Blade basses?

[Brian18242]

Anybody played one of these? Look very nice! £399 seems like a good price!

 

 

[Brian18242]

Wonder if a standard fender 51 pickguard would fit? 

[warwickhunt]

'Blade' used to be a top quality Japanese manufacturer but I'd be surprised if this is the exact same outfit even though the name and logo look the same.  

[Brian18242]

The price point is really good but so little online about them. I pulled the trigger and ordered one 😜

[BassApprentice]

22 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

'Blade' used to be a top quality Japanese manufacturer but I'd be surprised if this is the exact same outfit even though the name and logo look the same.  

Seems it is the same company https://www.bladeguitars.com/blade-history/blade-history

[Brian18242]

These basses have gone way under the radar. I will share my thoughts when it arrives 

[paul_5]

The best 5 string Jazz I ever played was a Blade. Superb!

[BassAgent]

I'm very curious too. I have one from 2001 which I absolutely love. I'm a big fan of Blades. I hope this one is decent too! 

[Brian18242]

They don't really offer a wide range of basses. However, I remember the brand featuring a lot in bass player magazine in the mid 90s. 

[jezzaboy]

I nearly bought a s/hand one in a shop years back but it weighed as much as a small planet. I know the old ones were well thought of.

[BlueMoon]

Not sure who makes these new ones, but I had a Blade Tetra that was a great bass. I think they were made for Levinson in Japan by Tune Maniac.

[Brian18242]

Not may Tele type basses on the market with a p pickup for that price so worth a shot! 

[Grahambythesea]

6 hours ago, Brian18242 said:

Wonder if a standard fender 51 pickguard would fit? 

Not with that lower cut away being right down to the end of the fretboard.

[Brian18242]

35 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Not with that lower cut away being right down to the end of the fretboard.

Yep, Think I will need to use a standard template and make a custom Pickguard. It's crying out for a Tele pickguard 😄

[itu]

I am on the same side with @jezzaboy: all blades that I have tried (three 4 string and a 5 string) have been on a weighty side. Maybe they are good for heavy music. All had that Japanese quality feel. 

[BassAgent]

10 hours ago, jezzaboy said:

I nearly bought a s/hand one in a shop years back but it weighed as much as a small planet. I know the old ones were well thought of.

The "new" ones are very good as well. The older ones with the Fender headstock are even better but mine has a neck to die for. Great bass.

 

[HeadlessBassist]

I had one of the new Levinson Blade guitars (a Tele) come through earlier this year. It was very good quality. I'd like to try one of the basses, especially the 2-band active "Austin Standard". The UK Distributor is Scan.co.uk. I just noticed that the swanky B3-Custom flame maple topped Active Jazz is £1400! But to get Levinson Blade quality for £399 is certainly a good deal. I'll be interested to hear what you think of them, Brian.

[LeftyJ]

On 16/12/2025 at 16:56, warwickhunt said:

'Blade' used to be a top quality Japanese Swiss manufacturer but I'd be surprised if this is the exact same outfit even though the name and logo look the same.  

 

FTFY. It is very much still the same company. To be fair though, Gary Levinson operated from Switzerland but no guitars or basses were actually built there. The manufacturing was done in Japan at first, and later in Korea. The one @Brian18242 posted is the Blade Austin Classic, and is made in China. 

Edited December 18, 2025 by LeftyJ

[BassAgent]

On 17/12/2025 at 08:45, BassAgent said:

The "new" ones are very good as well. The older ones with the Fender headstock are even better but mine has a neck to die for. Great bass.

 

And because I'm a showoff:

 

[paul_5]

30 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

And because I'm a showoff:

 

Phooaarr!! 🥰

[Brian18242]

Really impressed with scan.co.uk as they send you a video of your bass being set up before dispatch. That's a first!! 

[Brian18242]

Bass arrived safely.

 

Pros

 

Great build quality 

Perfect set up

Looks great

Plays great

 

Cons

 

On the slightly heavier side but not too bad. 

 

At £399 this was a bargain. However, not sure I would pay the £599 RRP. 

 

 

[Dood]

Levinson Blade have appeared on my radar (again)! You’ll may already know that I love my Fender Power Jazz Bass Special basses. I love the Jazz neck, 22 frets, deep cutaways and superb PJ tone when given the EMG treatment. I’ve always fancied a Jazz equivalent of my PJ’s but never really fancied the idea of routing out one of my beautiful PJBS’s. 

 

So, I’m certainly intrigued by the Blade B3 / B4 (old version mainly) as it seems it could almost be a close cousin of Fender Japan’s exceptional handy work! 

 

 

[BassAgent]

Why the older version specifically?

[Dood]

7 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

Why the older version specifically?

 

Because I’m a sucker for a 70’s shape F headstock 😬. That said, the B-3 Custom on the blade website with the maple fretboard looks delicious.