What If ?

The Unofficial History of the 12-String Bass

The study of history is frequently much more interesting than the most outrageous of soap operas. Nowhere is this more evident than in the chain of events that have led to some of our most important technological innovations. Given the behind-the-scenes dramas that often occur, the flashes of insight, the accidents and stupid mistakes, and the simple dumb luck of random chance mixed with a healthy portion of sex, drugs, and generally aberrant behavior, new ideas seldom follow a straight line towards completion.

The history of the 12-string bass is equally convoluted, or at least it should have been! Nothing of what you are about to read is true. This is the history of the 12-string bass as I imagine it could have happened. The facts have been changed to fit my view of the world.

Saretti 12-String Bass Guitar - 1910

The first 12-string bass guitars were built in 1910 by Gustav Saretti in Vånga, Sweden. This photo postcard showing Saretti, his wife Ivana White Saretti and other instruments was mailed to the United States in 1911. In addition to the horns, saxophones and violins, two 12-string basses are shown, both with body binding and dot inlay necks. They incorporate the classic short scale body design adopted by Hamer nearly 70 years later.

Saretti was decades ahead of the competition in terms of electric bass guitar design, predating Leo Fender's P-bass by nearly half a century. However, through a cruel twist of fate, Saretti forgot to invent the bass amplifier, without which the basses were completely useless since nobody could hear them over the other instruments in the band. Saretti's oversight was widely reported and the firm soon went out of business. The whereabouts of these two basses is unknown although it is rumored that in 1912 they were shipped to one of Saretti's relatives in New York via the RMS Titanic.

Bass-Inova Upright 12-String Bass - ca. 1925

Louisiana Crawdad acoustic 12-String Bass - 1937

The Louisiana Crawdad acoustic 12-string bass was built in 1937 by Bubba "Cooter" Long, an inbred relative of Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long. The "Crawdad" name came from the crayfish logo on the body of the instrument. While most “Crawdads” were right-handed, it was produced in a unique left-handed version as shown in this promotional photo for the Binkley Brothers & Dixie Clodhoppers Bluegrass Band, a mainstay act at The Grand Ole Opry from 1936 through 1941.

After countless Opry-goers complained that the instrument was "just too darned loud" the Opry management required all bands to return to the cumbersome upright basses they had been using for many years.

Gibson Super-400 12-String Bass Prototype - 1938

While this behavior is considered to be normal among 12-string bassists today, in 1938 Rock & Roll had not yet been invented so serious questions were raised about Tom's mental state.

Tom was soon committed to the Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed in Rockford, Illinois. He escaped in the late 1940's, and it is rumored that he subsequently fathered several children in the Rockford vicinity. He was returned to the asylum permanently in 1952. By an odd coincidence his mailing address at the sanitarium was room #12.

Roswell, New Mexico - 1947

Analysts have concluded that this is ironclad evidence that not only was the initial idea for the 12 brought here from another planet, but also that extra-terrestrials have been and continue to be actively involved in the 12-string bass community.

Howlin' Wolf - 1953

Of all the blues artists in the 1950's, it was Howlin' Wolf that led the way in defining the “Chicago Sound”. Wolf, whose real name was Chester Burnett, had released an album in 1952 which included the 12-string bass on the songs "Moanin' at Midnight" and "How Many More Years".

This photo was taken at Howlin' Wolf's first gig in Chicago in 1953; he had just moved there after living in Memphis. The name of the bassist who played with Wolf in those early years is unknown but his contribution to the Chicago Sound is undeniable.

Liberace - 1956

This rare photo from 1956 shows Liberace and Elvis Presley warming up backstage before their debut duet appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was Presley's first appearance on the show, but he didn't get to actually meet Sullivan until later that year. Sullivan had been severely injured in a head-on car crash and missed five Sundays of shows. A different personality filled in for Sullivan each week, and this duet was introduced by guest host Charles Laughton.

Little known is the fact that Elvis originally played the piano, and it was Liberace who in the late 1940's developed the "swiveling hips" dance routine that was to later become Elvis' trademark. During rehearsal for the show Elvis suggested that since Liberace was actually the better piano player, just as a joke they should switch roles, and Liberace agreed.

The audience response was so overwhelmingly positive that the two performers decided to make a permanent change. Liberace became famous as a flamboyant pianist while Elvis gyrated to the thrill of a generation of screaming fans. Apparently these were good career moves for both entertainers.

Boxcar Willie - 1959

Boxcar Willie is shown here in a newspaper story from the Nashville Register in January of 1959. Willie, whose real name was Lecil Martin, started playing country music in the early 1950's and was still performing at the time of his death in 1999.

The original name of his band was "The Boxcar Willies" which referred to a specific type of paranoid psychosis that was common among hobos who had been confined inside of darkened railroad cars for extended periods. The illness manifested itself in terrifying delusions of being attacked by monsters, violent flailing of the arms and legs, and vocal outbursts similar to Tourette's Syndrome.

After all the other members of the band started exhibiting symptoms of the disorder, Martin hired new players, shortened the band name, and assumed center stage. (After extensive psychotherapy and electro-shock treatments all of the original band members eventually recovered from their illnesses except for the lead singer. He adopted the stage name Joe Cocker and incorporated the symptoms into his performances.)

While Boxcar Willie played an acoustic 12-string bass exclusively during every performance throughout his long career, it appears that nobody ever noticed. He was plagued by a string of albums that never generated a single hit, but thanks to television advertising he eventually became known as The World's Favorite Hobo. Willie's 12-string bass now resides on permanent display at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

First Severe 12-String Bass-Related Injury - 1961

News Date: November 12, 1961

Headline: Man Seriously Injured at Rock & Roll Show

(AP Wire Services Story - Reprinted with Permission)

News Story:  Charles "E.K." Van Halen is lucky to be alive after suffering severe injuries at a rock music show last Tuesday night. Van Halen, shown shortly after awakening from a three-day coma, was injured after the bassist with the band ‘The Ernest Borgnine Project’ started playing a 12-stringed electric bass guitar. The instrument generated such a massive wall of sound that Van Halen suffered internal injuries, ruptured eardrums and broken arms when he tried to cover his ears to prevent more damage.

"There ought to be a law against those 12-stringed things," states Van Halen, "and one thing for sure, I'm never going to let my kids have anything to do with rock music!" Van Halen is expected to be released from the hospital late next week.

Editors Note: This incident immediately prompted a Congressional investigation of the 12-string bass, which led to the passage of HR69: The Rock & Roll Protection Act of 1962. Due to the provisions of the Act new technologies were developed and incorporated into the design and construction of all 12-string basses, greatly limiting the frequency and severity of 12ver-related injuries. Today most injuries caused by the 12-string bass are self-inflicted and thoroughly enjoyed.

The Beatles - 1963

The Beatles performing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. This is the first of only two documented performances with the future Sir Paul McCartney playing his Hofner 12-string bass.

The only other time this bass was used in a live appearance was on February 8, 1964 when The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. Before the show Sullivan, an aspiring bassist himself, repeatedly asked McCartney, "What in the hell are all these strings for?" After spending nearly ten minutes trying to explain the intricacies of the instrument Paul finally told him, "They're just in case I break a string while I'm playing, I always carry plenty of spares." That answer seemed to satisfy Sullivan's curiosity and the show proceeded as planned.

While seldom played live, this bass saw extensive use with the Beatles in the recording studio several years later. Many of the instrumental parts presumably played on the sitar were actually played on the 12 in combination with a variety of innovative studio effects.

The Who - 1965

In this photo from the Richmond Jazz and Blues Festival, John Entwistle is shown playing a unique Danelectro Long Horn 12-string bass, the only 12 ever made by the company. It was smashed by Entwistle during the encore, with a piece of the shattered bass striking drummer Keith Moon's face and leaving a large permanent scar. Band insiders have privately stated they believed it was this disfigurement and the failed cosmetic surgeries that followed that started Moon on the slow downward spiral towards his untimely death.

Don Ho - 1968

Don Ho is shown rehearsing with Barbara Eden for an episode of the television show I Dream Of Jeannie that was filmed on location in Hawaii. The next day when the time came for filming the scene Don realized he had left his 12-string bass at home. The show's producer decided to go ahead and shoot the scene using the only instrument available on the set, an inexpensive ukulele.

Audiences responded so favorably to Don Ho's performance that he abandoned his budding rock music career in favor of acoustically-based island music. The song "Tiny Bubbles" that Don had performed on the show, originally written as an acid rock anthem, quickly established his sound and set the tone for his career for the following three decades.

Crosby Stills & Nash - 1970

David Crosby only played the 12-string bass at this one performance in Salt Lake City, Utah. He had planned on playing the 12 at Woodstock the previous year but had put a numerical lock on the case and he couldn't remember the combination. After spending nearly a year trying every number in sequence to find the correct "9876" setting, the case finally popped open right before the SLC gig.

Crosby spent the entire performance yelling, "What in the hell are all these strings for?" and "Can we hire that Neil Young cat to play bass?" during Graham Nash's guitar solos. The next day Crosby went back to playing acoustic guitar and never picked up the 12 again. Rumor has it this bass is stored at the Salt Lake City Airport in a locker with a 12-digit combination that nobody remembers.

KISS - 1974

Due to guitarist Ace Frehley's habit of disappearing at any given moment, KISS bassist Gene Simmons was forced to do whatever it took to ensure the show went on. Simmons is shown playing the custom 12-string bass made for him by Charlie Labue, who is famous for making the 4-string bass Gene played for much of the 1970's. This is the only known photo of the 12-string Labue, which is unusual due to the number of times Simmons had to use it. By playing the 12 Gene could cover most of the bass and rhythm guitar duties, which allowed Paul Stanley to cover Ace's parts. A little-known fact is that Paul played both solo parts on the studio version of "Detroit Rock City" which was a direct result of his years filling in for Ace live.

Simmons discussed the 12-string in his autobiography, Love Tongue: Confessions of a Rock & Roll Warrior. Gene writes, "It was great until I spit blood which would dry on the bass and the octave strings would stick together. That was a problem. Also, the girls loved it and ended up paying more attention to the bass than they did me. That was the bigger problem.”

Joan Jett - 1982

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performing in Reno, Nevada in 1982. She is shown here playing a previously unrecorded white Hamer Quad 12-string bass. While Jett, the first reported female 12-string bassist, usually played guitar, she switched to bass for the song "Fake Friends" which was released as a single in early 1983.

And the rest, as they say, is History…