Stig Pedersen’s upgraded “iPhone” does not have a touchscreen. It does, however, have a fingerboard, frets, pickups and two strings.
That’s because Pedersen’s iPhone bass is really more of an upgrade on the bass guitar. But it does have an iPhone feautre not found on most basses – a front-facing camera that records video of fans.
Pedersen, bassist for Danish band D-A-D, debuted his iPhone bass over the weekend at Smukfest, a four-day music festival in Skanderborg, Denmark.
D-A-D is arguably Denmark’s most beloved metal band, with a staying power that rivals Metallica’s. The band debuted in 1982 as Disneyland After Dark but quickly altered its name after The Walt Disney Company threatened to sue.
iPhone bass one of many crazy bass guitars
Pedersen is known for two things. He travels to shows with a crazy lineup of customized sculptural bases, including a missile, a salute to the German World War I pilot known as the Red Baron, a cow skull, a ’57 Chevy tail fin and, most recently, the iPhone.
He also plays just two strings, the A and the E strings, rather than the typical four. According to Pedersen’s profile on Metal Archives, he realized early on that those were the only two strings he played, so he made a mark with his two-string, cartoonish-looking guitars.
D-A-D’s booking agent, Peter Sørensen, told Cult of Mac that Pedersen played the iPhone bass for just one song at Smukfest.
“It is very, very heavy,” Sørensen said of the smartphone-inspired bass. That’s because of the components that make up the unusual instrument, including the camera and a television screen. “It is connected and will be connected to his Facebook account so people can message him during the show.”
You can watch a video of Pedersen’s iPhone bass performance on his Facebook page.
Below you will find a YouTube video of D-A-D’s full Smukfest set. Pedersen’s iPhone bass performance, during the song “Monster Philosophy,” comes in at 35:37.
You can also see a also a cool promotional video by TC Electronics featuring the band’s tech chief, Troels Bjørn. In it, he shows off Pedersen’s colorful basses, including the iPhone. “That’s our secret weapon,” Bjørn says.
