Leon's Basses:
2002 Fender FSR 70’s P Bass Reissue
This is part of a limited run of Fenders that were built with the specs of the modern American Standard series, but with the cosmetics of the classic, 70’s instruments.
This one is even more unique in that it offers a through body stringing option, which appears to have been a limited run within the limited run.
In spite of the rarity, Leon plays it with a reckless abandon that demonstrates how well built it is (note the elbow drop he unleashes on it at the end of “Amoeba” in the “videos” section). And like every other P Bass used in the band, it sounds totally bitchcakes.
1999 Epiphone Jack Casaday
Despite owning a collection of quality gear, Leon pretty much defaults to his Precision. This belongs to Chris, and was used on one part of the medley on Deluxe Tree Stand.
Leon's Amp:
Ampeg SVT-3 Pro with Ampeg 8x10"
The venerable SVT, in a compact rackmount package. Unlike Mike's, this does have preamp tubes, so even with the solid state power section, it has a bit more warmth and character.
Leon's cabinet had been so beaten up from touring that he had to spend some time repairing the foot plate and caster mounts before the 25th anniversary reunion show (and in lieu of the right sized washers, bottle caps were used to anchor the casters. DIY 'til you die, baby!).
While testing that everything worked, the amp's fuse blew, leading to a mad dash all over the city to find one in time.
As evidenced by the videos from the show, they were successful.
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Leon’s Pedals:
SansAmp Bass Driver:
While encased in a pedal format, this was not placed between the bass and amp to alter the signal like a conventional pedal, but was used instead of an amp on “Carol Of The Bells”.
As the name implies, this was designed for this purpose-- a quick and easy way to get great sounds at low volumes (for instance, in an apartment in a city). But, running a DI box in conjunction with a bass amp is pretty much what we now think of as the sound of bass, so this is now employed in that role; this plus Leon's SVT pushing air with a mic on it.
For the Full Charisma Bypass sessions, one of these was used in lieu of the amp, with a standard DI for a neutral sound running simultaneously.
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Arion Bass Distortion:
Like the SansAmp, the Casady, and Kindling, this is another piece from Chris' collection. It can be clearly heard on "Snow" from Deluxe Tree Stand.
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Strings and picks:
Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Bass
Dunlop Tortex .88 sharp tip