New from Patina: Meet the PPB-3 and PPJB-3 Basses
Patina now makes basses. Ever since the guitars launched, one question has kept coming up: when are you doing a bass? The answer is now.
Everything we’ve said about Patina guitars applies to the new basses too. Same nitro, same stainless frets, same roasted maple necks. The difference is what happens below 100Hz.
Bass players have arguably had the rougher deal at this end of the market. Affordable basses tend to be heavy, finished in thick poly and fitted with pickups that sound fine on their own and disappear the moment the drummer comes in. We wanted to fix that.
The range launches with two models: the PPB-3 and the PPJB-3. Both are 34″ scale, both use the classic offset double-cutaway P-style body, and both are built on exactly the same premium foundation. The only real question is how many pickups you want.
What every Patina bass gets
- Genuine nitrocellulose finish. Hand-finished over the body, not sprayed on thick. It’s thin enough to let the wood move, and it checks, wears and ages the more you play. A bass gets a lot of forearm contact, so expect it to start telling your story quickly.
- Lightweight Paulownia body. This one matters more on a bass than a guitar. A four-string hangs off your shoulder for an entire set, and heavy bodies are the reason a lot of players finish a gig with a sore back. Paulownia keeps the weight down without making the instrument sound thin.
- Quarter-sawn roasted maple neck, satin finish. A long bass neck has more to resist than a guitar neck, with heavier strings pulling on it all the time. Quarter-sawn grain and roasting make it stiffer and more stable through changes in season. Pair that with a double-action truss rod and a Modern C profile, and you get a neck that stays put and feels broken-in from the first session.
- 20 jumbo stainless steel frets with rounded edges. Round-wound bass strings are hard on nickel frets. Stainless doesn’t groove or flatten the same way, so the action you set up on day one stays smooth for years.
- Bone nut, 42 mm wide. That’s a touch slimmer than a traditional P-style nut, which makes the neck easier to get your hand around, especially low down.
- 13.75″ fretboard radius. A flat, modern radius on a rosewood board. It’s great for a low action and comfortable for fingerstyle and slap alike.
- Custom hand-wound Alnico V pickups with Alpha pots. Wound for warmth and punch that holds its shape at volume.
- Vintage-style open-gear tuners for the classic look, with the stability to hold heavy bass strings in tune.
- Luminous side dots so you can still find your place when the stage lights go down.
- Fixed bridge and 45–105 strings as standard.
RRP across the range: €839.
PPB-3: one pickup, no arguments
Available in Fiesta Red (FRD) and Charcoal (CRC)
The PPB-3 is the bass in its simplest, most proven form. It has one split-coil pickup, one volume and one tone control. That’s the configuration behind more records than anyone could count, and there’s a reason it has never gone out of fashion. It’s warm and punchy with a midrange that sits right where a bass should, underneath the guitars but never buried by them.
Our custom-wound Alnico V split-coil keeps cleans defined and drive tight, so it works as well for a pub rock set as it does under a fingerstyle soul groove. Plug in, set the tone knob, play. If you’ve ever been told to “just sound like a bass,” this is the one that does it without being asked twice.
PPJB-3: the classic, with extra cut
Available in Olympic White (OW) and Lake Placid Blue (LPB)
The PPJB-3 keeps the PPB-3’s split-coil pickup in the traditional P position and adds a single-coil at the bridge. Two volume controls and a master tone let you use each pickup on its own or blend them.
On the neck pickup alone, it’s every bit the PPB-3. Bring in the bridge pickup and you add clarity and growl in the upper mids, perfect for picked lines, busier parts or slap that needs to cut through. Blend both and you get a fuller, more modern voice that still keeps the P-style weight underneath. It’s the one to choose if you play in more than one band, or just like having somewhere else to go when a song needs it.
Which Patina bass is right for you?
- You want the classic sound and nothing else to think about? PPB-3
- You play a lot of different styles, or want more bite for slap and picked lines? PPJB-3
- You can’t decide? Start with how you play. If you set the controls once and leave them, go PPB-3. If you’re always reaching for the knobs, go PPJB-3.
| Model | Finishes | Pickups | Controls | Scale | Frets | Radius | Nut | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPB-3 | Fiesta Red, Charcoal | P (split-coil), Alnico V | 1 Vol, 1 Tone | 34″ | 20 stainless | 13.75″ | 42 mm bone | €839 |
| PPJB-3 | Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue | P + J, Alnico V | 2 Vol, 1 Tone | 34″ | 20 stainless | 13.75″ | 42 mm bone | €839 |
Whichever one you choose, you’re getting the same thing that makes every Patina what it is: genuine vintage specs, premium details where you actually feel them, and a finish that only gets better the more you play it.
Everything a bass needs. Nothing it doesn’t. Vintage soul. Modern value.
The PPB-3 and PPJB-3 are available now from Patina dealers. Pick one up and hear it for yourself.