Human Base

[CookPassBabtridge]

Does anyone have any experience playing/owning one of these? Their website, shall we say, has room for improvement and their Facebook page hasn't been updated for about a year. The big German retailers (Thomann and DV247) seem to stock a few but I can't really find them anywhere else.

Their higher-end models look stunning but main reason I'm asking is their Roxy model seems an interesting proposition - I love Delano Xtenders and it appears to have a huge amount of tone shaping options from just the single pickup. I've seen a couple of 5ers pop up on the classifieds here but not much more.

Anyone have any insights they'd be willing to share? Thanks!

[ikay]

I had a Roxy B5 for a short while. Lovely bass and I would definitely have kept it were it not for a couple of small niggles that just didn't quite work for me. These were quite minor issues and I actually wish that I'd kept it! Here's my list of pro and cons:

Pros - Excellent build quality, great neck and fretwork (could easily dial in a low buzz-free setup), quality ETS bridge and hardware, loved the single Xtender pickup - much more versatile than you'd expect with series/parallel switching, excellent Glock preamp and active/passive switch, sounded fantastic and played superbly.

Cons - at 9lbs 7oz mine was a bit on the heavy side for me (I was hoping for closer to 9lbs but it was a distance purchase so took pot luck. I know some B5s are much closer to 9lbs), the body and headstock felt a bit chunky and no forearm contour, it felt a touch neck heavy.

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by ikay

[LeftyJ]

I owned a Human Base from the late 80s for a while that was made for a bass store in Frankfurt that doesn't exist anymore called Mr.Bassman. They sold basses under their own name that were made by Clover and Human Base. Mine was the No Sweat model, which looks a lot like the current Base X model. It was through-neck, with big Bartolini soapbars and a lovely rosewood top. I wish I still had it, but it didn't suit me at the time. It was super comfortable and easy to play, but I couldn't fine a tone that worked for my band at the time. It looked almost identical to this one, but lefty:

[CookPassBabtridge]

@ikay Thanks for the info, that's pretty encouraging as the niggles you mention are things that don't tend to bother me (heavy and lack of contour) as most of my basses are on the heavy side. Bit of a cliche but it does look like a lot of bass for the money - lots of switching/tone options and the bridge is adjustable I believe? Which is good for me as I often like to go up to 20mm.

@LeftyJ That's a really interesting story, I had no idea they'd been around since at least the 80s, I had assumed they hadn't been around too long given the lack of info out there. I also like the look of the current Max model, but would be a bit too much of a risk to commit to given the cost and lack of places in the UK (lockdown aside) to try one out.

[ikay]

Yes, the saddles can be adjusted a little wider if needed.