Tap into Tone with Charles Berthoud’s Signature Bass
Hailing from the London suburbs of England, Charles Berthoud’s meteoric rise has taken him from being a daydreaming physics student to becoming an international touring artist whose innovative 2-handed tapping and diverse compositional threads have earned him genre-transcending praise, alongside a striking signature bass from Schecter: the CB-4. From its EMG pickups and active preamp system to its striking silhouette and ergonomic treble-side cutaway, the CB-4 has been precisely crafted to meet the exacting needs of Berthoud’s multifaceted playing. Pair this with premium tonewoods comprising ash, walnut, padauk, and rosewood alongside a carbon fiber-reinforced neck-through design, and you’ve got a bona fide low-end machine that Sweetwater’s bassists of endless playing styles adore.
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A quartet of premier tonewoods and premium voicing
When it comes to tone, meeting the exacting needs of Charles Berthoud’s playing is no small task. Not only does the vast array of genres and styles that emerge through his work require careful consideration of tonewoods, but his groundbreaking work in two-handed tapping introduces further variables in playing, performance, and sound that Schecter’s CB-4 meets with exacting precision. Its neck-through design features ash wings, producing bright timbres, robust mids, and sonorous yet crisp lows. Its walnut neck includes two padauk stringers for additional sonic depth, bridging the natural warmth and shimmer of walnut with the crystalline articulation of the rosewood fingerboard.
Accommodates endless playstyles
When tapping, funk, prog-rock, Celtic, bluegrass, and folk styles occupy your repertoire, you need a neck that can keep up with high-speed playing and endless styles. The CB-4 offers this in spades, from its 24 jumbo frets and 34-inch scale to the 16-inch fingerboard radius and expertly sculpted cutaway to provide unfettered access to the total tonal array of this bass. Its satin-finished neck boasts a Thin “C”-shaped profile, which — when matched with its fingerboard radius — makes for unencumbered, lightning-fast playing that won’t compromise on comfort. Moreover, the neck-through design’s naturally increased dimensional stability over bolt-on and set-neck construction is supplemented by a pair of carbon fiber reinforcement rods, massively aiding in the prevention of warping or twisting and the preservation of tone.
Versatile tone-crafting with powerful character
Guitarists and bassists love to debate whether or not tone is in the fingers, and Berthoud’s got a leg up on most of us in that respect, but where else is tone found? For Berthoud, it includes the pickups, and the onboard EMGs are no accident. Two EMG 35HZ pickups put one in each of the neck and bridge positions, offering immense, reactive mids with a smooth attack that’s brimming with warmth. The accompanying active EMG 3-band B64 EQ preamp system offers even further tone-crafting potential, with its tight filter bandwidth for each band resulting in evocative, yet detailed sound shaping. Its midrange is centered at 600Hz, while the bass and treble controls feature minimal overlap with the mids, granting you far more detail with mid-shaping for funkier voicings. Plus, the CB-4 eschews a selector in favor of a Blend control, allowing you to find your place along an unbroken continuum of tone.
Schecter Charles Berthoud CV-4 Signature Bass Guitar Features:
- Signature model for multi-genre, two-handed tapping aficionado Charles Berthoud
- Ash body imbues your tones with bright timbres, crisp mids, and sonorous lows for solid sonic foundations
- Walnut neck features two padauk stringers for additional tonal nuance, resulting in spectrum-spanning warmth
- Rosewood fingerboard offers a crystalline veneer with uncompromising voicing through each register
- Neck-through construction and dual carbon fiber reinforcement rods mean superlative stability and intonation, as well as increased resistance to twisting or warping
- Thin “C”-shaped satin-finished neck supplies heaps of speed and comfort to accommodate players of countless playstyles
- 34-inch scale, 16-inch fingerboard radius, and elegant treble-side cutaway ensure versatile compatibility and unfettered access to the full 24-fret range
- 38mm Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut, Grover tuning machines, and Schecter Diamond Custom bridge keep tones buzz-free and in tune
- EMG B64 active preamp and 3-band EQ system provide detailed tone-shaping options with powerful voicing
- Dual EMG 35Hz passive pickups mean warm sonics with a smooth attack and articulate mids to support powerful voicings
