Rancid’s Matt Freeman has opened a Reverb store to sell off some of his gear. The punk legend, formerly of ska-punk stalwarts Operation Ivy, is letting go of a number of stage-played bass guitars, many of which have performed vital roles in the band’s history.
Basses such as the Fender Telecaster Bass that he played extensively throughout the late ‘90s, and notably appears in the video for Rancid’s Who Would’ve Thought.
The bass is listed as a 1966 model but that must be an error, as Fender only introduced the Telecaster Bass in ’68. Though Freeman’s looks like the second earliest version of the Tele Bass, featuring the large black Telecaster Bass logo, emphasis on the Fender script ‘Bass’.
The Telecaster Bass was basically a straight reissue of Fender’s 1951 Precision Bass. It had one single-coil pickup, which Freeman has swapped out for a Seymour Duncan – quite possibly a high-output Quarter Pound.
“I bought this bass around 1997 because I liked the neck,” says Freeman. “It’s really worn in a good way. It has oval tuning machines. I have played this bass live, mostly in the late ‘90s, early 2000s.”
Other notable basses include Freeman’s number one touring bass since 2007, a 2007 Tony Franklin Fender Fretted Precision Bass, a very sweet 1977 Music Man StingRay, and a black 1995 Ibanez TR bass.
While the exact model is not listed, it looks very much like a rare TR600 Expressionist, judging by the control setup and dual single-coil pickup configuration. Either way, Rancid super-fans might recognise it as Freeman’s go-to bass during the ... And Out Comes the Wolves tour. It was also used to track Rancid’s 1998 studio album, Life Won't Wait.
Some of these instruments look like they’ve been worked hard, like the 2017 Fender American Professional Precision Bass with the Oakland As sticker, played onstage since its launch, and a 1969 P-Bass that has clocked up a similar number of road miles. Where they go next, is up to the general bass-buying public.
“I have really loved collecting all kinds of instruments over the years,” says Freeman. “It's time I let some go so other people can enjoy them as much as I have.”
These and more more are bound to be added to the shop in coming days. Freeman announced via the Rancid Twitter account that there will be guitars and amps, too. Head over to the Official Matt Freeman of Rancid Reverb Shop for more.
