The Höfner Icon B Bass, just next to a shy Charlie the Cat.
Dustin was long going to be the owner of a very "unique" Epiphone Viola bass , as soon as he saw it. With the visual nod to the string instruments he loved the sound of, it seemed just his style, in his mind he was going to have something that was one of a kind. This was years before Beyette even really listened to The Beatles and didn't initially realize it was a replica of the very famous bass that Paul McCartney was well known for playing left-handed.
While talking about the Epiphone bass with friend Tim Emery, guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist of The Guvnor's (as well as a owner at Buckdancer's Choice ), Tim had suggested getting Höfner's own replica of their own bass, a Höfner Icon-B Bass at almost the same price as the Epiphone. Not long after it was ordered and already on it's way, Dustin had seen that the Höfner came in "black and white" style as well, and in the end ordered that instead. Long after it was paid for, there was constant struggles with Höfner, because they didn't have one made, "and then............... on one otherwise cold day, Tim finally made the call that it was in!!! The way I've looked at this long wait is that: in a way, on how you look at it, Höfner made it for me. They didn't have any made until I ordered it. So that's pretty cool. Well worth the wait."
A 17 minute video showing a Hofner being made
According to Dustin, the Höfner has stayed in tune every time it's been taken out of it's case ever sense, and is featured as the electric bass in the majority of Beyette's music. Primarily with flatwound strings.
The Höfner was in the possession of a trusted `close friend` in Boston from 2010-2012, but as of June 19, 2012 the Höfner is in Los Angeles and being used to record the score for three short films that premiered November 30th, 2012. In 2022, since pawn shops often wouldn't take the bass for collateral loans, it finally gave Dustin the chance to customize the bass, and the body was purposely beat up so that they would stop babying it. The part of the body called the C bout would come out sharply underneath Dustin's wrist so part of beating the guitar up was filing that part down for comfort as well as putting nail polish all over it. Future customizations to make the instrument look more inspiring and functional are expected. The strings remain the only aftermarket parts on the instrument. It still has the original pickups and tuners and still stays in tune fiercely.
.jpg "Beyette2 (this image is actually a product of Ryan Mandeville AKA 'Hill's work with 'Waking Dreams Designs').jpg (139 KB)")
