What is this instrument?

I saw that show too (DVR'd) last night.
 
I'm 99% sure it's a 6 string bass though I'd not seen one before.

Bapu, you can preorder one at MF now:
 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/ibanez-tcb1006-stephen-thundercat-bruner-signature-electric-bass-guitar/k45242000001000
 
Only $6999.99!

I have some backstage points accrued.
 
My price will be $6950.37. Can I get that on a 10 year no interest plan?

I'm having trouble picking out what he's actually playing on it. There appears to be a regular bass player in the background playing what I hear as the bass line. 

sharke
I'm having trouble picking out what he's actually playing on it. There appears to be a regular bass player in the background playing what I hear as the bass line. 

It's the part that sounds like a bass with an envelope filter.

jamesg1213
I don't get the big deal with this guy, everyone seems to rave about him though.

Kind of a banal barnacle?

Guess I can hear it now. My next question is, is he one of Santa's little helpers?

eph221
the hubris! :D:D

Hubris Humphrey?
 
He lost.

Bit,
 
A brand new Alembic Series I bass is $21K. A Series II is $26K. Those are 4 string. 6 Strings are 22.6K and 28.1K respectively.
 
Want an Alembic standup bass? It's called a Classico. Staring at $26K going up to $36.5K.

Yeh, and I have a $17,000 piano in my living room (that was the 1984 price, probably $1,000 today).
 
But I rarely play it and have never recorded it. It's a pretty piece of furniture, just like so many expensive guitars that end up being wall decorations. All the faux-pianos, ROMplers and synths I've bought since 1984 total less than the price of that piano. Would I pay 17 grand today for a piano? Not even if it had Keith Emerson's personal signature on it.
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

bapu

bitflipper
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

Royalties?

He said WORTH, not cost.

bitflipper
Would I pay 17 grand today for a piano? Not even if it had Keith Emerson's personal signature on it.
 
(That's another mystery to me: what makes a guitar with somebody's name silkscreened onto it worth an extra grand?)

I actually have a Martin 00-18SH Steve Howe limited edition (of 250) that indeed has Steve's personal signature on the label (and a nice inlaid version of same on the fretboard). While it was indeed more expensive than a normal 18-series Martin would have been, it wasn't a completely ridiculous price for a nice all-solid-wood Martin. So I guess it just depends on how greedy the maker is, how much they think they can get and what people are willing to pay. 
 
And in the case of the Martin signature limited editions like mine, they were doing stuff like this along with the artists to cover a not insignificant portion of the price premium:
 

A charitable contribution of $66.38 (on export sales) or $73.75 (on US sales) for each 00-18SH sold will be donated to the Save the Children Federation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making lasting, positive change in the lives of disadvantaged children in the United States and throughout the world.

 
Mine is just like this one:
 
http://www.mymartingallery.com/page-18sh.htm
 

kennywtelejazz
Thundercat certainly has a nice sounding voice
 
Kenny

Agreed Kenny.