As the brand that brought forth the electric bass, Fender seeks to honor the biggest pioneers of the instrument across genres and MonoNeon is one of them. Mono’s fashion sense is on par with his playing, often adorned in fluorescent layers and accessories that would give any glow stick a run for its money. Thanks to this signature model’s eye-popping yellow and orange finish and pickguard, the optics on this bass keep up with the fashion sense of the man who inspired its creation.
“Getting my own artist signature bass with Fender is definitely a full circle experience happening right now,” said MonoNeon. “Seeing my dad holding my bass is really crazy. He’s like my first musical hero. He’s a very funky player. I’d just practice to all of his records, try to find anything he played on and just learn it. I wanted to be just like him and I still do.”
The 22-fret one-piece roasted maple neck is C-shaped for comfort and has a 10”-14” compound radius fingerboard and pearl block inlays. Custom Fireball 5-String Humbucking Bass pickups deliver luscious and robust low end with a growl, while the 18-volt active preamp provides extra headroom. Meanwhile, the 3-band active EQ gives players endless tonal capabilities and the Fender HiMass string-through-top-load bridge increases resonance, weight and sustain. Each bass comes with a MonoNeon sticker pack and custom headstock Stance sock.
Dywane Thomas Jr. or MonoNeon, as he is more commonly known, grew up with bass guitar in his blood. His father was a well known Memphis bass player who took every opportunity to share his love for blues and soul with his son. After growing up alongside musical family members and playing bass in church, MonoNeon published his first video on YouTube in 2013. His lifelong affinity with the bass and the power it wields was put on full display, for all the world to see. And the world was quick to embrace MonoNeon, in all of his fluorescent glory. Known in the broader pop culture space for taking viral clips of people talking and translating the pitch of their voices into a musical piece, his online following grew with each passing year but MonoNeon wasn’t only shining in front of his webcam. In 2015, he was asked to join Prince’s live band—a dream come true for any musician, but especially for one like Mono, whose roots exist in the emotional funk and R&B music of the 1980s. By 2020, MoneNeon’s list of collaborators had expanded to include the likes of Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, Nas, Bootsy Collins, Jacob Collier and many more.
Exploring the Mononeon Signature Jazz Bass V | Artist Signature Series | Fender
MonoNeon Jazz Bass $1,549.99. For more information, please visit fender.com.
