Paul Languedoc's Custom Basses December 1, 1996 - Bass Player Magazine By Baker Rorick [Part of Mike's "Flying Phish" feature in the same issue] Paul Languedoc is the sonic major-domo for Phish; as the band's chief sound engineer and house mixer, he recorded their double-CD A Live One. He also builds the basses and guitars Mike Gordon and Trey Anastasio play. A luthier by trade, the 36-year-old built his first guitar when he was 18, following how-to books. He later spent four years working for Alan Stack at Time Guitars in Burlington, Vermont, and by the time he was 28--when he went to work full-time for Phish--he had built hundreds of instruments. Since then, he has built only for Mike and Trey, and his beautiful designs and Old World approach to craftsmanship have given Phish its own unique instrumental identity. Paul has a preference for European hardwoods of the types used for building cellos, and he does incredible inlay work in mother-of-pearl and abalone. Named for its intricate headstock inlay, the Dragon bass (built in 1989) has a five-piece curly-maple neck and a bound ebony fingerboard. The body is solid koa, with a face of curly-maple veneer. The bridge and tuning machines were made by Schaller. Mike custom-ordered the instrument's active, 18-volt Mørch pickups from Denmark; they came with myriad knobs and switches Mike didn't really want. "I have trouble making decisions," he says. "I probably change my instrument settings only every two years." The three larger knobs on the bass control volume (one per pickup) and pickup blend; the four micro-switches and three smaller knobs are for various midrange contours and high and low boosts. (Languedoc comments, "Even I don't know what they all do!") Mike and Paul both call the Fish--also named for its inlays--"a bit of an experiment." The bass, which was built about two years ago, has a two-piece curly-maple body with an interior chamber, a koa face with an f-hole and multiple-layered binding, and only one knob, which blends between the two EMG ASB-5 pickups. Mike eventually wants to add a piezo bridge transducer to accentuate the highs of the instrument's hollow body. Gordon says Languedoc's striking instruments are only one aspect of the many talents he brings to the Phish sound. "We're really lucky to have Paul. He gives us the freedom to do our own thing." Paul Languedoc is interested in receiving inquiries regarding custom instruments. Write to him at Box 4400, Burlington, VT 05406. Article © 1996 Bass Player Magazine