This week we had a chance to catch up with Edward. He’s been rocking a previous “Bass of the Week” for a while now…
What is the model of bass you play?
I play a custom made four string fretless with my name on the headstock. It has a solid alder body capped with curly maple and a hard rock maple neck with an ebony fingerboard. It was featured on your site several years ago. Here is the link from the Best Bass Gear Bass of the Week feature on my bass: https://www.bestbassgear.com/ebass/bass-of-the-week/bass-of-the-week-sparks-trs.html
Any customization or gear mods?
This bass is full of custom features. Two Carvin passive radiused-top Alnico V humbucking pickups. Two volume and two tone controls and a blend control in lieu of the standard three way selector. The neck pickup volume switches the built in electronic tuner (N-Tuner) in and out. The neck pickup tone control switches in the low Impedance circuit, allowing the second output to send a balanced signal direct to a mixer or record input, and also acts as a kill switch when using only the Hi Z output. The blend pot has a middle position detente and blends the two pickups together to the desired degree. All hardware is gold plated including the Carvin bridge, Schaller strap locks, Martin tuners and output jacks. The faux ebony/tortoise shell bound tailpiece hides a 9 volt battery compartment (which powers the tuner) and is held on with small magnets. The cover is also in inlaid with my wife’s name in mother of pearl and a dime. The dime is dated 2003 and represents our tenth anniversary.
What inspired you to get started?
Paul McCartney of course! He was the first bassist I ever heard that played the way he does. I spent a good portion of my youth listening to Beatles records with headphones on with my eyes closed just to hear how he mastered the art of melodic bass that backed the band and the music.
Who is your current inspiration?
Paul McCartney of course! He is still out there playing his heart out, and making newmusic and albums when many of his contemporaries have decided to retire. I admire his passion for making music and playing bass!
Toughest gig you ever played?
We have an annual gig for a large Fall Festival with about a 1000 plus people at any given time within range of the stage. It’s in Maryland, and the toughest gig there was end of October and unseasonably warm, it was 96 degrees out and we were on an open stage!
Who’s your biggest fan?
My 7 year old Granddaughter Lily, who calls me G-Pa. She asked me not too long ago, “G-Pa, are you famous?” I told her “It depends on who you ask.”
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Nice. Looks a lot like a Turner Model One.
Beautiful! If I had your woodworking skills I would have built my Ptcoustic bass using that body shape instead of using a Warmoth Tele body. Reminds me of the Turner Model One which was the inspiration for my Ptcoustic.