Lairat Stega Deluxe is well-made and can provide a variety of customized specifications when ordering. It is the most advanced modern bass construction with powerful power and great potential.

Lairat Stega Deluxe is well-made and can provide a variety of customized specifications when ordering. It is the most advanced modern bass construction with powerful power and great potential.

French luthier Paul Lairat launched the Stega series in 2004. This high-end electric bass guitar has a futuristic design and is available in four-string, five-string and six-string formats. When you check out, you can choose from a dizzying array of options. 

Our review model is the five-string model, and like the other models in this series, its body shape is definitely the first thing that attracts you. 

Here, you can dig out a lot of wood from what might be described as a double-cut outline. The upper and lower corners are formed by laminated walnut and ebony plywood, which extend from the outer edges of the mahogany and wenge veneer panels. 

Here we have made a qualitative leap compared with your P+J traditionalism. The neck is another luxurious log sandwich, with six maple woods, one of which is a wenge wood combined with two mahogany and two walnuts to form a strong, stable and attractive craft. 

For electronics, we have a pair of extra-large Delano Xtender soap bar pickups (Aguilar pickups cost 30 Euros, while 60 Euros provide you with a pair of Xtender quadcoils or Nordstrands), and these pickups are mounted on a very adjustable board by Glockenklang Preamplifier control.

Breaking the rules in the design allowed Paul to think differently when installing the controls, placing three dials on the upper round and tucking two toggle switches into the upper cavity.

Of the three knobs, the first two are stacked-master volume/midrange, treble/bass boost and cut respectively. The third is mixing, and the two toggle switches switch between active and passive modes and separate the pickup coils. Very neat.

As for the basics, Stega Deluxe is a traditional 34" scale with a 24-fret ebony fingerboard and a very neat Gotoh bridge. As with many appointments, you can choose between chrome or black hardware menus.

Although Stega Deluxe makes mistakes in the unorthodox aspect, it is friendly to the player when you attach it. There may be a little neck sag that will drop slightly when sitting and playing, but other than that, it feels like the bass it should have at the price-like an extension of your body.

Even if there is so much wood left on the tree, there is a very stable response, and there is no lack of sustain. In terms of feel, it plays a percentage of contemporary bass construction; it will reward a variety of styles and has a preamp to help find the right tone.

• Sandberg California TM Nighthawk Plus This is what Nighthawk dared to do. It is very playable, but with active electronics, high-quality sound wood and construction, the level of detail of these sounds is breathtaking. The newly designed active preamplifier is excellent and can boost your tone in all suitable places. 

• Mayones Federico Malaman Jabba Mala 5 is a serious bass with a large selection of high-quality tones and playability, which is very addictive. You may never want to stop playing it.

The location of the controls is good. It takes a little time to adapt, or not adapt at all, depending on the situation. But they do extend the powerful sound range of Stega Deluxe. 

On the neck pickup, Stega Deluxe is all low-end muscles. It will push the air around the room at a high volume, that's for sure. On the bridge, well, that's all of this, but having medium to high brightness can make the nose bleed. 

In both extreme cases, it is not subtle, but played unaccompanied. We can think of many environments, including live and recording studios. Having such a strong presence on either end of the bass spectrum is the savior of mixing. In addition, these tones have a wide range of control-you will find the right medium effortlessly.

At the touch of a switch, Stega Deluxe can provide excellent passive bass. If the EQ potentiometer is centered, the volume will not drop when switching from active to passive, and the tone is also very detailed, bold and clear. 

It will be fun to play this. With the options provided by Lairat, you have many opportunities to customize it according to your style requirements. Players who are accustomed to flicking their pickups may get some use from the optional finger ramp (70 euros), and there is even a headless option for an additional 210 euros.

MusicRadar's conclusion: Lairat Stega Deluxe is an extraordinary build. It can provide a variety of customized specifications when ordering. It is the most advanced modern bass structure with powerful functions and huge potential.

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