ベースの道

I wanted to spiel a little about the bass that I just got together… I remember being in high school in the mid 1980’s and some Saturdays I would end up walking (or riding my bike) around Broad Ripple and finding Scott Ballantine’s guitar shop, I forgot what he named it, I think it was just called the Broadripple Guitar Shop. I was starting to play this crappy starter bass I got at IRC Music and I knew one day I would get a “real” bass. So I would go into this shop… smell this weird incense(lol)  and look at all the guitars and basses he had. After the fourth or fifth time doing this… I finally got the courage to actually take one down and start noodling on it, not knowing a lot. I did this about once or twice a month and I was totally drawn to this blonde jazz bass that was there. Every time I went in the shop it was there… it was like it was speaking to me… I would pick it up and play it… knowing that this is what a real bass felt and sounded like. Then one day I came in and started playing it like I usually did and Scott commented that I was starting to get better! I didn’t even know he was listening! It was probably a sales technique he had developed to actually get punk kids to buy guitars. Anyway it was almost time to graduate and my dad asked me if I wanted anything for graduation… I knew I wanted to study music at that point and that I needed a decent instrument so I told him there was this bass I wanted at the guitar shop. So the next weekend we went and my dad bought me the blonde jazz bass for $275 if I remember correctly. Later on I would figure out it was made in 1976 and had the original pickup and bridge covers. It was a beauty… anyway I proceeded to play it through college with the Anderson University Jazz band, and several blues and punk bands. Then it survived massive abuse when I played in Johnny Socko and it became my backup bass when I started touring with Poi Dog Pondering. Eventually I started looking for a “better” bass, one that was more modern sounding and had active pickups. And I found the Lakland. The jazz sat in the case until I took it out and tried to do the jaco thing and pulled out all the frets to make it a fretless. It was a failed attempt and it stayed at a friends house for several years. Fast forward to a few years ago when I got it back and was deciding what to do with it. Around that same time one of my old Chicago bike messenger friends, James had moved to Asheville and was starting his aluminum neck company. I remember messaging him and telling him if he ever made a bass neck I would want one. And it so happened that they were making prototypes for fender basses. I told him I would get one when they were ready. About a year or so later, Aluminati released the Andromeda neck and I got the first one! My friend/bandmate Branden told me about McNelly pickups, a Canadian company that made hand crafted Jazz style pickups, so I put those in and assembled the bass over a few days… When I picked it up to play it for the first time it was pretty heavy… I haven’t weighed it yet but I’m sure its 12+ pounds(mostly the body). The first notes I played on it to tune up were like the most glorious notes to ever come out of this bass! Long long sustain, growl and edge, and a very nice brightness. Needless to say I couldn't put it down for a few hours. I was totally amazed. It sounds and feels so solid… no dead notes… just pure tone. I could hardly put it down. So old meets new 1976 + 2021. Rising from the ashes… I name her Phoenix.