In January 2013, I commissioned an Abraham Prescott inspired doublebass called "The Concord" from Upton Bass in Mystic, CT. The process was excellent, and working with Eric Roy and Gary Upton Birkhamshaw was a pleasure. I took delivery of the bass during the 2013 International Society of Bassists Convention held at The Easman School of Music. During the convention the bass was played by, and received rave reviews from bassists coming from over the globe, playing all styles of music.
Upton Bass made a laminated (plywood) copy of The Concord for me to use in situations where a carved bass might be damaged , like weather extremes, or extra tight spaces, or unruly crowds. I call it the stunt double bass. I brought that bass home in April 2015.
Older photos show me pictured with a fully carved Rumano Solano Panormo model doublebass. It was my main bass from 1993-2012. Other photos show a Blonde Shen SB 90, which I used fom 2012-2014.
A good chunk of my work is done with the Yamaha Silent Bass, SLB-200. It is an electric upright bass which incorporates a semi-hollow body for a very realistic acoustic bass sound. Plus, its' graceful design is a thing of beauty. It's especially useful for traveling, small stages, and on really loud gigs where acoustic feedback would otherwise run rampant. I added a Fishman Full Circle pickup and use Kolstein Heritage strings on this bass to help create the sonic illusion of playing an acoustic bass.
For electric bass projects,
A 1988 Tobias Classic 5 string is my tool of choice.
For old school electric, a Travis Bean TB2000 comes out of retirement.
On the road, my 'beater bass' is a Yamaha TRB 1005.
Listed below are some other products and resources that help me get the job done. Oy, if only I got a referral fee from these companies.....
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