Toontrack have released Hollowbody, available for €89.00.
This is an EBX just as much for acoustic pop and singer-songwriter as it’s one for indie rock, new wave or goth. If you’re on the look for an instrument that has thud, thump and earthy vibes at the same time as it’s articulate, focused and piercingly direct enough to stand its own in a dense rock mix, this may be your new go-to.
Based on a short-scale and semi-hollow electric bass from 1967, this EBX features a rare and unique-sounding instrument. With its semi-hollow body construction but solid tone, this is a bass that has that best-of-both-worlds quality to it. It’s got a tonal range that encompasses all the electric twang, grit and dirt at the same time as it’s got all the warm, swampy, bluesy and almost acoustic-sounding low end. To add, it was recorded with half-round strings, which even further enhances all of these qualities.
In addition to the instrument itself, this EBX also includes a broad selection of classic-to-modern-sounding presets as well as a basic collection of basslines tailored for the different styles in which this instrument truly shines.
If you’re looking for big, warm and low-end-heavy tones, this guitar-sized, 20-fret-short-scale and semi-hollow wonder of a bass couldn’t be a more rock solid choice.
First brought to market in 1958, the EB-2 was Gibson’s* second-ever electric bass guitar. It was designed as a counterpart to the company’s popular ES-335 guitar model and featured an almost dead-on 335-style semi-hollow body as well as a short 30.5″ scale neck and one humbucker pickup. In the years following the first iteration of the instrument, it was refined to feature many new details, like a baritone switch, a string mute, a more up-to-date take of the previous banjo-like tuners and more.
Roughly 8,000 EB-2 basses rolled off the assembly lines before production ceased in 1972. Out of these, one was sampled for this very EBX.
This EBX was sampled using two methods: the traditional finger playing style and with a pick. This gives you two contrasting takes of the same instrument and a tonal palette that ranges from the mellow, round and warm to the slightly more bright and expressive.
For strings, half-rounds were chosen. In contrast to the predominant roundwound or also common flatwound strings, half-rounds are great at reducing rattle and noise while still retaining most of the brightness of a more regular string. This choice of these strings helps emphasize the low, thud-like and subdued sustain of this bass even more while at the same time allowing it all the ring it needs to truly sing.
Features include:
- A rare electric semi-hollow-bodied bass from 1967
- Ideal for anything from acoustic pop and singer-songwriter to indie rock, new wave and goth
- Sampled using finger and pick playing styles
- Offering a range from D1 to E4
- Includes a collection of presets covering a wealth of mix-ready tones for warm, round and earthy bass sounds
- Comes with a custom MIDI library tailored for the instrument
Hollowbody requires EZbass 1.2.0 or later (not included).
For more information on Hollowbody, click here:
NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.
