Marcus Miller - F10 5 Cordes LH Natural Satin

The 5-string Sire Marcus Miller F10 LH is for those who want a serious left-handed bass without compromising on materials. The swamp ash body with solid curly poplar top is no accidental combination: the ash cuts through the attacks, the curly poplar densifies the lower midrange. Together, they give the signal a backbone that generic woods don't have.

The Neck Thru 5-piece hard maple/mahogany construction is one of those choices that you have to hear before you can read on the label. The vibration runs from the headstock to the Heavymass Custom bridge without mechanical interruption - and the sustain holds, note after note, even on a B string at 35 inches. This 889 mm long scale maintains a low string tension that leaves the low end clean and defined, far from the characteristic flutter of 34" 5-string basses.

The Edgeless™ ebony fingerboard with rolled fret edges changes the physical experience of the instrument: no more wirey feel at the sides, the thumb glides along without catching. With a 304.8 mm (12") radius and 24 stainless steel (2.4 mm) midrange frets, the left hand moves freely from low to high register across all 24 frets. The 45 mm saddle and premium black-finish die-cast tuning machines manage the tuning with a stability that's directly perceptible live.

The electronics are the Marcus Heritage-3 preamp with active midrange section and variable frequency selector - a sound sculpting tool, not just an equaliser. Pure-H Revolution humbuckers do their job without background noise, even under bright stage lighting. The mother-of-pearl/abalone block markers, black aluminium knobs and lack of pickguard close the loop on an instrument without visual overload. Supplied with D'Addario ECB81-5SL strings and Sire hard case.