Here’s a very handsome acoustic/electric bass
from Michael Kelly Guitars. (Remember, playing bass is just like playing
mandolin, only backward and at a longer scale.) It sounds pretty good and is a
sharp looker to boot. Laminated top, sides and body are covered in outrageously
figured quilted maple with a blond finish and 6-ply black & white binding.
Neck is mahogany with single-ply white binding and attached with a dovetail
joint. The 22- fret fretboard is ovangkol, an African relative of rosewood (yeah,
I had to look it up), and has a gorgeous abalone & pearl dragonfly inlay.
The bridge is likewise made of ovangkol. Soundhole has an attractive abalone
rosette.
Scale length is 34 inches; nut width is 43 mm (1.69
inches). The neck has a dual-action truss rod and a standard C profile.
Single-cutaway body. The bridge pickup is a Fishman Sonicore under-saddle
transducer, and there’s a Fishman Presys + Bass EQ. Gig bag included. If
Michael Kelly is still making these, they don’t appear to have made any blond
ones recently. MSRP is $939 and street prices for a new one are a couple
hundred lower; get it here for even less.