Bass of the Week: Tom Petersson’s Custom 12-String Bass From Brooks Bass Guitars
Luthier Rob van den Broek of Brooks Bass Guitars shared his latest builds with us, and they’re already on the road with a legendary band. The builder was commissioned by Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson to craft two short-scale 12-string bass guitars with slightly different features. This one, dubbed the EXB-12-TP, is a 30.5-inch scale instrument finished in black with a cool checkerboard binding accenting the body’s outline.
The bass is built with a korina body and a nine-ply laminated korina neck. Its ebony fretboard holds 22 frets with dot inlays to mark the positions. For electronics, the luthier and bassist decided on Gemini pickups with their Dominator in the neck position and the Devastator in the middle position. A toggle switch on the pickguard selects the pickups, while two knobs act as independent volume controls.
Other appointments include a Buffalo horn nut, an ETS custom-made 12-string bridge set, Hipshot Ultralite Mini clover bass tuners, Schaller Grand Tune guitar tuners, and a white three-ply pickguard.
You can hear the bass in action with a demo from van den Broek as well as a live clip of Petersson rocking out with Cheap Trick.
Brooks Bass Guitars EXB-12-TP Specs:
| Construction: | Set Neck |
| Scale: | 30.5″ |
| Body: | Korina |
| Binding: | Checkerboard |
| Neck: | 9-piece Korina with Carbon Reinforcement |
| Nut: | Buffalo Horn |
| Fingerboard: | Ebony |
| Frets: | 22 Jumbo |
| Inlays: | Abalone Dots, Aluminum Ring at 12th Fret |
| Pickups: | Gemini Dominator, Devastator |
| Controls: | Pickup Toggle, Independent Volume Knobs |
| Bridge: | ETS Custom made twelve string bridge set |
| Tuners: | Hipshot Ultralite Mini clover bass tuners, Schaller Grand Tune guitar tuners |
| Hardware: | Nickel |
| Finish: | Black |
| Other: | White 3-ply Pickguard, Two Spokewheel Double Action Truss Rods, Pure Tone Output |
| Weight: | 10.8 lbs |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
CT is scheduled to play locally in December, so I hope to hear this dude in person!!