Although Toné had primarily been a piano player most of her my life, she finally picked up the bass on New Year’s day, 2012, and decided it was time to teach herself to play since she had been surrounded by bass players her entire life. Her late brother, Joe Compito, was a bass player and very talented luthier, and when he passed away in 1999, she inherited the 4 string fretless that he had built for himself. He had also built one similar to this, for Grammy-winning recording artist, Victor Wooten in a 5 string version. and every time she heard it, the instrument seemed to sing to her and she made a promise to learn to play the instrument she had inherited.

Ironically, 4 days after she had picked up that instrument, she received a phone call from a woman in New York who was organizing a school reunion and looking for pictures of her brother Joe. She mentions that his very first band was going to be playing at the reunion, and after after the woman heard that Toné was learning to play Joe’s bass,… long story short, 4 months later, Toné had stepped into her brother’s shoes and was performing at her very first bass gig with Joe’s first band in New York on his fretless. And so, a bass player was born following in her brother’s footsteps.

Toné has a long time relationship with Fodera Guitars and an intense respect for their instruments and their craft. They were longtime friends of brother, and in many ways were like family to her after his passing. Says Toné “I am proud to be a part of their “community” and was moved when they decided to build a tribute bass for my brother to honor his memory.”

Much of her time is spent in the bass world and she has a passion for the low end. She has always heard the bass and gravitated to this in music, more than any other instrument and in many ways, it came more naturally to her by ear than the piano did. She spent much of her vacation time volunteering at the Victor Wooten Bass/Nature camps since 2001 and feels she has never been somewhere more magical.  She couldn’t imagine a better place to volunteer her time and energy. It is a non-profit organization that has taught so much about music and nature in a way that exudes spirituality without trying. The energy there is certainly channeled from another Source.

She feels that because of being around her brother as a luthier and bass player most of her young life, and then being surrounded by some of the most exquisite boutique custom basses her entire life, she grew to have a passion for how an instrument is crafted, how the different wood combinations affect the tone of a bass, what different electronics do to enhance the instrument’s construction. It had gotten under her skin and she was hooked.

She bought her very first custom bass from Nikola Adamovic, the 5 string fretted Halo “Swarovski” and shortly thereafter began distributing basses for Adamovic basses in the U.S. She feel a sense of great satisfaction in helping others build their own custom bass, as much as it was to build her own.

She also represents F Bass out of Ontario, Canada in MD/DC/VA area. She was introduced to them in the late summer of 2014 and quickly fell in love with the quality and craftsmanship, the sound and feel of their basses.

For more information on all of these, see the Custom Bass page!