BassPlayer 2017-04

COMMUNITY LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
C ommunity
LOWDOWN
CHRIS JISI
Numbers
NUMBERS, NUMBERS EVERYWHERE. NUMBERS HAVE BEEN ON MY BRAIN RECENTLY,
between remembering to write the new year on various documents (old school, I know), compiling lists of bassists
by the hundreds, and (yuck) dealing with tax season. As a result, what caught my eye this issue is the number 57—
as in ’57 Fender Precision. That venerable, Leo Fender-crafted instrument plays the starring role in both the music
of our featured artist, Sting—who holds his with pride on the cover—and in our Buddy Guy complete transcription,
under the formidable fingers of Michael Rhodes (and check out Moollon’s cool ’57 tribute bass in our NAMM report).
Turning back to our 100 Greatest Bassists February cover story, when we posted the piece to the BP website, we
featured five players at a time in reverse order. As a bonus wrinkle, we turned the tables on these esteemed artists
by asking many of them to list their Top Ten Greatest Bassists (not including themselves). In the case of deceased
players, we’ve sought out stylistically appropriate stand-ins to give us their lists. So far it’s been a fun and interesting
process, adding many new names to our gallery of greats. Have a look (bassplayer.com/february2017), check
back often, and let me know your thoughts (bpeditor@nbmedia.com)—I’ve enjoyed all of your comments so far.
Finally, on the heels of losing an inordinate amount of stellar bassists over the last two years, it’s with sadness
that we note the press-time passing of King Crimson and Asia bassist John Wetton, who was additionally a terrific
vocalist and composer, a great interview, and a true gentleman.
DIG MY RIG!
I RETIRED A LONG TIME AGO, BUT I STILL HAVE
some pretty nice gear. My bass guitars, from left to right: a
1969 Gibson Les Paul Bass, an Ibanez SRX, a G&L L-2000,
and a Gibson Midtown Standard. I never used effects, but
I do have a Zoom B3 multi-effects pedal.
Amplifiers, from left to right: a 1964–65 Ampeg B-15N,
1971 Gallien-Krueger GMT 600B and dbx 31-band constant-
Q graphic equalizer on top of two GMT folded horns with
Cerwin-Vega 18” drivers, Genz-Benz GBE 1200 on top of
an Ampeg 810E, Ampeg SVT-CL on another Ampeg 810E,
and a massively powerful Mesa Big Block Titan V12 on top
of a Mesa Powerhouse 4x12.
All this equipment was purchased new except for the Les
Paul Bass and the B-15N. I had a meeting with Robert Gallien
and Rich Krueger when I purchased the GMT. It was
very early in their company’s history. —DREW HASTAY
Got a rig you think we’d dig? Send a photo and description
to digmyrig@gmail.com.
12 bassplayer.com / april2017