Illinois Entertainer

Illinois Entertainer Magazine

The December, 2021 issue of Illinois Entertainer includes a multi-page interview with Cheap Trick’s guitarist Rick Nielsen. It’s an enjoyable read even despite the fact that the writer got the dates of the band’s first three albums wrong - DOH! Anyway, a photo of a Gretsch 12-string bass is included in the table of contents section.

Illinois Entertainer Magazine - October 1989

Enuff Z’Nuff is featured on the front cover, and one poorly edited photo of the 12 is included.

Illinois Entertainer Magazine - December 2025

This issue includes an interview with the members of Cheap Trick. Several questions directed to Tom Petersson mention the 12-string bass.

IE: Speaking of mortality, looking back on your life, what achievements are you most proud of? I mean, you actually invented something, which is pretty damned cool – the 12-string bass. And how many people can claim that?

TP: Well, you know, basically what I invented, I guess, was a sound. You had to have your own sound, and that’s what I was looking for, and that’s what I do. But I don’t see it catching on with every artist, that’s for sure.

IE: What sound did you picture in your head that was missing?

TP: Well, we had basically been a four-piece band, with Robin switching off on guitars back and forth, so it was sort of a setup like the original four-piece, with the lead guitar, guitar, bass, drums, and a lead singer. So how do you make that sound bigger without adding people? Well, just get the biggest sound you can. And that was it, and it just seemed like a good idea. And I met Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig at that time - they had a used guitar store in the city, or outside of the city, and they were starting a guitar company (Hamer), and I brought it up to them. I said, “Hey, I’ve got this idea.” And they said, “Yeah, but we don’t know if that’ll work, so how about we just hedge our bet and we’ll do a ten-string, so there won’t be so much tension?” Then they came to us. We were opening up for KISS at that time, and they showed up at one of the shows with the ten-string, and I just started using it right then, and they said, “Yeah, you’re right. We should go all the way with the 12.” So there ya go. The first one was a ten, and they were thinking, “Well if it doesn’t work, you can just take two strings off and have an eight-string.” And I was like, “Welllll… okay. But at least they did it!” But it was just to make I t sound like an orchestra, you know? It was basically the same tone, the same sound, the same rig I would use with my four-string. It was the same setup, so it’s like a 12-string guitar player is playing along with whatever I do.

IE: You’ve said that the 12-string bass was finally noticed, en masse, on 1978’s Live at Budokan?

TP: Yeah, Live at Budokan is the 12-string bass. Yes. You can hear it in the studio, but live, it’s a different story. Everything is different – it’s not overdubbed, it’s live, it’s all just right there. And you have to make it as big as possible in that situation without adding anything, without playing along with tracks, which we don’t do. But first, we got accused of that, because people would hear a guitar in there, and they didn’t say, “Who’s doing that?” or “Wait a minute – where’s that coming from?” It was like, “Aw, these guys are phonies up there!” And we were like, “What the hell? No, we’re not! That’s the last thing we would do – we’ve never done that!”

IE: In terms of the 12-string bass, don’t you work with your own signature-model Gretsch now?

TP: Yes, I’ve got different basses from different companies, but Gretsch is really the first major guitar company that I’ve ever worked with. It was always boutique builders, like Hamer and Chandler, who were just small builders because there was no market for 12-string bass, except for me. So I’ve had several different builders over the years build different 12-strings, and Gretsch is one of them. So I have a signature one, which you can order through Gretsch at their Custom Shop – it’s not like it’s just sitting around in stores, where you can walk in and try it out; you have to really want, and then order it.