The Basses of Will Beckwith

“William, William it was really nothing” these lyrics are my catch cry greeting whenever I see Mr. William Beckwith. For seven years now Will has worked with us as a part time member of our stag. The unseen force that creates some of the finest work we produce. For seven years he has also put up with me singing that Smith’s song to him as well. I doubt whether he’ll ever listen to that song again in his life Time. What can I tell you about Will?… Well, for one. He has an ear which is so tuned in to bass tones it has become an obsession with him. When Will and I listen to music together, it becomes quickly apparent that we are not “really” listening to the music so much as the bass lines. Above you will see some of the basses selected, built, restored and modified by Will. So here is a quick lowdown on Each.

• 90’s Yamaha BB. Will sourced this bass on our behalf. The modifications easily outweigh the selling price of this bass, however as I said earlier, Will is a perfectionist. The mods read like this: Completely refinished, 70’s Dimarzio J bass pick up fitted, Fret dressed and set up $695.00

• ‘51 style P Style bass, built with super resonant re-cycled timbers of unknown origin. Sorry to say she sold immediately.

• 70’s Canora (made by Ibanez) fretless conversion. The neck through body design was irresistible to William, it just had to be fretless! The tone is woody and sustains “bloom” upon the initial touch making it hard to believe that she is a passive bass.

• 60’s Voxtron. Rebuilt, re-fretted, re-wired and anything else that needed to be done. The light weight body and short/medium scale length makes this instrument the perfect thing for those with smaller hand and/or stature. OH! and she sounds big and woody just like you’d expect.