Frank Bello

Frankie Bello
Frank Bello performing with Anthrax live at Cosquín Rocks (Argentina)
Background information
Born	(1965-07-09) July 9, 1965 (age 51)
Genres	Heavy metal, thrash metal, alternative metal, hard rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Bass, vocals, guitar
Years active	1984–present
Associated acts	Anthrax, Helmet
Website	Anthrax official site
Notable instruments
Fender Frank Bello Signature Model ESP Frank Bello Signature Series

Frank Joseph Bello (born July 9, 1965) is an Italian American musician who plays bass guitar for the thrash metal band Anthrax.

Frank Joseph Bello is the nephew of Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. Bello had a younger brother Anthony, who was murdered in the Bronx, New York City, on March 25, 1996. His murder was never solved. Bello has a tattoo on his right upper arm, with a design of Anthony's face, with the words 'In Memory of Anthony' below it.

Bello was originally a roadie and guitar technician for Anthrax, but later replaced Dan Lilker soon after the release of the band's 1984 debut album Fistful of Metal, and has held this position ever since, excluding a brief departure in 2004 in order to join Helmet – another New York City-based metal band. His stint in the band was brief, as Bello reunited with Anthrax the following year, and has remained in the band since.

In the early days on Anthrax, Bello used an ESP Precision-styled bass, possibly a 400 series, that had EMG P-bass and J-bass pickups. ESP released this bass as a signature model, available only in Japan, in the mid-to-late 1980s. Sometime during the late 1980s, he switched to an ESP Surveyor P-bass, which had nearly all the same specifications of his previous basses, but with a finished headstock. He began using Fender basses during the beginning of the 1990s, due to a falling out with ESP which, according to ESP Vice President Jeff Moore, was due to miscommunication. He began using Fender P-basses around the time of Persistence of Time until the release of his signature model. Bello had a signature modelFender Jazz bass. The model combines a Fender Aerodyne body with a Precision Bass-width neck, Alder body wood (as opposed to the Aerodyne's Basswood) and a mix of Precision and Jazz bass pickups along with non-standard custom-chosen hardware. Pickups used on the bass are Seymour Duncan SPB-3 precision bass pickup in the neck position and a Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Jazz Bass pickup in the bridge position, although Bello's personal bass now is equipped with EMG HZ Passive pickups which Bello prefers "as the output is... a lot louder" and he gets "a lot more punch". Bello also had a signature Squier electric jazz bass. It features P/J style pick up combination and a skull inlay/body graphic.