It's a two-sided bass, meaning it has strings on both sides of its neck. This two-basses-in-one creature was made by the Germany-based Inspire! Instruments.
In the clip, it's being played (unplugged, sadly) by former Ten Years After bassist Leo Lyons, who was handed the bass in his dressing room, so he—like the rest of us—is meeting the bass for the first time.
As geargods.net puts it, it "seems like it could be handy for the gigging bassist who doesn’t want to haul two basses but needs to play multiple styles."
I was on tour in Germany and Alexander from www.inspire-instruments.de came in the dressing room with this bass he wanted me to try. I've never seen one like it.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
