Dunable Guitars unveils the Plague Bass, a signature model for Castle Rat’s Charley Ruddell

Dunable Guitars has unveiled the Plague Bass, a four-string signature model built for Charley Ruddell, bassist of Castle Rat. The limited-edition instrument is based on the company’s Thunderclapper model, with a build tailored to Ruddell’s playing.

The bass has a 35-inch scale, a mahogany neck, a black limba body and an ebony fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block inlays. Its pickup layout is unusual: a D-Split paired with a Baphomet humbucker, which Dunable says gives two “very different but useful tones” for many situations.

Only two Thunderclapper Plague Basses were made. The model is available now for $3,499, according to No Treble.

Dunable calls Ruddell a true bass hero and points to the bass solo he plays midway through Castle Rat’s shows. The maker says it recalls players such as Cliff Burton, Geezer Butler and even Bootsy, while showing a musical personality of its own, something it considers rare for a bassist in a classic heavy metal band.