The 2000 Golden Axe Awards
Unlimited Bass Division
By Cliff Suttle
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February 25, 2000 - Do you love Basses? Do you love really beautiful basses? Boy, have you clicked into the right article. The Unlimited Bass division of the Golden Axe Awards was the most heated competition of all the divisions this year. If you're not familiar with what the Golden Axe Awards are (you have to stop living in that closet and read Harmony Central more often) let me fill you in on the contest.
The Golden Axe Award is where Harmony Central selects the best guitars and basses at the winter NAMM show. There are four different divisions: Guitar-Unlimited, Guitar-Best Value, Bass-Unlimited, and Bass-Best Value. Ten instruments are selected in each division. The "Unlimited Bass" is the second division to be announced. Please see the schedule for the dates of the three other divisions.
The Unlimited division is all about pieces of art that just happen to double as fantastic basses. The important thing to remember about the Unlimited division, is that the basses had to be of professional quality in playability and sound to even enter the contest. As soon as the bass was deemed of professional quality, then other factors were considered. The other judging factors include, but are not limited to, workmanship, innovation, creativity, and uniqueness. These instruments range in price from $3,000 to $20,000 U.S. As you can see, these are not the types of instruments that you find at your local mass market music store. If you don't care about this type of instrument, please check out the Bass-Best Value Awards which is more about playability, tone, flexibility, and value for the dollar (mark, yen, pound, or whatever you use in your part of the world).
Here are the rules under which the contest was judged:
- The bass had to be present at the NAMM show. No late entries were allowed.
- The bass had to meet or exceed what would be considered pro level quality for playability and sound. Needless to say, all these guitars sound and play wonderfully.
- The bass had to encompass something that set it apart from other instruments in its class. This could include workmanship, inlay work, painting, unusual materials, creativity, or an unusual design.
- Each company could only submit one instrument per division.
- Any model which was a former Golden Axe Finalist from prior years was excluded from the contest. However, companies could enter other models from their line.
After the initial cut, we still had twenty-two instruments that needed to be whittled down to ten. Talk about your tough jobs. The Unlimited Bass division was the most difficult to judge of all four divisions. It was so tough in fact, that we have decided to award three honorable mentions. That's more than any other division in the history of the Golden Axe Awards.
Having the chance to play all these instruments myself was quite fun and a real honor. Then getting to talk to all the big name luthiers made the NAMM experience extra special. Even before we start the countdown, I would like to congratulate all the luthiers presented here and the others as well. It broke my heart to see some of the instruments not make the list. To the luthiers who didn't get a Golden Axe, I look forward to seeing you next year.
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