It has been a while since I've had a look at an Overwater instrument (four years to be precise) but in that time Chris May and his small Northumberland based company have been far from idle. Instead of following the accepted way of introducing numerous models to their range Overwater have opted to offer just a single bass design and guitar design. However many options within those single designs are open to the individual as far as timber, electronics, hardware and finish are concerned.

This bass for example is not a regular model but one that is based on the instruments that Overwater have built as customs for the likes of Rick Kemp.

This year's BMF should have seen the introduction of the Overwater active guitar and the company is working with Andrew Bodnar (ex-Graham Barker and Thompson Twins) on a low-tuning four string bass.

The bass arrived in a very smart and solid case which is included in the price and I must say first impressions of the bass were quite breathtaking, a little like pulling out a classic Gibson, the quality and pedigree is immediately obvious.

The construction of the Overwater bass combines the use of fine timbers with tried and tested woodworking techniques. This bass has a centre straight-through spine made from two pieces of quarter sawn and book matched Brazilian mahogany with a centre laminate of quarter sawn Bubinga. Attached to this are the body wings made from Brazilian mahogany which form the basis of the body. On top of this is laminated a central piece of bird's eye maple and two outer pieces of curly maple separated by two stripes of contrasting purple-heart.

The body and fingerboard are edged with a single off-white binding which adds a certain class to the look of the bass. The body is shaped in the typical Overwater style with its rounded offset horns and more angular lower bouts. The back contour contributes to the comfort of the bass which is quite weighty but extremely well balanced. Of course the shape of the Overwater won't be to everyone's taste but certainly it is extremely well designed with balance and weight distribution at the forefront.

On the earlier Overwater basses that I've seen one of the strongest features was the neck and fingerboard. This custom is no exception. The straight through neck allows a beautifully shaped heel contour flowing into what I still think is one of the finest necks I've ever played. It has that extremely slim depth and flat curved profile that I adore, yet it has just the right balance between 'flat' and 'curve' to make it feel right. It's always a tricky one, evaluating necks, but for me the best ones are the ones you don't notice simply because they feel immediately good.

An Indian ebony fingerboard is employed featuring a two octave scale and some simple diamond and dot mother of pearl inlay. The fretting is graduated in typical Overwater style with three widths of fretwire; thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top where the fret spacing becomes smaller. Such a simple idea this and one that I have employed on my own instruments. The actual quality of the fretting is very high as it should be on an instrument in this price range, each fret is filed low for an extremely fast action.

On the underside of the neck behind the nut we have a large but well carved volute to add strength to this potential weak spot where the neck is at its thinnest. The problem is compounded on this bass because of the access point for the truss rod adjustment and the angled-back headstock. While I would rather seethe truss rod adjustment point at the body end of the neck one must bow to the experience of Chris May.

The headstock itself is faced with a birdseye maple veneer and is a little Fenderish in its design with the all-in-a-line machines. The truss rod cover is rosewood and unlacquered. For the sake of continuity I suppose it should really be ebony but it's quite a small point really.

All in all this bass is very finely made and try as I might I can't criticise this aspect of it. The finish is first class; a golden red tint with a slight sunburst on the front and head with a browner sunburst on the neck and back.

Hardware

Chris was one of the first makers to use the Schaller 3-D bridge on his basses and he sees no reason to use anything else. Schaller M4 heads are employed as well as strap-locks all of which are gold-plated to add that extra touch of class.

Pickups and Electronics

As one would expect with a bass of this quality the pickups and electronics are active but gladly they are extremely simple in use belying their sophistication of design. The pickups themselves are designed by Overwater but made by Pickup King Kent Armstrong (who else?). Each pickup is encapsulated in epoxy resin but has a 'wood grain' finish tying in with Overwater's philosophy that 'wood is good'. Each pickup is mounted directly into the body with three screws; two for height adjustment and one for tilt.

There are four external controls fitted and a noticeable absence of switches. The top control takes care of master volume but also doubles, via a push/pull facility, to introduce 'attack' to the sound.

Below this are the filter (tone) controls for each pick up and lastly is the pan-pot with a centre detent indicating both pickups full on. By turning this control forward (towards the neck) the bridge pickup is faded out and by turning it back (towards the bridge) the neck pickup is faded. Each control has a wooden knob with a small pearl dot which when lined up with the dots on the body indicate 'off' for the master volume, 'full bass' for the tone controls and the 'full on' position of the pan-pot.

The actual workings of the system are very neat and can be tailored for the individual via five internal presets which can alter the gain on each pickup, the degree of 'attack' and the 'Q' of the filter. The filter control works as a low-pass filter sweeping between a frequency range of 300Hz to 8kHz at the top end. It is a little like having a dual control parametric Eq all in one. The filter controls here select a frequency range — low to high — and boost it. The internal trim pot alters the peak or how sharply a frequency is boosted.

The 'attack' function is a selective treble boost similar to a presence control on an amp adding a degree of 'click' to the sound. Again the internal trim pot allows you to set the exact amount of 'click' that you desire.

This circuit incorporates three preamps which as well as the above convert the output to low impedance making a DI box redundant and also solving the problem of treble loss when a long lead is used. The circuit is powered by a nine volt battery although it will operate between six and nine volts and Overwater recommend changing the battery every four months although for an average player it should last approximately six.

Sounds and Playability

The proof of the pudding is in the playing (or something like that) and certainly this Overwater plays very well. It was extremely well set up and intonation was perfect. Access to the top of the two octave neck is ridiculously easy, the graduated fretting really making a difference at the higher end. Because there is no active/passive mode you're always in the active setting, but you won't need the filters full on unless you want a really toppy sound. Certainly both the panpot and filter controls work very subtly to change the tone colours of the instrument and as one would expect there is a very wide range of tones available. The top end is assisted by the attack function meaning that you can get an unnecessary amount of top from this bass. However if you're on the neck position with the frequency around the low-mid area then you introduce the attack you get a very subtle but useful top boost which makes the bass really cut through while still retaining a full bass end. Obviously if the filters are set at the low boost then the attack being atop boost won't actually work, the level of the attack increases as the filters come up to the bandwidth in which it operates. There is very little hiss at the top end of the active control and being honest it would be rarely used as it's a bit too toppy anyway, so circuit noise isn't a problem at all.

What I liked most about the sound of this bass was the actual quality of the sounds produced. Whether at full bass or full top, the sound retained a great clarity and depth.

Conclusion

The fact that Overwater only produce one basic bass with options (on passive/active hardware and timber spec) results in a very refined instrument in all aspects. From the construction through to the electronics this bass shows what can be achieved by a very concentrated and condensed design process. Of course this kind of quality does not come cheap but an Overwater bass judged on this sample at least is an investment and not just an instrument. This bass easily falls into the 'classic' category and is one of the finest examples of British guitar making you're likely to see. Anyone who considers Overwater to be an also-ran alongside other (possibly) more popular British basses would be severely misled. I just envy the lucky sod who by the time you read this will be the exceedingly smug owner!

OVERWATER CUSTOM BASS - RRP: £850 approx