September 2009 and Michael Pedulla introduces a new bass, the Nuance, the latest in a long line of basses from the US-based going back to the late 70’s, when Pedulla started making the fretless Buzz Bass . The Nuance was designed as an acounstic instrument, focussing on tonal subtleties. Says Pedulla:

It has been fully field tested with a number of Pedulla Artists, including Tim Landers, Mark Egan, and David Buda.  Tim Landers used the Nuance live and in the studio and sums up the sound as:

“It exudes a boutique quality but with a much more useful array of tones.A bass that not only sounds fantastic on it’s own but remains punchy and distinct even through a dense mix, a winning combination for me!”

The bass is handmade in the U.S.A. It’s stunning good looks come from the Maple Burl, Arbutis Burl, and Red Heart Quilted Maple tops. The back is soft maple, and it has a bolt-on-neck design, with a hard maple two-piece quartersawn neck – the material of choice for a neck on a high end bass these days. The fretboard (where it has them) has 22 frets and is a very nice ebony. From the wood combinations, you can probably taste the sound already. Clear and glassy with plenty of punch from two custom-voiced Bartolini humbuckers, and 9 volt active electronics featuring volume, pickup pan, bass boost and cut, treble boost and cut, and a midrange boost and cut switch.

Options:

• 4-string or 5-string.
• 5-string with either 17.5mm or 19mm string spacing.
• Maple Burl, Arbutis Burl, or Red Heart Quilted Maple top
• Black, chrome, or gold color hardware.
• Fretted or fretless.

The bass comes with the usual Pedulla oil/urethane finish. More on the Pedulla site, including a gallery of images.