Henk Van Zalinge Z-bass

The **Z-bass** (a.k.a. **Van Zalinge bass**) is a bodiless dutch upright electric stand-up bass designed and manufactured by former Dutch racing driver Henk Van Zalinge (1922-2006), first made in the early 1970s. Sting and Stewart owned one each. In Europe it's said to be called the Van Zalinge bass, while the American market named it the Z-bass. Hence the full name is included here to accommodate this. But for Sting's sake it's referred to on this page as the Z-bass.

## Sting's Z-bass ("Brian")

Sting first acquired the Z-bass in the Summer of 1980 during recording sessions for the ***Zenyatta Mondatta*** album - he was told of a local (Henk Van Zalinge) who made the instrument, and he decided to investigate and got hold of one. He introduced the bass to the audience during the 11/29/1980 - Capitol Theatre (Passaic, NJ) gig during "Shadows in the Rain" christening it as "Graham" to later change its name to "Brian."

In the studio he'd regularly use the Z-bass to overdub on top of basslines. The Z-bass appears on hits such as "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (with the Steinberger overdubbed on top) and "King Of Pain" (overdubbed with the Fender Precision fretless).

On ***The Dream of The Blue Turtles*** album, Sting plays the Z-bass on "Moon Over Bourbon Street". On the tour he'd also play the bass on a few numbers during the setlist such as "I Burn For You" (a Police song released on *Brimstone And Treacle* soundtrack in 1982).

Sting picked up the Z-bass once again to overdub on top of electric bass lines on *The Soul Cages*.

### Quotes on the Z-bass

* > "It still has a streamlined body, but it doesn't have this great, huge woman-shape that's so cumbersome." (*Musician* magazine, December 1981)
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* > "I just love playing the stand-up bass. I'm not as facile with it as I am with the Fender or the Steinberger, but then again my lines are fairly simple. You don't hear the Z-bass on those overdubbed tracks as much as feel it." (*Musician* magazine, June 1983)
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* > "I also play a few tunes on a Z-bass, made by [Henk Van Zalinge - note: name is misspelt as "Hank Van Zerlinger"], who's Dutch. He made a bass for Oscar Peterson's bass player, he had the first one and I had about number three. He makes them from standard double-bass necks, and the body, which he designed, is minimal but hollow so it sounds like a real instrument." (*Down Beat*, December 1985)
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* > "I often use the double bass over the original electric bass lines, because the double bass has overtones that you feel - a big subliminal undercurrent of sound. We used that combination on 'All This Time' on 'The Soul Cages'. Sometimes I use an old Italian bass, but I often use the Z Bass." (*Bass Player*, April 1992)
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### References (non-quoted info)

* *Bring On The Night* film
* *Bass Player*, April 1992
* *Down Beat*, December 1985
* *Musician*, December 1981
* *Musician*, June 1983
* *Police File* No. 5 (fanzine) - Milton Keynes debut and on how Sting found the bass.
* Various photos

## Stewart's Z-bass ("Fred")

Stewart Copeland got his Z-bass along with Sting during the Zenyatta sessions, mainly intending to use it for his home recordings.

## Further information

* Website dedicated to the Z-bass
* Police File No. 5