#atlansia

N. Hayashi has been designing basses in the foothills of Nagano for nearly 50 years. Once lead designer at Aria, where he was responsible for the iconic SB series, he’s been running his own boutique instrument brand, Atlansia, since the 1980s; familiar to readers of Bass Player magazine from his small ads in the back.

Atlansia instruments push the boundaries of art and engineering. They draw on his experience as a sculptor, his insights into the ergonomic needs of players, and his relentless experimentation with new construction methods.

Of the many models he’s produced over the years, the Stealth bass (pictured) is probably the most iconic. It looks like it’s simultaneously ancient and futuristic, reminiscent of a Concorde fused with a shamisen. Carefully carved recesses next to the pickups give players thumb rests to pluck from; a deeply scooped area gives access to upper frets; the controls are recessed to prevent accidental bumps.

The pickup designs here are relatively tame, but Hayashi is constantly experimenting with mini-pickup arrays on his other models, with configurations of dual, triple and hex polepieces in little cylinders, one per string.

The closeups show the bold headstock design, which places the tuner shafts in single file - each attached through an aluminum bushing that allows the tuner to be recessed slightly, creating a natural string break angle without needing to resort to string trees or a tilt-back headstock, which can be structurally more fragile.