BassLab Custom

Built by Heiko Hoepfinger & BassLab in 2008 upon my request: headless, 7 strings, left handed.
25 frets plus a half 26th fret.
Completely hollow (also the neck), made of a composite material patented by Heiko, incredibly light in weight.
Ford Silver Moondust lacquered, customized with my signature.
One volume control with push/pull to completely mute the guitar, one pickup selector.
2 Seymour Duncan humbuckers (custom at the bridge, jazz at the neck), passive electronics.
Completely alien shape, with a very thick body (compared to a standard solid body made of wood). Wonderful contour, very comfortable to play.
ETS custom bridge which accomodates also the tuning pegs. On the neck the strings are locked with hollow screws and exceeding part is cut off, so there's no need for Steinberger's style double-balls strings.
A wonderful gigbag was also included.

I play mainly death metal, but also progressive rock/metal, so a lot of different sounds are needed.
Since the very first notes, it's really impressive how this instrument sound. The response and feeling are unbelievable and the volume of the guitar not connected to the amp is impressive, like a semi-accoustic jazz archtop. You feel very distinctly the sound of the composite material, if you close your eyes, it's very different from wood, but really better in my opinion.
When amplified this guitar breaks down the walls! The 2 Seymours make their job wonderfully with an impressive crunch.

The guitar arrived perfectly in tune. I just needed to make a slight adjustment on the height of a string, but thanks to Heiko's explanation, it was a matter of few seconds.
All the electronics is working perfectly.
The lacquer is perfect and wonderful looking.
I really love the complete flat fretboard with the huge neck... I felt comfortable from the very first notes.
I just have to review the position of my picking hand, since the guitar stands upon my body more like a classical one, more vertically I should say, but I like it... it's a good sensation.

The guitar looks very solid, its shapes are really not of this planet.
I'm looking forward to use it on stage, I think I will surprise a lot of people.
The hardware looks also very solid and precise.
However I will try to keep it as safe as possible... it's the best guitar I've ever had so far and I'm very jealous!!
Strap pins are Schaller security compatible, so my old strap fitted very well.
I would have a backup on stage only if a string breaks to avoid stopping the show, but otherwise there's no other reason for a backup.

Heiko is a wonderful person, he replies very quickly to every mail and possible request you may have.
He's really great! I think the music business will benefit from having more people like him.
I have the guitar since 6 hours now, and it's the most beautyful thing I've ever seen in my life.

If you are a musician who wants to go beyond, who likes experimentation and looks beyond the mainstream, buy a BassLab instrument!

Handcrafted in Germany in 2006, 25 frets, proprietary composite material with a very thin wall size, completely hollow one piece body and neck. Chunky neck, mega jumbo frets.

Equipped with two humbuckers, a Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon in the bridge and an AlNiCo II Pro in the neck position. There are two volume controls and a toggle switch, the neck pickup can be split via a push-pull pot.

Form follows function: extremely carved, non traditional.
Impeccable metallic black finish, shining gold hardware (ETS one piece non-trem bridge, locking LSR tuners).

The guitar is delivered with a stable, padded designer softshell case and allen wrench.

This guitar has been designed by a physicist and musician who was unsatisfied with traditional guitar building. The basic thesis is that a string with a mass of only a few gramm cannot possibly make a piece of wood (weighing several pounds) resonate in the frequency bands that are appealing an make up a nice, full sound. Basslab has developed a proprietary composite material that allows the luthier to construct a one piece hollow instrument (yes, the neck is hollow, too) with a very thin wall size. Thus, you will get an "acoustic" tone an feel the resonance of a note plucked all over the instrument. Every note has a nice punchy attack and endless sustain.

The shape of my guitar allows me to reach even the highest registers with my left hand playing position, which is loaned from classical guitar playing.

I am inspired by shred-players like Becker, Vai, Housholder and Holdsworth, as well as bands like Dream Theater or Dali's Dilemma and play all styles of music, from classical to jazz, funk, rock and metal.

This guitar covers all bases: it is unique in the very sense of the word. Unbelievable until you play one...

All electronics and hardware on my custom Basslab guitar were selected after thorough discussions with the builder.

The owner of Basslab, Heiko, personally sets up each instrument that leaves his shop. I personally went to see him when I picked up my instrument and witnessed a skilled artisan with attention to detail, who set up the instrument to my exact needs. Flawless.

There are no issues with reliability or durability on this guitar. In fact, Heiko hand-picks all parts from small and dependable German custom shops - German engineering, you know ;-)
The guitar finish - several coats of car lacquer - is nicely executed and will last for ages. Custom strap locks are installed.

This guitar is highly dependable, the only thing that might break is a string. Other than that, I would be comfortable to gig without a backup.

Heiko is a very nice and highly knowledgeable person. He is very easy to deal with and will go to great lengths to make the best instument - one at a time, custom tailored to each client.

One thing also worth mentioning is that you can expect very fast response times to emails and Heiko will send you detailed pictures of your guitar in the making to discuss even the smallest details.

If there ever was a problem with one of his instruments, I am sure Heiko would go out of his way to resolve it asap.

I have been playing the guitar for 19 years now and have a small collection of high-class instruments. Given this guitar was discussed in every respect before it was delivered, I would consider it close to perfect for me.

I am in the process of getting a second custom guitar made by Basslab, that should be enough of a testimony...