Basslines® and Steve Bailey Take Fretless Bass to the Extreme Fundamental Fretless™ Pickup and Tone Circuit™ System
Wednesday,October 15,1997

Santa Barbara,California - Steve Bailey is the consummate bassist. He’s performed everywhere from smoky clubs to mega-dome stadiums. His tonal demands range from the bite of a blues trio to the edge of a power trio to the warmth of a jazz trio to the Extremes of a bass duo. From the studio to the stage,Steve wants to use one set of pickups and electronics that allow him to meet all these diverse challenges.

Basslines® and Steve have joined forces to release the Fundamental Fretless™ system,Steve’s signature model pickups and Tone Circuit™. It’s the first of it’s kind designed specifically for electric fretless bass and it’s the result of many hours of R&D and sound testing under live and studio conditions.

The active pickups are designed for use in four-,five-,and six-string basses,with specific calibrations for neck and bridge position. The four- and five-string versions are traditional Fender® Jazz Bass® size. The six-string pickup is housed in Basslines’ ”Phase I” soapbar cover. In addition,Basslines offers a retrofit system for Aria’s Steve Bailey signature model six-string bass.

The Tone Circuit is available with either two or three bands of focused EQ,together with a switch that engages a frequency contour optimized to bring out fretless harmonics as well as mid-range boost. The switch is engaged by pulling up on the volume knob. The 9 volt Tone Circuit was designed to also accommodate 18 volt power for enhanced headroom.

All mounting hardware and a detailed wiring schematic are included. The Fundamental Fretless™ system is hand built in Santa Barbara,California.