David Sutkin Launches “Resonance” Documentary Series with Stuart Spector
As he showed us before, Bass Upfront founder David Sutkin has an amazing collection of basses. Now, his passion has led him to launch Resonance, an online documentary series in which he will interview bass builders and explore the broader culture of craftsmanship that surrounds them.
“[Resonance is] a journey to the workshops, villages, and cities where the world’s instruments are born,” Sutkin explains. “My focus is the bass, the instrument that built my career and my community, but the bass doesn’t exist in isolation, and neither does this series. To understand the low end, you have to understand the whole orchestra of craft around it: the luthiers, string-winders, drum builders, and instrument makers whose traditions shape every corner of the music world. Over the years, that obsession led me to build one of the largest private collections of rare and historic basses in the world. Instruments with their own stories, their own makers, and their own place in this history. That collection is part of what pushed me to make this series: every bass I own is proof that the object is never just the object. It’s a person, a place, and a tradition, all held in wood and string.”
The first episode of Resonance features an icon of bass luthiery: Stuart Spector. The man behind Spector Basses and now Esopus Guitars goes into the “experiences, influences, triumpsh and challenges” that shaped him.
Spector explained the longevity of the NS bass, why Spector basses work in heavy music, and why Spector is a “New York story.” He also told the story of how Sting boosted the brand’s visibility in the ’80s.
Spector’s friend Dan Martin of St. Charles Guitar Exchange was a dealer to the stars that had previously worked with artists like Eddie Van Halen.
“Dan knew The Police were coming through St. Louis on the Synchronicity tour. Months in advance, he called and said, ‘Make me a white one with chrome hardware.’ I said, ‘Sure,'” Spector explains. Martin then delivered it to the band directly. “He put the white bass onstage. Danny Quatrochi, who is still Sting’s bass tech, saw it and said, ‘That looks nice. I’d better show it to the boss.’ Sting plugged it in and played it for the entire soundcheck. Then he played it for the entire show. As he was getting into his limousine afterward, he pointed to Dan and told the tour accountant, ‘Write that man a check.’ The next morning, there was an incredible photograph of Sting playing the bass shirtless, with Stewart Copeland behind him. Our visibility went through the roof.”
The photo sent Spector’s sales through the roof, and the bass was eventually donated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Check out the first episode of Resonance, then subscribe for more:
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.
