The long-running punk outfitās bassist shows off his no-frills rumble regimen from this yearās arena tour.
This summer, a Bay Area punk-rock extravaganza rolled across the world. In support of the 30th and 20th anniversaries of their records Dookie and American Idiot, Green Day arranged the summerās best stadium-rock tour, with support from Smashing Pumpkins and fellow Bay bashers Rancid.
PGās Chris Kies met up with Rancid bassist Matt Freeman just before the tourās stop at Nashvilleās Geodis Park. In this Rundown, in addition to trotting out his breadwinner bass rig, Freeman tells Kies his bass origin story, including his early and enduring influences, and shares how he developed a unique playing style suited to his smaller hands. Later, tech Warren Lee takes over to give us the scoop on Freemanās backstage rack. Tune in to get the details.
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Chamber Music
Freemanās principal 4-strings are two Fender Precision basses, but after he experienced back issues last year, Fender set to work on this one, making it less taxing on Freemanās body. The result is this sneakily chambered P bass, which is lighter to facilitate long-term rocking. Freeman strings it with Fender Nickel Plated Steel bass strings, with a gauge range of .105ā.085ā.065ā.045.
High Mass
Fender R&D created this dense bridge with barrel saddles to offset the reduced weight of the body so it properly balanced on Matt's shoulder.
Bassman's Bassman
For the stadium shows, Freeman runs these two Fender Bassman 800 heads with matching 8x10 cabinets.
Tenderloin
Freemanās signal goes wireless from his bass into one of the Avalon U5 Class A Active Instrument DI and Preampsāthe other is a backupāthen through the Way Huge Pork Loin Overdrive, set to give his Bassman a good push, and finally to the onstage amps.
Shop Rancid's Rig
Fender Bassman 800 Head
Fender Bassman 810 Neo 8x10" Bass Cabinet
Avalon U5 Class A Active Instrument DI and Preamp
Fender Precision Bass
Fender Nickel Plated Steel Bass Strings
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- Green Day Rig Rundown [2024] āŗ
The body shape of this 6-string seems surprisingly ergonomic, but that perception changes when you hold its neck!
And so it goes that I pondered this proliferation of Virgos and Libras, and my hypothesis came into focus. Were we all the result of our parentsā Christmas and New Yearās celebrations?! I have to say, there was a camaraderie discovered among my fellow party babies when I presented my findings to them. Now, being born in the early ā70s also had me thinking of the culture of the times. Hippie life was fading as young people started to realize they had to get a job, and alas, long hair and beards were being replaced by staid 9-to-5 gigs that could slowly suck the life out of you. So, given the cultural mores of that era, I thought that this month I should write about the Sorrento Swinger.
āHippie life was fading as young people started to realize they had to get a job.ā
Born around 1967āmaybe in Septemberāthese Swingers hailed from the ācrazyā design period of the Kawai Co. Kawai produced some of the coolest guitar designs from 1967 to ā69, and there were some very creative guitar designers there on the job. Kawai had poached some of the finest employees from the wreckage of the Shinko Gakki factory (Pleasant, Intermark, etc.) and through the purchase of the Teisco brand. In this era, Kawai usually used three different standard pickups and they all sound great, plus the units are always wired in series, which is just awesome.
For a 25-buck, Japan-made guitar from the ā70s, the Swinger has an elite-looking headstockāand, on this example, most of its tuners.
Now, the Swinger (and similar Kawai-made guitars) came from an era where U.S. importers would order small batches of instruments that were often unique and extremely gonzo. The guitars might have been destined for medium-sized music stores or direct-order catalogs, but whatever the case, the importer usually gave the guitars names. In this instance, it was Jack Westheimer who featured this model as an āexclusiveā design. In Westheimer Corporation catalogs from the time, the Swinger carried the A-2T model name (there was another one-pickup model called the A-1) and sold wholesale for $25 in 1967! As the catalog mentioned, these were āpriced for the teenaged trade.ā This particular guitar featured the Sorrento badge, and was sold through some sort of music store thatās probably long out of business, but all the Swingers were the same.
The Swingerās large mahogany neck (sans truss rod) is robust and beefy in all the nicest ways. Like, when I was a kid, I was considered a āhuskyā fit. Thatās this neck: husky! The striped pickguard is a Teisco holdover and the controls are as simple as it gets. Two knobs (volume, tone) and two pickup selectors is all there is, but the beauty is in the body. That lower bout is shaped like some sort of 1969 lounge chair. The strap pin is totally in the wrong place, but the big bottom swoop is worth it. Yep, the Swinger was ready to bring in the dawn of the 1970s, but alas, the guitar came and went in a blink.
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