I have always paid close attention to and have been impressed by combinations of different and contradictory style elements. When I was developing the Phen Chabby design, I imagined a guy with a modern hairstyle, a close-cut beard, dressed in a white shirt with cufflinks and a tie with a tie pin, a dark jacket and . . . old, ripped jeans and sneakers. In spite of the fact that to many people this combination of styles is incompatible, I envisioned it as an outstanding idea for the creation of the exotic bass, Chabby.
The bass is completely wood-carved. This job was accomplished again by my friend and partner, Jeff Stratton.
I must mention two very important things:
– The body shape is the regular size for the Phen model;
– No chemicals or fire/burning techniques were used during the treatment of the body surface in order to avoid damage to the wood itself or a change of its properties.
Technical specification:
Body: Air dried Bulgarian Sycamore, handcarved, aged and special color hand-treatment
Neck: Air dried Bulgarian flamed Maple, 3 pieces plus two stripes Ebony, CONE core
- 16″ (406.4mm) fingerboard radius
- 34″ (863.6mm) scale
- 20mm (0.787″) thickness at the 1-st fret
- 22mm (0.866″) thickness at the 12-th fret
- 40mm (1.574″) width at the nut
- 24 medium Jumbo frets
- “Lucky charm” inlay style
- Redesigned headstock for GOTOH tuners
Fingerboard: Balkan flamed Maple, inner natural binding
Construction: Bolt-on, 4 screws ferrules
Tuners: GOTOH
Bridge: Individual, 20mm (0.787″) spacing
Pickups: Haussel JB, open poles, SbS (noiseless)
Nut: Indian water bull horn
Finish: Oil
Strap pins: Standard
Hardware: Chrome
Electronics, controls:
- Mini toggle – Active/Passive mode.
- Mini toggle – Switches both pick-ups in series/parallel.
- Master VOLUME neck pickup.
- Master VOLUME bridge pickup.
- EQ – TREBLE
- EQ – BASS
Weight: 3,700kg (8.1lbs)
NOLL – TCM2 onboard preamp, 9V
“Thumb nest” feature
This is a very special feature, which I invented in 2011. To indicate KD’s trademark, I usually make a small wood carving in a certain place on the back side of the headstock, somewhere between the tuners. This time I decided to do something completely different. I turned the decorative element into a very useful and helpful feature, which I called a Thumb nest.
I meet musicians every day and all of them have their own biological individualities. Like the length of the fingers or the way they hold the neck while playing. Due to these specifics, for some musicians playing can be met with serious difficulty. So I decided to do something in order to find a solution to the problem. That’s when I came up with the Thumb nest idea.
It took me some time experimenting with it, but the outcome was more than successful! It provides incredibly easy access to the first frets, making the hand flow on the neck and unleashes a great freedom while playing. And the most important thing – it makes the musicians Happy!
Stainless steel electronic box cover plate.
Copper shielding protects the entire electronic box and pick ups.
Send me an e-mail via the Contact form to check the availability of the present exotic bass model or to get more information about placing an order!
Custom options and price are available upon request!
Click on the images to enlarge!
On our Facebook page you can see the available rare wood materials. Click KDbasses to check them out.
The exotic bass Phen Chabby comes with:
– Gigbag or HISCOX – KD hard case;
– Certificate Of Authenticity;
– Set of two KD cleaning towels:
– LIMITED LIFETIME warranty
