4 & 5-string
32″ · 34″ scale
Reserve
A bass that answers to your hands, deep, punchy and alive. Handbuilt one at a time in Tuscany by Bruno Bacci, wrapped in the garage-born finishes of the Officina line, and in the hands of Tim Lefebvre, the bassist on David Bowie's masterpiece Blackstar.
Finishes freely inspired by the world of vintage luxury, born in the garage, in three textures, deep Velvet, smooth Satin, and Radiance, the iridescent option that shifts in the light.
Bruno builds the Marleo around one idea: only what is necessary, and nothing that makes the bass harder to play. A passive circuit keeps the tone natural, dynamic and punchy, no batteries, no signal loss, the amplifier's full response in your hands, the way a vintage Precision or Jazz always answered to the right hand.
You choose the voice, Jazz, Precision or their blends, on a 4 or 5-string, in a 32″ or 34″ scale, strung with Dogal Vintage Nickel. Handbuilt one at a time in Tuscany, in the garage-born finishes of the Officina line, and in the hands of players like Tim Lefebvre.
Nothing to fight. Everything to play.
Meet Bruno Bacci, a Tuscan luthier who came to the craft the long way, through metallurgy, woodworking and design, and picked up the tools for good only after a hand injury ended his life as a player. He doesn't draw a shape and fill it with sound. He starts from the sound he can already hear, then builds the instrument around it.
The Marleo bass is that obsession made real: a figured maple neck hand-matched to its own body, and a passive voice with nothing in the way of the player. Every Officina is designed, developed and built by his hands alone, in Tuscany, and backed for life by a lifetime warranty from Bruno himself.
“For me, a well-fitting instrument is one that lets you think only about the music.”
It started years ago, when Bruno reached out to Tim about building a bass together. The first one carried a 1970s-style Starfire pickup, retro, dark and unmistakably its own. Tim fell for it and began recording with it constantly, and Bruno kept refining, even bringing a newer version to Los Angeles while Tim was on a session with Michael Landau.
From there they made it official. The Tim Lefebvre Signature is a slightly altered take on that original: a 32″ medium-scale bass with a unique-sounding pickup, three pulse switches, a tone and a volume, finished in black with gold. Bruno chose the aesthetic and hand-builds every part from scratch in Tuscany.
“He’s hand-making everything from scratch. It’s pretty amazing to see.” Tim Lefebvre
Standard on every Marleo Officina Bass. Pickup voice, scale, string count and fingerboard are chosen when you place your order.
The grid above is the menu of choices. This is one finished instrument: exactly how Tim's signature Marleo leaves the Tuscan workshop, a single passive humbucker, medium scale and matte black on gold.
A top-call Los Angeles session bassist, Dave Marotta has recorded with Burt Bacharach, Phil Collins, Kenny Loggins, Colbie Caillat and Manhattan Transfer, and played on countless film and TV soundtracks. Fluent in jazz, fusion and pop, he plays two Marleo five-strings, drawn to their dynamic response and full, clear tone.
I like unique-sounding instruments, especially leaning to the vintage side, and Bruno’s very good at that.
Tim Lefebvre, David Bowie · Tedeschi Trucks BandOne of the beautiful things is that it’s very versatile. You can put flat ones on it and put the tone really low and it sounds really like an old P bass. You can put round wounds on it and there’s a lot of bite to the sound.
Michael League, Snarky PuppyBacci instruments have graced stages all over the world, from Umbria Jazz to NAMM, from Madison Square Garden with the Fearless Flyers to the GroundUp Festival.
On stages worldwide
One of the most in-demand bassists in modern music, at home in jazz, fusion, rock and electronic alike. He played on David Bowie's Blackstar, tours with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and anchors the Donny McCaslin group. For Bacci he chose the Marleo Officina Velvet Nero, a passive four-string in matte black with gold hardware, and made it his signature.
“This is the bass I would have chosen 20 years ago.”
The Spanish virtuoso built a huge online following with a fingerstyle voice that's melodic, percussive and unmistakably his own. Widely counted among the finest bassists in the world, he plays the Officina Velvet Ocra Matte Black, a passive five-string that stays natural and alive under his hands.
“The Bacci Marleo Bass, it’s a-ma-zing.”
Bassist of Dirty Honey, the Los Angeles rock trio that made history: their debut single When I'm Gone was the first song by an unsigned band to top Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. A southpaw, deep-grooving player, Justin had Bruno build him a one-off Officina Vynil Medici Gold, left-handed and five strings.
Grammy winners. Session legends. Festival headliners. Every one of them could reach for anything on earth, and they reach for an instrument made entirely by hand, start to finish, by a single luthier: Bruno Bacci, in Tuscany.
26M
19.3M
1.7M
1.8M
424K
42K
Demos, slap and the Marleo voice, in the hands of players around the world.
The Bacci Experience™ is offered to only 4 people a year. You join Bruno for the final stages of the build, in his Tuscan workshop, where the instrument is voiced, adjusted and finished by hand. No production line, no showroom, no scripted tour.
It reaches beyond the bench: a relaxed dinner under the pergola, and a local guide who opens up Florence, Lucca, Pisa and the villages around them. Then the reveal, in a darkened room your instrument waits under red velvet, your song begins, Bruno lifts the cloth, and you are the first person ever to play it.
“I’m so happy with the experience here with Bruno that I would have been happy even without the instrument.” David Ru · Bacci Experience guest
Where to catch these bass players live. Dates from their official calendars, they can change, so check before you go.
Live from @bacciguitars. Follow along and tag us to be featured.
A short, hand picked network of shops keeps Bacci on the wall.
Go and play one in person, or start a custom build directly with Bruno in Tuscany.
Austin Guitar House
Chicago Music Exchange
Eddie’s Guitars
Empire Music
Guitars Etc
Heartbreaker Guitars
Lead Music
Music Store Live
Musikhaus André Louis
Pitbull AudioCommissions
Nothing here is in stock, and nothing ever will be.
Every instrument is claimed by one player before the first cut.
A €1,000 deposit holds your place at the bench and sets the work in motion. It comes off the price in full.
Woods, pickups, finish, decided one by one, together. The instrument is drawn around you.
The balance falls due once the specification is closed. Eight months later, it is in your hands.
Not sure which instrument is yours?
Ask before you commit.
