I have been blessed with five amazing instruments that inspire me to play a wide variety of music.  These basses all mean a lot to me because so many wonderful musical memories have been created with each of them.  Below is a description of each instrument:

1975 American Fender Precision Bass

This is a very special electric bass guitar to me for many reasons.  It is the bass I learned my fundamentals on.  It also is the bass that I used to earn  the money to buy my first amplifier and my next bass guitar.  What makes this bass special is that it was factory ordered with a Fender Jazz Bass neck.  It is an "old school" bass with original passive Fender Precision pickups. 

Although I have had it strung up with flat wound strings over the past few years in order to be able to re-create James Jamerson's Motown sound, when strung up with round wound strings this bass is a formidable slap and pop style bass.  I love this bass even though it is one of my heaviest bass guitar.  I string this bass up with flat wound DR strings that I rarely change.  The result is a very authentic "old school" sound.

1992 Carvin LB-76

Vuyani's 1992 Fretted Carvin LB-76 Bass

It has quickly become the bass I am most often seen playing. In fact, whenever I am going into a potentially uncomfortable situation such as auditions, this is the bass I choose to take with me.  It has a gorgeous sound and is in its element in blues, straight ahead jazz, contemporary jazz, gospel, soul, pop, or hip hop.  I consider this bass to be my all purpose bass.  I string it up exclusively with DR High Beam medium light gauge strings.  I absolutely love the sound of this bass!

1991 Mexican Fender Jazz Bass

Vuyani And His 1991 Fender Jazz Bass

Eventually it became clear to Josh that the bass neck had dead spots.  He then sold it to me.  I kept this bass for three years.  In that time I only performed publicly with it once.  I came very close to selling this bass to Walla Walla's Dwayne Myers, but thankfully, Dwayne missed an appointment to come see and buy the bass.  I then decided to get the neck re-fretted at The Sound Machine music store in Kennewick, Washington.  The work was done by Bob Keefe, a great guitar player I was performing with at that period.  The quality of the fret work was phenomenal!

After that, I sent it to have some active EMG pickups installed at The Twelth Fret shop in Portland, Oregon.  (Incidentally, The Twelfth Fret shop has been my favorite shop to have set up work done on all of my electric basses).  Once the new frets and pickups were installed, this bass played, sounded, and felt like a million bucks!  It became my first choice to play in funk situations.  It also is at home in jazz or jazz fusion situations. 

For many years I strung this bass up with DR Low Rider medium light strings.  Now I string this bass up with DR Fat Beam strings thanks to a suggestion by my good friend, and amazing bassit Bo Bradley.  This bass is now outfitted with an aluminum KSM Foundation bridge, which gives it more sustain and clarity.

1946-ish Kay 3/4 Size Acoustic Upright Bass

Vuyani's Kay Accoustic Upright Bass

Since Vuyani is primarily an electric bassist, this bass ends up being used much more in recording situation than in live performance situations.  The sound is relatively uniform, with no obvious dead spots.  The fingerboard is made of ebony and like all other Kay upright basses of this vintage, the body is made of composite wood - which contributes to the uniformity of sound.  The bridge is an adjustable bridge, and Vuyani uses an Underwood pickup.  Vuyani primarily uses this bass to track jazz sessions. 

McCombs Guitars Custom Six String Fretless Acoustic Bass Guitar

Vuyani's Six String Fretless Accoustic Guitar

John McCombs Guitars Custom Six String Fretless Electric Bass Guitar - My next bass.  This bass is still a concept.  It will also be extremely unique and radical in design.  The components are currently being sourced internationally.  Naturally, further details on this instrument cannot be made available at this time. 

1979 Ibanez Roadster RS-900 Electric Bass Guitar

On June 20, 2009, my good friend, Phil Upchurch Jr. had me come by his house to pick up a bass he wanted me to have.  It turned out to be this Ibanez Roadster.  This bass has an ash body, a rock maple neck with a maple fingerboard, and a single Musicman type Humbucker that is active.  It is heavy, and it is not the prettiest bass, but it sounds great!  It has very quiet electronics.

Phil Upchurch Jr. filled me in on some of the history of this bass.  He went on to tell me that the original owner is George Benson, the jazz legend.  This bass was then given to jazz great, Phil Upchurch, by George Benson during the years they worked together.  (It is not clear if this is the bass that was used by Phil Upchurch to record the bass tracks on George Benson's "Breezin'" or "The Ghetto").  Eventually, this Ibanez Roadster was given to Phil Upchurch Jr., who ended up using it to record the bass tracks on his father's records.  After many years of use, Phil Upchurch Jr. was kind enough to give it to me.  This is a gift I will never forget....and I will honor this gracious gesture by making music with this bass.

2000 Mexican Fretless Fender Jazz Bass

Friday the 13th, November 2009 was a lucky day for Vuyani.  This is the day he received a beautiful purple lined fretless 2000 Fender Jazz Bass from his good friend, Bay Area master bassist Steve Evans.  This bass has a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard.  The pickups are Fender passive pickups.  When this bass arrived, it was strung with flat wound strings.  The sound is a very warm, deep, gorgeous tone - making the bass a pleasure to play. 

The set up is just as Vuyani likes it - low action.  The addition of an aluminum KSM Foundation bridge to this bass has only added to its ability to sustain notes and sound clarity.  Vuyani is especially pleased by the "Mwah" sound quality of this bass (fretless bass notes tend to sound as if the bass is saying "Mwah" with each note played).  Vuyani is already planning on using this bass on a recording project.

Brubaker Brute

This Matador Red five string fretted bass joined Vuyani's collection in the spring of 2010.  The neck is made of hard maple with a maple fingerboard and a graphite nut.  The body is made from basswood.  The string spacing at the bridge is a very comfortable 19mm.  The pickup configuration has an active Music Man pickup at the bridge and an active Jazz pickup at the neck.  Although this bass sounds big and punchy with it's original pickups, Vuyani chose to upgrade to a Villex pickup system.

The neck profile fits Vuyani's left hand very comfortably.  Also, the maple fingerboard gives the bass a bright sound quality.  One of the most amazing things about this instrument is it's ability to sustain notes.  This is due to a revolutionary neck to body connection joint.  This bass can sing for days!

Although the Villex pickup system is passive, it has a wide dynamic response that can sometimes sound active.  With this system, the Brute retains it's big and punchy sound while adding a much more refined tones.  The combination of great electronics with a great neck profile, great tone woods, light weight and good balance makes this a great instrument!