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Roscoe SKB 3006 6-string Bass.This is the tone machine. Tone and comfort is what this beautiful axe is all about. If you ever get a chance to play one - do it, but I warning you -- you will be hooked!

As you can see, this is a visually striking instrument. The birdseye maple neck is a touch of class. This bass commands a lot of attention whenever I have her out. It's almost to pretty to play. -- but I work her out!

2001 Ken Smith MD7 7-string bass. This instrument was inspired and co-designed by Melvin Lee Davis. There is nothing quite like this available on the market today. Not many of these instruments are available, nor are many players willing to use a 7-string bass. This model is very heavy and is not for the meek. Cocobolo Top & Back with matching headstock with dark rich grain, maple accepts, mahogany core and ebony (macassar) fingerboard . She's a rare "eye catching" piece. I take her with me often

1993 Ken Smith BMT Elite 6-string bass. This instrument was inspired and co-designed by Anthony Jackson, and popularized by John Patitucci (one of reasons why I purchased it). Upon "testing driving" this instrument - this was the one for me. Back in 1993 this one was purchased from "Chucks" in the DC area. Tone is getting better with time and playability is easier with time (maybe I am becoming a better musican with a 6-string bass). AAAA western tiger maple on back and front with maple and bubinga 7-piece neck (no longer built by Ken Smith) with a mahogany core extravaganza executed in the typically flawless Smith fashion.
*** Many photos of this bass on this website ***

In the late 70�s Ken Smith spearheaded the charge to fully modernize and improve the electric bass guitar. With Anthony Jackson as chief test pilot, he introduced the first practical extended range 6 string instrument. This bass is the heir to that great legacy that we all might take for granted sometimes.

"O.K. Smith lovers here's your chance. The rarest of the rare and the baddest of the bad. The ultra-rare 1993 BMT6FM Elite. Smith lovers know what this is and the rest of you don't even confuse this beast with any other. 7 piece neck, flamed maple,mahogany, walnut, ebony, Smith old school black phenolic headstock, BMT pre-amp, its all here.

This baby has the smoothest, rock-solid, in-tune, B ever made. The 7 piece neck and ebony board make sure of that. You own this bad boy and you're in an exclusive club that has only about 200 members on the planet. Sounds just as it should and has to be experienced on the gig to be believed. Everything else is a toy once you've owned one of these"

MTD Grendel 5-string bass 24 frets maple neck & fingerboard with a poplar body with maple top. The playabilitiy and tone from this axe is undeniable. 2-band EQ with Mid-boost and Mid-Cut switch adds extra flavor to the exposed pole bartolini pickups. This bass will make you a true believer in the MTD sound and is this bass is alive.

MTD Grendel 5 (above), Coral Blue, Maple Top with Matching Headstock, Mother Of Pearl MTD Logo On Headstock and Bartolini J-VJ5SP Exposed Single Coil Pickups with Bartolini HR-NT3Z9BA Pre-Amp. Think of a Custom Shop Jazz Bass feel & tone. That is what this bass is all about - but with a MTD faster neck!

This bass was made in Mike Tobias' Czech factory. After this factory went out of business, they sent a bunch of unfinished parts to Mike and he assembled this bass. He installed the same Bartolini pickups/preamp that are in his latest Saratoga model (quieter than what the older Grendels had). The body is poplar with a flamed maple top. The neck is maple and the fingerboard is wenge. This bass has a VERY nice crisp top and nice clear bottom. It's very hard to hide this tone in a mix.

1982 G&L L2000 Series E 4-string bass G&L instruments started in 1980 by the late Leo Fender & George Fullerton. This is one of the early ones with the skunk-stripe neck, orignal styled headstock, ash body, active electronics and ebony fingerboard. Over 20 years old and still going strong! The tone but out by these G&ls rival the Smiths. 9 out of 10 for condition of this instrument. No digs, and small mark only on the body, however the white finish has faded to a vintage white color (looks good to me). Very heavy and very well balanced. This was purchased used in mint condition from "Atomic Music" in DC. Trivia: I had to sell my G&L L1000 back in the 80s so this is a keeper forever -
click here for a photo of me and my original G&L L1000.

G&L was Leo Fender's last company, and he worked there almost every day from 1980 until he passed in March 1991. The name stands for "George and Leo". George being George Fullerton, an old friend from the pre-CBS Fender company.

Leo Fender was adamant that G&L instruments should not copy his old designs. He insisted on ways to improve G&L instruments and he worked tirelessly until his passing. His last project was a "6-string bass", still left in his office as it was on his last day of work.

One of the Leo's most important inventions during the G&L era was a new style of pickup, which was patented under the name "Magnetic Field Design." Leo'spickups for G&L instruments had a ceramic bar magnet under each coil, with adjustable soft iron polepieces. This produced more output with less winding wire, and the pickups were also brighter-sounding.

The first G&L bass was the L-1000 introduced in 1980. This was a 34" scale single pickup configuration with the MFD pickup centered in the body. The L2000 (photos above and below) are the two-pickup version with the pickup centered and the second pickup placed close to the bridge/tail of the instrument. The electronics on this basses offer a variety of tonal possibilites, which is exactly what Leo Fender had in mind when creating "a better bass".

Click Here for more information about Leo Fender at G&L

1981 G&L L2000 Series E Fretless 4-string bass This could possibly be the oldest fretless G&L L2000 Series E in existance. Both G&L instruments are registered on the www.guitarsbyleo.com website. This is the first on the list of the "L2000EF". This instrument has the skunk-stripe neck, orignal styled headstock, mahagany body, active electronics and ebony fingerboard. This is the only fretless in the collection.

2000 Dean Custom Edge Bass 5-string bass Super value for under $500. I tried it out and was amazed at the quality. Wenge fretboard, alder body with flame maple top, 5-piece threaded screw insert bolt on neck, Active electronics EMG-HZ pickups, and made in the Czech Republic - the folks who have been building acoustic instruments for hundreds of years. The only negative issue is the narrow string spacing, but it plays great! Gotta have bass for the "smokey clubs". The placement of the knobs allows you to tell the difference between the Czech Republic models and the Korean models. Not many of these CR models available.

Features include: Handmade in Europe 5 String, 35" Scale, 1-11/16" Nut, Flame Maple Top, Alder Body, Grover Tuners, Black Hardware, EMG-HZ Pickups w/ Pre-amp, Bolt-on Maple & Walnut Neck, Wenge Fingerboard, 1 Talon Inlay, 24 Frets!
Click here for a photo and specifications.

2000 Godin Multiac Nylon String Guitar. What can I say, I am bassist who figured out how to play a nylon string guitar in the classical guitar style. This style is a technique used often on the bass, so it is easy to apply to nylon-string guitar (no pick required).

Nahas 1x15" with tweeter is the newest amplification cabinets I am using. These cabinet will add a lot of boom to your sound and are made in Maryland by the up and coming - Joe Nahas. I got two of these cabinets which are stackable, but I like the tilt back feature the best. I was having a difficult time hearing myself on jazz gigs where space is a limited and I was standing nearly on top of cabinet unable to hear myself. This cabinet solves that problem and it is very portable - something I like with all my cabinets. The other musicians help me with my cabinets, because I do not have a 8x10" back-breakers!

I have to have a backup amp. With all the gigs and recording I am doing I need a dependable backup. Besides, this David Eden WT800 is just really nice, sounds good and is really to carry!

BagEnd Speakers

I recently visited my favorite music store and really got a chance to hear a good pair of "bag ends" for the first time. I purchased them on the spot. These puppies are not light, especially the 4x10 - 100lbs. Tone for days! Super hi-fi sound in a compact box. They can hold it down and more. You can be the "King of Tone" with these speakers.

The coaxial tweater is something you must hear to understand. Nothing sounds quite like it. These are the speakers with the red cones.

Ampeg BA-210SP Portable powerful cabinets are the way to go for a gigging musician. Anything you cannot carry by yourself is too large.
Check out more information on www.ampeg.com.

Alembic F1X preamp. Super tone and easy to use. The XLR direct-out on the front is a dream come true. The only pitfall is that the tube "shakes" when placed on top of am amp (even a low levels). The solution is move the equipement from the speakers. I currently used a SKB 3-space short-depth case mounted on a amp stand so the controls face me. "Shaking" Tube problem solved.
Check out more information on the Alembic F1X preamp

Alesis 3630 Compressor/Limiter Gate. There's nothing like a good compressor to smooth out your sound. This is a solid state model which is a standard processor in studios and live for many musicians.

Samson Wireless. An old reliable UHF wireless purchased in 1993. It really works great. Since everyone has moved up the Frequency scale - UHF is wide open with no interference from other nearby units. The transmitter pack never seems to stay in place, but duct tape solves that problem.

Sabine Electric Tuners. The 1601 model. It stills works, so it is a keeper!

Mu-Tron III Analog effects are back. Digital effects never could quite match the tone and usability as the ananlog effects. This is a very subjective area, however this was experience has shown. The ART NightBass Digital Effects unit has real problems producing a tone anything close to a Mu-tron.

ART NightBass Studio Edition. Heavy duty digital effects processor. Reverbs, compressor, delays, phaser, chorus, etc;. Luckily I have a degree in "rocket science" so I can operate this unit.

Genesis Ultimate 100 guitar stands. The perfect stands for all my basses. I really had a diffcult time finding a stand for the 1993 Ken Smith until these came along. All my instruments use these stands.

JVC CD Recorder. Always record yourself - always listen and critique your playing - you will become a better player. All the top-players use this technique. This applys to all intruments, not just bass.

Sony Hi8 Camrecorder. (Oddly listed here) This tool is used to record video and audio. Sonys have superior audio recording capabilities. You have to hear the recordings to believe. Most live recordings can be easily dubbed to CDs with little EQ and "viola!" - crystal clean live recordings are easy to do. It is easy to mount the camera on a tripod and set it in the "sweet spot" to get the best live recordings.

Fostex 4-track cassette recorder. An old stand-by that still works.

Roland 2480CD Recorder. I am still learning how to use this one. Really nice.
Check out more information on
the Roland 2480CD digital recorder

Fender BXR 400 Amp. 400 watt Amp that has never failed me once! Purchase back in 1988 and has never let me down. Heavy as the dickens but delivers powerful clean tone. It is a keeper.

Roland XP-10 keyboard. Every musician should have some basic piano/keyboard skills. Music 101 is generally taught on keyboard. This unit also connects to my computer fairly easy.

Sadowsky Pre-Amp DI is a nice tool to have when you need a DI. It allow doubles as a pre-amp which you can add to your DI signal if desired. Fits in your guitar case/bag and is very durable. I would recommend it!

Boss DR. Rhythm 770 and Dr. Rhythm DR-550. Something to keep the beat. I traded an inexpensive bass for this unit years ago for the 550 model. The 770 is a new and updated addition. I like to practice with the 770 model - it feels like a real drummer. Of course we bass players know "nothing can replace a real drummer".

Gig Bag. One of the most important items to ownn as a musician is a gig bag. I use this to keep track of chords, effects, and any small item that will fit in it. I use a bag with wheels and a handle. I generally place my chords in zip-lock bags. This keeps the chords from becoming tangled up. This really works well and saves on setup time.