Basses

Tenor Bass

This is my second Fodera. It's a regular Monarch that I string up A-D-G-C. It used to belong to the Labella String Company. It originally had a Labella inlay in the body. Vinny replaced it with my name and the yin yang inlay. This bass was built in the 1980s. You can tell by the wooden butterfly in the headstock.

First Fodera

This is my first Fodera. I call it the #1 bass. It's a Fodera Monarch that I purchased, with the help of my brother Regi, in 1983 (the same year Fodera was founded.) I added a Khaler tremolo bridge a few years later. After my Univox and Alembic, this is the 3rd bass that I've ever owned.

Compito Fretless 5

This was built by my friend Joe Compito. It has a purple heart top and an ebony fingerboard with purple heart fret markers. It was the first fretless or 5-string Joe had ever built. (He got it right the first time.) I've used this on many Flecktones recordings including "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo".

Amps

I spent the whole year of 2007 trying out different gear. We took out 25 different speaker cabinets on one tour. Our crew set up a different bass rig each night for Anthony and me. It was awesome. I was also surprised at the advancement of each company over the years. Everything sounded good.

I was totally surprised and blown away by the new Hartke HyDrive cabinets. I choose to endorse this company and have been using them now since the beginning of 2008. I usually use two 4x10 and two 1x15 speaker cabinets.

I'm using two LH 1000 heads for preamps and power. (One stack is really enough but why use one when you can use two?) The sound is amazing and I have tons of headroom. The Hartke gear is also lightweight and inexpensive. You can't beat that!

strings

DR’s PURE BLUES™ bass strings featuring QUANTUM-Nickel™ alloy offers players a smoother feeling bass string with deep low end, enhanced mids, tons of punch and bright, clear highs. Hand wound on round cores, PURE BLUES™ bass strings combine a fat, warm punch with an edge especially designed for the modern bassist. PURE BLUES™ strings provide more output, more power, and more top end clank than traditional nickel wrapped bass strings.

Based in Emerson, New Jersey, DR Strings maintains the highest quality standards and construction methods. On the forefront of new wire and coating technologies, DR Strings offers an extensive selection of guitar and bass strings for electric, acoustic, and other folk instruments. DR Strings are proudly Made in the USA with All-American materials for over 25 years.