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The ‘Franklinsteiner’ Recreation
Seeing that it is the Halloween season, I thought I would favor you with my creation… The Franklinsteiner!!!
A few moons back, my dear compadre Peter Baron dialed me up with an intriguing proposition. He and the venerable John Regan had conspired to pay homage to the legendary Peter Frampton. John, having stood faithfully by Peter’s side as his bass maestro for over three and a half decades, had some grand plans. Unfortunately, fate had other designs, and John left us just weeks before the repertory ensemble’s inaugural tribute show. In the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, Peter was resolute about pressing forward, and he beckoned me to join in.
The setlist was a beautiful concoction of tunes from Peter Frampton’s iconic live double album “Frampton Comes Alive “(1976), with a sprinkle of Humble Pie classics. I, of course, couldn’t resist the siren call and gladly accepted the gig.
Now, here’s where the tale takes a twist.
You see, on that legendary live LP, the basslines were crafted on a fretless bass by the virtuoso Stanley Sheldon. To stay true to that recording, I embarked on a quest to find a four-string Fender fretless bass.
The lone warrior I found was the Tony Franklin fretless bass, and it became mine.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for opportunities to make your instrument truly yours. So, my journey to customize this fine bass commenced from the headstock down.
I must tip my hat to Fender and Tony Franklin for birthing an instrument of pure sonic delight.
The ebony fretless neck is the heart and soul of this beauty. My first tweak was to replace the low E tuner with a Hipshot D tuner, but here’s the twist: on all my basses, be they six-string or four, I’m smitten with the “Double” edition, allowing for two unique tunings below the open note.
I then upgraded the strap pegs to Schaller strap locks, a tried and true choice that’s served me well over the years.
The pickups, though, I have a particular penchant for those crafted by the masterful Lindy Fralin. Thus, I switched to the PJ combo, featuring a P-Bass Neck and our Split Jazz +5% Bridge for Noiseless Operation. To add a touch of uniqueness, I opted for white pickups and swapped the black plastic pickup selector knob for chrome.
Venturing down the neck, I yearned for a different bridge, and the Babicz bridge, with their Full Contact Hardware (FCH) system, beckoned. FCH offers a larger contact surface between string and body, which translates to enhanced sustain and richer tonal resonance.
The input jack, a seemingly mundane detail, was not spared my scrutiny. After countless road miles, I’ve learned that it’s best to keep things secure. So, I’ve sworn by the “Pure Tone” multi-contact 1/4” jack, for safety’s sake.
And when I turned the bass over, I couldn’t resist one last flourish.
The signature neck plate, which once bore the name Tony Franklin, now proudly carries my own.
But my creative quest wasn’t quite complete. The “Lake Placid Blue” finish was just a tad too pristine for my rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities. And who better to unleash the weathered charm than Mark Jenny and the wizards at MJT Guitars? They are the artisans of choice, whether for fashioning new instruments or conjuring the art of relic-ing.
And there you have it, the saga of how a Tony Franklin Fretless bass became uniquely mine.
Don’t get me wrong; the original is a gem through and through. But, as any bass enthusiast knows, personalization is a rite of passage in our musical journeys. This, my friends, is my tale, and I’m sticking to it!
IT IS ALIVE!!!!!
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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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