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Bass Musician Magazine’s Year of the Luthier – Stephen Sukop, Sukop Basses
Meet Stephen Sukop of Sukop Basses
How did you get your start in music?
I started playing bass at 10, began playing in clubs with some local groups at 15.
Are you still an active player?
Still playing bass a bit, but now I’m doing a solo acoustic guitar gig, country!
How did you get started as a Luthier? When did you build your first bass?
I always felt that if you played guitar and worked with wood, guitar making was a natural curiosity and I fell in the middle. I was 16 when I made my first bass, a fretless acoustic made from the wood of an old TV console. The sides were plywood and I soaked it in a tub to bend into a frame. Incredibly crude, but it worked! I still have it here at the shop.
How did you learn the art of woodworking/Luthier? Who would you consider a Mentor?
I’m self-taught as a builder; trial and error, I love to experiment! I think if you learn from sombody else, you may just continue to do it that way; I want to see every avenue/option. I feel there’s always one best way to do anything. I definitely borrowed some ideas from basses I liked and fused those influences into what I do today.
How do you select the woods you choose to build with?
Certain woods have been used since the beginnings of Fender. Hard maple for necks, and alder bodies have a definite familiarity with players, but as a custom builder, guys can choose whatever they like. Main thing is that the selected timbers have lots of time to season and relax.
How about pickups? What pickups did you use in the past? What electronics do you use right now?
I’ve been using Bartolini pickups and preamps for a long time; I view these as very high-quality, industry standard. I remember a guy asking me at a show what I though about this or that pickup or preamp. I told him, “I can’t really have an opinion on every new thing that comes out, I have a life! If you think one thing is better for you than another, just tell me and I can put it in your custom build order.”
What are a few things that you are proud about your instruments and that you would consider unique in your instruments?
The cool thing about builders is we are all so different. In the end everyone’s work will be their own interpretation of what they have as an ultimate vision. I put great emphasis on the feel of the instruments, I believe this is most important, and tone will follow. How good could anything sound if one must struggle to play it? A unique feature I am very proud of is my custom bridge, which I designed several years ago. Made of brass, they are independent saddles, which allow for varying string widths, along with a very close profile against the body. The ball end is also set in a notched brass sleeve in the face of the instrument, giving tight string through body-like contact, but is still quick release.
Which one of the basses that you build is your favorite one?
I don’t think I really have any favorites, I love all my children equally – LOL! The design needs to be the customer’s favorite, thus the reason for many different model styles. My job is really to give them exactly what they want; I don’t like to steer the project too much during a custom build, I think it’s better they decide the directions.
Can you give us a word of advice to young Luthiers who are just starting out?
A famous bass builder I won’t name here told me, “If you were smart enough, you wouldn’t be in this business…” HA! That said, there are easier ways to earn money. I do realize I am incredibly fortunate to have anything to show for what I chose to do for a living, but mostly a lot of hard work, overcoming failures and perhaps a bit of luck led to what could probably be termed a success. I feel I was born to do this. Follow your heart if you think this is really what you want to do, try not to be discouraged especially in the beginning.
What advice would you give a young musician trying to find his perfect bass?
Go with your gut. There are so many possibilities to choose from it’s mind numbing. Basses are like the musicians that play them, none are really better than the next, mostly just DIFFERENT. What works for one person may not work for another. You’ll know when you feel and hear it. I like to think as builders we definitely have more control over the physical aspects of the design than so much the tone; I say if it feels right you’ll get the sound. How good could something sound if you had to struggle to play it? In the end I want my basses to be sort of invisible, that the sounds just come out of your head. Looking at the Mona Lisa, you don’t see the brush!
What is biggest success for you and for your company?
There’s a lot of ways success could be measured. For some it’s about the number of instruments produced and the revenues gained. For me it’s about making the best product I can possibly build and having extremely happy customers. Again, I’ve been lucky enough to “make it “. If I never made another bass I’d be happy with what I’ve done, I have competed at a world-class level.
Are you preparing something new, some new model or new design?
I still want to do a piezo bridge option, it’s been on the table for a bit now. Thinking about also doing another retro-version, maybe like a Jaguar bass, as I do love certain shapes for their timeless Americana appeal. My thanks to the customers, who always push me to try something new. It’s healthy growth to be tossed outside my comfort zone, and I’m always going to try to give them exactly what they ask for. I just did my first neck with inlaid graphite!
What are your future plans?
For the future I’d love to simply continue what I’ve been doing, to keep refining the process and grow as an artist. It’s important for people to know there are alternative choices among instruments out there, not just the stuff you see at your local music store.
Thanks for the opportunity to showcase some of my work here.
Visit online at sukop.com
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
Featured Videos
Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
