So What Was That Thing Muse’s Chris Wolstenholme Was Playing on SNL?
On Saturday, October 6, Muse was the special musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Their first performance was “Madness,” a single from The 2nd Law. They sounded great. But what was that weird double-necked bass contraption that Chris Wolstenholme had slung around his shoulders?
The bottom was a standard-looking bass. But within the same body was what looked like an embedded iPad that was somehow connected to the upper neck. It sounded super-cool. But what was it? I found this shot on Flickr.
I asked the question on Twitter and got a variety of answers. (My favourite was “It’s called an iPad. Apple makes them.” Smartass. But I laughed.)
It could be a special bass mod of a Kitara, a touchscreen guitar that’s been around for a while.
Or it could be something that Chris had built especially for him. When you’re in Muse, you can do that.
Does anyone else want to weigh in?
If you find Muses' prior performance on SNL (or caught them live last tour) you'd have seen singer-guy with a similar version for 6 string guitar. My educated guess is that it's a Korg Kaoss Pad – a touchpad that triggers effects, oscillators, etc.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaoss_Pad
The top part is definitely a Kitara since that's what's used in the album version. Not sure if this double neck deal is custom made for Chris or if it's available at retail. But for anyone interested in them and think "man that's super cool, but I could never afford one," think again. They actually retail for under $1000 USD (I found one site that listed them at the regular retail price but would email you a special price, around $750). So they're not too pricey, the trick is actually finding a site that isn't sold out.
The DVD that comes with the deluxe edtiion of The 2nd Law shows Bellamy playing around with one of the guitar versions during the making of the album.
The real question is where did he get that awesome jacket?