Atelier Z babyZ-5J - Sherwood Green

I’ve owned this bass for almost a year and it has served me well on numerous sessions and gigs across the Southeast while I was battling arm issues.

I switched out the original Atelier pickups for 2 Sadowsky split coil pickups (electric tape for recording) for maximum tonal options. They sound great, and I will include the original pups as well.

I will say that I suspect the preamp in these basses to be on the noisier side after having tried two different kinds of pickups and having shielded it with no appreciable benefit. I imagine this is why the next two I purchased already had the preamps yanked out. But utilizing the low-end control and subtly rolling in the high end was a very usable sound for me, and this bass is an inimitable platform for realizing your dream short 5er regardless.

There are some cosmetic flaws now that this instrument has been worked. Such is life. The cooler-toned photos are from the guy I bought it from, while the warmer are from me. Here is the original description from the guy I bought it from:

“Here’s a cool bass that you just can’t find anymore! This is a 30” short scale 5-string bass, with KTS titanium support rods in the neck, 19 vintage frets, 2 AtelierZ jazz pickups, and a 2-band onboard preamp (active/passive push/pull on the 2nd volume knob). The bridge is a factory custom Hipshot B-style and the bass can be strung as a top-loader or thru-body - which allows you to use longer strings. The bass uses AtelierZ’s proprietary “Z-tuning” system which basically means that the neck is perfectly flat and you can get the action down to within just a couple mm of the frets.

The whole line was a limited run: They made these for a short time in a natural finish and then did a very small run of ones in Sherwood Green (the single BEST color for a bass) and white, both with a matching headstock. I think there was like 150 made? They continue to make the 4 string version, which you can see on their website, but the 5ers are no longer being made.

This bass would be of interest to collectors for sure, but also to any player who’s been wanting a 5-string jazz but with a thicker profile than Fender bass necks, and also wants a shorter bass -- for easier and faster playing, and for the rounder tone you get at the middle frets. It comes with the Certificate of Authenticity, original AtelierZ padded soft case, and extra strings for your pleasure. It is currently strung with some NOS Labella M248 steel strings which sound really great.

String spacing is approx. 17.5mm at the bridge. Nut width is 1 inch 5/8ths. Weight is 8.6 lbs. approx. Buyer pays shipping and insurance. U.S.A. sales only.”