Elwood Francis recently chose an interesting instrument as he played a seventeen-stringed bass in one of ZZ Top’s shows. However, the bassist felt he offended the guitar designer when he disclosed his decision to play the instrument on Instagram.
“Well, now… I thought I’d use this bass once or twice for no other reason than amusement,” wrote Francis as he mentioned how things started as a joke. “It’s such a strikingly absurd instrument. We’d all laugh and then move on to something else. However, it’s gotten too much attention not to talk about the guy that actually came up with the idea: Jared Dines.”
He continued, “The bass I play is a Chinese-made POS. It’s a mid-copy of something he plays, and he’s probably all pissed off. I don’t know if he designed it, but the cat’s an amazing musician and sees me playing simple ass bass lines that I could play with one string while he has worked up music to make use of the damn thing.”
Francis then appreciated Dines’ design talents. “Dude has moved beyond the 17 string, and I’d suggest checking him out just to see what he does with it. I just hope he has a sense of humor.”
It is clear that Dines has a good sense of humor, as he commented below Francis’ post, stating there was no problem. “Not pissed at all! I thought the picture of you playing it was photoshopped at first. I love that it’s real! Guitars are modified and remade all the time; I’m glad you had fun with it.”
The bassist thought that he had offended Dines by playing his bass as a joke, but the designer reassured Elwood Francis that there was no problem with him playing the guitar remake. He even stressed that he enjoyed seeing Elwood have fun.
