LIEBER GUITARS SPELLCASTER
Supernatural – or just hocus-pocus? Kevin Johnson investigates Stanley Clarke’s newest four-string
Stanley Clarke’s new bass: heroic or hopeless? Only Kevin Johnson knows...
For decades, Stanley Clarke has been a pioneer of the bass, in more ways than one. His virtuosity changed the way we approach the instrument, but he’s also constantly working on improving the instrument itself. Although he’s closely associated with Alembic, Clarke has spent the last 42 years collaborating with instrument designer Tom Lieber. The duo first teamed up in 1980 to make the Spellbinder Bass, and continued in the 2000s with the SB II, the Mando Piccolo Bass, and other unique designs. Several years ago, they worked together to create a four-string bass inspired by Leo Fender’s Stratocaster guitar. They took it to Fender Corp to realise their creation, but after some back-and-forth on the design, the partnership did not pan out. Instead, they took it upon themselves to see the bass through. That’s the origin story of the Lieber Guitars Spellcaster Bass. We’ve been bewitched by it since Clarke teased it in 2018, so let’s get on with the sorcery!
Build Quality
The Spellcaster ships in a thickly-padded Roadrunner gigbag. Snatching it from the case for the first time, it feels slightly heftier than it appears. Lieber bills the Spellcaster as 8.5 pounds, though the bass we received was just over nine. It’s crafted with the classic wood combination of an alder body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard. Despite its classic shape and vintage sunburst finish, the axe has some bells and whistles rarely put into a bassist’s hands. The tremolo bar is