THIS GOES TO TWELVE

Idaho-resident bassist Mark Rowe owns what is thought to be the world’s largest collection of 12-string basses. We meet him for a chat about the thang behind the twang...

- Mark Rowe

How did you get into 12-string basses, Mark?

I’ve been playing in various rock and country bands for 40 years, and I’ve done well over 2000 gigs. I first got into these basses back in 1987, when I picked up a fretless Rickenbacker eightstring. That’s the only fretless eight that Rickenbacker has ever built, according to the documentation. I got into it because I was living in Missoula, Montana, which is a college town with a great music scene. There weren’t enough bands to go round, so I ended up playing in 14 different groups over a three-year period. A lot of those were three-piece rock bands, and although I love that format, the problem is that the sound drops out when the guitarist starts playing a solo. The eight-string was a solution because it has a bigger sound. Later, in 1999, I got into 12-string basses and I’ve been hooked since then—it’s a real passion for me.

A lot of us are a bit intimidated by these things. Should we be?