Fretless 12-String Bassist
Mark "Surf Rat" Rowe

Mark "Surf Rat" Rowe and his 1999 Hamer B12L fretless 12-string bass.
On stage in Melba, Idaho.

"Surf" was the sole 4x3 fretless 12-string bassist in the world for nearly seven years.
He has played fretless basses almost exclusively since 1976.

 

All of these photos were taken on the same night: Mark changes shirts every set.
He took two years off from playing music to take care of family stuff but is now back on stage.

 

 

Surf's black Waterstone TP-1 12-string bass is used for a few songs that require a Drop-D tuning.

His rig combines an old SWR SM-400 bass amp head (tube pre-amp with solid state power amp) with two 2x15 cabs loaded with JBL speakers. No other gear is used except for a Samson Concert IV wireless guitar system occasionally.

Get some more sun on those legs, dude!

 

One is never alone when one travels with a Gumby!