Heiko Hoepfinger RIP

Basslab founder and uniquely creative instrument maker.

Sadly, I have been informed that Heiko Hoepfinger, the man behind the incredibly imaginative and uniquely designed instruments at Basslab, passed away suddenly last week.

I first came across Basslab whilst pondering getting something a bit different for my instrument toolbox and somehow landed on an article in a bass magazine which left me immediately intrigued by the unusual designs. Further research revealed a number of positive reviews and possibly something that might be worth getting hold of.

After deciding I’d like to investigate a Basslab instrument, I emailed the company asking if they had any distribution in the UK or anywhere where I might be able to go and try one out.

Amazingly, the reply I received suggested that instead of me searching around, Basslab (or Heiko himself) would be happy to send an instrument directly to me to check out. Incredibly helpful and also incredibly trusting!

The bass duly arrived and I was very impressed, it was one of the more standard and less adventurous designs (a Soul IV) but pretty much exactly what I was looking for, lightweight, playable, sonically versatile and something quite different. Before long I’d returned it and ordered my own Soul IV, a serious looking sleek black four string with a really defined, clear punchy sound. I first used it on Porcupine Tree’s Fear of A Blank Planet album and subsequent tours.

Eventually in the course of touring in Germany over the years I met up with Heiko a number of times and we became friends. I’ve always enjoyed meeting luthiers, instrument designers and amplification makers. These are creative types who have turned their passion for music into something more solid than music itself, obsessing about pick-ups, electronics, body shapes, materials, parts and all the possible variations and ideas that come together to make something people need to express themselves.

Not using wood as a construction material for his creations, Heiko didn’t have the luthier’s more usual carpentry background. Instead, somehow, working in the European Space Program, he had made the leap to making what he called “tuneable composite” bass guitars from the materials he had been working with in fuel cell development, he explained it to me once but I couldn’t really follow. I still can’t quite imagine how you make the transition from scientist to bass maker, but Heiko obviously had the required combination of imagination, knowledge and courage to do something very different, especially considering those unconventional designs.

Although Basslab did expand into making guitars and at one point Heiko even experimented with making drums, basses seem to have remained the mainstay of the company.

Experimenting a lot with downtuning at one point, I was eager to get myself a matching black fretless Soul IV bass with a longer than usual scale length. Heiko was enthusiastic about the idea and he kept me updated with the progress of manufacture. He seemed a little less enthusiastic about my choice of finish and colour though, and kept contacting me to suggest alternative colours, as Basslab instruments are made in such a way that any pretty much any colour is possible. Later, suggestions included various stripes, flashes of colour and even possible patterns. I rejected them all, and insisted on a plain black finish, to match my fretted bass.

Eventually the instrument arrived. The case it came in had the same odour of tobacco I recognised from previous arrivals from the Basslab HQ. I enthusiastically zipped open the gig bag to reveal the shiny new bass. On opening, I saw Heiko had folded a small paper note between the strings, “Dear Colin, Here is your bass. I think it looks boring!”

I actually got a good laugh out of that, the fact that he had been sure to let me know that I hadn’t taken advantage of the possibility to have something more colourful or unique.

I am reminded of this because, the photo below reappeared as a memory in my timeline about a week ago, and of course I had the “I must give Heiko a shout” thought. From about 12 years ago, it’s a picture of my Basslab fretless bass decorated by my then very young daughter, who took the opportunity to add some temporary colour as a surprise. Evidently she thought the bass looked boring too!

We also both had a good laugh about the mysterious damage my fretless somehow received on tour. I’ve no idea how, but it must have been subjected to an extreme temperature whilst travelling at some point, as the neck had almost melted into the body at the heel, or where a neck joint would usually be. Being a moulded instrument, it proved to be a relatively easy fix after a return to the Basslab workshop. I recorded a track called “Rejuvenated” as a thank you for its safe return to action.

Both my Basslab basses are sure to see action well into the future and I’ll also be raising a glass to Heiko whenever I crack open a beer, as he was responsible for providing me with a regularly used and essential piece of kit necessary to keep the ale flowing. In Heiko’s own words this particular item is “Maintenance free, lightweight and manual-free”.

“Prost!”

I’d like extend my condolences and sympathies to Heiko’s family and friends.