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What Chris May sells does not exist...and people pay thousands for it.

As head of Overwater Basses, he is one of the finest creators of custom bass guitars in the world. When you pay the deposit, the guitar is simply a concept, an idea in your head that Chris must translate into an instrument that will not only fulfil your imagination, but maintain and enhance his company’s considerable reputation.

Overwater is a hallowed name. The man on the street may not have heard of it, but that is because a high percentage of clients are professionals. Many feature in London’s West End theatres and on live TV shows such asStrictly Come Dancing and X-Factor where sound engineers have been known to complain if a musician shows up without an Overwater.

“These are first call instruments for any working bass player”, says Nick Wells, editor of iBass Magazine. “The endorsee list for their custom instruments reads like a ‘Who's Who’ of UK session players.”

Drew Dempster, of UK retailer Great British Bass Lounge, confirms the reverence held for Overwater by professionals and non-professionals alike: “Chris May's reputation as 'Mr Bass UK' precedes him. Whilst an Overwater bass is not cheap, they still represent excellent value for money in comparison and, in my opinion, their products are world-class.”

Deep Seduction

The bass guitar is a mysterious and seductive object. On stage it will usually give way in importance to the lead guitar, and yet its smooth curves defy this secondary status, bringing to mind a high-end sports car crying out to be touched. 

Indeed, far from being the forgotten man or woman, bass players like Jaco Pastorius and Bootsy Collins (who played on James Brown’s Get Up) have become famous in their own right. Some have literally stepped into the limelight to lead the band - Mark King (Level 42), Sting, and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) being popular examples.

Although the bass might look like an electric guitar, technically, conceptually and even spiritually, it is far removed. This is because it is not derived from the guitar but from the double bass, itself descended from the violin family. It has a different number of strings (usually four, compared to six on a guitar), a different scale-length, requires different techniques, and plays a very different musical role.

There is something very satisfying about a bass tone - warm, fuzzy, powerful - it feels elemental. You might not always notice it when it is there, but you can immediately hear that it is gone. “Particularly in the rhythm section,” says Chris, “it’s what holds it together. It’s the glue, but it’s also the substructure.” While you might find a band without a drummer or guitarist, it is very rare to find one without a bassist.

The instrument is capable of great power but also emotional delicacy, as demonstrated by modern day players like Scott Devine, who have taken full advantage of the greater frequency range afforded by adding extra strings.

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After decades of seeing this object held by idols like Paul McCartney, playing songs that connect intravenously to our emotions, the bass guitar has come to symbolise more than just the sound it makes. It is decoration, artistry, emotion, sex appeal, and status all rolled into one.

At the centre of it all is the special relationship the musician has with his instrument. “I had my bass guitar stolen last year that I’d had for over 20 years”, says Dean Albutt, one of the Overwater team. “You don’t realise until it’s gone how much you miss it."

How does the instrument generate such feeling? How are they made? What makes one bass guitar better than another? In this unique multimedia event, we give you privileged access to one of the finest luthiers in the world to uncover the bass guitar.

We reveal the secrets of custom-making basses and show you the instrument through the eyes of someone with 30 years of experience working with the biggest names in music.