Established in 2004, LeCompte Electric Bass came on the scene as the brainchild of owner and bass builder, Bud LeCompte. While it sounds like a cliché, it all came about from a long time hobby and passion of Bud's, playing bass. Over the years, Bud's collection of basses grew and his natural artistic abilities and unwillingness to leave well enough alone manifested itself in the creation of some assembled 'parts' basses. However, this did not completely satisfy Bud's insatiable appetite for creating beautiful things. He needed to take it a step further by actually creating bodies and necks from scratch through his own design and labor.
To Bud, building basses is the culmination of all of the skills he's learned throughout his life. His original designs are the product of his natural artistic flair and his CAD skills in custom house design and varying engineering disciplines. He produces professional drawings that he uses as templates for bass designs. Also the skills he acquired during the many years he spent as an autobody repair tech and painter can clearly be seen when it comes to shaping, fine detailing and finishing.
The death of his beloved Uncle Jewel, who Bud had adored and admired since childhood, was a blow. His uncle was passionate about woodworking and Bud was blessed to inherit a large part of his uncle's vast collection of woodworking tools which were added to Bud's already growing collection. His uncle would indeed be proud of his nephew's accomplishments and there is no doubt that some of Bud's abilities and interest are owed to his uncle.
... is a spacious six car garage-cum-workshop that came with the house that the LeComptes purchased in December 2003. Before Bud had even set foot inside the house, he knew this was the place to be. The shop was perfect. Fortunately the house was wonderful too and thankfully his wife agreed. The shop (and house) is set on a beautiful, large wooded lot filled with giant pecan trees in a quiet suburb of Houston, Texas.
Every LeCompte Bass is designed and built by Bud LeCompte. Every fine detail is taken into consideration and perfection is the goal. That's just Bud's nature. Every line and curve is purposefully crafted with a passion that borders on obsession. The love of creating such beautiful pieces is apparent in every handmade LeCompte instrument.
