The Bass Centre, London, England is pleased to announce the launch of a brand new addition to its British Bass Masters Series – Betsy is a tribute to British bass playing legend, Guy Pratt – multi-instrumentalist, Grammy Award winning songwriter, actor, comedian and author – whose extensive bass playing career includes work with acts as diverse as Icehouse, Robert Palmer, Bryan Ferry, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, and, most recently, psychedelic supergroup Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets.
This new Bass Centre exclusive reimagines the storied Burgundy Mist Jazz bass christened “Betsy” which has been one of Guy’s go-to instruments since 1987. Purchased from the legendary John Entwistle after Guy’s mate Johnny Marr insisted that if they were going to play together he needed a Fender – a good one! (It was actually Johnny who inspired the nickname ‘Betsy’), Guy collected the original 1964 beauty from the Bass Centre’s Wapping HQ in London, after a set-up by the store’s long-serving, in-house tech Chris Ward.
Fast forward to 2019 – Searching for a new road-worthy, high performance instrument for his touring commitments with Saucerful of Secrets in, Guy was taken with the quality of the Bass Centre’s vintage styled Bass Collection range and, in conjunction with Bass Centre MD Barry Moorhouse, struck upon the idea of a modern, commercial recreation of Betsy in all her Burgundy Mist glory, incorporating the Bass Centre’s “Super Slim Sixties” neck profile, period accurate detailing, and beautifully balanced, lightweight construction.
Like its namesake – which received an active upgrade in 1987 – the new Betsy is also loaded with EMG’s superb, low impedance “J” pickups and comes strung as standard with Bass Centre Stadium Series Elites, Guy’s strings of choice for over 30 years – “I play Elites roundwounds and have done for decades. They’re utterly reliable.”
Completing the circle, every new Betsy bass will have its pickups installed and be set up by none other than technician Chris Ward, still taking care of business in the Bass Centre workshop after 35 years.
The Bass Centre Betsy is a versatile, stage and studio workhorse built, not just to appease Guy’s exacting standards, but also to deliver a superb, competitively priced, signature instrument for modern players. The fact that Guy is using this new bass to fulfil the rigorous demands of Saucerful Of Secrets on tour a cross the world is testament to the success of the project. As he himself enthuses : “It’s a fab instrument, and very reasonably priced.”
The Bass Centre Betsy Features
• Classic Burgundy Mist finish, with mint-green scratchplate.
- EMG active J pickups
• Satin finish “Super Slim Sixties” Maple neck with Maccasar Ebony fingerboard
• Original, vintage style, roller bridge
• Original 60’s style control knobs
• Strung with Bass Centre Elites Stadium Series stainless steel roundwound strings
• Built in South Korea, in the same factory responsible for the Bass Centre’s superb Bass Collection range.
• Complete with Bass Centre padded gig bag and 12 month warranty. - UK/EU Price: £595.00 • Export Price (USA/Australia/Worldwide) : £495.83
AVAILABLE NOW :
http://www.basscentre.com/british-bass-masters/bbm-betsy.html