Curt Smith

Smith purchased the bass in September of 1982 with the intent of exclusively using it for live performances, but it ended up being used in the studio for their first album The Hurting and second album Songs From The Big Chair.

In an over the phone interview with Tony Bacon in 1984 Smith said, "We had trouble getting a bass sound on the album and I went through a few basses, a Yamaha BB1200, an Aria Pro, and an Alembic, but we still had trouble getting a roundness and a depth. The Alembic was the best of those, but still wasn't smooth enough. I use the Steinberger all the time now. I'm going to get another bass for studio work but I wouldn't want to use anything other than the Steinberger for live."

After the conclusion of the Big Chair Tour in 1985 it is alleged he gave the bass to their monitor engineer.

He has not used a Steinberger since and the whereabouts of the bass are unknown.

Curt says: “ The Hofner bass is the epitome of understated class. A bass should be felt first, it is there to hold down the low end and rhythm, being heard and seen are secondary. Although it doesn’t hurt that the Hofner does the latter incredibly well also.”

Curt owns 2 Starplayers, one being full orange and the other being a custom made gold burst colour guitar with the TFF logo between the pickups which he has used live since 2022.

Used for Smith's vocals on "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", as mentioned by producer David Bascombe in this August 1, 2007 Mix Online article.

Bascombe recorded Smith and Orzabal's vocals with a then-new Neumann TLM 170 microphone at Union Studios in Munich, where they also mixed.

In the Mixonline article by Heather Johnson, it is noted that Curt Smith used the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer during the recording of Tears for Fears' classic album "Songs from the Big Chair."

According to Heather Johnson's article on Mixonline, Curt Smith utilized the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer during the recording of Tears for Fears' classic album, Songs from the Big Chair.

Accoring to this article Curt Smith used a Jupiter 8 when recording Tears For Tears classic album Songs From the Big Chair

Curt used the Warwick Thumb from 1990-1991. He used it for their Seeds of Love World Tour and at the Knebworth Music Festival. (Photo at Hamburg, Deutschland 1990)

In the attached photo you can clearly see that Curt is playing a Danelectro 59DC bass during the 8th Andre AGASSI GRAND SLAM on October 13, 2003

According to an article by Heather Johnson on Mixonline, Curt Smith used the Fairlight CMI synthesizer during the recording of Tears for Fears' classic album "Songs from the Big Chair."

Accoring to this article Curt Smith used a PPG Wave when recording Tears For Tears classic album Songs From the Big Chair

In a video by Behringer, it's mentioned that Curt Smith used the Linn Electronics LM-1 Drum Computer during the recording of Tears For Fears' iconic album "Songs From the Big Chair."

During his time with the band Graduate, Curt (far left) was seen playing a Peavey T-40 bass at gigs.

Per the Nov. 1983 issue of "One Two Testing" magazine in an interview dated 2/9/1983, Curt Smith recounted:

"We had trouble getting a bass sound on the album and I went through a few basses, a Yamaha BB1200, an Aria Pro, and an Alembic — but we still had trouble getting a roundness and a depth."

Additionally, Curt can be seen with a BB 1200 in the attached photo.

Smith owned two Status S2 basses, one being red and the other being brown.

He was seen using the red one in the first version of the music video for "Mothers Talk" and in the video for "Shout". He was also seen with it in a promo photo for Rockers Play Guitars in 1984. He used the brown one for live performances and TV appearances, such as the Montreux Festival in 1985 (Pictured above)

It is unknown if he used them for recording.

Smith can be seen using the Roadstar in the third music video for Mothers Talk. It is unlikely he used it for anything else, as the band were probably given instruments to match the black and white theme of the set.

The only time Smith was seen using the XP-2 was while performing Head Over Heels on Solid Gold in late 1985. It is unknown when he purchased the bass or if he used it in the studio.

Curt was seen using his UF Warwick Thumb (5 string) at the 1990 Knebworth Festival.

In a 1983 interview, Curt Smith mentioned using various basses on Tears For Fears' debut album, "The Hurting," including an Alembic. Although he didn't specify the model, it is likely the Alembic Series I, as seen in the 1985 performance of "Shout" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Curt Smith is seen using the Duesenberg Alliance Series Dropkick Murphys Bass in a performance featured by KCRW. He acquired this bass in mid-2019 and has since utilized it on tour and in several tracks on the new album.

In this 2017 photo, Curt Smith is depicted playing a Hofner 500/2 Club Bass during a Tears For Fears performance. Smith is recognized for using a "round" tone, a characteristic sound that the Club Bass produces.