BootLegger Guitar Absinthe 5 String Bass 2025 - Gloss - EMG Active

**By Mr. Roger Kohls, Bootlegger Bass Pro

BootleggerGuitar.com

Built by our partner Mr Ken Kim Muse Inc S. Korea

Designed by Chuck Wilson and Roger Kohrs

As you can see, this is a stunning bass—a true boutique-style instrument. Beyond its striking appearance, it boasts some exceptional features. Equipped with the EMG SJ5AX ACTIVE SET with EMG X Preamp, the bass also features a Swamp Ash body paired with a bolt-on 4-piece hard Maple neck and an Ebony fretboard. Weighing in at 9.8 pounds—about the same as a Fender '74 Jazz Bass—it offers perfect balance when strapped on.

The scale length is 35 1/4 inches, with a fingerboard radius of approximately 13 to 14 inches, providing a comfortable and versatile playing experience. The beautifully set-up intonation ensures precise pitch, and it runs on a single 9-volt battery for the electronics and preamp.

Controls include two volume knobs and a tone knob, allowing for a wide range of pickup blending options. Notably, the pickups are angled slightly, with the treble side leaning toward the neck on both pickups. This design delivers a warmer sound on the treble strings, while the midrange provides punch and brightness, creating a balanced and dynamic tone.

Our new headless headstock design incorporates a dedicated head for both our innovative individual string lock system and a clamp-on tuner, adding a sleek and modern aesthetic. We exclusively use graphite nuts—not cheap, pre-cut plastic—to ensure durability and optimal tone.

The string locks and monorail tuning system are engineered to operate independently. Neither the string locks nor the tuners touch each other, which minimizes transient string vibrations and results in a rich, wood-like tone. This design also makes string replacement straightforward. I personally installed a set of my signature Bootlegger strings (40-120), and the process was effortless.

This bass is a meticulously crafted instrument that delivers an excellent Jazz bass tone with exceptional playability and reliability.

**Roger Kohls**

Headless Absinthe 5-String Progressive Jazz Progressive Bass 

Body / Neck

Body Ashwood 

Neck Bolt on Hard Maple 4 Piece 

Fretboard and Head Ebony 

NUT 45 X 3.4 Graphite

Dual truss rod

Neck radius. 350R C shape

Fretboard fanned dots 5mm Pearl 

Side dot markers 1.5mm black

Hardware Bootlegger Design String Locks & Tuner System 

String locks, Bootlegger Individual string locking Monoral system 

Bridge Bootlegger individual Monoral tuner system 

Our monorail system is designed to reduce transient vibration noise. All brass or metal locks or tuners do not touch each other; they attach individually and improve the natural tone. 

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Scale 35 1/4 INCH (895mm)

Frets DHP-24H(2/7mm JUMBO)

Strings 45-130 D’Addario strings 

Dimension 40 x 14

Weight 9.8 lbs 

Pickups 

EMG SJ5AX ACTIVE X SERIES PRE AMP JAZZ SET

The J5AX Set is based on EMG's original J5 but uses Alnico V magnets instead of ceramic and our X Series preamp. This creates a warm and open tone for a more vintage sound with a broad frequency range and added dynamic response and feel. 

The J5AX provides bass players with natural presence, powerful lows, and expansive midrange. With our X Series preamp o n-board, this pickups set truly bridges the gap between passive and active tone - giving players the best of both worlds. Whether you play fretted or fretless you'll get an incredibly full sound with these bass pickups.

The X series preamp gives the pickup a more dynamic range along with increased headroom while keeping the more traditional string-to-string balance. X series pickups also come with an Active Tone Control (VLPF) designed to roll-off (attenuate) high frequencies, similar to a typical passive tone control. The result is a noiseless single coil guitar pickup with a classic EMG sound that bridges the gap between active and passive.

Controls 

Volume Volume Tone

Metal speed knobs

Finish

Neck: Matt

Body: Honey Satin or Matte Oil.

We can also other color finish options