Mayones BE4 Ash

Polish guitar and bass manufacturer Mayones (apparently the name is pronounced Mayon-ez) has been around since 1982 and has built a considerable reputation for itself, becoming particularly well known for using truly stunning top woods on ultra playable instruments that cater for all styles, including extended range (six strings plus) basses. Indeed two of my best friends, professional players, use Mayones as their instruments of choice.

Success seems to be on the cards for this manufacturer as its instruments (guitars as well as basses) seem to be more widely available now, in many countries, including the UK, USA and Canada. One or two of the big names should be taking a look over their shoulder at Mayones!

Beyond the custom instruments that Mayones offers, the company makes a wide series of  'off the shelf' instruments - though they are a far cry from the obvious traditional basses we all grew up with! Take the BE 4 we had in for review, for example. There are three models in the BE series. The Exotic, the Elite and this, the BE Ash, all of which come with varying specifications. As the name suggests, this bass features a swamp ash body with matching swamp ash headstock facing. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

The highly sculpted body curves are bold and follow the outline of the bass scooping through accentuating angles. Ultimately it makes this an extremely comfortable instrument to play as well as one that is wonderfully eye catching. I felt that the bass had a downsized body - and yes it's smaller than a slab Precision of course, but those scoops and cutaways make it feel even more so. That's a plus point for sure with those who don't share my 6'3'