Paul Reed Smith Comments on Bill Bartolini's Passing

“I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Bartolini. It’s not well-known, but almost all the basses that I made in my early West Street shop had Bartolini HI-A Beast pickups in them. In addition, there was a rotary switch hooked to each pickup, because these HI-A Beasts were multi-tapped. It was the beginning for me of using rotary switches in my guitars. I made a guitar with those pickups as well and they were loud with a very good sound halfway between a single coil and humbucker. In retrospect, I could have used them in guitars much more. Bill Bartolini was a pioneer in our industry and I honor him.” - Paul Reed Smith