Dean Bernardini

Dean Bernardini
Chevelle bassist Dean Bernardini, live in Cleveland 4-12-07
Background information
Born	(1973-12-27) December 27, 1973 Deerfield, Illinois, USA
Genres	Alternative metal, hard rock
Instruments	Bass guitar, drums, vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Epic Records
Associated acts	Chevelle, Liftpoint

Dean Bernardini (born December 27, 1973 in Illinois) is the bass guitar player and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Chevelle, as well as being a brother-in-law to founding members Pete Loeffler and Sam Loeffler. He joined the band in 2005 after the departure of Joe Loeffler, who had been a member of the group since 1995. The cover of the 2009 album Sci-Fi Crimes was an original 24x48 oil on canvas painting created by Dean.

In May 2006, Bernardini injured his left hand forcing the band to cancel 8 concerts (from June 30 to July 26) with Nickelback and Hoobastank.^[1]

Equipment

Bernardini uses Gibson Thunderbird and Ibanez BTB bass guitars with Mesa Boogie Big Block 750 amplifiers and Mesa 8x10 cabinets for both clean and distorted tones.^[2] Bernardini has also used Ampeg SVT's and matching cabinets with a Boss ODB-3 or Mesa Boogie V-Twin pedal for overdriven tones. In the studio he used a combination of Mesa Big Block 750 and Pete Loeffler's Ampeg V4. A video of the recording of Chevelle's album Sci-Fi Crimes shows Bernardini using an Ibanez BTB 1305E bass, though he has not played this during live shows. He also uses a SansAmp Bass Driver D1, a DigiTech Bass Driver, a Boss Digital Reverb RV-5, a Peterson VSS-C Stomp Classic tuner, a Boss Equalizer GE-7 for boost, and a Boss DD-7 Delay.

The Thunderbirds Bernardini plays are custom built by Ryan Loux of Loux Custom Instruments, one black with a 35" scale and Chevelle logo inlays, and a newer white "Picasso" bass that features a custom inlaid fretboard inspired by a Picasso painting, as well as featuring Nordstrand pickups and an extended 35.375" scale length for Chevelle's extensive use of Drop A# tuning. The Ibanez BTB570s are modified by Bernardini by refinishing and installing hand-made pickguards. Like the custom Thunderbirds, they have 35" scales and have either rosewood, ebony, or maple fretboards.

Origins

Before Chevelle, Bernardini played drums in the Chicago band Liftpoint. Liftpoint opened for Chevelle a few times during Dean's time with the band and also went on several tours with Chevelle as an opening act. Bernardini taught himself to play bass by playing along to bass lines on albums. The first album he played to was Muse's Absolution.^[2]

Other endeavors

Bernardini is the owner of The Wooden Relic, an online store and gallery that features the bassist's art (wood carvings, furniture and paintings).

References