Yes, you read that right – 12-string bass. Just thinking about it can give your fingers calluses. Eric Corson from the Long Winters has one and has calluses. But he’s master of the callus. He’s also master of the bass:

What made you want to get a 12-string bass?
Eric: I like weird bass instruments and when the opportunity to have a 12-string bass presented itself, I couldn’t turn it down.

Where did you get it?
A company called Waterstone Guitars makes the one that I have. It’s the Tom Petersson model. Tom Petersson is the bassist for Cheap Trick and he’s the person responsible for the invention of the 12-string bass.

Is it hard to play?
Yes, but you get acclimated to it if you play it often enough. Each of the four bass strings is accompanied by two additional smaller strings and the fret board is slightly larger to accommodate for that. That means you have to press down harder when hitting a note and you have to stretch your fingers a bit more when playing. It takes some getting used to, but it’s worth it. That muscle under your thumb on your fret hand burns a lot at first. It can also be kind of hard to keep in tune.

Are you ever like, “Ah, this song needs the 12-string.” ?
What happens is you end up writing something on the 12-string that you’d never have come up with on any other instrument. But I don’t think, “Oh my God! I’m going to put 12-string bass on every song!!” Actually, I do kind of think that.

What do you play with it?
Currently there are no Long Winters songs featuring it but it’s down in our practice space and we play it when we’re messing around with new stuff. I once played it along with “Achilles Last Stand” by Led Zeppelin (from the Presence album).

Do you have a nickname for it?
No nickname for it. And now that I think of it, we don’t really have nicknames for any of our instruments. Does that mean we don’t love them enough?

No, I think you have love for your instruments. I will name the 12-string bass for you now. Henceforth it shall be called ‘Ralph’.

Do you know anyone else that plays one?
I don’t personally know anyone who has one of these, although I think Jeff Ament plays one.

Do you ever sleep with Ralph?
No, I’ve never slept with Ralph. I’ll have to try that though.