NS Designs Radius CR5


 

Ned Steinberger is famous for inventing the headless bass guitar back in the 1970's. In 1987 the business (and the Steinberger name) was sold to Gibson - precluding him from using his own name as a brand (much like Leo Fender when he sold his company to CBS in 1965).

In 1990 Ned created NS Designs with luthier Stuart Spector to make high-end electric violin family instruments: double basses, cellos, violas and violins. All of these instruments were re-imagined with innovations in materials and a sleek modern design.

In 2014 Steinberger finally returned to the bass guitar - adding a new NS headless design, exploiting many of the innovations he had developed for classic instruments.

The result was the Radius bass - hand made in the Czech Republic. It is an classic example of Steinberger's approach - as he had done with the classic stringed instruments - to re-imagine every aspect of the instrument, leading to innovations such as the Fusion neck, the Diradialª body design, the NS tuning system, and the NS/EMGª pickup system.

This is the Raduis CR5 model - a 5 string fretless in Amber Satin finish.

The bolt-on one-piece "FUSION" maple neck has an embedded continuous carbon fiber core to provide enhanced sustain and definition. The fingerboard has a 15" radius and 35" scale. Heavy conventional tuning machines are replaced by an aluminum headplate with ball-end string mounting slots. The tuning system is integrated into the body.

The "DIRADIAL" maple body, with flamed maple top, has a concave back radius, which provides enhanced contact and stability against the torso. The front of the instrument is more tightly radiused, which, in combination with the general wedge shape of the body, shifts it into more comfortable orientation with the right hand.

The erganomic shape and distribution of weight results in a perfectly balanced instrument with no downward dip of the neck, making the CR5 exceptionally comfortable to play.

The pickup system integrates a bridge-mounted Polarª Pickup System (from the NS electric double bass) with dual EMG magnetic pickups and an 18-volt onboard preamp, giving a broad range of available tones.

 

Cool Features:
    - A hand made bass!
    - 21st century tech!
    - Super compfortable to play
    - Unlined fretless, but cool dot pattern!
    - Modern sound that cuts thru any mix
    - Clever tuning system
    - Easy string changes
    - Both piezo and mag pickups