Back at this year’s Grammy Awards show, we noticed a strange contraption on Annie Clements’ bass during the live performance of Maren Morris’ “The Bones.”
We DM’d her to ask for more details, and to our surprise and delight, she DM’d us back right then, from the Grammys, to give us the low-down on her MIDI controller–equipped bass guitar. She then posted a video on YouTube explaining her “Bass of the Future.”
And yet, we still wanted to learn more. So we caught up with Clements and Thad Beaty—her husband, former bandmate, guitarist, and the co-creator of the Bass of the Future—at their home. We discussed not only the bass in question, but how their music-making has changed through the pandemic, what they’re most looking forward to as tours resume, and more.
The Bass of the Future
While the Bass of the Future might look like a keytar, it’s a small MIDI controller attached to the front of her Fender Jazz Bass.
Instead of modifying the bass itself, Clements and Beaty mounted the IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 Mini to the body with some standard door hinges, strips of… READ MORE