Mark Dann here! Yes I built a bass for Rick. I was playing at a bar in Woodstock (which I have long since moved to) in 1991, and Rick was there. He was in the market for a light-weigh bass because of his back issues. I had one of my basses with me that probably weighed about six lbs. He held it for between 2 to 3 seconds and said, build me one!. Which I did. He first used it at the Berlin Wall with Roger Waters. I asked him what kind of strings here wanted, and he said whatever you are using. Details: Chambered mahogany body with maple in the center, and book matched koa on the top and back, very much influenced by Alembic of course. The pickups/electronics were Alembic J-size. Maple neck with ebony board. Gotoh bridge and tuners. No more Ripper bass after this!
