Last Minute “28” - Ken Lawrence Custom Bass (1988-Present)
I have three basses made by Ken Lawrence. If I were ever to play those basses again, it would probably be the one with the maple top. I really like the sound. It has a really good tone; it looks good and it’s loud. On the neck, I asked him if he could work out the number 28 in as many languages as possible. When we were recording the album Brotherhood, Ken had just finished the first bass he made for me. I played it on the last song we recorded for that album, “This Train I’m On.” The bass came right at the last minute, hence the name!
“On the second bass I made for him, my buddy came with me to Tiran’s house to help with the positioning of the pickups. We had already positioned one of the pickups right near the bridge, and then with the other two, we actually did something that I had done with a couple of clients. It was kind of crazy, but I made these little ramps, and we put the pickups above the strings, and we would move them around until you went, okay, that's the spot, that's the sound. Then everything would have to come off and then we’d route them in and then install them and everything. So, we actually routed two of those pickups in Tiran’s garage. Then we did all the wiring and assembly stuff on an island in his kitchen. And, of course, doing things like that usually takes two to three times longer than you expect. So, we were there for quite a while. This was specific to his ear and the sound that he wanted. Anybody that knows Tiran knows that he has the most amazing ears. He stopped playing fretted basses because of the tiny pitch difference. On the F on E the string the first fretted note was making him crazy. So, he said, "Well, I'm done with frets then, because I can just move my fingers and get it how I want it.” - Ken Lawrence, luthier and owner of Kenneth Lawrence Instruments, Arcata California
A note on the #28….In 1975 I was made aware of the number twenty-eight. We were flying on an alternate Doobie Liner because our original plane had caught fire (still a mystery?). The tour had been separated into two halves and the stewardess on our new plane had been watching me carefully. She was a beautiful and kind woman, and we had a growing synergy. The afternoon of our last gig she mentioned to me that it seemed the #28 was following me around. I hadn’t noticed and she proceeded to point out that the day was the 28th, the address of the last venue had 28 in it, and I was staying in room #280. That night at the gig when I didn’t have a bass in my hands, I held hers. She was wondrous and a Libra just like me. Number 28 has stayed with me ever since. I found it later in my birth certificate, the number of steps in my home, on the screen of my favorite films, and on the neck of PRS I still own. It’s everywhere!