Laurus: the excellence of the electric bass

The history of Laurus and its founder, Pierluigi “Piero” Cazzola, is a tale of visionary genius rooted in the artisanal district of Schio, Italy. Having developed his musical roots in the 1960s with the youth band “I Neonati,” Cazzola developed an obsession with the anatomy and acoustic response of the electric bass through renting and studying early instruments. The defining epiphany came while watching the legendary Ares Tavolazzi play a bass by the US-based Alembic, a pioneer of high-precision active lutherie. After graduating from technical school, Cazzola chose to reject a conventional career to dedicate himself entirely to lutherie, unveiling his first revolutionary fan-bodied prototype at the 1985 SIM trade show in Milan, where it was awarded one of the top five instruments of the event.

The brand’s rise is closely linked to a historic collaboration started in 1984 with Red Canzian of Pooh, for whom Cazzola created a special hand-carved radial-section model. Since then, the Schio workshop has become a global benchmark for bassists, producing a limited output of about forty instruments per year—each numbered, signed, and treated by the artisan as a unique piece. Laurus’s focus has never been to imitate the past, but to solve the physical problems associated with the instrument: the pursuit of sustain, the elimination of “dead spots” on the fretboard, and total ergonomics for the musician’s postural health.

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The collection

Laurus production has redefined the standards for 4, 5, and 6-string basses, both in fretted and fretless versions, through models that have made history in the fusion of lutherie and avant-garde design:

• Quasar Line (SL and SC): Introduced in the late 80s, these represent the quintessence of Laurus design. Characterized by a fan-like aesthetic and weighted balance, they offer advanced equalization and an ultra-fast transient response.
• Carving and Artist Line: The brand’s first historical models, known for their rounded body (partially inspired by Spector lines) and deep wood carving, capable of ensuring unprecedented executive comfort.
• Fretless Models with Suspended Soundboards: Elite instruments designed specifically to maximize the typical “mwah” of a fretless bass, leveraging the pure acoustics of the wood rather than relying exclusively on active equalization.

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Construction philosophy, techniques, and materials

Pierluigi Cazzola’s philosophy transposes the physical principles of classical bowed lutherie (inspired directly by the teachings of Italian masters) onto the structure of the solid-body electric instrument:

• Suspended Soundboards and Tone Chambers: This is Laurus’s most important engineering innovation. Within the Khaya mahogany body (selected for its fast mid-frequency response), Cazzola carves specific tone chambers. By cutting the wood to create an upper lamella, the soundboard remains literally suspended, vibrating freely and naturally amplifying the midrange frequencies. In fretless models, up to three independent suspended soundboards are used—superior, central around the pickup, and inferior—to maximize acoustic resonance.
• Neck-Through and Drilled Headstock: The neck is positioned centrally, rigidly inserted into the body to ensure prolonged sustain and absolute structural stability. Rejecting headless models, which Cazzola has experimented with and found to lose attack and harmonics, the luthier designs a proprietary drilled headstock: the string physically passes through the structure, maintaining the mass necessary to deliver a precise attack and a rich sound.
• Phenolic Resin Fretboard: Instead of traditional woods like ebony or rosewood, Laurus adopts high-pressure processed phenolic resin. This material offers constant hardness that eliminates string wear, which is fundamental for fretless basses, and ensures perfectly homogeneous volume across every single note on the fretboard, removing the inconsistencies typical of wood fiber.
• Full-Sap Wood and Lightweight Hardware: The 2mm top veneers of Santos rosewood, quilted maple, or poplar burl use air-seasoned full-sap woods, not kiln-dried, to preserve fiber elasticity. Brass—essential for sound reproduction and frequency conduction—is kept only at essential acoustic contact points; knobs and mechanical components are internally hollowed to reduce weight and ensure ergonomics that prevent fatigue and postural pain for the musician.

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Collaborations and recognitions

The value of Laurus is witnessed by a dense network of historical collaborations. Patrick Djivas, legendary bassist of Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), was one of the brand’s first great endorsers as early as 1985, bringing the Stylish model into the most important recording studios of the era. Red Canzian has tied his image to Schio’s basses for over forty years, serving as an extraordinary popularity vehicle for the brand.

Continuous research has been fueled for twenty years by the partnership with Federico Malaman, with whom Cazzola constantly refines the dynamic flow and ergonomics of new models. Other illustrious artists who have chosen the Laurus sound identity include Attilio Zanchi, Alfredo Paixao (long-time collaborator of Pino Daniele), Cico Cicognani, Enzo Lo Greco, Dante Pergreffi (Nomadi), Rossano Eleuteri (Nek, Ivan Graziani), and Andrea Balasso.

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Direct experience

The Laurus Schio workshop operates as a high-end acoustic tailoring atelier, offering:

• Direct Specialist Consultation: Every instrument is configured to the mold of the musician’s hand and their specific touch and genre requirements.
• Transparent Electronics: The adoption of essential preamplifiers paired with non-wax-potted Nordstrand pickups is designed not to alter the sound, allowing the user to perceive the real acoustic life of the lutherie solutions studied and adopted by Laurus.
• Value Over Time: Every Laurus bass, signed and numbered, is conceived as an artistic investment destined to appreciate in value and improve its resonant qualities with the passing of the years.