Recommended series: Monarch series, Emperor series
Founded in 1983 by veteran luthier Vinny Lining and professional bassist Joey Lauricella, Lining has grown from a workshop in Brooklyn, New York, to one of the world's top handmade instrument brands, known as the "King of Bass" in the industry. Each Lining instrument is inlaid with a hand-engraved butterfly logo on the headstock, giving it the elegant nickname "butterfly".
The founder, Vinny Lining, has a hobby of collecting wood, and has built a large warehouse with a constant temperature to store the precious wood that has been collected from all over the world, including rare materials such as Box Elder, korina, 5A flame maple, walnut, etc. In terms of the materials used to make electric basses, Lining has the world's most abundant wood resources, which is one of the places that other brands cannot match.
Lining's team has more than 30 years of experience in making luthiers, and the entire line is handmade, broadly divided into Custom and Standard. The difference between the two is that the custom model is priced according to the specifications of the exotic wood combination, neck profile, color finish, pickups, and circuit system chosen by the musician, and the production cycle is relatively long and the workmanship is extremely delicate. Compared with the expensive custom model, the standard model, which was opened since 2011, does not provide customized services, but can be purchased directly on the official website, and has professional-level quality and high cost performance.
Taking the Victor Wooten Yin Yang model as an example, the custom version of the Deluxe II is limited to 6 units per year, using walnut for the body, yellow heart wood and ebony for the yin and yang splicing veneer, maple wood for the fretboard, and a set of EMG P/J pickups and Pope Custom 3-band preamps, priced at $12,700. The standard model retains the same pickup and circuit system specifications, but the yin and yang veneer abandons the application of wood splicing technology, and the yin side is finished with paint on the yang side made of flame maple. Due to the decrease in production costs, the price is 5,050 US dollars.
At present, Lining has four series: Monarch, Emperor, Imperial, and Viceroy, among which, the Monarch and Emperor series, which were born in the 80s of the 20th century, have been widely popular since then. The Monarch is the first of all of Lining's electric basses, and unlike the Cen wood and alder bodies commonly found in mainstream brands of Fender, the Monarch is made of mahogany with a small and unique body, which can give musicians a comfortable playing feel.
The Emperor adopts an ergonomic double-notch design, which is significantly larger than the body of the Monarch, and has a certain visual impact, which is the most diversified series of Lining products, and is loved by musicians such as Marcus Miller and James Genus. Imperial and Viceroy are spin-offs of Monarch and Emperor.
It is worth mentioning that the well-known Yin Yang series actually has a relationship with the Monarch series. In Lining's first year, world-renowned bass player Victor Wooten bought a 37-numbered Monarch. Twelve years later, Vinny took Wooten's advice and created a yin-yang veneer based on Monarch made from two pieces of wood with very different hues. The first generation of Victor Wooten Yin Yang Deluxe was born, with a chinoiserie-inspired yin and yang design that is unforgettable at first sight.
