the deepest frequencies, it is a very usefull sound. Suitable for pop-rock-alternative, and hard rock ?? la QOTSA, but less suitable for metal and the likes.
I don't slap, so I have no idea how it sound slapping.

Great finish, this bass just looks stunning! Out of the box the action was a bit too high, but this was easely fixed. This is the only thing that needed to be done. the rest of the set up was fine, even didn't need to adjust bridge settings for tuning.

I've played this bass for over half a year now and had no problems whatsoever. I've played it at home and and rehearsals, but not yet on stage. So I don't realy know if it is reliable or not. From my point of view now, I'll have to say: no problem!

I've hadn't had the pleasure of dealing with customer support on this one.

I've playe bass for over 12 years now, played on fender, epiphone, yamaha, daytone, squire (I did not own all of them), and now Italia Marranello. They all have their own merrits, but the marranello has the deepest, darkest, fullest sound. This can be an obstacle because it can cloud the rest of the arrangement of the song, but if properly used and played with care , it can fit nicely. Apart from the Fender, this is the most expensive bass I've played on, and if you consider the price perhaps the other basses are allmost equally usefull. yet a 9 because I like the distinctive deep dark menacing sound of it.

This bass is awesome. Silver glitter front with a mother of pearl back and neck. It looks like a super charged gibson bass. The neck size is just right for my prefrences... not to big not to small.

it's pretty bright sounding out of the box so I put some flatwounds on it and it's almost perfect. Not a ton of sustain though.

The factory obviously works hard on almost every detail of this bass. They realy make a high quality piece of art. Out of the box i nearly cried when i heard the nasty buzzing noise of string against fret though, but after a few adjustments it sounds great. They should however fire whoever strings it and sets the action (easily fixed) The pickups are set up just right (plus they are chrome covered..drool...) they get an 8 for making me work on it.

I have not had it that long but it feals like a rock! very well put together!

I absolutley love it. The playability is great, it looks like a million bucks, and it's solid! So solid that while my dumb ass was trying to fix the factory settings I broke a metal bike wrench on it (i didnt know it was a lock nut) It didnt hurt this bass though. For what I paid this is an extreme value. I chose this over a warwick fortress one that this pawn swap had for sale cheap and I don't regret it.

2001 silver carved two piece jointed Agathis tone wood. Black bound body and maple neck with rosewood finger board it has a pearloid blue wrap on back and back of neck 35inch scale. 22 frets.Thick fret markers. Two Wilkenson Designed Humbucking Pickups. Pearl Gotoh tuning keys. Two volumn and one tone control. This is a Les Paul style bass. Came with a TKL hardshell case.The tail piece is a Fully intonatable combination.

This Bass has all the sound that you would every want. I changed the Roundwound Strings for a set of Fender Flats. This gave it the lower Rich sound that I was looking for. I would call it a hofner sound without all the high price. It is the most quiet Bass that I have ever played. encluding Precision, Jazz, and the Foundation Series That is made by peavey. I am playing through a Peavey 400 series head
and two enclosers an 1810 and 115 BW. the 1810 has 1 18" black widow and 2 10" mids and the 115 has 1 15" black widow. I also practice through and ampeg BA115 It has 100 watts and 1 15' speaker and a 3" horn.

The action was a little high when I purchased it. But after I put on the flats and adjusted the action and set the intonation. It was all that I thought it would be. the pickup did not have to be set at all. The finish on this Bass is the reason that I even looked at it to start with. I love the retro look. no flaws that I have found at this time.

I would not hesitate to play this Bass on a gig without a backup.I am so sure.I dont take one with me anymore. Even to record with. It has oversized strap buttons. So I don't think I would ever drop it. The finish is so hard I don't think I could scrach it.

The warranty is 1 year on hardware and lifetime on the body and neck.
I Don't know about Customer service.

I have been playing 35 years I own Two Peavey Foundations One a 4 string and the other a Foundation 5 string. I have a 400 series Peavey Head and two Peavey enclosures an 1810 and a 115. I also have a Ampeg BA115 amp. If it were Stollen I would definately get another one. As a matter of fact I might purchase another one in a different Color. ( maybe Gold and White pearl.)If you ever see one it the stores Try it out. I bet you'll like it too.

2002 Maranello 4 string. Asian made. 2 volume 1 tone. Gold, carved top. Mother of Pearl wrap on ENTIRE back of intrument. white binding on body & neck. Dual Wilkinson design passive humbuckers. Gotoh tuners. Custom hardtail bride/tailpiece unit. Agathis body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, pearl-like rectangle inlays. Body style similar to Gibson Les Paul. 35" scale.

Very full sound, due to pickup placement (neck pup near end of fretboard, bridge pup in usual position). Each pup soloed has it's own character, but do not sound altogether different from eachother. bring both full up, and it is a very full, fat, yet biting tone. Music Man meets Hofner if you can picture that. Smooth. Nice sound with roundwound strings.

Action: good. needed to be set up properly, and intonated. it has a bolt on angled neck. trussrod works well. angled peghead. fit & finish is pretty good. neck pocket tight. finish is common. occasional pit here & there. very heavy bass.

too soon to tell. but it is a very substantial feeling bass. hardware is first rate. strap buttons/neck/tuners/bridge are intuitive in design & function.

have no opinion

I bought this bass because I am a sucker for retro gear. I saw it on a website, and had to try it. I figured if it played half as good as it looked, I'd still buy it for the price. I also own a Fender P Special (modded), anda early 80's G&L-2000e, and this is a nice addition to the arsenal. I wanted my next purchase to be a compliment to my current basses, and this fit the bill nicely. Sounds FANTASTIC fussbass style (always liked the sound of fuzzed out bass humbuckers, but the G&L's in passive mode sounded a bit anemic). I would definitely buy another, if anything happenned to this one. If there was one thing I wish this bass had, it would be a series/parallel switch, but that is EASILY added.