ANACONDA
Hydra
Is this a fearsome creature from ancient legend, or a tangerine dream? Mike Brooks finds out
ANACONDA BASSES
www.anacondabasses.co.uk
$3300
According to Greek mythology, the terrifying Hydra possessed three heads, so it’s fitting that this bass has three pickups.The custom model we have here goes two better, and actually has five, two of them being invisible. With this many tone options on offer, the Hydra is a truly formidable beast, based on Anaconda’s Ultra J model and full of left-field features—including that rarely-seen bit of kit, a whammy bar. What do you get for your money?
Build Quality
The tangerine gloss might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but with the single-ply cellulose tortoiseshell scratchplate, the colorful aesthetic— paired with the gold hardware and dark 24-fret rosewood fingerboard—grows on you. The lacquer finishing is immaculate, and with contouring front and back, respectable cutaways and swamp ash as a body timber, player comfort has been firmly addressed. The Kahler tremolo bridge adds significantly to the weight of the bass, which is almost 10 pounds, but on the bright side, this does mean that headstock bias isn’t an issue.