Bass

I have always liked the sound of the bass in jazz, blues and rock 'n roll.  Although I love the sound of stand-up bass (bass violin), I play mainly the bass guitar.  This is a natural extension from the guitar, since they share the top strings: E, A, D and G.

I began playing bass after playing in jam sessions with "too many guitar players".  After a few years of playing bass, I occasionally back up other guitar players with bass accompaniment.

Bass is both a rhythmic and harmonic instrument.  It is part of the rhythm section, but you can also create some nice melodic and meandering bass lines.  What I enjoy about the bass is the challenge to improvise and create bass lines and arpeggios on the fly.

I play a both electric bass and acoustic bass guitars.  While I don't have a "real" stand-up bass, I do have an unusual sort of fretless bass called a Heftone Bass.  This Heftone Bass is named after its maker, Larry Hefferan.  This beautiful instrument is also called a Heftone Lojo (since it looks like a banjo, and sounds much lower).  You can take the Heftone Bass apart by separating the neck from the bouran drum for travel by car.  It can fit into a small car (if the back seats fold down).  The Heftone is great for traveling to music camps and festivals!

Heftone "Lojo" Bass

Photo was taken by Larry Hefferan, who made this beautiful instrument.
Photo of my Heftone Lojo bass taken before shipment.
Thanks very much Larry!