Tony Levin - What does he use on his fingers to play his bass???

nirvan44 · #1 06-05-2009, 12:53 AM

Have been watching some Peter Gabriel concerts on DVD and let's talk about Mr Tony Levin.

First, he uses these pencil-like thin sticks attached to his fingers to strike his bass strings. What are they and can they be purchased anywhere?

What's his gear and setup like. I think one of the basses was a Musicman??

Any comments and contributions?

Cheers!

Eugene

Amo · #2 06-05-2009, 12:54 AM

They are Funk Fingers but I have no idea where you can purchase that, sorry.
Seems not so hard to build it by yourself though.

nirvan44 · #3 06-05-2009, 12:59 AM

Hi Amo,

Thanks for the quick reply.

So I guess one has to strike precisely on the strings for the right note? Must be tricky to play! But being Mr Levin for what he is, I suppose he has no problems!

20db pad · #4 06-05-2009, 01:32 AM

Levin used to sell them on his website many moons ago, but he hasn't offered them since.

There's a few ideas on how to make your own set here:
http://www.papabear.com/pbtlff.htm

Hoover · #5 06-05-2009, 09:13 AM

I used to own a set of FunkFingers back when Tony sold them through his Papa Bear website. Didn't get much use out of them, but I wound up selling them on Ebay for 4x what I paid!

Last time I saw Tony with Gabriel (the Growing Up tour) he was using an ErnieBall/MusicMan Stingray 5 and an NS Electric Upright worn horizontally like a bass guitar. Big pedalboard, too far away to see what was on it. Amps if any were backstage so no idea.

I more recently saw Tony with King Crimson in August 2008 and he had two Stingray 5s (one of which I presume was a backup, as he never used it) and a Chapman Stick. Amps were Ampeg SVT.

hentor · #6 06-05-2009, 09:28 AM

There's a recent video from the man himself on YouTube about what basses he's using on the latest PG Tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlTerLBRM6U

MM Sabre with graphite neck for Sledgehammer
MM 20th Anniversary Stingray
MM 25th Anniversary Stingray
Chapman Stick
NS Upright Basscello

I also have a picture of a recent pedalboard of his (no access to my flickr account as I am at work) however it has on it:

A Radial Labs Bassbone
An EBS Octaver
An Ernie Ball Volume Control
An Analogman BiComprosser
An Electroharmonix Deluxe Memory Man with Hazarai
A Boss Digital Delay
A Boss Distortion (the photo is unclear but it looks like a DS-1)
and a Korg Rackmount Tuner

Elchupacabra · #7 06-05-2009, 01:10 PM

I think that the original Funk Fingers were shortened drumsticks which he attached to his fingers.

wnelson · #8 06-05-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elchupacabra

I think that the original Funk Fingers were shortened drumsticks which he attached to his fingers.

bingo!!...thats all they were....cut drum sticks and athletic tape.

ZonGuy · #9 06-05-2009, 02:12 PM

I believe part of Tony's gear change was dictated by a fire in his home studio that destroyed a lot of his favorite gear.

Ekim · #10 06-08-2009, 04:37 PM

I found a pair of knock-offs that seem to be pretty well made. I can't find them to tell you what company made them. I think I found them on that evil auction site.

fretlessguy · #11 06-09-2009, 08:05 AM

The first time I saw him live he was playing with Anderson Wakeman Bruford and Howe, (a YES offshoot) and he used them to play Roundabout and Close To The Edge with. They were different than what he has used the last few years; They were longer with large round ends. Probably used percussion mallets to make them. I remember in a BASS PLAYER article at the time he used surgical tubing to attach them to his fingers.

elros · #12 06-09-2009, 10:28 AM

Yes those are Funk Fingers. No longer in production, I think. Tony has enough for his own use but none for sale anymore. I bought me a pair back in the 90s which I use every now and then. They're the bomb!