Röö guitars

JB-style 12-string bass.

This is an octave bass, featuring four fundamental strings (B, E, A, and D), each paired with two octave strings. The concept traces back to 1977, when Hamer built one for Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick. My inspiration comes from Doug Pinnick of King’s X and my brother, Wojtek Karel of Frühstück and his other projects.

The bass features a neck-through-body construction, built from seven layers – a central strip of flamed maple, flanked by two strips of wenge, with four African mahogany layers in between. Each layer is separated by black veneer.

To handle the immense string tension, the neck is reinforced with two truss rods and a single carbon-fibre rod between them. Spoke wheel adjustments ensure easy access – and I’ve never been a fan of truss rod covers on the headstock.

The bass features an ebony fretboard with 22 stainless steel frets. The body wings are crafted from African mahogany, topped and backed with wenge, separated by black veneers. The back showcases the neck-through laminate construction, while the top remains fully covered.

The bass features a modified 8-string bridge, designed for independent intonation of both fundamental and octave strings. It follows a ‘tune-o-matic’ style and is recessed into the top to achieve the familiar JB string height.

The tuners are a mix of lightweight bass tuners for fundamental strings and guitar tuners for octaves. The layout is designed to maintain a relatively straight string pull after the nut, which is crafted from brass for durability, sustain and – let’s be honest – looks!

The pickups are EMG 40TW, chosen for their HB/SC switching capability and universal soapbar design. They’re active, paired with passive volume and tone controls for each pickup. The placement follows the traditional configuration found in ’70s JB models.

The bass turned out fantastic – though undeniably hefty. It delivers the massive sound expected from a 12-string, with the EMG pickups offering a wide tonal spectrum and plenty of versatility.

A quick sound test can be found here: