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Interview With Luthier Rybski
Interview With Luthier Rybski of Rybski Basses…
I recently had the opportunity to sit and chat with one of the finest luthiers I have the privilege of knowing. Rybski basses have been played all over the world from the US, Europe, Australia, and South America. Not only does he build some of the finest custom basses, he also does setups, repairs and customizing of any bass on the market.
Ty) How did you get started in building guitars and basses?
Rybski) I was always connected with arts and crafts. My dad was a pro musician. I’ve always liked to build things and be involved in music at the same time, so at some time, I felt the two needed to be connected. At age 15, I started to experiment with building musical instruments and by the age of 18 I had some projects done and ready. I built my first pro bass guitar in 1980. I also like to build any string instrument, i.e. (all electric) guitars, violins, cellos, uprights.
Ty) What separates your instruments for the others?
Rybski) I’m not a traditional luthier by any means. Although I have been involved in restoring a lot of classical instruments, my passion was always inventing, designing and customizing new and different instruments. I not only design my shapes, but also electronics, especially pickups. My instruments are a custom fit for the musicians I am working with, which is becoming a rare trait. I also use very unusual and rare materials to achieve different sounds and aesthetics.
Ty) Without going into too much detail, can you give more insight into your custom pickups?
Rybski) As many technologies before, my pickup building happened accidentally. I was in the need for different sounds and started experimenting with what I had and it was much different that what is on the market. I’ve noticed right away the big difference in sound and performance, and after only 35 years of doing it, I’m still getting better. The most important things in my research were tone, noise canceling, and practicality. Soon after, I added the craft part, which is the wooden covers and that was around 1980.
Ty) what are some of the best tone woods that you like to work with?
Rybski) First of all, let’s say it straight. All woods are tone woods and for one reason or another, the traditional art of luthier made people believe that certain woods are better than the other. Personally, I still use some maple, but the range of woods in my shop is only limited to availability. My recent specialty as you may find in my info is “Wooten Woods Camp” material. Mostly it is driftwood from Duck River floods deposited at the campground. Usually this type of wood is rarely used for anything but also very beautiful. With the knowledge and skill, you can use it to create beautiful masterpieces. I also like exotics, for example, my favorites are padauk, purple heart, rosewoods, and burls for looks.
Ty) what types of hardware do you prefer?
Rybski) I prefer to support local US business if possible and the Hipshot comes as the top supplier with a great quality product. I also use the recent superstar Babicz for the bridges, and Schaller from Germany.
Ty) Are your custom builds limited to Rybski designs?
Rybski) Not at all. I offer the build called “One of One” and the concept is to let customer design it and being involved in the process. I don’t care if it’s a napkin drawing, photograph, or email with explanation. I’m set to help design and achieve the required effect. All of my builds are completely done by hand and being a one-man shop, I have absolute control over the outcome of the project.
Ty) what is the typical turnaround time for a custom bass build?
Rybski) Custom Rybski as appears on the website takes an average 10-14 weeks right now, although the more custom involved projects can stretch much longer depending on the availability of materials and the level of customization, like inlays and finishes.
Visit online at rybskibass.com
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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