Tony Franklin and the Takamine B-10 Fretless Bass
It’s fun watching the great Tony Franklin fall for his Takamine B-10 Fretless Acoustic Bass all over again.
In this recent demo clip from Tony himself, we witness a player and instrument particularly suited to one another and the true satisfaction that results.
Considering Franklin’s fretless genius and celebrated body of work, in tandem with the sacred skills of the Takamine artisans who designed and handcrafted the B-10 with precisely the likes of Franklin in mind – this particular marriage of artist and medium explain perfectly why we are here.
Tony first spoke of his admiration and appreciation for the Takamine B-10 back in 2017.
“I truly love this instrument. It is the only acoustic bass guitar I’ve played that has a large enough body size to project the sound when played acoustically, yet still manageable and playable. Plugged in it sounds rich, with deep beautiful upright tones. The fingerboard radius also allows it to be played with a bow. And the ability to add the peg and play it like an upright is a stroke of genius”
Still, in Tony’s B-10 discussion from just last week, we get the sense that his musical connection with the instrument has only grown over the years - so much, that he counts the fretless beauty as among the few (3) bass guitars he owns - and a fretless voice of choice.
We are also are reminded that at the very heart every Takamine “workhorse” is a high-performance thoroughbred of inspired design and build.
Check out Tony Franklin’s recent Takamine B-10 demo clip and discussion here.
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(Photo credit) – Kasia Huart
