12-STRING 2030 BASS CONVERSION FOR KENNY HOWES

Longtime Studio California friend and Power Pop Prince, Kenny Howes, was hankerin' for a thunder machine like no other. Kenny wanted a 12-string bass, and asked if it would be possible to convert a 2030 into such a beast, considering it was a bolt-neck bass, and "all [we] really had to do" (ahem) was build a new neck.

Always rising to a new challenge, we agreed. Kenny had a sketch for the headstock, and using other 12-string basses for inspiration, we procured the hardware and laid out the short-scale neck with its enormous headstock. The neck was fabricated with typical Rickenbacker dual truss rods and a new dot-marker Bubinga fretboard. 

The bass was finished in Rickenbacker Ruby paint, with a natural neck and painted headstock front. The nameplate on the headstock is actually nearly 120% the size of a standard Rickenbacker nameplate, yet it still seems to get lost on all of that red headstock real estate.

The electronics of this instrument remain factory-original. Kenny first  played this bass with the Smithereens in their Las Vegas tribute show, and continues to use this sonic attention-getter in special projects.