Electric Upright Bass Database

Aria - SWB-03

• Vintage: 1998
• Number of Strings: 4
  • Tuned in: 4th
• Bowable: Yes
• Position Markers: Yes
• Balance While Playing: (6/10)
• Overall Rating: (8/10)

I no longer own this bass. (I needed more growl and some money.)

Not all double bass strings were compatible with the built-in magnetic pickup. (I almost always used only the built-in Fishman BP-100.) The bass had a shortened version of traditional double bass bridge with cam-operated adjusters. There were two recesses in the short, thick bridge so that the piezo transducer elements could be held in place. The position markers (white dots on the side of the neck) can easily be rubbed off if you don't want/need them. The steel endpin could be set at different heights, but couldn't be fully retracted into the body.

The feel of the maple neck/fingerboad was good enough. However, I'm not sure if Aria (or anyone else) is willing to help customize the bass to meet individual player requirements. For example, you may want to add a simulated thumbstop, upgrade the tuning machines, or replace the tubular body support with a thick bout extension like the one from the Aria SWB-Alpha. You might also want to modify the fingerboard and/or the bridge so that the bass can be bowed more comfortably. (YMMV, of course.)

Aria SWB series EUBs were (and I believe still are) readily available at many well-stocked electric guitar/bass shops in Tokyo. Just walk in off the street, and you may be able to try one. In Japan, by the way, it seems that EUBs and other similar basses are generally referred to as "silent bass." Traditional acoustic upright basses are also known in Japan as "wood bass." SWB is probably a local acronym for "silent wood bass."

This SWB-03 came with a zippered cover with carrying handles and a shoulder strap.