LowDown Bass Guitars

Home
United States
Chicago, IL
LowDown Bass Guitars

LowDown Basses are made in Chicago by Bassist/Luthier Tim Seisser. These instruments represent Tim's journey to create the perfect bass guitar.

10/21/2026

Here’s a fun one! Lowdown Hybrid Mini #026 -

Body - 2 pc Semi hollow Sapele body, multi wood piece/herringbone top, Quilted Sapele back, Red Oak accent layer under top -

Neck - 1 pc Wenge neck, Rocklite fretless fingerboard, different wood veneers in each slot/line, single pearl 12th fret dot, bone nut -

- Hipshot Products, Inc. A bridge with Ghost piezo equipped saddles and hardware, Passive, thgk***s wood k***s, multi piece top matching wood cavity cover, D'Addario and Company Nylon Tapewound strings. -

This was a really great challenge and started as an attempt to try to use up some of my extra 1/4” top cut offs I’ve collected over the years. Bonus points if you can name every species of wood here. I was always a fan of the Rob Allen 30” fretless Mouse basses and wanted to take a shot at making a piezo only shorty. Still need to figure out exactly what I’m doing with that 2nd control k**b, but this one is staying in the shop for now so no rush there. Plays really well and has a nice, upright-ish type tone. 🆕

10/13/2026

Lowdown Custom Series #049 🆕

- Body - 2 pc Figured Alder body, Figured Multi Color Myrtle top from Kimball Hardwoods , Black veneer accent under top, thgk***s custom top matching wood k***s -
- Neck - 1 pc White Wenge neck, Figured Ovangkol fretboard, top matching headstock cap -
- Nordstrand Audio pickups, Hipshot Products, Inc. hardware -

I had a blast with this build! When I saw this top online I knew it would match perfectly with fretboard I had in stock. The wood k***s really set the top off. This Nord pickup configuration (BigSplitMan w/coil tap, Big Split) is becoming my favorite configuration for new builds. This bass sounds huge, plays like butter, and is most definitely….. already sold. -

10/05/2026

Lowdown Custom Series #051 -
Body - 2 pc Swamp Ash body, Figured Northern Ash top from Kimball Hardwoods , Purpleheart accent under top, Purpleheart Cavity cover -
Neck - 1 pc White Wenge neck, Rosewood fretboard, top matching Northern Ash headstock cap, Bone nut, Pearl 12/24 dots -
Nordstrand Audio Big Split Pickups & 3B-5a Preamp -
Hipshot Products, Inc. Hardware -

This bad boy came out very nicely and is already being gigged by its new owner. Love the figuring in this crazy Ash top and how the Purpleheart pops. Tone for days on this beast. -

09/18/2026

Time for another repair shop dump!!!
This edition featuring the return of 2 very cool, recently completed Custom Series builds (and a whole sh*t load of Fenders). Did you know that if you buy a LowDown direct from the shop, your first setup is always FREE! It gives me a chance to make sure the basses are all happy and aging nicely. Scroll over for some more instruments fresh out of their repair shop spa-day.🤘🏼

- LowDown Custom Series 5 and 6 strings -
- Stromberg Archtop guitar -
- G&L S500 guitar -
- Fender Acoustic Bass -
- Lotus Strat -
- Fender MIM Strat -
- Yamaha Acoustic -
- Fender USA Strat -
- Fender USA Jazz bass -
- Fender MIM Jazz bass -
- Fender Stu Hamm Urge bass (converted to piccolo) -
- Fender MIM 5 string Jazz Deluxe -
- Fender MIM Jazz bass -

09/16/2026

Up next in the completed instruments category is a “Jaco Jazz” parts bass I put together for a repeat customer. He saw my handmade LowDown Bass Of Doom build and asked if I would make him one as well. I decided I wasn’t gonna make one from scratch, but thanks to my good friends at Best Guitar Parts, I was able to complete this super cool build with a quick turn around using factory/CNC made body and neck. Make no mistakes though… this is a 100 percent USA made and hand finished custom instrument. Specs below - this thing really nails the Jaco vibes!!!

Alder body - Custom vintage burst finish by Pat Wilkins -
1/4 sawn Maple neck, Ebony fretless fingerboard with white lines and clay dots - hand finished by me! -
As always, Nordstrand Audio pickups (NJ4) and Hipshot Products, Inc. hardware -

09/11/2026

Lots of finished updates coming here in the weeks to come!!!
As I’m starting to scale back from building, I’ve been knocking out some personal projects that have been backlogged at the shop. Kicking things off is a new neck I made for this very special Custom 4. ————-

I made this bass years ago for my lovely wife Mallory Seisser - The top is from a log of Red Cedar that we found in her Grandmas attic in St Joe, MO. The original neck was Mahogany/Bloodwood and unfortunately developed a really bad twist over time. I decided to make a new neck for this bass to give it new life. I loved the way this Leopardwood fretboard tied in with the Red color themes in the bass. And you can never go wrong with Wenge. 💪🏼

07/07/2026

These two Passive 4 strings are still looking for a new home to lay down some low end. Classic tone meets modern ergonomics with beautiful natural wood accents. I have a couple more stock instruments slated but availability is getting slim. Sn**ch one of these basses at a great price now. 🆕
- Hybird 4F 34” Ziricote/Satinwood $2,250 -
- Custom/Hybird 4 32” Poplar/Birdseye Maple $1,500 -

Prices do not include shipping. Message for more details or visit our Reverb store 🤘🏼

06/30/2026

Time for another repair shop dump. Sometimes you work on rare vintage jazz basses, sometimes you work on boutique bangers, and sometimes you work on hello kitty guitars. I don’t judge… I just set it up so it plays like butter, regardless of the finish. Message for more info about getting your guitars or basses setup for this hot summer weather. ☀️☀️☀️
- Fender Hello Kitty Strat -
- Sadowsky Metroline 5 string -
- Warwick Corvette 6 -
- Fender USA Telecaster -
- G&L Tribute SB2 4 string -
- Fender MIM Jazz bass -
- Fender Telecaster Custom -
- Greco Thunderbird Bass -
- Custom Double Darkstar 4 string -
- BC Rich NJ Series Eagle Bass -
- Eastman Acoustic -
- Mini Frankenbass -
- Peavy G Bass 4 string -

05/13/2026

Making some serious progress on the next batch of builds. Here are the fingerboards sporting the first coats of TruOil, before they get fretted and sent to the build final phase. 🆕

- From L-R -
- Maple/Roasted Flame Maple 7 string guitar neck -
- Maple/Leopardwood Hybrid 4 string neck -
- Wenge/Guatemalan Rosewood 5 string neck -
- White Wenge/Rosewood 5 string neck -
- White Wenge/Figured Ovangkol 5 string neck -

04/29/2026

Time for another repair shop dump starting with this very special Suhr. Not only is it special in its unique build specs, but also personally special to me. This guitar was previously owned by Chicago session great Tom Logan. Unfortunately, Tom recently passed and many of his guitars ended up for sale on the market. Tom had A TON of guitars… he used to joke that I would have to name a wing of my shop for him for all@the repair work I did for him. This guitar was one of Tom’s favorites though, and I did many a setup on it thru the years. I never expected to see this guitar again… but another customer of mine, Dave, brought this thing out of a gig bag and requested a setup. Dave bought this from Tom’s estate knowing it was one of his favorites. So cool to have this full circle moment and know that beautiful music will still be made on this instrument. 🥲
Swipe over for many other cool axes. ➡️

- Suhr Custom Strat -
- Yamaha BB1200 -
- Anaconda Custom 5 string Jazz -
- Samick Semi Hollow -
- PRS guitar -
- Taylor Acoustic -
- Ibanez RG -
- Fender Mustang Bass -
- Lakland USA 55-02 -

Address

Chicago, IL

Website

http://www.lowdownbass.net/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when LowDown Bass Guitars posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to LowDown Bass Guitars:

Want your business to be the top-listed hardware service in Chicago?