Les Fradkin

Les Fradkin - Reality: A Rock Opera

Les Fradkin added a Dean Rhapsody 12-string bass to his musical palette in 2001. He discovered the instrument in a music store in Denver, Colorado and really liked the power of it. He used the Dean as well as a Rickenbacker 4001S 4-string bass on this album.

About this album Fradkin says, “Since the CD's music is quite symphonic, the 12ver figures in the picture as part of my symphonic prog / pop rock sound. Some of the tunes were written on the 12-string bass. The 12 gives the arrangements a harmonic dimension which allows the bass guitar to play a prominent role in the music without having to solo or riff constantly for attention.”

The Dean was recording using a Joe Meek VC1Q Studio Channel with compression, Meequalizer direct into the board for monitoring. Fradkin: “My EQ on the Dean bass is bass-full on, mid-slight boost, treble-center detent. The volume knobs vary with the piece at hand. I always use a Jim Dunlop .073 mm plastic pick.”

Additionally, Fradkin owns the rights to the band name “Edison Lighthouse” in the USA, and he frequently uses the 12-string bass in that band. Fradkin stated, “Since we play live with only four people (and the records often had many more parts than that) I noticed that when the guitarist takes a solo, the rhythm guitar seems to disappear. The 12ver helps create the illusion that the guitar still plays rhythm while the solo is happening. It also can create apparent counterpoint with the octave strings. Basically, it's monstrous sound really fills out the live stage sound and setup much better that a regular 4-string could.”