A New Classic from Bass Purveyors Overwater

(PRESS RELEASE): Sometimes creativity bursts out in a flash of brilliance and at other times, like fine wine and great art, things take time to mature - new designs can come together very quickly and others will take a while to develop.

This story begins back in 2006 at the legendary London jazz venue Ronnie Scotts during an afternoon rehearsal of the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, and a conversation between Overwater's Chris May and virtuoso bass player Carlos Henriquez.

Although primarily known for his work on upright, Carlos is also an accomplished electric player and has worked with industry giants as diverse as Lenny Kravitz, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Marc Anthony - to name but a few.

Carlos had been looking for a new bass. Something that would inspire his electric playing and give voice to his Latin routes, whilst providing the flexibility he needed across a wide range of musical settings.

He asked Overwater to design an instrument with the ergonomics and balance of a traditional J bass, but with the sophistication, style and finesse of a modern instrument.

The original bass we built for Carlos shared elements of classic 'J' style basses in profile and layout, combined with a multi laminate construction, a traditional angled headstock and rear-mounted active EQ.

Since then we have further refined and perfected this design concept. Fusing elements of our 'Perception' and 'J' Series, the new 'Hybrid J' combines the multi-laminate construction, superior neck joint, and angled headstock of the Perception with the body profile and the Overwater 'noiseless' single coil pick-ups of our Contemporary J basses. It now stands a fully-formed and mature model in its own right.

Find out more: Overwater