Les Claypool Auctioning His Personal Bass For Charity

Les Claypool Auctioning His Personal Bass For Charity: Primus bassist Les Claypool has decided to auction his prototype bass nicknamed “Pachyderm” to help raise funds for his two-year old nephew Matthew, who is battling leukemia. Baby Matthew was diagnosed with the cancer at only two months of age, and Les is doing his best to help with the astronomical medical costs to the family. In addition, Primus will perform several benefit concerts to raise money for Matthew.

“The expenses of these things are insane,” Claypool said, in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I remember he had to get a couple of shots when he first got diagnosed with this, and the shots were $80,000 apiece. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s been nonstop.” Claypool’s auction, which is currently on eBay and, as of today, has already received nearly 40 bids and has topped $10,000, is described as follows:

“One of two original basses that Les has been performing with onstage with Primus for the past couple of years. It is the exact prototype of the PACHYDERM four string basses that are currently being custom made by Les’s longtime friend and luthier, Dan Maloney. These basses were designed by Les Claypool to be the most comfortable and easy to play four string basses to his standards.  This particular bass has a walnut top with a maple back and exotic wood pick guard.  It is 32” scale with LED lights in the side of the fingerboard and has a Kahler brand tremolo bar.  Keeping the electronics simple, Les equips his basses with one single custom split EMG pickup with a single control knob. It has a bronze Pachyderm medallion set into the headstock. This combination of woods and electronics gives this particular bass a warm but punchy attack with a medium finish.  These basses are light and extremely comfortable in the lap as well as on strap. Being that this is a prototype for a small run of custom instruments, and it’s a personal instrument of Les’, it is sure to be a collectible item. The instrument can be personalized with a signature by Les if desired and comes with a Gator soft case.”

The auction is set to end at 10:30 am Pacific Time on August 15th, and, as stated on eBay, “Once it’s gone, it’s gone, so don’t miss out.” Regarding baby Matthew, and how you can help out, more information can be found at baby Matthew.