OYSTER HOUSE MEDIA www.bassguitarmagazine.com www.bassguitarmagazine.com UK £4.25 Issue 73 December 2011 PRIMUS ARE BACK LES CLAYPOOL AND HIS NEW PACHYDERM BASS INTERVIEW HIWATT MAXWATT B150 WE GET A FIRST LOOK AT THIS NEW COMBO EXCLUSIVE GEAR TEST TESTED Guitar Magazine LAURENCE COTTLE REVITALISING JACO’S COMPOSITIONS TONY BUTLER BASS FROM A BIG COUNTRY INTERVIEWS GEAR PEDULLA NUANCE BEAUTIFUL BOUTIQUE BASS GEAR TESTS INTERVIEWS EXPERT TUITION THE UK’S NUMBER ONE BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE ONLY £4.25 73 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE Issue 73 December 2011 CLOVER APEIRON 4 CLOVER AVENGER 5 G&L L2000 LEFTY BOULDER CREEK EBR1-TB$ SR TECHNOLOGY BASS FIDELITY BBE OPTO STOMP
Transcript
OYSTER HOUSE
MEDIA
www.bassguitarmagazine.com
www.bassguitarmagazine.com
UK £4.25 Issue 73 December 2011
PRIMUS ARE BACK
LES CLAYPOOLAND HIS NEW PACHYDERM BASS
INTERVIEW
HIWATT MAXWATT B150WE GET A FIRSTLOOK AT THISNEW COMBO
30 Les CLaypooLPrimus’ bass wizard tells us all about the new album, his Pachyderm bass and exactly what naugahyde is.
4 Bass Guitar MaGazine
06 The Low DownWe bring you all the news from the bass world.
14 Bass To The FuTureIntroducing: Aaron Jacques
26 Take Five: MarTin MenDezOpeth’s low end groover reveals his favourite albums.
22 BasiCaLLy speakingWe give a selection of bassists one minute to tell us all about their low end philosophy.
72 BuT This goes To 11…Solidstate amps vs valve (tube) amps
74 essenTiaL FXHAO Rust Ride
speCiaL FeaTure20 gLenn hughes: The auToBiographyWe get an exclusive excerpt from the bass legend’s autobiography
Interviews28 TiM MCCorDWe talk to the Evanescence bassist.
39 LaurenCe CoTTLeA new project exploring Jaco Pastorius’ big band compositions? The perfect time to catch up with one of the UK’s leading jazz players.
42 Tony BuTLerWith Big Country back in action we talk to Tony Butler about the reunion, the new single and his new signature bass.
20
Contents_BC.indd 4 07/11/2011 10:27
TechniquesGear
Bass Guitar MaGazine 5
76 sTeFan reDTenBaCherFunkyologies
80 kevin sanDersI Want To Play Like…James Jamerson
82 Janek gwizDaLaBuilding Your Personal Bran
84 anDrew MCkinneyWhat Drummers Want
86 Dave MarksMelodic Bass Playing
88 FranC o’sheaTwo Part Harmonies
50 CLover apeiron 4 anD avenger 5 LeFT hanDeDWe take a look at two basses for those of a sinister persuasion. Don’t worry they also make them right-handed!
56 BouLDer Creek eBr1-TB4Looking for an acoustic bass for those around the camp fi re moments? Check out this off ering from Boulder Creek.
60 g&L L2000 LeFTyAre G&L really the best basses Leo Fender designed? Ben Cooper asks the question.
Grace NoteIntroductions are always so awkward, aren’t they? I’ve tried to think of various ways to make myself appear erudite, witty and unphased by the mammoth task of taking up the Ed’s chair on Bass Guitar Magazine, to help put your minds at ease – but I’ve failed miserably. I’m sure some of you will be wondering what exactly is going to happen to your beloved magazine
now there’s a bearded wonder at the helm. Well, don’t panic, I’m not about to overhaul and alter everything, but you may notice some changes and additions over the coming months. It’s a case of evolution, not revolution, because as Alan Partridge put it so well: ‘I evolve, I don’t … revolve.’ Big thanks to Nick Wells for all his hard work over the past few years. He’s guided the magazine with care and dedication. I’d like to direct you all to our forum at www.bassguitarmagazine.com. If there is one thing this year’s London Bass Guitar Show illustrated it’s that we’re a vibrant community of players, and I’d love to see this transfer to our forum. I’ll be posting on there, and you can treat it as your conduit to me: suggestions for things you’d like to see in the magazine, criticism, praise, whatever you feel like – post it up and let’s get a dialogue going (as long as it’s not defamatory, of course). You can also follow the mag on Twitter at @bassguitarmag. There’s plenty to get stuck into this month, but I won’t bore you by droning on about it here – just have a look at the contents, over there, and get reading!
Enjoy the issue.
Ben CooperEditor
46 peDuLLa nuanCe
Stuart Clayton reports on this
natural beauty from Pedulla.
62 hiwaTT B150 15We get fi rst look at a new model from HiWatt. Could this be the ultimate gigging combo?
67 BBe opTo sToMpLooking to add some punch to your tone? Maybe this optical compressor is the pedal for you.
68 sr TeChnoLogy Bass FiDeLiTy 10A small combo with a big price tag. We investigate the Bass Fidelity 10.
What Drummers Want
Dave MarksMelodic Bass Playing
FranC o’sheaTwo Part Harmonies
Contents_BC.indd 5 07/11/2011 10:27
The LowDown
LowDown
W ith their second album, III, going down
a storm Chickenfoot have confi rmed they will be playing fi ve European dates in January, their fi rst foray over here since 2009. Two dates see them on
British shores with concerts in Manchester and London.
� e European tour kicks off at the Manchester Academy on � ursday January 12th, followed by London’s O2 Academy Brixton (Saturday January 14th), Paris Olympia (Monday January 16th),
Tilburg O13 (Tuesday January 17th) and Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Hall (� ursday January 19th). LD
Tickets for the UK concerts are available now from www.livenation.co.uk/artist/chickenfoot-tickets www.chickenfoot.us
Do The ChickenChickenfoot Announce European Tour
6 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
Want To Be Macca?Jam Track Central Release The Beatles Backing Tracks
I f you fancy grooving along to classic Beatles tunes then check out Jam Track Central.
� e covers have been meticulously put together by some of the best musicians around and each song has backing tracks available for guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and vocals. Nearly 50 Beatles tracks have been uploaded for the launch but Jam Track Central intend to release over 800 more tracks over the coming months from a whole array of artists from many diff erent genres.
Jam track co-founder Jan Cyrka had the following to say: ‘With our cover backing tracks we want to off er our worldwide customer base the opportunity to play along to their heroes. Our jam tracks are known for being of a high standard and quality, and our covers tracks follow this same ethos. With these tracks we are also off ering the opportunity for drummers, bass players, keyboardists and singers as well as our existing customer base of guitarists to play along to their favourite tracks.’
Each package comes with the full cover track as well as the selected backing track. LD
www.jamtrackcentral.com
Mastodon Bassist Joins Warwick and TC Electronic
W ith their uniquely heavy riff s, and complex
time signatures, American heavy metal icons Mastodon have taken the music world by storm in recent years. � e band is driven by bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders, who is now endorsing TC Electronic’s Blacksmith bass amp. Troy is running the head through RS410 bass cabinets, and says four words sum up the sound: “Power, warmth,
clarity and drive. I’m rocking the Blacksmith every night – it’s killer!”
Sanders is also playing a brand new signature model bass from Warwick. � e bass is a Mastodon-themed
Streamer Stage II, adorned with symbols from their past albums in silver inlay.
Look out for an interview with Troy in a future issue! www.tcelectronic.comwww.warwick.de
LowDownLowDownLow
Want To Be Macca?Jam Track Central Release The Beatles Backing Tracks
I f you fancy grooving along to classic Beatles tunes then check out Jam Track Central.
� e covers have been meticulously put together by Ph
oto
by N
eil Z
lozo
wer
All the latest industry news from the bass world at large
News DPS L L_BC.indd 8 08/11/2011 16:19
The LowDown
F ishman are better known as makers of world class pickups and
amplifi cation for acoustic instruments, but now they’re forging into the bass world with the new Fission Bass Powerchord FX pedal. � e pedal lets any player add octaves, 5ths and 4ths to give a meaty low end and harmony lines. � e pedal includes a noise gate, overdrive, tone and eff ect level controls,
letting you have the maximum amount of control over your tone.
Look out for a review of the Fission in a future issue.
Fishman are distributed by John Hornby Skewes. LD
www.jhs.co.ukwww.� shman.com
FEATURES:Creates stacked harmoniesabove the root note:• Octave up• Octave & 5th up• 4th & Octave up• Octave up, 5th up & 2nd octave up• Noise Gate control• Overdrive control• Tone control• E� ect Level control
Speci� cations:• Single 1/4 inch input with trim control• Accepts active or passive instruments• 1/4” Mix Output• 1/4” E� ect Output• 24 bit A/D/A• 32-bit processing
Nuclear Bass TonesFission Bass Pedal From Fishman
Triumvirate
E ach month we select three essential albums from a genre or
artist. � is month…
GRUNGENirvana NevermindWhy You Need It: An obvious choice, we know. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, this album is forever seared into the consciousness of millions. Although Cobain was the dominant force of the band, and Dave Grohl has gone on to be one of the biggest rock stars ever, Krist Novoselic’s bass playing is an integral part throughout– the melodic line and rolling � lls of ‘Lithium’ being one of the highlights.
Alice In Chains Facelift Why You Need It: Although Dirt launched them to international stardom, their debut album, featuring Mike Starr on bass, o� ers some superb songs, and great basslines – check out the wiry, grinding pick tones on ‘Put You Down’ and the superbly funky ri� ng in ‘I Know Something (About You)’. It all feels a bit more metal than grunge, but don’t tell the kids OK?
Pearl Jam TenWhy YouNeed It: With more than a hint of “classic rock” about it Ten helped project grunge and alternative rock into the minds of the general public, thanks to a more radio friendly vibe than other albums that � ew out of Seattle at the time. Je� Ament provides classy work throughout: the 12-string ri� and closing line on ‘Jeremy’ carries the tune and throughout the album there’s driving and melodic rock bass in equal measure.
L ooking for a tone that’s huge, punchy and bassy without low end mudiness,
but don’t want a cab the size of a small block of fl ats? � e Big Twin could be the answer.
“� e Big Twin is the epitome of the ‘no compromise’ bass cab. If you’ve ever stood out front at a large venue whilst the bass is simultaneously thundering and punching through a massive high-end PA system with no mud or boom and thought ‘that’s the sound I want!’ then this is the cab for you,” explained Alex Claber of Barefaced Ltd
� e Big Twin combines two high-excursion 12” woofers in an oversized cab with huge ports to produce the same maximum loudness as a pro quality conventional 6x10” or 4x12” but with almost an octave of extra lows. � e high-output midrange driver ensures your tone will hardly vary however loud the gig or poor the venue acoustics. And that tone can be whatever you want, from the smoothest slap to the gnarliest growl or deepest dub, the Big Twin will handle 1500W of power and turn it into seriously loud tonefulness.
� e Big Twin has been designed for gigging every night of the week with top and side handles, tiltback wheels and a tall slim profi le that fi ts through doorways and into cars with ease, whilst the unique enclosure construction results in a rock solid cab that weighs only 55lbs (24kg). Prices start at £905 with black steel or silver cloth grills and an optional tweeter for those that always want that brand new string sound. Barefaced Ltd are now shipping Big Twins direct to anywhere in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. LD
www.barefacedbass.com
Beef Up Your Tone With A Big TwinNew Cab From Barefaced
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 7
News DPS L L_BC.indd 9 08/11/2011 16:19
The LowDown
8 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
T his year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s seminal
album Nevermind. � e album shook the rock world to its foundations, ushering in a new era of checked shirt wearing Grungers that swept aside the bloated excess of the dominant 80s rock scene. Of course Grunge, and many of its exponents, would suff er a similar fate a few years later, but the importance of the scene, and Nirvana’s magnum opus cannot be overstated.
To honour this landmark event Gibson have released the Krist Novoselic Signature RD bass. � e towering bass player used several Gibson models during Nirvana’s run, and this signature model is designed on the black RD bass he used at the band’s fi rst appearance at the Reading Festival.
“I play Gibson RDs from the 1970s and it’s incredible to now
have my own signature model,” says Novoselic. “� is is a big bass! I am 6’7” tall and these long-scale beasts fi t me physically. You’ve got to pound those heavy grunge riff s and you need the weight to do it. At the same time, there’s plenty of fretboard that accommodates the fi ner runs and fi lls higher on the neck.”
� e body and neck are solid maple, off ering its trademark punch, and is modeled on the RD basses Gibson manufactured in the 70s, with a rounded, off set body reminiscent of the iconic � underbird. � e bass also features string-through-body design, a back angled headstock, Grover “shamrock-key” tuners and an exotic obeche fretboard, with 20 frets. Pickups are Seymour Duncan Bass Lines STK-J2n and STK-J2b “Hot Stack” pickups.
Look out for an exclusive fi rst review of the bass next issue! LD
www.gibson.com
New CabsFrom Vanderkley
W e were mightily impressed with the Vanderkley
EXT112 cab we reviewed back in issue 71, so news of two new off erings from the company got our attention.
� e 112MNT cabinet is a high effi ciency, compact, lightweight 2 x 12” cabinet loaded with the latest technology Neodymium drivers and precision 1” compression tweeter. Hand built in the Netherlands, this cabinet will run at 600 watts RMS, has
102db 1w @ 1m effi ciency and weighs in at 25kgs.
� e 310MNT houses three 10 inch Neodynium dirvers plus a tweeter, off ers 900 watts RMS and weighs in at 23kgs.
Both cabs off er versatile
options for the bassist looking to extend their backline.
If this pair live up to the standards set by the EXT112 they’re something any serious player should check out. LD
Why We Love.. .Jaco PastoriusStandout tracks: ‘Portrait of Tracy, ‘Come On Come Over’, ‘The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines’Recommended Albums: Jaco Pastorius, Heavy Weather, Mingus, Hejira
A s sideman, bandleader or composer, Jaco Pastorius is one
of those rare players who can legitimately be said to have revolutionised their instrument. His life and tragic early death have been well-documented so we won’t go into that here (space just wouldn’t allow it anyway). With his lyrical, melodic fretless work, growling � ngerstyle 16th note playing and jaw dropping harmonics Jaco had total control of his instrument, and a charisma and stagecraft that would put many rockers to shame. His work with jazz-fusion giants Weather Report is seminal stu� , but if jazz ain’t your thang then check out his superb work with Joni Mitchell to hear is work in the context of more accessible songs. In simple terms there’s bass before Jaco, and bass after Jaco, and that alone is reason enough to love the man.after Jaco, and that alone is reason enough to love the man.
Bass NirvanaGibson Release Krist Novoselic Signature BassGibson Release Krist Novoselic Signature Bass
1. In-ear monitoring“Just not to have your ears buzzing every night! I’m about to take delivery of ACS T1 Live Series, which are meant to be amazing; triple-driver with detachable cords. And also, on this tour I’m just using a sub with my [amp] head to feel the bass. But obviously, having triple drivers on top of that, there’ll be no issues with getting all of the frequencies through to me.”
2. iPad“In terms of having games, � lms, books; passing the time. There’s so much you can put on it. And a lot of touring is about passing the time! And then also, musically, I’ve got all of my charts on there – I won’t be using charts for the gig – still having them for rehearsal is great.” In terms of books? “Maybe I’ll read some classics like The Godfather.”
3. Swim wear“For clothing, the two most important things, apart from anything that you might wear on stage, are: � rstly, you’ve got to remember swimming shorts, because you can’t be missing out on any swimming pool or sauna action.” And secondly? “For long journeys: slippers! Mine are quite comfy on the inside, but vaguely normal looking.”
4. Sweets, snacks drinks“A well-stocked drinks fridge: from orange juice right through to beer, and everything in between. Plenty of Coca Cola! I’m not mad about chocolate, give me Haribo any day, regular Starmix. Oh, and also a full and well-stocked medicine cabinet, i.e. Ibuprofen, paracetemol, Piriton – the driver is not going to stop because you’ve got a sneezing � t!”Jack Stevens
T here’s a plethora of options out there for anyone looking for a gig bag for their
bass, ranging from the cheap and fl imsy, to the expensive and almost fl ightcase robust. � is new off ering from Manson’s Guitars in Devon off ers solid protection at a reasonable price.
� e zips across the bag are standard fare, neither fl imsy nor “off -road ready”, but they feel strong and secure and zip smoothly. While many bags are covered with various Velcro pouches and zipper pockets, the Manson’s bag has one large zipper pouch on the bottom of the bag. � e pouch is just tall enough to house the latest edition of your favourite magazine (this one, of course), or score sheets, standard size tuition books, cables, spare strings etc. Nested inside are a further two zippered pouches, suitable for your tuner, plectrums and so on, plus a couple of little pockets for pens. It’s a neat little arrangement and means you don’t have
to faff about unzipping ten diff erent pockets all over the place just to fi nd that .73 mm plectrum. Situated above the main pocket is a ‘grab handle’ for yanking your bass off the fl oor in a hurry, a solid plastic handle and sturdy stitching means you can have confi dence that this will hold up to some rough treatment. � ere’s also a double side-handle, and a double padded shoulder strap for more traditional transport methods. � e shoulder straps are wide and fi rm, and spread the weight of the instrument across your back making back and shoulder ache a thing of the past. Also on the back is a Velcro pouch, which some might miss, inside which is a metal hook and chain, presumably for hanging your bag up at home, or in a venue to keep it out of the way. � e padding is generous and fi rm throughout the bag, ensuring your instrument is well protected from knocks in transit.
All in all, a decent bag, at a competitive price. LD
Road WarriorThe Pro’s On The Road Survival KitDavid Guest, bassist for: Joe McElderry, Vanessa Mae, Doug Walker, James Fox, Darren Reeves Band, Fonix.
RevolverrrrrEvery month we tell you the bass line we can’t stop listening to.This Month: ‘Peace Sells’Album: Peace Sells . . .But Who’s Buying?Artist: MegadethBassist: Dave Ellefson
T his classic slice of 80s thrash metal owes much of its success to its acrobatic intro bass
ri� . Ellefson’s growling pick driven tone gives it just the right amount of edge. Then, locking up tight with the drums and guitar parts, Dave drives the song on, demonstrating just why he’s one of the world’s greatest heavy metal bass players. Metaaaaal!
to faff about unzipping ten
.73 mm plectrum. Situated
hurry, a solid plastic handle and sturdy stitching means
that this will hold up to some rough treatment. � ere’s also a double side-handle, and a double padded shoulder strap for more traditional transport methods. � e shoulder straps are wide and fi rm, and spread the weight of the instrument across your back making back and shoulder ache a thing of the past. Also on the back is a Velcro pouch, which some
presumably for hanging your bag up at home, or in a venue to keep it out of the way. � e padding is generous and fi rm throughout the bag, ensuring
All in all, a decent bag, at a
Padded Gig Bag
12
34
News DPS L L_BC.indd 12 08/11/2011 16:20
Ad page.indd 1 09/08/2011 11:24
The LowDown
London Bass GuitarShow 2012
12 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
With the show just a matter of months away, the list of exhibitors continues to grow, making the 2012 London Bass Guitar Show the place to be if you’re a bass enthusiast.
Here’s our pick of newly announced exhibitors …
John Hornby SkewesJHS is once again set for a big presence at LBGS 2012. e hugely successful Vintage bass range will see its numbers increased in 2012, and is now excited to announce the fi rst ever Vintage signature bass, the V4MTB, which is aff orded to multi-million selling Big Country bassist Tony Butler. Also new from Vintage is the maple-fi ngerboarded white V4MVW. Fret-King is also expanding, with Trev Wilkinson’s range of aff ordable boutique guitars boosting its numbers, including a number of the luxurious one-off hand-built Atelier and STVDIO instruments. JHS will also be showing exciting models from ranges by the quirky Danelectro and the modern-retro beauty of Italia, and there is also a new twist from Fishman, who have expanded into the bass market by producing an astonishing new bass FX pedal. Naturally, Dunlop will also be on-hand with its world-beating bass accessories.
Barnes and MullinsBarnes and Mullins will be exhibiting at the show, displaying great product from Hofner and Spector.
Since the fabled meeting of a certain Beatle and the Hofner Violin Bass in a Hamburg music store, Hofner’s iconic status has been assured. In 2011 Hofner off er not only reissues of the classic violin and club basses, but also many more recent additions which still adhere to the authentic Hofner aesthetic.
Started in 1977 by Stuart Spector, Spector basses have become somewhat of a standard for bass across the world, with a huge family of loyal artists including Rex Brown and the legendary Doug Wimbish. Whether it be the more aff ordable Performance series; the industry-standard Professional Series; the luthier-built Europe Series; or the true original USA series, Spector Basses deliver the low-end punch you need.
Trinity College LondonTrinity College London is a leading external exams board off ering music qualifi cations with the choice and fl exibility to allow musicians to express their individuality. From early 2012, groundbreaking new Trinity Rock & Pop exams will be available for Bass as well as for Drums, Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals, from Initial (beginner’s level) to Grade 8 (advanced). Whether they are self-taught or taking lessons, learning for fun or heading for a career in the music industry, these new exams will help musicians develop valuable playing skills and achieve their musical ambitions. Graded song-lists include music by the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Green Day, Muse and many more...Brand new graded books with demo and backing tracks, performance notes, and guidance on technical skills and sessions skills will be available from January 2012 and additional songs will be available as sheet music and audio downloads from the Rock & Pop e-store.
Bass show news_BC.indd 8 04/11/2011 16:32
The LowDown
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 13
Institute of Contemporary Music PerformanceLondon’s Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, established over 25 years ago, is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading schools of modern music. e Institute’s reputation has been built on providing world class education and training using the very best teachers and state-of-the-art facilities. It now off ers a range of professional courses including a Masters Degree, Degrees in Popular Music Performance, Creative Musicianship, Songwriting and Music Business, a range of Cert HE courses, a fully-funded 1-year Diploma, a specialist 1-year Higher Diploma, plus a wide portfolio of part-time courses, for guitarists, bass players, drummers, vocalists, songwriters, music business executives and aspiring
entrepreneurs. Institute graduates have gone on to perform at festivals such as Reading and Glastonbury, tour with the likes of Moby and e Noisettes, play with bands like the Vaccines, Radiohead and Babyshambles and artists like Eric Clapton and Kylie Minogue, and also work as teachers all over the world.
GMR BassesBeing a company with a long tradition of making bespoke bass guitars, which recently has been remodeled and restructured to accommodate always rising expectations and inspiring ideas of our customers, we would like to introduce everybody to our classics, improved popular models, new prototypes and wide array of diff erent options and fi nishes off ered by us. New showroom, improved website and regular presence of GMR on London Bass Guitar Show are there for easy access to our products. Currently our company comprises of possibly one of the best teams of luthiers and instrument specialists around. Using only traditional wizardies of lutherie, we still mainly use hands to carve shapes we desire. We work with only best component suppliers in the world. Among others, John East, Bass Culture, ETS or Gotoh are companies we can relay on delivering uncompromised level of quality we snobbishly tend to press on all the time.
Orange Ampli� cationOrange Amplifi cation are looking forward to attending the 2012 London Bass Guitar Show and will be exhibiting their extensive range of bass amplifi cation, including debuting their new products fresh from NAMM 2012. e stand will feature the Orange Isobaric smart power, Terror bass and Crush Pix bass ranges. e Orange team will be on-hand to meet bass players at the show and will have their experts to demonstrate the gear and answer any questions on the products. ere will also be artist signings, competitions, show off ers and latest catalogues/stickers and merchandise on the stand. www.orangeamps.com
Strings And Things e team at Strings and ings are already looking forward to the 2012 show, and hoping to repeat the success of 2011. Exhibiting Ernie Ball Music Man instruments , Sterling by Music Man instruments, Hercules Stands, DR Strings and Innovation Double Bass Strings you’ll fi nd them on stand B1. Not only will there be expert players demonstrating the instruments and strings, there will also be the opportunity to play any of the instruments on the stand through the supplied “plug n play” headphone amps.
The Learning Dock e Learning Dock will be on hand promoting theTeach Me Bass Guitar (TMBG) tuition package. A comprehensive, eff ective, and entertaining self-paced bass instructional taught by Roy Vogt, head of the Bass Department at Nashville’s prestigious Belmont University for 30 years, it contains over 16 hours of video instruction, more than 100 video play-along tracks with professional studio musicians, a 162-page 4-color fully illustrated book in .pdf and optional print formats plus much more.
The London Bass Guitar show will take place at London’s Olympia on 3rd and 4th March, 2012. For more details visit www.londonbassguitarshow.com.
TC ElectronicTC Electronic has elevated artist collaboration to a whole new level by having some of the world’s best guitarists create unique tones for its line of TonePrint FX pedals. Now the party is open to bass players too! Genuine bass legends like Nathan East and Mark King have already come on board along with bass greats from the next generation such as Janek Gwizdala. ese artists had access to tweak all parameters – not just those represented by the knobs. TonePrints can then be loaded via a clever smartphone app or USB totally free of charge. It’s like turning a pedal into a signature model, only having the ultimate power to change the name on it in seconds. TC will display its full Bass Amp 2.0 range as well as the latest TonePrint pedals – ready to be loaded with custom-tailored bass TonePrints – at the London Bass Guitar Show.
Bass DirectBass Direct is a shop dedicated to the best in bass guitar products from around the globe and works directly with many small, specialist companies. Basses, amplifi cation and associated accessories have moved on a great deal in the past twenty years and Bass Direct prides itself in the in depth knowledge, real world experience and diverse product range. Based in central England the shop is easy to get to and parking is free.
Bass show news_BC.indd 9 04/11/2011 16:32
How did you � rst get into music?My older sister played guitar at a local club and it just seemed natural that I would as well. When I was eight I watched the club play at a carnival and saw a bass up close. I knew right away that I wanted to play one. I don’t really know why, it just looked so much more than a guitar….and still does.
How would you de� ne your playing style?Hard to say really as I have a lot of infl uences. I love the Chillis, indie, some metal and some dance music. I can play with fi ngers or a pick and love slap as well. I can only really describe my style as a weird indie funk.
Who is your bass hero?Flea….what he can make his bass do is absolutely phenomenal. He puts the bass out front where it belongs…a lead instrument. � ere are others that I watch and learn from, but Flea delivers every time.
What other bassists have impressed you recently?I was at Glastonbury in June and from all the bands I saw two bassists really stood out. Tord from � e Wombats
and Gbenga Adelekan from Metronomy. Apart from being amazing players both had stage presence and knew how to work the crowd.
When did you start playing?I started playing a couple of months before my ninth birthday. My fi rst bass was a Tanglewood Rebel 4K. I was taught the basics at the music club who then persuaded my dad to let me have professional lessons. � is led to Rory at PWPBASSTUITION where I have been taught for the last three years. His teaching has made me the player I am today.
You are currently working through your Rock School grades. How are you � nding the course?I am currently working on grade 5. To be honest I haven’t found the previous grades a massive challenge, but I do have an extremely good tutor. It is starting to get harder which is good because it means I will get better. � e main thing I like about the grades is that they make you explore styles outside of the genre that you normally listen to.
Do you get nervous before you go on stage? A little, but I don’t think it’s a
bad thing as it helps to keep me focused. Once I start playing I’m okay and just enjoy myself. I’ve played live on and off since I was nine so I’m pretty okay with it. Which of your basses do you like the most and why?� e ESP. I wasn’t sure at fi rst and it took me a while to get used to it, but a set of DRs really brought it to life. It has an aggressive growl and slaps really well…which is a great combo for me. I love the P Bass as well but the ESP just has the edge.
What’s your best tip for other young bass players? Join a club and jam with as many other musicians as possible. Let your playing do the talking, word gets around. Always experiment and don’t be afraid to try something new, you never know where it may lead.
I currently belong to the Livewire Youth Music Project in Saltash Cornwall which boasts a live venue, tuition and practice facilities. Any 13 – 20 year olds in the area interested in music should check it out.
What’s the coolest thing about playing bass? � e bass looks beast and the sounds that come out of it are awesome. You can slap it, pluck
14 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
BGM Bass To The Future
it, pop it, pick it (guitars break) and basically drive the tune. � e bass looks like a guitar’s big brother. I love everything about it.
What would you like to do in the future?� e dream is to headline the Pyramid at Glastonbury.
More realistically is to go to a music college and on into session playing. After that become a tutor and pass it all on to the next generation. I can also play guitar and drums but the bass will always be my main instrument.
R eaders of a certain age will recall the mid to late 1990s, when we were informed by the journalistic powers that be that guitar music was dead and buried and that we would henceforth be listening only to dance music and its house, techno, trance and drum’n’bass subgenres. Everyone would be
leaping up and down and larging it to big beats and squelchy synth bass-lines – adults, children, grannies pulling those tartan bags-on-wheels things down the village street, everyone.
Poppycock, of course, and nowadays there are perfectly healthy music scenes existing in parallel, whether computer- or guitar-based. It’s such a dated argument that no-one even cares any more – and what’s more, even when electronica did hold the upper hand and we were all told to trade in our Ampeg SVTs for Roland drum machines and Akai samplers, a certain number of dance acts chose to cross the great divide and use traditional instrumentation. One of these was the splendid (and completely uncategorisable) Bristol trio Massive Attack, who were once dubbed ‘trip-hop’ by some fool in a marketing department, but who are much better described as a hip-hop act with guitars and bass.
Having established a much-respected niche for themselves with their � rst two albums Blue Lines (1991) and Protection (1994), the band – rappers and multi-instrumentalists Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall, Robert ‘3D’ del Naja and Andy ‘Mushroom’ Vowles – entered new ground with Mezzanine. Introducing a none-more-huge bass guitar line with the opening track ‘Angel’, the album went into deeper, darker and more threatening sonic territory and confounded more than a few critics in doing so. Another of the album’s many highlights for our purposes is ‘Teardrop’, featuring guest vocals by Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins and a monstrous bass-line. You may be familiar with the song from its use as the ‘feem toon’ of the TV series House, albeit in radically remixed form, or – if you’re unlucky – you may have come across the new cover version featuring Take That’s Gary Barlow and a posse of dreadful teenage rappers. Check Youtube for a fantastic version of ‘Angel’ played on Jools Holland’s show Later in 1997: bassist Winston Blissett is pictured front and centre, delivering an appropriately massive bass-line and not smiling very much. It’s epic.
While Mezzanine was Massive Attack’s last album with the core trio mentioned above, the band have gone on to attain near-legendary status among Britain’s relatively low-key hip-hop scene. While we Brits do grime, dubstep and R&B like no-one else, traditional studio beats and rhymes are in short supply these days, especially since the so-called trip-hop movement ceased operations a decade and more ago. Massive Attack are all the more special for that, and they continue to deserve your attention in an era when most electronic musicians regard the bass track as something you click on in Pro-Tools.
Bassists: John Harris, Bob Locke, Winston BlissettDownload: ‘Angel’
Live and Loud Artist: Pino Palladino Venue: Ronnie Scott’s
It wasn’t just bassists and drummers who � ocked to see Pino Palladino play a rare show as bandleader in his own right in October, musicians of all persuasions crammed themselves into every nook and cranny at the
legendary Ronnie Scott’s. There’s a lot of love out there for this low-end maestro. Joined by top US drummer Chris Dave, best known for his sideman work with pianist Robert Glasper as well as top sessions for the likes of Adele and Mint Condition, the pair formed an A-list rhythm section for a memorable night that was de� ned by one thing: groove! With The Roots keyboard player James Poyser, guitarist Tim Stewart, chromatic harmonica virtuoso Adam Glasser and former Average White Band vocalist Hamish Stuart and a three-piece horn section, this was a masterclass in taste, timing and musical choices. Known for his versatility across myriad styles from his early days with Paul Young and Gary Numan, through to his hard rocking playing The Who and latterly John Mayer, and his extensive work with numerous R&B stars, most famously with D’Angelo on his iconic album Voodoo, Palladino � exed his genre-hopping muscles as he seamlessly moved through myriad styles with ease. Building from moody hip-hop � avoured instrumentals to some jazz-tinged tunes, the standard ‘Snow Peas’ showcasing Glasser’s dexterity on the harmonica, then to a stomping rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Crisis’. Pino is a master of the behind the beat groove and a storming take on Fela Kuti’s ‘Zombie’ was astonishing for its relentless groove, snapping horn lines and stellar sax solos from Jason Yarde. A surprise song choice was ‘Fred’ by late great jazz drummer Tony Williams, a � ery fusion blast on which Dave’s drumming exploded and Stewart’s guitar twisted its way around the chords. After a short break they returned with more of the same, yet with each passing tune the groove deepened as the band hit their stride, culminating in a slightly improvised take on the D’Angelo classic ‘Chicken Grease’. Pino’s expertly o� beat B-line wound its way through the chords to deadly e� ect. And yet after two encores the crowd still refused to let them leave. Tonight Pino proved that being a great bassist is all about making the whole band sound better, and this band sounded amazing, no wonder he’s already planning a follow up project next year, so watch this space.Mike Flynn
Gig - Rare Grooves_BC.indd 8 03/11/2011 13:57
Adverts.indd 1 07/11/2011 14:39
The LowDown
Bass in the USAJon D’Auria reports from across the pond.
December is aff ectionately known as the holiday season here in the US, and while most people are completing their shopping lists
and preparing for the festivities, we are looking towards festivities of another sort here in the bass world. � is year, December is providing us with some quick-stop tour dates and bass news that is sure to spark that warm feeling we desire and without the hangover from drinking too much eggnog.
311 bassist, P-Nut, has been keeping intensely busy lately with the release of the band’s new album Universal Pulse (311 Music, 2011), a slew of tours and in preparation of the release of his newest model of his signature series bass from Warwick. His previous signature series model, � e P-Nut III, boasts a beautiful exterior of Afzelia and Burl Blackwood, a hipshot detuner, and the typical German built engineering that would allow you to drop it off of an airplane only to fi nd that the g-string went a little fl at. While this bass is the pinnacle of P-Nut’s imagination and ingenuity, he recently decided that a bass of that caliber was far out of the common player’s price range. Enter the Korean made P-Nut Artist Series “Falcon” bass. Named after his son, this bass is equipped with a bolt-on neck, an Alder body, maple neck, tigerstripe ebony fi ngerboard and a satin fi nish that adds just the right level of sexy. � e best part about this creation is that the 4-string model runs for around $900 and the 5-string model around $1,200. P-Nut is more than excited about this new series, as he explained in a recent call to BGM on the subject. ‘I loved the fi rst three versions of my custom bass, but at over four
thousand dollars a piece, practically nobody can buy them. We decided to take a diff erent route and go through Korean manufacturing, but using the material that make Warwicks so damn awesome. You can beat this bass up and it still sounds great. I’m so proud of this model. I’m taking three of these out on tour right now to break them in, and so far, I’m blown away by their sound.’ Catch P-Nut and his new basses on tour with 311 starting December 2nd in Atlantic City, NJ and closing in Phoenix, AZ on December 9th.
In jazz news, � e Bad Plus kick off their stint of residence gigs in the month of December in support of their last album, Never Stop (E1 Music, 2010). While upright bassist Reid Anderson and his trio of progressive jazz virtuosos have been doing some runs of touring abroad in recent months, the band claims that this new set of shows will be the fi rst to possibly showcase new material and some experimental covers that they are working out. While no word yet of a new
album has been confi rmed, the band has consistently put out records every two years and by our calendars, that means they’re about due. Catch the trio at � e Moore � eatre in Seattle, WA from December 1st-3rd and in Chicago, IL at the Jazz Showcase from December 15th-18th.
Esperanza Spalding has just announced that she will be performing fi ve shows in three days at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA along with pianist Geri Allen and drummer Terri Lyne. � is all-female jazz trio will be scorching through an 8:00pm set and 10:00pm set on both Friday, December 9th and Saturday, December 10th and will then conclude the weekend with a 7:00pm show on Sunday, December 11th. Esperanza will be playing songs from her Grammy Award Winning album, Chamber Music Society (Heads Up, 2010) along with songs from her earlier releases. Part two of the Boston upright massacre comes when bass master Christian McBride steps into Shullers (yes, we too wish Christian and Esperanza were on a double bill) to perform with Inside Straight and special guest Melissa Walker. � ese shows take place on December 29th and again on New Years Eve. What better way to kick off the New Year than by getting schooled by possibly the best upright bassist of our generation? Tickets are on sale now.
In rock news, it has just been announced that the Los Angeles, CA four-piece Alien Ant Farm are reuniting to record a new album and tour the new material. After breaking up in 2007, bassist Tye Zamora and the original lineup of guitarist Terry Corso, drummer Mike Cosgrove and singer Dryden Mitchell decided to get back together after taking time off to pursue other desires. � e band was recently included in the Michael Jackson “Michael Forever Tribute Concert” in Cardiff , Wales back on October 8th, where the band performed “Smooth Criminal” and “PYT” and shared the stage with Christian Aguilera, Cee-lo Green and many others. � e band is expected to begin recording in the beginning of the year and will hopefully have the record released by spring.
On a fi nal note in the world of soul music, it was recently reported that D’Angelo has just wrapped up studio work on his highly anticipated fi rst album since the 2000 release of Voodoo (Virgin). For the much-delayed album titled, James River (RCA Records), D’Angelo has once again enlisted bass groove master Pino Palladino to handle the low end. Palladino recorded with D’Angelo previously on Voodoo, which eventually went platinum here in the States. No release date has been confi rmed yet.
This November sees the release of Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography, co-authored by our very own rock and metal guru Joel McIver. The book details the legendary bassist and singer’s life from the early days, through Deep Purple and on to his Black Country Communion.
Courtesy of Jawbone Press www.jawbonepress.com and Joel McIver (www.joelmciver.co.uk), we present to you an extract from the book, which can be bought from all good bookstores and Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk).
I felt better about the offer to join Purple when I heard that they’d asked a hero of mine, Paul Rodgers of Free, to join
too. It was also attractive to me to join the world’s top band, who were bigger than Led Zeppelin at the time. That on its own was pretty persuasive, but it wasn’t so much the money or the fame as the chance to have a bigger stage to play on and more people to sing for. And make no mistake: in 1973 Deep Purple were the biggest band on the planet.
And so I went off with Deep Purple, who were the No. 1 band in 1973, and I knew the job I had to do was gonna be different and I knew that everybody had a say. I came into the band full of confidence – not arrogance. I was in great shape and it was before the drugs. I wasn’t drinking alcoholically and I was in a relationship with a girl that was normal. It was all pie-in-the-sky stuff. There was a real innocence.
The last gig I did with Trapeze was in June 1973, and I joined Purple in July. So now I’m living with Deep Purple’s drummer,
Ian Paice, down in Fulham in London on Harbledown Road. I went to Germany for a weekend with Ritchie Blackmore, because he always likes to go to Hamburg when he has the time. We sat in a few after-hours bars and talked about what my role was going to be in the band. Now, Trapeze had established me as a lead singer. The voice I went on to use with Deep Purple had been there for a while, and at 22 years old I felt that my calling was to be a singer. Ritchie thought my role would be the glue between the band-members, bringing the harmonies into it. He looked at me as a kind of Paul McCartney-style player and singer, working alongside a guy – who hadn’t yet been found at this point – who would be more like Paul Rodgers, with that kind of bluesy voice. I understood completely.
Ritchie and I had a great weekend of bonding in Germany: he was one of the three guitar gods in the world at the time, and it was a great honour to play with him. We got on really well. I was fresh new blood coming into the band,
and the vibe was great. We hadn’t auditioned any singers, but the office had had about 200 cassettes sent in.
One of them was from David Coverdale, who sang ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’. The other guys loved the tone of his voice. It matched mine really well. In the end, he was the only guy who auditioned for us, even though other guys were on the list to audition later. He was slightly pissed when he got there, because he had a half-bottle of whiskey with him.
David had charisma, he was funny and he was intelligent.
David Coverdale: “My audition for the Purps took place during the summer of 1973, at Scorpio Sound Studios on London’s Marylebone Road, in the high-rise building
that housed the original Capitol Radio. I’d arrived early, and slowly but surely the members of Purple drifted in. Glenn was the last to arrive. He basically fell into the studio, with his huge mane of hair all over his face and polaroid sunglasses hanging off his nose as he struggled through the door, with his bass case and shoulder bag falling off. Very, very funny. His arrival helped lift some of my nerves – he was definitely human. When they started to play, he – as well as the rest of the band – just blew me away. He was incredibly confident and secure. I definitely needed a pretty good shot of Bell’s whiskey to loosen me up to jam with those guys.”
We jammed some blues stuff and at one point David and I sat down at the piano and sang together. At
“The bridges in the songs were mine, mostly, although there was no-one pressuring me to sing at all.”
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Bass Guitar MaGazine 21
that point I knew we were going to work really well together.
David Coverdale: “The blend was amazing from the start. Our mutual love and experience of American soul music resonated immediately. Vibrato happened effortlessly. I remember sitting at the piano when everyone was taking a break, and I started playing a song I’d written just to keep myself busy. it was full of major and minor sevenths, totally inspired by Stevie Wonder, and Glenn wandered over and started harmonising with me. It was a hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck, chilling moment, and our vocal relationship grew from that moment.”
David had to wait a week until we told him that he’d got the job. We got him in the band in early August, and by then we were down at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire for the next Deep Purple album, Burn, which we wrote in the castle dungeon. Ritchie got there first. I arrived second and got a good choice of bedroom, unaware that he had wired my room up and put speakers in the closet, and of course at three o’clock in the morning there were these ghostly wails. Blackmore had waited up to do it. When you’re in a 700-year-old castle and you hear that, it’s pretty spooky. I knew what was going on as soon as I woke up, though. They warned me that he was a famous prankster. Yeah, it was funny: I bet he’s still carrying a water pistol now, at 65 years old.
The organ player, Jon Lord, was mentoring me. He was very sociable and a great dinner companion, funny, bright and very big-brotherish to me. We hit it off really well. I liked all of them, but I had a kinship with Jon that was passionate and a good thing.
It didn’t take long for David and I to feel comfortable in the band. He adapted to it pretty quickly, and I’d already toured extensively in big venues, so I was used to playing for a lot of people. They were all pretty important players in that band, and I always felt that I was coasting a little bit. It was an easy gig for me in the sense that it was a band of musicians that flowed. The scales that Ritchie was writing in were that kind of traditional, Bach-influenced approach, which is a different animal to me. I enjoyed being in the moment on stage: Paicey was playing incredible back then and we were really an in-your-face, dangerous band. We were really volatile and really pumped
up. It was very aggressive. How did I feel about being in
Purple? This is the truth, and I don’t give a damn if it sounds arrogant: I was born to be on stage with a band like this. I had that gift. I knew I was a talented musician when I wrote the first Trapeze songs, so the moment I put my bass on and played Mistreated with Blackmore at his house in Surrey, I wasn’t at all nervous.
The only song which had been partly written before the Burn sessions was ‘Mistreated’, in fact
– the bare bones of it had set the tone of the bluesier aspect of the song. The way David and I took the singing parts on the album was pretty simple: we were both writing lyrics and sort of eyeing each other and saying, ‘Shall I sing here…?’
The bridges in the songs were mine, mostly, although there was no-one pressuring me to sing at all. The parameters were pretty much set before I joined the band: I’d told them that I wasn’t going to be happy just being a bass player. It would be like George Best playing at right back: what would be the point? When we wrote the song ‘Burn’ it was obvious to me that I was going to sing certain points, so we arranged the vocals appropriately.
When you compare Burn with Purple’s previous album, Who Do We Think We Are?, it’s apparent that we new guys were throwing down the gauntlet a bit – and also that we were firing on all cylinders. We all looked at each other as a brand-new band, as if we were five new guys together, even Jon, Ian and Ritchie. Half the rhythm section and all the singers had changed: it was a breath of fresh air.
David Coverdale :”Glenn was, and still is, a significantly superior singer in many ways than my good self. I am in awe when he extrapolates. Ooh, that sounds rude… But we are both natural singers and our angels were smiling upon us. It just worked – that simple. No effort required. His bass playing was astonishingly muscular and powerful. He was much more of a groove player than they’d
had before, from what I’ve heard. He created an immensely strong foundation, along with Ian Paice, for us to build on. Glenn is a totally natural musician. I never saw him practise. He would take his bass out of the case, strap it on, plug in and play amazing stuff – beautiful counter-melodies – and a huge bass sound.”
We had a huge press event in the castle, with servants dressed in mediaeval clothes: Blackmore loved it, he was in his element. The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, with Martin Birch, who I got on with really well. We recorded all the tracks live: if someone made a mistake we just started again. It was very live and very raw, and I was up on my bass chops because I’d been on tour with Trapeze in America not long before. We used the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio there, which Purple had also used on Machine Head. David and I stood side by side and sang on the same mic most of the time. I wanted him to feel supported by me, because he’d never really performed on a large stage like this before. It was important to us to bond as singers as well as people.
We mixed the album at Olympic Studios in London and we were all there. The bass wasn’t loud enough: it was ridiculous. I always had a problem with people mixing me: every band I’ve been in has been bass-heavy. My bass is groovy: it hangs with the bass drum and makes people move. That’s why I want it to be high in the mix.
We knew that we were going to set the world on fire with this album.
Let’s talk about the credits on
Burn. I had signed to a different publishing company with Trapeze, and I was still signed to them when I joined Purple, and so the management said they would give me a higher percentage on the album if I was a silent writer on it. That’s why you didn’t see my name on Burn, although you do nowadays. I should have had a lawyer look at all this stuff, but I was young. We all got 20 percent of tour income and that seemed like a good deal to me.
Next, we’re off on tour. The first gig was in Copenhagen and it was amazing. Lars Ulrich, later of Metallica, was there with his dad and he was a massive Purple fan. He told me that I was the only one who signed an autograph. I remember when I was a kid, I once asked Gordon Waller of Peter & Gordon to sign my book and they told me to f*** off: I swore that if I ever got to be in that position and be a star, I would never do that. I never have done, and I sign everybody’s autographs to this day. Glenn Hughes with Joel McIver
“I played Mistreated with Blackmore at his house in Surrey, I wasn’t at all nervous.”
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BassicallySpeaking
Bassically SpeakingBassists tell us what they do in a minute or less!
22 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
I play simply most of the time. I always try to be more in the pocket. After the song is recorded and I’m on the
road, I really start to fi nd the true heart of the song and not the beast that comes out in the studio. My style is based on the groove fi rst, then melody where there is room. I have used one of my four-string basses like a fi ve-string with the low B string. It was fun but it didn’t work with any tunes. I usually go for a low mid-range tone with no metallic edge: if I’m using an overdrive I might like more of a metallic high tone. I leave those ultra lows for the kick drum. I was so turned off by 1990s slapping that I never learned to slap. I think if I had embraced it earlier it would have stuck to some degree. I still have no passion for it, so I suck at it. I recently have gotten into ‘popping’ – the little brother to slapping. It is a pop response to the thud of my thumb pushing down on the string. � e secret of good playing is listening to the people you are playing with
GEARBasses: 1972 Ampeg Big Stud, 1972 Gibson Grabber, late-60s Yamaha, 1970s Japanese Lyle semi-hollowbody, Fender Jazz 60s reissueE� ects: Xotic E� ects USA, BB Bass Preamp, Boss DS-1, MXR Carbon Copy delay, Boss TU-2 tunerAmps: Gallien-Krueger 800RB, Ampeg SVT and SVT II heads
I like a clean top end that can cut through, but I also like a big, air-moving bottom. I generally apply compression
and a mildly distorted tone. I’m a pretty hard hitter, especially when I play live. I fi nd that once the full band is going, rocking out and I’m moving around stage and singing, I can’t help it. I am a four-stringer, I’m very comfortable with that and while I’ve tried fi ve- and six-string basses, I don’t rightly know what to do with the extra strings. Not yet anyway. Why get more strings if I’m not going to use them? I don’t slap, simply because I’m not that good at it, and I don’t think it fi ts well with the music we’ve written anyway. My bass heroes? Geddy Lee, the centrepiece of the Rush power trio. He serves up complex bass-lines that intertwine with his vocal melodies better than most bassist/singers. Sting has a smooth, serpentine style that you instantly recognise. He makes bass sound easy – until you try to cover a Police song. Geezer Butler is the
Senon WilliamsDengue Fever
Justin E PercivalMind Museum
GEARBasses: Fender Aerodyne Jazz E� ects: Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive, Ashton CR30 Chorus Amps: Laney RB9 head
original metal bassist. All true metal bassists are infl uenced by him, whether they admit it or not. Lemmy’s style is defi nitely original and a big infl uence on my playing – the way he plays bass like a hybrid between bass and rhythm guitar yet still maintaining a distinctive bass sound. Chris Wolstenholme is probably one of the most inventive bassists of his generation: just listen to any Muse song. � en there’s Les Claypool from Primus. Musical genius or discordant noisemaker – it’s all a matter of opinion. Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order wrote some of the most memorable ‘ringing’ bass-lines ever – just listen to ‘Disorder’ and you’ll be hooked on that bass-line. www.mindmuseum.co.uk
and being fl exible. I never have a bass-line so precious that I don’t accept the infl uence of the people I am playing with. I always think it will be a better song after it is moulded into a beautiful and meaningful song by the whole group. If I could get the bass tone of any album ever released, it would be David Bowie’s � e Man Who Sold � e World – the bass tone is completely true. I can hear Tony Visconti playing behind the strings. His playing is powerful, verging on lead bass and totally punk. It is a beautiful-sounding record.www.denguefevermusic.com
I’ve never thought of myself as the most technically profi cient bass player out there, but people have
commented over the years on my playing style being pretty unique. My band is a three-piece and I fi ll in the rhythm section and incorporate melodies in my playing to pad out the guitar parts and counterbalance the vocal
the heart and trying out new ideas. You don’t have to ‘paint by numbers’ when it comes to playing bass, don’t just stick to the root notes unless that’s what the song needs. Explore and experiment with diff erent rhythms and melodies.I was lucky enough to have a 1960s Fender Precision as my fi rst bass that I still play today. � ere’s some question as to whether it’s
melodies. I’ve always said that until I’ve reached my limit on a four-string I wouldn’t need a fi ve-string, but the truth is if I had the money I’d buy one tomorrow! None of the music I play has really needed slap bass, it wouldn’t really fi t in with the style of my band. However it’s something I hope to try and work on in future. � e secret of playing bass well is playing from
a ’65 or ’68, I keep meaning to get the serial number checked, but either way she’s a beauty! I’ve always really aimed for the grungy bass sounds of bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana, and albums like Badmotorfi nger and Nevermind, but more recently � em Crooked Vultures’ self-titled album. � ey are the kind of sounds I’ve always preferred when I’m recording. I remember a reviewer once described my bass sound as ‘tank-like’ and I loved that! My band David R Black has a new album out, Secret City, which is available to download online and can be purchased on CD from www.1000watt.com. We’ve been touring the album for a few months now and still have more shows towards the end of the year. We’ve already started putting more dates in place for another UK and European tour next spring and we’re planning to release a documentary DVD.www.davidrblack.net
Hagai Izenberg Rendezvouswhich means that they are built to the highest standard and you can also control each and every parameter you can think of. � e most important thing is to fi nd your own sound and style. � is could be how you play the bass, meaning how energetic you are on the bass and what feel and groove you are choosing to play in, or it could be what notes and patterns you are defi ning as your own. Find your own way. Innovate! I’m a fan and student of the classics. I always say that to be the best you must learn from the ones that started it all, and those masters are Roger Waters (Pink Floyd),
I try to make my bass-lines as fi rm as possible, so that whatever is played on top of that can literally do
anything. � e more stable the bass-line is, the crazier the music can get, although I do tend to fi nd melodic bass lines and use analogue eff ects as a part of my sound. I always use my original 1966 Fender
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Paul McCartney (Beatles), Glenn Cornick (Jethro Tull), Greg Lake and Peter Giles (King Crimson). My favourite bass player of all time is Roger Waters from Pink Floyd: the master of sound and dynamics and the perfect example of a bassist who plays simple but brilliant bass-lines.www.rendezvousmusic.co.uk
Precision in every situation in the studio or on stage. Nothing gets even remotely close to it. As a true vintage and analogue lover, I own a 200 watt Fender tube amp dated from 1972. Tube amps usually go up to 100 watts, but for some reason Fender decided to make an even more powerful amp – although it was so powerful that they dropped this line after a single year. After a lot of testing I have found that the analogue MoogerFooger fi lters are the only pedals that can really deal with the wide range of frequencies that the bass puts out. � ese pedals are class A,
MediamixAll the latest media from the bass world at large
Antoine Fafard - Solus Operandi Unicorn Digital ★★★It seems rarely a day goes by that a new bass talent emerges and this month’s newest arrival is Antoine Farad, yet he’s not just a hugely accomplished bassist he’s a very � ne classical/� amenco guitarist too. Performing internationally with tech-metal fusion band Spaced Out since the late 1990s, this new project sees Fafard moving directly into � amenco-jazz fusion territory and it’s to his credit that his � ne acoustic guitar work gives this album plenty of space, enriching the harmonic textures he creates. Pulling o� many superb fretless bass solos, Fafard is a serious player with stacks of solo and melodic ideas. Packed with some great guitar and drum guests, not least Dave Weckl on three tracks, Solus Operandi is slightly overly long but bursting with � ne playing and fresh modern sounding � amenco jazz. Mike Flynn
Empirical - Elements Of TruthNaim Jazz★★★One of the most exciting bands on the UK jazz scene today Empirical continue their upward trajectory here with their third album. Quintessentially a quartet they are joined here by pianist George Fogel who augments their fast and light line up of sax, vibes, bass and drums. While they’ve always had their
George Benson - Guitar ManConcord Jazz★★Many moons ago George Benson emerged as one of the � nest guitarists on the planet – a master of e� ortlessly hip phrasing that matched his obvious technical brilliance with a slinky soulfulness that many copied but few bettered. Then from the 1970s onwards, with his hit album Breezin’ ,his rich tenor voice began to permeate his music more and more and he soon became a huge R&B vocal star. Today he retains his superstar status, yet here seems inclined to rekindle interest in his still vital guitar playing. Thus Guitar Man is a sometimes successful, but often bland, amalgam of these two sides of his career, solo renditions of ‘Tenderly’ and ‘Naima’ show the old spark is still there, but inevitably it’s the slick modern production which removes any of that funky ‘chicken grease’, of his prime early recordings. A shame as this could have been so much better. Mike Flynn
Rudresh Mahanthappa - SamdhiACT Records★★★★Indo-jazz has a long and illustrious history be it via John McLughlin’s Shakti, the late Brit jazz saxophonist Joe Harriot, or the new wave of emerging stars such as saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. An Italian-born New York based virtuoso, he’s risen to prominence alongside pianist Vijay Iyer and has forged a reputation for bringing the rhythmic complexities of Indian music into a contemporary jazz setting. While his previous explorations of this have been a little on cerebral side, Samdhi � nds him unleashing his inner-fusion god and the results are explosive. Joined by Canadian bass ace Rich Brown (brilliant on the solo ‘Richard’s Game’), storming drummer Damion Reid and guitarist David Gilmore this set races out the gate on the aptly named ‘Killer’ and rarely lets up. Dazzling group interplay, an aggressive rhythm section and some mind-expanding solos on jagged melodies create no end of excitement on this excellent album. Mike Flynn
Abstract Logix New Universe Festival DVD ★★ ★★Abstract LogixFollowing the double-disc CD version of this interstellar fusion shindig earlier this year comes this high de� nition double-disc DVD that adds some very welcome live footage to what was already a rip-roaring live package. Abstract Logix have become the home to a who’s who of contemporary master instrumentalists, many of whom get top billing here. The musical contents here are diverse too. Things kick o� with some heady Zappa-esque sounds from guitarist Alex Machachek, while his � ne bassist Neal Fountain and drummer Je� Sipe add some heavy grooves behind his free � oating guitar. Elsewhere the likes of Matthew Garrison, Jimmy Herring, Wayne Krantz, Anthony Jackson, John McLaughlin and the increasingly superb Etienne Mbappe pack this expertly produced live concert with countless examples of the very best modern musicianship has to o� er be it in blues, funk, rock, world, jazz or indeed fusion forms. Mike Flynn
Tommy Stinson - One Man MutinyDone To Death Music★★★This second solo album from Guns N Roses bassist Tommy Stinson sees him handling vocals, guitars and drums as well as the low-end.Album opener ‘Don’t Deserve You’ is a mid-paced stomper, with a fuzzy bass line driving things along, and though catchy enough doesn’t really go anywhere, but at just over two minutes it doesn’t hang around enough to get boring. And that’s pretty much the case with most of the songs here. It’s certainly a radio friendly e� ort with hooky guitar parts and some nice vocal melodies ably delivered by Stinson, and an overall Americana alt.rock vibe to it, with liberal doses of acoustic guitar, but there’s nothing here to lift it above the merely competent. In terms of the bass playing, it’s supportive throughout, driving the songs along, as it should be on such material, but it would’ve been nice to hear some more creative work, though ‘Match Made In Hell’ has a nice bouncing melodic line. Give it a listen before buying.Ben Cooper
Jeff Coffi n & The Mu’Tet - Live!Ear Up Records★★★Best known for tearing it up as a member of Béla Fleck’s Flecktones and more recently for touring with hugely popular US jam band maestro Dave Mathews, multi-reed saxophonist Je� Co¥ n is a daring player adept at smashing generic boundaries. He’s been forging an increasingly distinctive solo career too, and the fruits of these labours can be heard here as he dives into a typically diverse mix of world-jazz styles that cross-pollinate the liquid bass grooves of Felix
24 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
� nger � rmly on the post-bop pulse, Elements Of Truth stretches things away from the Eric Dolphy-inspired sounds of their last album Out ‘N’ In, with kinetic rhythm section work from bassist Tom Farmer and drummer Shaney Forbes. Yet it’s alto sax star Nathaniel Facey’s hyperactive solos and darting melodies, expertly framed by brilliant vibist Lewis Wright that really sets this album alight. Contrasting high-energy workouts like ‘Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say’ with languid, unfurling pieces ‘Yin & Yang’ or the lustrous ‘Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind’, they create a gripping sense of narrative, that keeps you hooked to the end. Mike Flynn
Pastorius (son of Jaco) with snaking sax/trumpet top lines and frenetic beats. Pastorius has certainly inherited his father’s e� ortless groove but has a very contemporary set of chops, and plenty of good taste too. This results in highly detailed collective improvisations that while they stretch and burn in equal measure, there’s plenty of sonic drama to keep things interesting. Allmann Brothers, Flecktones and Aquarium Rescue Unit fans will love this killer live set. Mike Flynn
Media page_BC.indd 8 07/11/2011 10:22
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I suppose I’m in a metal band, so I should put at least one metal album in here! It’s generally difficult to hear the bass playing in metal, because it’s usually hidden behind the guitars, but some bass players like Geezer Butler stand out because they try to do something different with their parts. If they don’t do that, I usually find it a bit boring. This was a huge album for me when I was younger.
Jaco PastoriusJaco Pastorius (1976)
It’s funny, when I was really young I hated this. I didn’t understand it at all. Ever since then, though, I’ve thought it was a tremendous piece of music. I play fretless and I know a couple of songs of his, but I would never compare myself with Jaco, He was the ultimate bass player for me – his bass-lines were amazing and I loved the way he created melodies and used such incredible techniques.
Ástor PiazzollaTango: Zero Hour (1986)
This guy was a major tango player from Italy, but his tango was completely di� erent. He played the bandoneón [concertina]. I loved all his albums but this one was the � rst that I heard. Again, I don’t know who the bass player was on this record, but it wasn’t just about the bass playing: it was all about the entire composition. Piazzolla wrote parts for the upright bass that were very unusual – they were very percussive at times.
Stevie WonderInnervisions (1973)
I got into this album when I joined Opeth. It was Mikael [Åkerfeldt, vocals] who showed it to me. Those songs are absolutely beautiful. I don’t know who the bass player is but whoever he is, he was amazing. The song ‘Visions’ is my favourite, although I really love all the songs on it. I like funk playing, but it needs to be groovy for me. I don’t like it if it’s too happy, ha ha!
Return To ForeverReturn To Forever (1972)
Stanley Clarke was another huge in� uence on me, although of course I’ve never tried to play like him. He’s the man. I’m a � ngerstyle player too, I’ve never managed to play with a pick – but I don’t bend my arm like he does. I’ve actually started to play upright bass with Opeth, like Clarke does: I play it on the � rst song of the new album. I use an electric upright: I got it about six months ago and took some lessons in Sweden.
MartinMendez,Opeth
� e masters of modern progressive rock are without a doubt Opeth, the Swedish quintet whose new album Heritage has been acclaimed in recent months. Bassist Martin Mendez reveals a typically unpredictable selection of albums that made him the man he is today. Martin plays Fender Jazz basses, which he runs through a Fender TB1200 head, and into 8x10 Fender cabs. To help with his grinding low-end he employs Dark Glass distortion pedals. His infl uences are many and varied and include: Jaco Pastorius, Queen, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Joni MItchell, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
� e low end maestro for prog rockers Opeth picks his top fi ve most infl uential albums.
The Evanescence bassist tells Joel McIver how he was called up to play bass by a stadium rock band – even though he hadn’t picked one up in ages . . .
Tim McCord
Tim mcCord DPS_BC.indd 36 07/11/2011 10:17
There is a sweet spot when it comes to rock’n’roll fame and fortune: in the
middle. We all know hundreds of unknown musicians who eat baked beans for dinner and live with their mums. Then there’s a top layer of super-successful celebs who can’t leave the house or they’ll be attacked by fans. Find that happy medium, though, and you’ll enjoy most of the benefits of the crème de la crème – tourbuses that actually work, equipment manufacturers bunging free stuff at you, people keen to hear your opinions – without needing a SWAT team to get to Waitrose.
Evanescence occupy this perfect zone. The Little Rock, Arkansas band are a big noise in pretty much all rock and metal-consuming households, but the average man in the street would have trouble spelling the band’s name, let alone naming one of their hits. In fairness, their biggest hit to date – 2003’s ‘Bring Me To Life’ – was so huge, swamping MTV thanks to its apocalyptic video – that few people outside the devoted know what they’ve been doing since then.
This is possibly unfair, since Evanescence’s new, self-titled album is a solid piece of work. The band (singer Amy Lee, guitarists Troy McLawhorn and Terry Balsamo, bassist Tim McCord and drummer Will Hunt) are a tightly-knit five-piece, delivering radio-friendly riffage with precision-engineered clarity. For McCord, this comes from a tried-and-tested rig, he says: “I run Ernie Ball Stingray
basses through Ampeg SVT 4 amps and Ampeg 8x10” cabs. I use a Marshall guitar preamp to get some dirt in my sound, and it’s working out really well.”
The new record sounds pretty snappy. Is McCord a one-take guy, or does he need a few passes in the studio to get his parts perfect? “If I can get in one take, then I will,” he explains, “but I’ll take it two or three times – or all the way up to 10 times – if necessary. If I really want to, anyway! Usually the first couple are the ones. Normally I lay it down quickly and it’s done.”
Asked how Evanescence come up with their arrangements, McCord says: “I write all the bass parts myself, but how they come out depends on the song. A lot of the material came from me and the singer and our guitar player just sitting around in front of a computer. We come up with chord progressions or melody lines that we like, and I put down a bass part along with a programmed drum part. Or maybe we’ll all jam out a song as a band, when we’re playing and feeding off each other. It just seems to work out.”
Evanescence is a multilayered album, with keyboards and other elements all over the songs. Was it tough to find a frequency space for the bass, we wonder? “Well, all the songs were written for the band’s instruments first and foremost, and then the other stuff – synths, Taurus pedals and what have you – was put on top afterwards, which is obviously the best way to go if you’re a bass player,” he remarks. “Coming in and playing bass over
a song that’s already loaded with keyboards and low frequencies would be a nightmare, so we did this one from the ground up.”
McCord’s history is not that of the conventional bass player. “I used to be a guitar player,” he recalls, “and then Evanescence called me to play bass, which was weird because I’d never touched a bass for a year, but I picked it back up, learned the material and went out on the road with them. It was great fun, actually. This time I’m writing my own bass parts, though, so it’s more gratifying for me.”
McCord’s list of personal bass heroes reveals much about his style as a musician. Asked to nominate the bassists who were most influential to him, he says: “Sting, Tony Levin, Michael Anthony, Bruce Thomas from the Attractions, and definitely Chi Cheng from the Deftones – we come from the same home town, and I grew up loving that guy’s bass playing. Mike Martin from Will Haven, too – I really liked his bass playing a lot. It’s funny, it’s mainly classic rock guys on my list, rather than metallers.”
The key for McCord is not standing out front and showing off with his bass parts, he’s keen to emphasise. His band’s frontwoman Amy Lee is the obvious focus for most of the attention from fans and media, and his job – as with the other musicians – is simply to keep the songwriting dynamics as effective as possible. “I’m respectful about Jaco Pastorius and the other jazz players, of course,” he says, “but I’m always more impressed with players
LOW KEYTuning low...and lower...“I always stick with four strings, because I like to keep it classic and keep it real but I use very heavy strings – maybe a 140 – because we tune way down. On one track on this record we go all the way down to A. That is the lowest that I can really go without using a five-string. I find the necks are too big on five-string basses: they don’t feel right and I don’t like the way they look, either.”
BAND: EvanEscEncEBAssist: Tim mccord
“If I can get in one take, then I will, but I’ll take it two or three times – or all the way up to 10 times – if necessary. “
Bass GuiTar MaGazine 29
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who play tasteful lines that serve the song, rather than balls-out noodling. I always appreciate the pocket, so I’ve always been into players who ride a groove and feel things out rather than being a shredder out at the front. I’d rather keep a low key and hold it down rather than be fancy.” A lesson worth taking on board, we reckon.Joel McIver
Evanescence is out now. Info: www.evanescence.com
SLAPPA DA BASSTim on The fine arT du slap eT pop...
“There’s a song on our last record with slap bass on it. I can do it, but it’s not my favourite thing to do. I grew up doing it, though, because one of my favourite bands growing up was Primus. I always wanted to play like Les Claypool, but I could never do it. They should make that guy the President. He’s definitely the leader of Planet Bass!”
Tim mcCord DPS_BC.indd 37 07/11/2011 10:17
There really is no-one else like him.
Today’s interview only serves to demonstrate that fact one more time. “What magazine is this for?” he demands affably when we meet him in a swish London hotel. “Bass Guitar Magazine? That’s the wrong magazine for me. I want to be in Trombone magazine, ha ha! Or GQ because I’m so snappy. I should be in Horse And Hound too. Get me some tweed.”
Claypool has been a prolific solo artist in recent years, issuing albums and DVDs at a prodigious rate, but the reason for his presence today is because Primus – who have only worked sporadically since 2002 – have returned with a new album, Green Naugahyde. The line-up also features long-time guitarist Larry ‘Ler’ Lalonde, but fans expecting to see Tim Alexander behind the kit will be surprised to hear that Claypool has recruited his original sticksman Jay Lane to the band. His relationship with Alexander is still strong (see Two Drummers Drumming boxout) but, as he explains, Primus needed a facelift to function again.
“The band wasn’t going to happen with Tim,” he explains, sipping his coffee. “When we got together and played Primus songs, it was always just a
Musicians with an individual voice are always the ones who go furthest,
and never has this maxim been truer than of Les Claypool, the iconic bassist whose work with Primus and as a solo artist has established him as one of the instrument’s most recognisable figures. The 48-year-old Californian has multiple faces, being best known as the voice behind alternative rock hits of the 1990s such as ‘Jerry Was A Race Car Driver’ and ‘Tommy The Cat’, cameoing for Generation X in the second Bill And Ted film, writing novels, producing films, running a vineyard and ranting wherever possible about his love of fishing.
To us, however, Claypool is of most interest as a master in the bass field. To say that his style is based on a funk groove is understating the point significantly: only Flea is a more prominent slap-and-pop player in the rock field, and not for nothing is Claypool’s right first digit nicknamed the ‘Thumb Of Destiny’. Slapping down the years on a variety of basses, most of which have been custom jobs from Brooklyn luthier Carl Thompson in various string and fretted/fretless configurations, Claypool has applied his musicianship to songs of wry, dark humour accompanied by an image that resembles a character from Dr Seuss’s Cat In The Hat.
Prime moverThere is no other bass player like Les Claypool of Primus. Just accept it, says Joel McIver.Photos by Robert Downs
30 Bass GuitaR MaGazine
Les Claypool DPS R L_BC.indd 30 04/11/2011 15:35
play with him, because it was something that I would actually listen to.”
Aware that naysayers will no doubt criticise him for supposedly resurrecting Primus because rock reunions are ‘trending’ at the moment, Claypool stresses: “I wouldn’t do this if it was just a nostalgia trip – and if I was doing it for the money, I would have just reformed with Tim and gone out and played the hits. I don’t want to put people off, but even on the current tour we’re not going to play all the hits, just one or two. We wouldn’t be doing this if a friendship wasn’t there. Larry and I have always had a
great relationship, it just got a little sketchy in the late 90s for a bunch of reasons, one of which was that I had kids and he didn’t. I think people go in eight to 10 year cycles, that’s my experience during my tenure on this planet. After that amount of time you need to step away from people for a while.”
Claypool fans will be relieved to hear that his playing on Green Naugahyde is as gobsmacking as ever. As always, he combines a solid pocket with a range of unsettling effects, some of which are so treated that they barely resemble a bass. For example, at the beginning of ‘Eyes Of A Squirrel’, there’s a little twiddly bit
BAND: PrimusBAssist: Les CLayPooL
Bass GuitaR MaGazine 31
Prime mover
that sounds reversed. What the hell is that, we want to know? “I’m not sure!” he laughs. “I do that lick every night and it’s always different because it’s a portion of a loop which I then reverse. It’s just a random little loop I threw together.”
The return of Primus coincides with Claypool’s switch from Carl Thompson basses to his own model, the Pachyderm. In every interview he’s done with BGM (and there have been a few, each more revelatory than the last), he’s been asked whether he’ll ever do a signature bass – and the answer has always been no. So what’s changed, we ask? “I’m starting a venture, and I don’t
nostalgic thing: there was never any creative flow. When we got together at soundchecks and rehearsals it was just kinda dead. The same ideas were coming: nothing fresh. So when the talk of Primus came up again, I really wasn’t interested. I love my solo band and I love what I’ve been doing for the past 10 years with all these different guys: I loved the last incarnation of my band with the cello, vibraphone and marimba. I could listen to that every day, ha ha! So for me to do Primus again, it had to be something that was creatively exciting: and because Jay is one of my heroes and I love to see him play, it was very enticing to
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Untitled-1 1 19/09/2011 09:34:16missing Hand advert.indd 1 28/09/2011 09:39
know how big a venture it’s going to be, but I basically designed my own bass,” he tells us. “It’s everything that I always wanted out of a bass. I’m playing the prototype, and I have been for several months now. It’s on the road with me now. It’s amazing, it’s fabulous, and it’s called the Pachyderm. We’re making another one right now. � is one’s maple and the next one’s gonna have a walnut top, just fi ne-tuning.”
We assume that Claypool himself isn’t cutting the wood and fi ling down the fret ends, so who’s doing the actual building? “A buddy of mine who made my banjo bass and one of my uprights years ago. I’ve known him since high school, he built it for me: his name is Dan Maloney,” he replies. “I did the design and he cut the shape, and I’ve been going in and using Japanese planing tools to fi ne-tune the shape. Basically I’m creating what I feel is the most comfortable and easy-to-play bass in the world, with tonality that I like, which is a very punchy sound.”
So why make the switch from the Carl � ompsons after so many years, we ask? “I’ve always loved Carl’s basses, but the thing
about those is that they’re all unique, which is spectacular because you sort of tailor your playing to the instrument – but this instrument is tailored to what I like,” explains Claypool. “We’re gonna make some: I don’t know how many we’ll make, but I’ll play them and probably do some charity stuff : sell them and give a portion to charity. I doubt that it will become a regular manufacturing company: if it really takes off , maybe I’ll do something, but it wouldn’t ever be a mass-produced thing. It would be a custom instrument, tailored to what I like. Nobody’s going to be able to go, ‘Oh, can you make me one like this?’ It’s my bass.”
Unusually for a man whose studio contains basses which vary from a one-string instrument – the famous Wham-Ola – to the six-string fretless beauties that � ompson made for him, the Pachyderm has your average number of strings. “I’m starting on a four-string and then I’ll work on other things, but I’m mainly playing four-strings anyway,” he says. “� ere’s actually nothing but four-string and upright bass on this new Primus record, apart from a Dobro bass which
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 33
BAND: PRIMUSBASSIST: LES CLAYPOOL
Two Drummers DrummingLES EXPLAINS WHY ORIGINAL DRUMMER JAY LANE IS BACK IN THE BAND, REPLACING THE MORE WELL-KNOWN TIM ALEXANDER
“Jay is my hero, as far as drummers: him and
Stewart Copeland and John Bonham are the guys I steal my licks from, as a wannabe drummer. Jay has the best groove of anybody I’ve ever played with, and that’s very exciting for me because I remember that from the old days with Primus. I’ve always missed that. I love Tim’s playing, he’s an amazing player
who has accomplished many things, but he’s a rock guy. He has a rock feel, whereas Jake has this Minneapolis groove, this hop, to his playing that I’ve missed for a long time in Primus. Obviously I worked with Jay in bands like Sausage and Holy Mackerel, and he was also with me in the Frog Brigade, so we have a kinship on a personal level and a very intuitive musical relationship.”
“the Pachyderm bass has one knob on it, a volume knob: I don’t want any tone, I don’t want anything else on it,”
Two Drummers DrummingTHE BAND, REPLACING THE MORE WELL-KNOWN TIM ALEXANDER
who has accomplished many things, but he’s a rock guy. He has a rock feel, whereas Jake has this Minneapolis groove, this hop, to his playing that I’ve missed for a long time in Primus. Obviously I worked with Jay in bands like Sausage and Holy Mackerel, and he was
Brigade, so we have a kinship on a personal level and a very intuitive musical relationship.”
The Claypool Signal Chain Revealed“I’m not a big gear guy, but when the new millennium came along and I was o� doing all my own stu� , and doing projects where I’d be
on stage jamming one song for 20-plus minutes, I found I wanted more textures for my sound, so I picked up this old Korg pedal – I always forget what name it is, it’s like an AX3000 or something, they don’t even make ’em any more. In fact, I sent my tech an email today because it was sticking last night. The Korg has some envelopes that I like, which I’ve tailored. I also have a Boomerang pedal, which is an idea I stole from Trey Anastasio from Phish. I was like ‘I’m gonna get one of those!’ There’s a distortion, a delay, the envelopes and that’s about it. There’s not much that I endorse: Ampeg cabinets, Shure stu� , and EMG, who have been really good to me: they put the pickups in my Dobro bass. They’re cool guys.”
is pretty spectacular. It’s funny: it was thrust upon me and I didn’t think much of it when I fi rst got it, but it ended up on my past two records. Why do I call it the Pachyderm? Well, that name has become somewhat associated with some of the stuff that I do: my wine label is Purple Pachyderm. It has some elegance, yet some girth to it!”
Simplicity is key, Claypool tells us, with the Pachyderm bass as with everything else. “It has one knob on it, a volume knob: I don’t want any tone, I don’t want anything else on it,” he
from Claypool’s solo material in more ways than just his choice of bass: the songs on the album, and by logical extension the bass parts, were constructed in a new – and yet old – fashion. “I wanted this album to be a band eff ort,” he declares. “� ere’s a diff erent approach to the songs. I was very insistent that the other two guys bring in songs that were straight-up their own material. In the past, Primus songs have come about from us jamming at soundchecks or rehearsals and fi nding riff s, recording them, picking the best ones and adding lyrics to them – or it’s been me bringing in songs on my own. On this album Larry brought in three or four things, and two songs on the record are solely his musical compositions, which I put lyrics to. ‘Eternal Consumption Engine’ is his song. Other songs like ‘Eyes Of � e Squirrel’ and ‘Green Ranger’ are songs that are based on Jay Lane’s drum parts.”
Why such an emphasis on collaboration, we ask? “Well, I react diff erently to writing to someone else’s material: I’m not dipping from the same well all the time, know what I mean?” he explains. “Look at some of my favourite Police records, for example: the thing that’s exciting about those records to me is that you hear a Sting pop song and another Sting pop song, and then all of a sudden there’s Andy Summers screaming about how his mother is on the phone, and Stewart Copeland is writing ‘Bombs Away’ or ‘Miss Gradenko’ or ‘Behind My Camel’. It adds a contrast to the record which makes me, as a listener, want to hear the whole entire thing. It’s like watching a fi lm. I wanted that for the Primus album.”
� e recording process took place at Claypool’s own studio in northern California (“You know the Hitchcock fi lm � e Birds? � at’s where I live”), allowing him unlimited freedom when it came to the bass parts. You’ll hear him attacking a whammy bar with vigour here and there, he says: “I use that a lot on this record, probably more than I’ve ever used it: it’s a Kahler. I fi nd with this new bass that it stays in tune, so I’ve been using the whammy bar more. Sometimes
chuckles. “I want it to just turn on and turn off . You have so many other variables already, you don’t need another variable on your instrument – for me, anyway. I’m just talking about me now! I pick up basses these days – sometimes super-expensive basses that my friends have – and they have 50 knobs on them and multiple pickups, and I just don’t like it. I don’t like the sound and I don’t like the feel. Electronically, my bass is very simple.”
Green Naugahyde (see � e Vinyl Countdown boxout for an explanation of the title) diff ers
BAND: PRIMUSBASSIST: LES CLAYPOOL
34 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
What On Earth Is Naugahyde, Anyway?
“There’s a song on the new album called ‘Lee
Van Cleef’, which looks back at my childhood, and one of the lyrics refers to a ‘Studebaker with green Naugahyde’. That was my dad’s pickup truck when I was a kid. Naugahyde was big in the 70s: it was basically fake leather made of vinyl, but they wanted a fancy name for it. There was a company that sold luggage made of this stu� , and if you asked ‘Hey, is that leather?’ they’d say ‘No, it’s Naugahyde!’ and you were supposed to go ‘Whoo, that sounds cool!’ Growing up in a long, lower middle-class line of auto mechanics, a lot of the furniture I saw around was Naugahyde, because people thought ‘Why get leather when you can get Naugahyde?’”
The Vinyl Countdown
leather when you can get Naugahyde?’”
you get lucky.” Our man also consumes studio time at a wallet-friendly speed, saying: “I hate doing multiple takes. For me, choice is sometimes a burden, ha ha! Having too many options can cripple me sometimes. Some songs are just one take, like ‘Tragedy Of A Comet’, that was fi rst or second take: we were like ‘� at’s the one!’ Even though the tempo picks up during the solo, it feels cool to me - it creates more energy. I’m a creature of convenience!” he concludes, and knocking back his java, he’s gone. What a legend, as they say.Joel McIver
Info: www.primusville.com Green Naugahyde is out now on Prawn Song Records and iTunes.
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On 1st December this year Jaco Pastorius would have been 60 years
old. A milestone age for any great artist, but all the more poignant for the fact that Jaco’s life was cut tragically short some 24 years ago in 1987. Yet in the two and a bit decades since his death his impact on both bass playing and music in general continues to be felt today, and his legacy – be it his ground breaking solo album or his definitive work with Weather Report – remains a constant source of inspiration for countless musicians around the world. Among these is leading British bass guitarist Laurence Cottle, whose own formidable technique and vast musical knowledge have seen him work with the likes of Sting, Eric Clapton, Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis as well as the cream of the UK jazz scene. A long time Jaco fan, Laurence has always incorporated
LiberatingJaco’s LegacyThe Jazz Virtuoso Has A New Project Honouring The Legacy Of Jaco Pastorius. Mike Flynn Gets The Inside Story.
Bassist: Laurence cottLe
“My brother had bought Heavy Weather...hearing Weather Report was mind blowing – it was tight and the harmonies and rhythms were just amazing.”
explained as we chatted in the salubrious surroundings of the upstairs bar at Ronnie Scott’s: “My inspiration for getting into bass was hearing John Entwistle play the bass solo on ‘My Generation’, but then I got into jazz and jazz bass playing and the first I heard of Jaco was when ‘Birdland’ was a hit back in 1976. I heard it on the radio, also my brother had bought Heavy Weather as well, I heard that and that was it. I just got into the music because I was playing in big bands and stuff, but hearing that Weather Report was mind blowing – it was tight and the harmonies and rhythms were just amazing.”
There’s a famous picture of Jaco and Laurence juggling together, how did this encounter come about? “That was in Boston, in 1980 I was in Berklee (College Of Music) and Weather Report were playing in a theatre in Boston, so a friend of mine and I went down there in the afternoon and just as we were walking in to the theatre, Jaco came out. So we introduced ourselves and he was very affable and friendly and hung out, went to the soundcheck and all that and then we were then talking about playing and what else do you do and we both said we like juggling. And I said ‘Oh I juggle as well’ so we went out and we got some stuff,” he says laughing at the fond memory, “then we traded juggling licks…!“
Cottle’s early start in music found him mastering sight reading at a young age, and his early big band experiences and broad knowledge of theory and harmony have helped him create some stunning, often complex, charts for his big band. I wonder in light of this was Laurence able to process Jaco’s music any easier? “No not at all, I’m still getting into it,” he says without a moment’s hesitation. “Like the stuff I’m transcribing now I’m still finding new little things that he’s playing, mostly from his self-titled solo album. It’s mind-blowing. I’ve transcribed the ‘Donna Lee’ solo, which I kind of knew little bits of, but
some of Pastorius’ music into his repertoire – be it ‘The Chicken’ or a whip cracking take on ‘Donna Lee’ – yet he’s never gone the whole hog and tackled the great bassist’s large ensemble pieces that defined his post-Weather Report career. That is until this year’s London Jazz Festival, which saw Cottle bring his stunning
big band back to Ronnie Scott’s jazz club for a special night dedicated to fresh re-workings of many of Jaco’s best-loved pieces. BGM caught up with Laurence prior to this show to find out more about his admiration for Jaco’s music.
However, Jaco wasn’t Cottle’s original inspiration for taking up the electric bass, as he
Laurence and Jaco see who’s got the best juggling chops
Laurence Cottle RL_BC.indd 36 07/11/2011 16:14
I’ve gone through it now and I’m going to do some kind of big band arrangement of that, maybe track up the solo that he plays. His solos, especially on that fi rst record are so meticulously played, and the chord-scale relationship is such that every note is perfect and it’s executed so fl awlessly, it’s amazing. It still blows my mind.”
Jaco was famous for quoting classical themes and fragments from the odd Broadway musical in his solos – what has Laurence picked out during his recent transcriptions? “Th ere are a few obvious ones. He quotes the Rite Of Spring in quite a lot of his solos but there’s so much bebop vocabulary in there, like a classic Charlie Parker line that he always plays but most of it is stuff that he’s invented – his own intervallic designs and patterns, which he’s obviously worked out meticulously and practised forever. And of course, he then executed them with such precision and feel.”
Cottle fi rst formed his big band in 1998 and it’s since gone on to dazzle audiences around the world with its incendiary mix of swing-to-modern charts, all meticulously penned by Laurence himself, and Jaco’s music has often featured in the mix of soul and funk standards in the repertoire, as Laurence explains: “I’ve always been transcribing Jaco’s material off and on. Not just the bass playing but the harmonies and the tunes too. I’ve never tried to emulate him playing-wise but just taking ideas from transcriptions and developing my own things from that.” Getting the gig at Ronnie’s was the perfect excuse to fi nally tackle Jaco’s music head on, as Laurence explained. “We’ve played here plenty of times but I had the idea because it’s Jaco’s 60th birthday and that’s what it’s all about
really – to celebrate his music, and let more people hear about it because bands don’t do it do they? But his charts aren’t available are they? You can’t buy Jaco charts so that’s why people aren’t playing them because they’re not available, which I think is a bit of a shame.’
Because of the lack of Jaco charts that are available, Laurence is transcribing them himself – staying true to some of the best known pieces like ‘Th e Chicken’, ‘Th ree Views Of A Secret’ and ‘Liberty City’, paying as close attention to the original arrangements as possible. But then he’ll get creative, “I’ll be taking stuff from his fi rst album like ‘Donna Lee’, and ‘Used To Be A Cha Cha’, his solo on that is just immense – I think that’s about my favourite solo, the way it’s constructed and of course the way he plays it. I’ll do something with that, and do an arrangement around it. It’s not what to do but what to leave out. Everyone I meet asks me ‘oh are you going to do this one…?’ Because when you get down to it I’ve already done ‘Domingo’, which is one of his early big band charts, also ‘John And Mary’ from Word of Mouth. I was thinking about doing ‘Teen Town’, and I might get a singer in and do ‘Come On Come Over’ and ‘Fannie Mae’… yeah it’s great. He not only sings it he also turns the beat around on the bass, singing the melody in time but then puts in bars of three and fi ve, just to turn the bass around while he’s doing all that. It’s incredible.”
For Laurence, Jaco’s stunning debut album remains the perfect summation of his achievements. “Pat Metheny said that Jaco’s fi rst record was the most complete debut album by any jazz artist. If you think about all the greats like Bird, and Miles and Herbie
“Pat Metheny said that Jaco’s fi rst record was the most complete debut album by any jazz artist... it’s not just the bass playing, it’s the new concepts in bass and the arranging, concepts in rhythm”
Bassist: Laurence cottLe
40 Bass Guitar MaGazine
“Well, we were best friends for four or � ve years when we were both really young before anybody would have known anything about either one of us. I met Jaco when I was seventeen. He would have been about nineteen at the time; he was a couple of years older than me. We very quickly developed a not only strong personal relationship but musical relationship because we had so many things in common in the sense that we were both pissed o� (laughs) at the development of our respective instruments in jazz. We felt, almost kind of reactionary to the jazz scene at the time, which was ironically what now has become, what they call now ‘fusion’, which of course now most people include he and I both in that thing! (Laughs). We had a lot of very strong similarities early on and continued to be very, very close up until the time he joined Weather Report and then his lifestyle went in a di� erent direction. Although we were always tight, I was one of the few people that I think
Jaco worked with two of the giants of jazz guitar – Pat Metheny and John Scofield – at the start and end of his career, here they pay tribute to his unique musical genius:
could really talk to him because I knew him from so many years before he became ‘Jaco’, you know, and also because we really did have this very special musical relationship. It was a very unique time.” – Pat Metheny
“There’s nobody like Jaco. There was so much soul in that stu� and it was all the beautiful harmonics stu� too. It was Latin music, it was funk he played with Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders, which I was real into them, because he was like the white James Brown, but it was from this really slimy, Southern thing, it was so funky and then Jaco was in on that! Because he lived in Florida which was the South and the real R&B stu� was down there in the Deep South. And there was still the Criterion Studios down there where they made a lot of really heavy R&B stu� so his R&B stu� was just incredible. And all the chords that everybody heard like Joe Zawinul and Herbie and those guys I think they couldn’t believe it. I was lucky to be there.” – John Sco� eld
and all the others they didn’t change and redefi ne their instrument in as many ways. Jaco’s masterpiece is that fi rst album, it’s not just the bass playing, it’s the new concepts in bass and the arranging, concepts in rhythm, you had never heard any of those before – like playing groups of fi ve and sevens and stuff , and the harmonies, it’s just… the harmonics piece ‘Okonkole Y Trompa’ was just a jam, a relentless jam that he was
doing with the percussionist and then he wrote the French horn part later. I’d love to have been a fl y on the wall at those sessions, that’s one place I’d like to go – could you arrange that for me? It’s just the writing and the improvisations are so strong in everyone’s heads now just to hear him coming up with it would have been spectacular.”Mike Flynn
Laurence Cottle RL_BC.indd 37 07/11/2011 16:14
missing Hand advert.indd 1 28/09/2011 09:36
Top TracksWe asked Tony to pick the best bass lines he’s ever played.
Belief In the Common Man“The dirtiest, sleaziest bass line I’ve come up with. I got this raunchy tone and came up with the line and the rest of the band helped form a song around it. It only ended up as a B-side, but I was chuffed with it.”
Fields Of Fire“This bass line really gave me a profile as a player, people noticed my
sound and the use of double stops gave it an individual sound.”
In A Big Country“I think this line has a really different flavour. When Bruce Foxton had to
play some Big Country stuff in Casbah Club he told me, ‘I can’t work out your bloody bass lines!’ And I like to think that’s because they didn’t always go where you’d expect them to!”
Petroc college in Barnstaple, North Devon, Tony passes on a lifetime of experience as both a session player (for acts such as The Pretenders and Pete Townshend) and a rock star. It’s a line of work he truly loves. “It feels right somehow. I’ve done a lot with my time on this planet, and I’ve been very lucky to have worked with the absolute crème de la crème of the business, and I think because I have a sort of ‘Google-ability’ to my name, people want to listen.”
While earning his crust as a teacher, the calls for the band to reform have continued long and hard from the band’s rabid fan base. Although Big Country arguably never reached the heights they deserved, they maintain to this day a loyal army of followers around the world. When the fan club started a Big Country convention Tony agreed to go along with his former bandmates and perform some songs. Mike Peters, the Welsh singer best known for his work with The Alarm, was asked to front the band for that performance. The gig went down well, as expected, but there was no thought of a permanent reunion. A short
When Big Country’s lead singer Stuart Adamson died
tragically young by his own hand, the music world lost one of its unique voices. The band had come to prominence with the success of their debut album The Crossing and developed a cult following, as well as garnering rock royalty fans like The Edge. In the aftermath of it all the band’s bassist, Tony Butler, took his life in a different direction. “I was adamant I didn’t want the band to continue,” he explains, sitting in a studio in Barnstaple. “Not just because I felt the band was its own entity, and without Stuart it was no longer Big Country, but also because I wanted to do something different.” And what could be more different to the relentless touring and recording that is the rock star’s life, than taking up teaching. On the recommendation of a friend Tony went back to school and earned his qualifications. “It was a big change. I had to go back and bolt on an ‘academic module’ to my brain,” he laughs. Working for the Academy of Music and Sound, at their
UK tour as a three piece, and a live album Twenty Five Live, to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary, rekindled hopes but nothing more would be heard for some time. The seeds for the reunion were sown proper from an unlikely source. “We were asked to play at a tribute concert to Kirsty MacColl. We had been friends with her, as her husband Steve Lillywhite was our first producer. In the end we didn’t play, but we’d asked Mike to sing for us, and that idea stuck in our heads, and I softened to the idea.” And so, in December and January of 2011 the band undertook a UK tour, which was met with a rapturous response, and followed with more dates in April as well as slots at major festivals in the summer. The band even made a return to the world of recording, releasing a single in August, ‘Another Country’. “The fan’s loved it, and Radio 2 found yet another reason not to play our material,” Tony says with good humour. Indeed, part of the band’s failure to break huge in their heyday is attributed to the response from the music Mafioso. “We’ve always had a great fan base throughout the UK, except in
Bass From A
Big CountryOut of the limelight for some time, Big Country are back, with Tony Butler’s melodic, growling bass in
full swing. Ben Cooper finds out about the reunion, the new single and the signature bass.
BAND: Big CountryBAssist: tony Butler
Bass Guitar MaGazine 43
Tony Bulter_BC.indd 31 03/11/2011 16:28
44 Bass Guitar MaGazine
BAND: Big CountryBAssist: tony Butler
London. And even then we have the fans, but the music industry itself just seemed to write us off . We’ve never been a particularly hip band, even at the peak of our success.”
With the band back out on the road, Tony had an unexpected surprise when the off er of a signature bass came about. A lifelong Fender P-Bass fan, Tony never took up off ers of signature basses, or endorsee-ships, when the band was popular. “I’ve got the most pitiful collection of basses that a player of any stature would have. I’ve still got my black Fender P-Bass, and the Rickenbacker 4001
Stereo my mum bought me. Other than that I’ve got a few ESP’s I was given a while ago.” On the hunt for an Allan and Heath mixing desk, he gave an old acquaintance, Dennis Drumm of John Hornby Skewes a call, and from that the new Vintage V4MTB was born. Th e bass has an interesting modifi cation, the tone pot is disconnected, due to Tony having the mod on his Fender bass. “I move about on stage a lot and I was always knocking the tone pot, which altered my tone and made me angry. One day my tech just disconnected it to save all the aggravation. So we’ve kept that modifi cation, though it
Townshend family. I’d often go around to John’s house and drool over his collection of basses.” But it wasn’t all rock. “On the fl ip side I can’t deny my West Indian heritage, and beneath all the rock there’s a deep-grooving West Indian. I developed that playing in my cousins’ function band, where I was playing reggae and calypso. So that’s where I get the feel and groove from.”
With a tour scheduled for early 2012 it seems that Big
can be connected back up.”Talk of the signature bass
leads naturally to a discussion of Tony’s approach to the bass. His melodic, driving and grooving lines were an integral part to Big Country’s sound, as was his wiry, grinding tone. “I play with a pick almost all the time, which gives that bite and clarity. I see the bass as a third guitar, not just holding down roots and riff s in the bass zone, but adding counterpoints and harmony’s to the melody. I do use fi ngers on some of the slower stuff , for a rounder sound, and I also use slap, but on jigs and reels, which is something diff erent! My holy grail of tone was always
Chris Squire, and we used his tech back in the heyday of Big Country, so of course I was quizzing him about how Chris got that great tone.” Amp wise Tony traditionally ran
through Trace Elliott amps, with a smiley face on the EQ, “I quickly grew to hate midrange,” he says. But when the rig was brought out of storage it was half broken, so a quick call to his old contacts at Trace Elliott set him on to using Ashdown. “Th ey had all moved on to Ashdown, so they hooked me up with some of their gear, it sounds just awesome. It’s my old tone but even better.”
Rock bassists formed a major infl uence on a young Tony, with Mike Rutherford also being a favourite, thanks to his melodic playing and gritty tone, as was John Entwistle. “I grew up in Eling and had a close association with the
Country are back in a big way, but was that the intention? “Well, it’s all grown much bigger and quicker than I anticipated. But we’re doing it in a way that I know Stuart would be proud of, that is respectful to his memory, and the fans are delighted. So I’m happy to just see where it all leads.”Ben CooperBig Country go on tour in February 2012. For dates visit www.bigcountry.co.uk
Tony has been a lifelong Fender P-Bass player, favouring a maple neck. His new signature bass from Vintage, the V4MTB re� ects his preferences, with a black � nish, one piece maple neck and � ngerboard and a Wilkinson WPB split-coil pickup.
“I played it on recent gigs, just on one song, and we had to tune down to C# for it and it still sounded great, no rattle or � abbiness, which is quite amazing. I’m going to be taking the basses out on tour next year, and use them on more of the set. What’s also great is I often use double stops in my playing, and on that stu� the notes are so clear, they come out as real chords, but with de� nition between the notes. It’s great to have a bass I can put my name to that is a quality bass and a� ordable. I look at it from an educational angle as well as a bass enthusiast’s angle. I’ll be presenting a prize every year to the highest achieving student at Petroc, and it’ll be one of these basses.”
The New Bass
“I see the bass as a third guitar, not just holding down the roots and riffs in the bass zone”
Foxtrot - Genesis “Every time I listen to this album, I’m blown away. I just think, how do you come up with lines like that.”
The Yes Album Yes“Anything by Chris Squire is just amazing. His tone is music in itself.”
Who’s NextThe Who “John was a huge infl uence on me, with his upfront playing.”
ExodusBob Marley “Some of the fi nest bass playing you’ll ever hear, by a master of the instrument.”
Vagabonds of The Western World Thin Lizzy “ ‘Little Girl In Bloom’, Phil Lynott’s fi nest hour! The most beautiful bass line.”
Top 5 tony picks his favourite albums, from a bass player’s perspective.
Check out Anthrax’s long awaited release, “Worship Music” available now.
“ Hartke gives the ultimate in punch and tightness that every player looks for.”
Frank Bello of
Frank-Bello-hartke-ad-final.indd 1 9/9/11 10:00 AMmissing Hand advert.indd 1 29/09/2011 12:20
Pedulla 3pp_BC.indd 58 03/11/2011 14:07
Known the world over for producing some of the finest bass guitars, does this 5 string live up to its illustrious heritage?
Bass Guitar MaGazine 47
Seasoned session players such as David Hungate, Chuck Rainey, Will Lee and Neil Stubenhaus are all Pedulla owners, as are Doug Johns, Byron Miller, Mark Egan, Jeff Schmidt and Chris Wolstenholme of world-conquering UK rockers Muse.
Build QualityThe Nuance took our collective breath away when it arrived at the office. Constructed with a soft maple body, and adorned with a stunning Red Heart quilted maple top, this Pedulla bass undoubtedly looks the part of the high-end boutique instrument. The quilted maple top is beautifully detailed, and is separated from the body wood with a thin sliver of a dark unidentified wood. The dark ebony fingerboard is the perfect aesthetic accompaniment to the lighter Red Heart quilted maple top, and according to Pedulla uses a unique grade of ebony that adds a midrange that contributes to the clarity and ability to cut in a dense mix. The quilted maple is continued onto the headstock facing, serving as the icing on the cake (note that alternative top woods Arbutis burl, Redwood burl and
Spalted Chestnut are available). Black hardware and Bartolini soapbars finish things off nicely, the result being an instrument that just begs to be picked up and played.
As one would expect from a master builder such as Michael Pedulla, the build quality of the Nuance is superb. The shaping and contouring of the body are exemplary, and the fretwork
Any fan of boutique bass guitars will be familiar with the work of US luthier Michael
Pedulla, who for over 35 years has been building beautiful high-end instruments for bassists all over the world. The Nuance is latest addition to the Pedulla family, and was designed as a ‘responsive extension for the player’s artistic and tonal subtleties and technique, melding the sonic attributes of a neck-thru instrument with the more familiar classic warmth of a bolt-on’. The Nuance sits comfortably alongside the existing Pedulla range, and offers many of the same build characteristics: the body shaping is unmistakable, the truss rod/stiffening bar design that is found on all Pedulla basses is present and correct, and like all of the company’s high-end instruments, the Nuance was built and finished entirely by Michael and his team at the Pedulla shop in Massachusetts. With such an impressive track record, it’s little wonder that Pedulla has amassed an artist list that features some of the biggest names in the bass world.
Pedulla nuance 5-string
was faultless across the whole instrument. All four controls were tightly secured and turned with a satisfying stiffness, and the MV Pedulla/Gotoh tuning pegs were exactly what the instrument needs. Interestingly, we noted that both the tuning pegs and the strap buttons were not black, but actually a dark chrome finish. Technically these don’t match the bridge or the controls, but the difference is minimal and we certainly didn’t notice this until we made a close inspection of the instrument.
Turning the bass over revealed a flip-up battery cover for the 9V battery, and a control cavity topped with a piece of ebony, matching the fingerboard. Opening up the cavity revealed that it was painted with shielding paint, and the wiring itself was extremely neat. There was minimal excess wiring and small cable ties were used where necessary to keep everything accessible.
Pedulla NuaNce 5-StriNg PRICe: £3,299
Pedulla 3pp_BC.indd 59 03/11/2011 14:07
48 Bass Guitar MaGazine
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
for. Th e usual adjustments to the blend control resulted in fat, well-rounded tones as the neck pickup was favoured, whilst bite was added by moving towards the bridge pickup. Either way, the Nuance retained a powerful bottom end which I found smooth and well-defi ned at all times. Aside from the master volume and blend controls the Nuance has boost/cut controls for treble and bass frequencies and a toggle switch which allows for a mid boost/cut, the frequency of which can be adjusted if needed via small screwdriver controls within the control cavity. Overall the Nuance has an impressive and very useable palette, and we found that it
responded well both during rehearsals for a covers gig and for home recording.
ConclusionTh e Nuance is undoubtedly an impressive off ering from Michael Pedulla and his team. It looks stunning, is beautifully made, and most importantly it plays like a dream. £3299 is lot of money, so it’s not the kind of instrument that anyone will purchase lightly, and interested parties will fi nd many alternatives in this end of the market. Th at said, this is clearly an instrument designed to last a lifetime (and beyond), and we’re confi dent that those looking for something a bit special will fi nd that the Nuance fi ts the bill nicely. Highly recommended.
Made In: USABody: Red Heart Quilted Maple Top/Soft MapleNeck: MapleFingerboard: EbonyScale: 34-inchNut Width: 2.975Frets: 22Tuners: Pedulla/GotohBridge: Machined BrassPickups: Custom Pedulla/Bartolini SoapbarControls: Volume, Pan, Bass, Treble Mid Boost/Cut ToggleHardware: Black Chrome Or GoldWeight: 8.5 -9lbsCase\Gig Bag included: CaseLeft Hand Model Available: Yes
Plus: A beautiful instrument, well made, and with great tones. What’s not to like?Minus: In this price bracket there should be nothing to complain about, and that’s certainly the case here.Overall: An excellent o� ering from Pedulla, and highly recommended for a test drive if you get the opportunity.
Pedulla NuaNce 5-StriNg PRICe:
Playability and SoundsIn use the Nuance performed well. Th e well-shaped body was comfortable whether seated or standing, and the instrument balanced well in either playing position. For a 5-string, the weight was about what I would expect, and I found it no particular hardship to play standing for an hour or more at a time. Th e neck was quick and easy to get around and access to the upper register was superb, although it’s worth noting that the Nuance has 22 frets instead of the 24 that are usually found on boutique instruments. We’re sure that this won’t be an issue to the majority of potential owners, but those who enjoy soloing in the upper register may miss those last two frets. Th e 34” scale made the transition from a 4-string to a 5 easy for me, and the low-B was tight and responsive.
Plugging into a TC Electronic Rebelhead 450 and two 2x10 cabinets, the Nuance sprang to life. Set fl at, the instrument has a decent one-size-fi ts-all tone that I found worked well for the majority of the playing situations I used it
Pedulla 3pp_BC.indd 60 03/11/2011 14:07
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The lefty player can have limited choices when it comes to basses. Is this pair from Clover a beacon in the dark? Ben Cooper delves in.
Bass GuITar MaGazIne 51
amount of left-handed basses on the market has been slowly increasing in recent years. When I started playing I had a choice of two basses in my price range at my local guitar shop, and there were a couple of pricier instruments on display too, versus dozens of right-handed models. Nowadays, even if there aren’t tons in stock, many manufacturers offer left-handed basses in their range. This pair from Clover will certainly catch the eye of the lefty on the lookout for a quality 4 or 5 string.
Build QualityThe Apeiron has a classic look and feel to it, obviously being modeled closely on a Fender Jazz in terms of its body shape. The three-tone vintage sunburst finish is glossy, highly polished, and even throughout. Coupled with the white pick guard and
It’s a mixed bag being a Southpaw. Statistically speaking about 10 per cent of people are left-handed,
yet studies seem to indicate that we (yes, for I am of the sinister persuasion) make up a much larger percentage of “gifted” people, or high-achievers, than should be the case, and we’re generally better looking (I made the last bit up). On the flip side, according to other studies we tend to not be as long lived (bummer). Way back when, left-handedness was driven out of children at school, being seen as some kind of evil deviance, and unfortunately “why don’t you just learn right-handed” still gets trotted out by guitar teachers on occasion. Of course the reasons are more economical than anything else, you often pay a premium for left-handed instruments, and your choice is very restricted, but it seems the
Clover apeiron H4 and avenger 5 Left Handed
rough edges. The neck has a satin finish, as opposed to the high gloss of the body, making it feel slick and playable. The neck is fairly wide, but has a shallow profile making it comfortable in the hand. Flipping the bass over reveals the neck to be bolt on, with six recessed bolts providing a rock solid neck to body join, with no hint of gaps anywhere. Opening up the backplate reveals a neat and tidy collection of wires and the battery for the active circuit. Personally, I’d have preferred a flip compartment for the battery to save unscrewing the plate, but this is a minor point and perhaps the plasticy nature of such a component would mar the otherwise Spartan beauty of the back.
Turning to the Avenger 5 we have the same sumptuous, high gloss finish but this time in an eye catching Cherryburst.
chrome hardware this is classic, understated and downright cool. The neck is a three piece maple affair, topped with a rosewood fingerboard, and the frets are well finished, with no
nose-dive once strapped on. As a result both basses feel light, a defi nite plus for the Avenger which I expected to feel pretty weighty on the strap. Th e tuners have a smooth action, and feel solid and stable with ‘just so’ resistance levels. Th e bridge on both basses is solid and fully adjustable, giving you maximum control over the set up. Both basses had a beautifully easy, low action with no hint of buzz anywhere so I had no need to fi ddle.
In terms of pickups and controls the setup is diff erent for each bass, though both feature Delano pickups. On the Apeiron we have a Delano JC-AL in the neck position, and back by the bridge a Delano Hybrid. Th is pickup combines a single coil pickup with a
Stingray-style humbucker, and allows you to switch between the two with the fl ick of a switch. Th e switch also bypasses the EQ, moving from passive (single coils) to active (humbucker pickup) mode.
On the Avenger there are 3 Delano JSBC HE custom pickups. Th e neck position pickup functions separately while the rear two are switchable between bridge only, middle only or both routed in parallel. Th ere is a pickup pan control to play with too. In terms of controls, the number on off er might well be overwhelming for many players, as you also have a three band EQ, a booster switch and the volume knob is push/pull functioning as an active/passive switch. It all looks a bit fussy, but it really does give the player a remarkable amount of control over their tone and it sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, once you start
Sturdy bridge BGM RATING
BGM RATING OUT OF FIVE
Bass DirectTel: 01926 886 433
WHAT WE THINK
CONTACT DETAILS
CLOVER AVENGER 5PRICE: £1,599
Made In: Germany Body: Solid Red AlderNeck: Canadian MapleFingerboard: MapleScale: 34”Nut Width: 1.77”/45mmFrets: 24Tuners: ChromeBridge: Custom Chromed BrassPickups: Delano Pickups, JSBC-HE and 2 x JSBC-HE custom pickupsControls: 1x volume (push-pull), 1x balance, 1x bass, 1x mid, 1x treble 1x coilsplitting mini-switch, 1x power mode switchWeight: 9lbs 4ozCase\Gig Bag included: Madarozza padded gig bagLeft Hand Model Available: Yes
Plus: Superb build quality, incredible range of tones, setup allows total control of your sound, but…Minus: …all those knobs and switches make o¢ the cu¢ adjustments a bit troublesome, and could it be too much of a good thing?Overall: This bass o¢ ers a staggering amount of instrument for the money.
Th e pickguard is an unusual shape but it suits the look of the instrument. Th ough I’ve never been a fan of pearloid guards it somehow works for me on the Avenger. Again, the neck is maple, but with a maple fi ngerboard. Just like its 4-string cousin, the Avenger is superbly fi nished throughout, from the laqcuer to the fretting. As you’d expect from a 5 string the neck is noticeably wider, and with the fl at profi le it did feel a tad plank like, but it was quickly adapted to. Th e control cavity was all neat and tidy, but stuff ed to the gills with wire as you’d expect after a look at the number of controls on the front of the instrument.
Both instruments have light weight tuners, which helps keep the headstock weight down, improving the balance when strapped on or seated. Both basses balance beautifully and stay exactly where you put them, even the 5 string resolutely refuses to budge or
Six bolts provide a solid neck-body join
“Just like its 4-string cousin, the Avenger is superbly � nished throughout, from the laqcuer to the fretting”
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New Store - More Gear!Thanks to the support of the bass community The Bass Merchant have now moved to new more spacious premises across the road from our old shop . The new unit has more display space allowing us to keep even more bass goodies in stock and also has 3 purpose built rehearsal / teaching rooms .New in stock in the new premises are Spector Coda Basses (Exclusive in the UK ) ,EBS Amplification, Mesa Boogie Amplification , and a new range of GMR hand built basses . Coming soon Overwater Aspiration series, Dingwall basses and the new range of Aguilar amps and cabs .So come down and visit us at unit F1 for a relaxed atmosphere ,good coffee and bass shopping as it should be.
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New year - New Store!Thanks to the support of the bass community The Bass Merchant have now moved to new more spacious premises across the road from our old shop . The new unit has more display space allowing us to keep even more bass goodies in stock and also has 3 purpose built rehearsal / teaching rooms .New in stock in the new premises are Spector Coda Basses (Exclusive in the UK ) ,EBS Amplification, Mesa Boogie Amplification , and a new range of GMR hand built basses . Coming soon Overwater Aspiration series, Dingwall basses and the new range of Aguilar amps and cabs .So come down and visit us at unit F1 for a relaxed atmosphere ,good coffee and bass shopping as it should be.
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buckets of Jaco-style growl for aggressive fi ngerstyle work. Just with the amp fl at the basic character of the bass is fantastic, and a little bit of EQ tweaking renders up pretty much any tone your heart desires.
� e Avenger simply has a fantastic tone. In passive mode, with all pickups on, the tone is punchy and round with great clarity, even on the low B. � e low B itself feels tight and tactile, with none of the fl abbiness that can sometimes plague 5 strings. Obviously the EQ controls are redundant in passive mode, but you can still use the booster switch (routing the bridge and middle
pickups in series) which gives an instantaneous low and mid-range boost. Flicking this on gives maximum growl factor, to make sure your lines really cut through the mix. In active mode the options open to you are simply staggering, in fact it could be too much of a good thing, as I found myself constantly wanting to fi ddle with the EQ and then start blending diff erent combinations of the pickups. Suffi ce to say that this bass will handle whatever you throw at it, whether you want warm, round vintage passive tones, super bright, clinical slap or gritty pick tones it’s all there waiting to be unleashed. � e neck takes a bit of time getting used to, with its wide and fl at profi le, but after some playing time it reveals itself, like the Apeiron, to be a bass that’s a joy to play.
Conclusion� ese two basses are an absolute delight, both visually and sonically. � ey’re superbly built and off er a wide range of tones, and perform far beyond their price tag. Next time you’re on the lookout for a new bass, instead of plumping for those old, familiar faces, do yourself a favour and check out a Clover. Ben Cooper
getting used to it. � e knobs and switches on
both basses are top quality and function perfectly.
Playability and Sounds� e Apeiron off ers pretty much what you’d expect from a bass with this kind of pickup confi guration, but there’s a richness and punch to the tones. � e neck makes playing a delight, and the bass invites you to try out some acrobatics at the top end. Even in the upper reaches of the neck the tone never becomes thin, retaining a pleasant warmness to it. In the single coil mode there are your typical tones on off er: favouring the neck pickup gives a tight slap tone with a tight low end and glassy highs, which let those popped notes leap out. Favour the bridge pickup and there’s
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
BGM RATING
BGM RATING OUT OF FIVE
Bass DirectTel: 01926 886 433
WHAT WE THINK
CONTACT DETAILS
CLOVER APEIRONPRICE: £1,499
Made In: Germany Body: Solid Red AlderNeck: Canadian MapleFingerboard: RosewoodScale: 34”Nut Width: 1.65”/42mmFrets: 21Tuners: ChromeBridge: Custom Chromed BrassPickups: Delano JC-AL and Custom HybridControls: Volume, Pickup Pan Control, Treble, Bass, Active/Passive Switch, Weight: 9lbs 10ozCase\Gig Bag included: Madarozza padded gig bagLeft Hand Model Available: Yes
Plus: Superb build quality, beautiful looks, great tones.Minus: A hard case would be nice at this price.Overall: A versatile bass that combines vintage looks with modern sounds
54 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
Don’t be afraid of all those controls, the tone of your dreams is a few tweaks away!
“The Avenger simply has a fantastic tone. In passive mode, with all pickups on, the tone is punchy and round, with great clarity”
Looking for an acoustic bass guitar for those ‘around the campfire’ moments? Then this Boulder Creek could be for you. With Stuart Clayton.
BaSS GuiTar MaGazine 57
rosewood neck, and chrome hardware the result is a very attractive acoustic bass guitar.
Like the Boulder Creek Solitaire acoustic guitar range, the EBR1-TB4 acoustic bass features a sound hole cut into the top side of the instrument rather than the front face. According to Boulder Creek, the idea behind this design quirk was to build an instrument for the player rather than the audience. A little selfish perhaps, but certainly when played acoustically, the results seem to be very positive as the instrument sounds fantastic to the player, and projects well to the listener. This is Boulder Creek’s intention and apparently is because the larger soundboard (created by having no front sound hole) creates a better treble and midrange response, as well as increased
overall volume. The innovations continue
within the instrument as well, with the EBR1-TB4 sporting the ‘SBS’ suspended bridge system
Boulder Creek Guitars offer an impressive range of acoustic guitars and basses, and have
dedicated themselves to re-thinking the traditional design elements of these instruments. The results of this include their exclusive Suspended Bracing System (SBS), a feature which is carried through onto their sizable range of acoustic bass guitars. Priced at £750 RRP, the latest addition to the range is the EBR1-TB4 Electro Acoustic Bass.
Build QualityOur test instrument was constructed with solid mahogany back and sides topped with a solid spruce top. This was finished in a Tobacco Sunburst gloss finish which in turn was surrounded with a pearl inlay. Paired with a
Boulder CreekeBr1-TB4 electro acoustic Bass
found on all Boulder Creek guitars. This consists of wooden braces fixed to the underside of the spruce top, together with a pair of suspended aluminium tone bars. The wooden braces provide stability to the soundboard and because the design is different to that of traditional acoustic guitar design, the top is allowed to vibrate more, improving sustain and tone. In turn, the aluminium bars vibrate better than wood bracings and transfer vibrations from the bridge to other contact points on the soundboard.
Overall our test instrument appeared to be very well built. Finishing was superb across the instrument, as was the fretwork.
Playability and SoundsPlayed acoustically, the bass had a rich, full voice, and was surprisingly loud – certainly loud enough to play along to songs at home without amplification. Plugging in, we turned our attention to the control plate
Boulder Creek EBR1-TB4 ElEcTRo AcousTic BAss PrICe: £750
Boulder Creek 3pp_BC.indd 49 04/11/2011 10:57
58 BaSS GuiTar MaGazine
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
thanks to the design features discussed earlier – but obviously adding in more of these yielded a brighter sound that would be useful for any instances where the player might wish to use this in a solo context.
In use the bass was as comfortable as an acoustic bass can be. Given the large body dimensions this is a slightly awkward instrument to play while seated, and the lack of edge contouring is prone to digging into the wrist when playing fi ngerstyle. It should be noted that these complaints are not unique to the EBR1-TB4, but are common on most acoustic basses due to the nature of their size/design. I found this bass far more comfortable to use while standing. Balance was good in either playing position, and there is certainly no issue
with weight: at 3kgs, there’s no danger of sore shoulders and an aching back here!
ConclusionBoulder Creek have a great reputation for their acoustic guitars and basses. Th e EBR1-TB4 ticks all of the boxes for us: it looks great, and it sounds great acoustically and amplifi ed. Th ere’s enough tonal variation for anyone who plays acoustic regularly, and it’s a well-built instrument. Our only real gripes were the lack of an included gig bag or hard case (preferable), and left handed versions. At £750 RRP it sits in the mid-range of the market, and whilst cheaper alternatives exist – as do far more expensive ones – we think this instrument represents great value for money.Stuart Clayton
Boulder Creek EBR1-TB4 ElEcTRo AcousTic BAss PrICe: £750
Side soundhole makes the bass project more thanks to a bigger soundboard
Made In: ChinaBody: Solid Spruce Top, Solid Mahogany backNeck: MahoganyFingerboard: RosewoodInlays: Pearloid DotScale: 34”Frets: 21Tuners: Chrome Die CastBridge: RosewoodPickups: Single under saddle Piezo typeControls: AB4-T Preamp / EQ/ Chromatic TunerHardware: ChromeWeight: 3KgsCase\Gig Bag included: NoLeft Hand Model Available: No
Plus: A great looking, great sounding acoustic bass, with some nice additional touches. Minus: A shame not to have a left handed version, and the lack of a hard case included in the price will be a bargaining chip for potential customers. Overall: A great instrument that’s clearly been well-designed and well-built. De� nitely worth a look.
mounted on the top side of the instrument. Th e EBR1-TB4 comes with the Boulder Creek’s AB4 TR circuit which includes an on-board tuner, and controls for Brilliance, Treble, Middle and Bass, a master volume control, a phase in/out switch and a low battery indicator light. We also noted that the jack plug plate contains not only a standard balanced jack socket, but also an unbalanced XLR connection, making it ideal for home recording and off ering more options when used live. Th is plate also contains a neat pop-out tray for the 9V battery which makes battery changes quick and simple – a nice addition.
When played through our test rig and set fl at, the bass sounded fantastic, with a tone that was full-bodied, but with a ‘springy’ top-end thanks to the Piezo pickups mounted in the bridge. Th is remained evident even when we cranked the low end, but this was a pleasing result in that the well-rounded, bass-heavy tones that we coaxed from it retained enough bite to allow the instrument to cut through an unfriendly mix. We found that the instrument naturally had enough treble/midrange for most situations – presumably
Leo Fender defined the bass guitar as we know it. How does the G&L L2000 sit in his legacy?
hybrid of the Fender Precision and the Stingray. � e natural fi nish shows off the grain of the Swamp Ash body, and the lacquer is smooth and cleanly applied throughout. It’s a very glossy looking bass, which in a natural fi nish might not be to everyone’s taste, but there’s a quiet glamour to it. � e body has the usual contouring to it, a comfortable belly cut out and forearm slope, which makes the bass easy on the body during extended playing sessions. � e cutaway is smooth and deep enough to allow easy access to the upper frets. A quick peek inside the control cavity reveals neatly cable-tied wires, but given the amount of controls on this bass, and its active/passive circuitry it’s rammed tight with them.
� e neck is Hard Rock maple, and has a comfortable profi le, reminding me of my old Stingray, but that should come as little surprise. All the frets are neatly dressed and well seated. � e neck to body join comes courtesy of six recessed bolts, and feels solid, but there was a slightly uneven gap on one side, which was a bit of a shame as otherwise
In the world of bass guitar the name of Leo Fender looms large. Not content with designing and bringing
to market the fi rst widely used electric bass, the venerable Fender Precision, he then turned out the iconic Fender Jazz and then, under the Music Man guise, the legendary Stingray, three instruments that continue to regularly top polls of ‘the best bass ever’. G&L Guitars were the last instruments he worked on, and given the legacy of the man and his instruments, had a lot to live up to, and over the years they’ve established themselves as a series of products that are more than capable of upholding Leo’s prestigious history.
Build Quality� e “fi ngerprint” of Leo Fender leaps out at you as soon as you take this bass out of the box. � at’s right, it is in a box as this bass, despite a nearly £650 price tag, comes with neither a hard case nor a gig bag of any description. At this price I’d like to have seen at least a decent padded gig bag, as this isn’t an inconsequential purchase. � e body shape calls to mind a
G&LL2000 “Lefty”
this was absolutely superbly fi nished throughout. Given this instrument’s mid-range pricing all the hardware feels much higher spec than you would expect. � e traditional elephant ear tuners turn smoothly and feel stable. � e bridge is a G&L Leo Fender patented saddle lock, a substantial beast indeed. A small Allen screw runs through the bridge and presses the saddles together. � e reasoning behind this is that by making the saddles vibrate as one unit it eliminates loss of string vibration that can occur when individual saddles move from side-to-side.
If you’re not a fan of switch and knob-laden basses, then you’ll most likely have some problems with the L2000 at fi rst, given that is has three micro switches and three control
“The neck has a comfortable pro le, reminding me of my old Stingray, but that should come as little surprise.”
G&L L2000 “LEFTY” PRICE: £645
60 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
G&L 3pp_BC.indd 54 07/11/2011 11:40
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 61
G&L L2000 “LEFTY” PRICE: £645
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONtone with more versatility, and a meatier Jazz bass to play with. With the amp fl at the overall impression is of growl with genuine tightness and clarity. A bit of bass boost on the amp and some authentic soul tones were on off er. If you want that J-bass fi ngerstyle growl then it’s right there, with a bid of mid-range boost on the amp.
Switching in to active mode, the bass was noticeably punchier. Soloing the bridge pickup gave an instant Stingray sound, and cutting the mids on the amp the instrument worked great for slap, and is capable of delivering that clean Mark King sound, as well as the more wiry, grunting tones of a player like Flea.
Active Boost gives a boost to the high end frequencies, making the top end approach ear splitting levels. While experimenting I found that leaving the amp fl at, diming the treble on the instrument and soloing the neck pickup gave a decent Billy Sheehan-esque tone, but in general I found the active boost a little too much for my ears unless some serious EQ adjustments were made, but I can see it being
useable for other players or to cut through a heavy mix.
� e neck is highly playable, chunky enough so you know you’ve got something in your hand but you don’t feel like you’re fi ghting it. It invites low-end grooving and riffi ng, and runs in the upper reaches are easy enough, though the squareness of the heel meant I found myself adjusting my hand position a little to compensate.
Conclusion� is is an extremely versatile bass, in terms of its tonal options. In some ways it felt like I had Leo Fender’s triumvirate of iconic basses at my beck and call. � e construction is good, and overall the bass feels and sounds like it should cost a fair bit more than it does. � e lack of a gig bag as standard was a minor niggle, given you’re shelling out the best part of £700 for this bass. But that aside this is an instrument you should check out if you’re in the market for a quality instrument that can turn its hand to any style you through at it.Ben Cooper
Leo Fenderr patented saddle lock bridge A range of knobs and switches opens up this bass’s tonal palette BGM RATING
Made In: Pick ups = California, Metal Parts Korea and construction IndonesiaWoods UsedBody: Swamp AShNeck: Hard Rock MapleFingerboard: Rosewood Finger BoardInlays: dot markersScale: 34 inNut Width: 1 3/4in or 44.5mmFrets: 21Tuners: Traditional open backedBridge: G&L Leo Fender patented Saddle Lock BridgePickups: G&L Leo Fenders patented Magnetic Field designControls: G&L Leo Fender Patented Tri Tone Circuitry.Vol/Treble/Bass. 3 mini switches Neck = pick up selector. Middle = Series Parallel. Bridge = Passive/Active/Active BoostHardware: All high tensile steel partsWeight: 10lbsCase\Gig Bag included: NoLeft Hand Model Available: it is Left Hand, right hand is available
Plus: Very playable, huge range of tones.Minus: The controls are a bit overkill, especially if you’re of the plug’n’play persuasion. No case.Overall: An incredibly versatile instrument, that performs well outside its price point.
knobs. In practice these are fairly easy to get to grips with. You’ve got a master volume knob and bass and treble knobs for EQ tweaks. Simple enough. Your three switches are as follows: � e one at the neck end is the pickup selector, allowing you to switch between the bridge and neck pickups, or combine them; the middle switch lets you run the pickups in either series or parallel, and the bridge switch allows you to run the bass in passive, active or active boost modes. Like the rest of the hardware the knobs and switches are of high quality.
Sounds and PlayabilityTonally this is one of the most versatile basses I’ve played in a long time. In passive mode there is a great range of traditional tones on off er, depending on what pickup selection you use there are hints of a Precision
“With the amp � at the overall impression is of growl with genuine tightness and clarity”
G&L 3pp_BC.indd 55 07/11/2011 11:40
HiWatt Combo 3pBC.indd 54 04/11/2011 16:30
This new offering from HiWatt aims to be the ultimate gigging combo.
Bass GuiTar MaGazine 63
the road in confidence, and use at home.’ With its classic styling, is this a combo for the modern player?
FeaturesLet’s talk about the looks first. As is to be expected the B150 has a vintage design aesthetic that harkens back to HiWatt’s heyday. All black and white minimalism, the combo looks incredible and is sure to draw nods of appreciation from players of all persuasions. The covering of the amp is a tough looking vinyl, but there are no corner protectors, which could be a concern, given this amp has been designed to be a working amp for slinging in and out the back of a van. However, Mark Lodge of HiWatt told me they’ve had no issues with damage to the corners, as the material is very hard wearing, and the corners are rounded off. Also, it has to be said
corner protectors would mar the aesthetics somewhat. The combo is ported which helps with the low end response of the cab. There’s a sturdy grab handle on the top, but given the weight of the combo, this should be used as an alternative hand hold, not for hoiking it around, unless you have a craving for a hernia. For transportation purposes the two side handles are the option to go for, ideally with the assistance of another band member.
The rear panel is stripped right back with a 1/4 “ line out, balanced XLR, aux in and a speaker out for the addition of an extension cab. The front control panel is, in keeping with the rest of the amp, a joy to behold. All the knobs are retro chickenheads and feel top quality, with smooth and tight turning action. The gain knob also acts as a push/pull mute, and the action is satisfying, with a meaty clunk as it moves back and forth. There’s a passive/active pad switch and then bass
HiWatt were one of the British triumvirate of amp manufacturers, along with Marshall
and Vox, who shaped forever the ‘British Sound’ of 60s and 70s rock. With artists like Pink Floyd, The Who and The Rolling Stones, amongst many others, using HiWatt as their amp of choice, in the studio and out on the road, the sound of HiWatt was everywhere. Although the company went through a ‘wilderness’ period, recent years have seen it come back with a vengeance and regain its foothold in the industry, with acts such as Coldplay and Arctic Monkeys flying the HiWatt flag. Indeed their endorsee list reads like a who’s who of popular music.
This combo is a sample of a new model from HiWatt, and as Mark Lodge told me: ‘It’s aimed at the working bassist, something they can take on
HiWatt Maxwatt B150and treble controls for shaping your sound. The 7 band graphic EQ is bypassable, and the sliders all feel well made. Moving on you’ve got a master volume, with a limiter switch and finally an MP3 player and headphone sockets. These are particularly handy elements, and a nod to the fact that this is intended to be used at gigs and at home.
The whole amp feels absolutely rock solid throughout, a testament to HiWatt’s demanding build quality standards.
SoundsPlugging in, with the graphic EQ bypassed and the bass and treble controls flat you’re given an instant workable tone. The low end is beefy and warm, as you’d expect from a 15” speaker, with a smooth mid-range and enough top end definition. It’s not a growling sound, but a warm vintage tone and works best for fingerstyle and pick playing. If you want to work a little slap action, you might need to add a touch of treble to make sure those notes pop through.
The bass and treble knobs offer a good variety of sounds. Grabbing a pick and rolling on some treble yielded a satisfyingly clanky tone that still had enough grunt to it. The amp feels like a natural rock
HiWatt B150 PRiCE: £450
“All black and white minimalism, the combo looks incredible and is sure to draw nods of appreciation from all players”
The EQ offers good control over your tone
HiWatt Combo 3pBC.indd 55 04/11/2011 16:30
64 Bass GuiTar MaGazine
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
HiWatt B150 PRiCE: £450
All the controls feel bombproof in operation
BGM RATING
BGM RATING OUT OF FIVE
HiWatt UKTel: 01302 330 429www.hiwatt.co.uk
WHAT WE THINK
CONTACT DETAILS
HIWATT MAXWATT B150 PRICE: TBC (IN REGION OF £450)
Made In: ChinaPower Output: 150w into 8ohm, 175w into 4ohm.Speakers: 15” 250W plus piezo tweeter.Controls: Gain (push/pull mute), passive/active pad, bass, treble, bypassable 7 band EQ, master volume, limiter.Inputs: 1/4” jack, MP3 in, aux inOutputs: 1/4” line out, balanced XLR, 1/4” speaker out, headphones.Weight: 40kgDimensions: 70cm(W) x 47.5cm (D) x 78cm (H)
Plus: Beautiful minimalist looks, built like a tank, great tones.Minus: Not the lightest combo.Overall: A top notch combo that every gigging player should check out.
moved then just hook up an extension cab and you’re sorted. I really pushed the gain and volume, and the amp retained its focus, only becoming a touch ragged as it was pushed right to the limit.
ConclusionI loved this combo, and it drew many favourable comments from others in the offi ce when I was putting it through its
paces. It excels as a rock amp, as you’d expect given the HiWatt heritage, but don’t try to pigeonhole it, it’ll handle any style and genre you through at it, whilst always retaining that characteristic roundness to the tone. Built like a tank, this off ers the player something that can be used on the road and at home, and at a good price. A real cracker! Ben Cooper
machine, with plenty of volume on tap for when you need to crank it up. Roll off the treble and you can quickly get a nice middy tone, that stays warm thanks to the amps inherent character, and sounds great for Motown fi ngerstyle lines.
But the most fun was had when engaging the graphic EQ. Dialling in a ‘smiley face’ proved that the B150 isn’t just a grunty rocker, as I instantly had a perfect slap tone, tight and punchy with no harshness. However, there is some noticeable hiss when you bump the 5khz slider even just a little and it does get louder the more you boost it.
Th roughout the test the HiWatt had a noticeable smoothness to it, and I wanted to see if some growl could be coaxed out of it. A quick boost at 250 and 125 Hz proved that it could. Th e sound was tight and focused and would punch through guitars with ease, and harmonics came ringing forth with clarity.
Th e amp has plenty of headroom and could easily handle mid-sized gigs and beyond with a raucous rock band, and if you need more air
“The amp has plenty of headroom and could easily handle mid-sized gigs and beyond with a raucous rock band”
HiWatt Combo 3pBC.indd 56 04/11/2011 16:30
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Eff ects pedals can become something of an addiction. It’s all too easy to spend your
hard earned wedge on that seductively sparkling auto-wah that sits safely behind the glass of your local guitar shop’s counter. And it’s all too easy to then let that pedal become largely unused because you couldn’t resist that rugged looking distortion pedal that was just asking to be taken home. However, if there’s one eff ect that almost every player fi nds a regular use for, it’s the trusty compressor. Never the fl ashiest of eff ects, in fact most listeners probably won’t be aware you’re using one or even care if you are, it’s arguably the most useful and having a decent compressor is a must have even for many FX-phobes. is unit from BBE has proven itself pretty popular, so let’s delve into what’s on off er.
Features e Opto Stomp feels satisfyingly solid. e all-metal casing means you don’t need to
worry about slamming down your size 10 New Rock’s with maximum force on this pedal. e on/off switch has a just stiff enough action, meaning accidental switches with the aforementioned size 10s are extremely unlikely, it also feels and sounds satisfying in action. e volume and compression knobs have a smooth, fl uid action with just the right amount of resistance to them, and the pad switch between them feels high quality too. At the top of the pedal sits a little blue power LED. Flipping the pedal over, the back is pretty much covered in a thick rubber pad which maximises the grip factor, making the pedal feel solid during any vigorous stomping action. ere’s also a fl ip open battery compartment to make battery
swap outs a doddle. e user manual estimates run time on a 9v battery (included with the pedal) to be 300 hours, and there is also an input for a power adapter. One useful feature of the Opto Stomp is that when you unplug the input the unit switches off , so there’s no risk of leaving it on in your gig bag and running the battery fl at.
SoundsWith the benefi t of a true bypass the Opto Stomp might as well not be there when not in use. Switched on the pedal is remarkably colour and noise free. Dialling in a touch of compression, just past the third marker on the knob, beefed up the tone of our test bass making for satisfyingly grunty fi ngerstyle work. Switching to some slap the Opto Stomp took it all in stride, pushing the compression up further kept the dynamics even and smooth, but didn’t throttle the life out of the tone. And, with a bit of judicious EQ on the amp, it was possible to get some
growling Sheehan-esque tones with this pedal too.
Conclusion e Opto Stomp is a fi ne pedal indeed. e construction is solid, and the layout clean, and no- nonsense. e fact that the pedal aff ects your tone so little is a real plus factor, too often a compressor can alter the inherent characteristics of your sound, and in this regard the Opto Stomp deserves two thumbs up. All in all a great little pedal.Ben Cooper
Need something to smooth out those rough edges? Have a look at this beauty from BBE.
BGM RATING
BGM RATING OUT OF FIVE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONBBE OPTO STOMP DIGITAL COMPRESSORPRICE: £112E� ect: Optical CompressorModel: BBE Opto StompMade In: Far EastDimensions: 9cm (W) x 11.5 cm (D) x 3.8 cm (H)Weight: 3.3 lbsControls: Volume, Compression, Pad switch for active/passive instruments. True bypass switch.Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHzInput Impedance: 1 MOhmOutput Impedance: 1 kOhms
WHAT WE THINKPlus: Rugged construction, true bypass feature, minimal colouring of your tone.Minus: Nothing really.Overall: If you’re in the market for a compressor pedal, you need to check the Opto Stomp out.
“Dialling in a touch of compression, just past the third marker on the knob, beefed up the tone of our test bass”
Opto Stomp L_BC.indd 60 07/11/2011 12:14
Sr Amp 3pp_BC.indd 54 04/11/2011 16:20
Can this little combo punch above its weight? Ben Cooper finds out.
Bass Guitar MaGazine 69
of a more comprehensive carrying system. However this kind of cover certainly makes wrestling a combo one-armed into a bag a thing of the past, and that’s no bad thing. The carry handle is strong and comfortable and sticks through a slit in the top of the cover for ease of transportation.
The combo is fairly lightweight, at 15.5 kilos, and means you won’t be straining your arms or back carrying it about. It certainly feels sturdy, and the tough plastic covering should prove resistant to knocks and scuffs.
The 10” speaker and compression tweeter sit neatly
in a white surround, which sets them off nicely against the stark black of the cabinet. A tough metal grille offers good protection to the speakers, and gives very little to some hard pressing by hand. There are a set of solid rubber feet on the underside of the combo which affords good purchase on flooring. This amp isn’t meant for those foot-on-monitor moments, but at least it’s unlikely to go flying across the stage if you do feel so inclined.
In terms of the front panel, the layout is clean and straightforward, this isn’t an amp with tons of bells and whistles on it, and considering its intended function of home practice, rehearsals and small venue gigs, this is a definite plus.
SR Technology are an Italian manufacturer, founded in 1996, who offer a wide range
of audio products, from PA systems to amps for a wide variety of stringed instruments. Their SR Jam systems received rave reviews in our sister title, Acoustic, so expectations were high when the Bass Fidelity 10 landed in the office.
FeaturesThe Bass Fidelity 10 comes supplied with a padded slip cover, which is thick enough to offer some decent protection to the combo, but obviously lacks the pouches and zipper pockets
SR TechnologyBass Fidelity 10
Moving from left to right you’ve got your gain knob, then SR Technology’s own BBsh control. This controls a filter which SR Technology designed to modify the low frequency response, and they claim that this allows each bass’ own characteristics to remain with added “presence” (more on this later). Then we’ve got a four band EQ: Low, Low Mid, Hi Mid and Hi, followed by a DR Out control and your Master Volume. Then you’ve got a control knob for your Dry XLR signal and a volume control for your headphones. At the end of the panel is a level meter consisting of four green and one red LED, so you can see if you’re pushing the amp too hard. One criticism of the control panel is that all the knobs, with the exception of the Gain control, are a little too easy in their movement. The Gain control offers pleasing resistance while the rest feel lightweight in operation, which is a shame as it makes the control panel feel a bit cheap in use.
All the elements of the back panel are situated on the top of the amp right at the front, which actually makes for a much easier user experience, but might not be as pleasing visually for some. Again it’s a pretty standard no-fuss set of options: a standard ¼ inch input and a balanced XLR; an FX Loop; DI Out and Dry XLR plus a headphone socket for quiet practice.
Before we move on to how the amp performs, I have to mention the SR badge on the front grille, which glows a deep and attractive blue when the amp is turned on. It’s really very eye catching and sets off the stark white and black of the combo superbly.
SR Technology BaSS FideliTy 10 PRice: £989
“All the elements of the back panel are situated on the top of the amp right at the front, which makes for a much easier user experience”
Elements of the back panel are situated on top of the controls
Sr Amp 3pp_BC.indd 55 04/11/2011 16:20
70 Bass Guitar MaGazine
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
SR Technology BaSS FideliTy 10 PRice: £989
A comprehensive set of controls let you get the sound you need
BGM RATING
BGM RATING OUT OF FIVE
Blue Rock DistributionTel: 0845 388 1183www.bluerockmusic.co.uk
WHAT WE THINK
CONTACT DETAILS
SR BASS FIDELITY 10PRICE: £989
Made In: ItalyPower Output: 300w RMSWeight: 15.5 kgSpeakers: 1x 10” and 1 x compression tweeterControls: Gain, SR’s BBsh control, Low, Low Mid, Hi Mid, Hi, DI Out control, Master Volume, Dry XLR control, Headphones volumeInputs: ¼” input, balanced XLR, FX loop, headphone inputOutputs: ¼”, XLRDimensions: 44cmx35cmx39cm
Plus: Pleasing sounds, light and compact, cab feels solid and rugged.Minus: Controls feel a little lightweight. A bit pricey perhaps.Overall: A decent, lightweight combo for home practice or low key gigs.
start to get a bit ragged in the lower frequencies, but dialing in the BBsh control defi nitely helped smooth things out. SR recommend that you have the BBsh dimed to get the best out of your tone. Rolling the knob back and forth you can hear the defi nite eff ect it has on the low frequency response. I drove the combo until the sound was quite, for want of a better word, farty and then rolled in the BBsh and suddenly the sound became smoother and cleaner. To really put this to the test I plugged in a 5-string and had a tinker, and the fi lter performed admirably, but couldn’t quite clean up the sound when that low B string was given a pounding. However, any similar small combo would more than likely struggle with it. At more sensible volumes the combo handled the 5-string with aplomb, and the character of the bass wasn’t compromised.
For slap playing the combo yielded some quality tones, its inherent punchy quality giving
power to thumbed notes, while popping sounded smooth and clear.
In terms of overall volume the Bass Fidelity is louder than its size would suggest, and there’s certainly enough headroom here to handle some small venue gigs, say at a pub. As a practice amp the Bass Fidelity 10 would be excellent, it’s a versatile combo tonally, and the inclusion of the headphones socket means you don’t have to bother the neighbours.
ConclusionTh e Bass Fidelity 10 isn’t cheap, with a recommended retail price of nearly a grand, however it’s generally solidly put together, and sonically versatile. Its compact size and lightweight make it a good amp for small gigs and home practice use. Whether it justifi es the price is for the potential customer to decide, but I could see this amp being of interest to the working pro.Ben Cooper
SoundsIn use the Bass Fidelity is straightforward to use, plug in and off you go. With the amp set fl at the basic tonal character of the amp is of mid-range focus and punch. Th e tweeter keeps the highs sweet without becoming too glassy, but full on low end rumble isn’t what this combo is about. Th at’s not to say that it’s a thin sounding combo, far from it, it’s just that the inherent nature of the speaker size lends itself to a more defi ned sound. In fact dialing in a bit of bass on the EQ fattened the sound nicely, and as long as the amp wasn’t driven too hard the low end stayed tight and focused. If you drive the amp really hard then things
“With the amp set fl at the tonal character of the amp is of mid-range focus and punch...highs are sweet without becoming glassy”
Sr Amp 3pp_BC.indd 56 04/11/2011 16:20
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missing Hand advert.indd 1 08/09/2011 10:59
Adverts.indd 1 07/11/2011 14:47
BAREFACED BASS BUT THIS GOES TO 11...
72 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
About The AuthorC. ALEXANDER CLABERAlex � rst picked up a bass when studying engineering at university, and his quest for sonic perfection led him to found Barefaced Audio, while also leading The Reluctant, an alt-ska/funk out� t.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
This column is brought to you in association with Barefaced Ltd who manufacture high-output speaker cabs for the gigging bassist. Barefaced have recently launched their new Big Baby and Big Twin cabs, the most accurate and extended range bass cabs ever made. An archive of previous articles plus a glossary of terms can be found atwww.barefacedbass.com
But This Goes to 11…
Hopefully everyone survived the assault of engineering last month! Whilst we’re
on a roll I’d like to complete the impedance complication challenge and then we can leave it behind for good because it isn’t the most enormous amount of fun if you’re a bass player – though critical if you design amps and loudspeakers...
Solidstate amps vs valve (tube) ampsProbably the biggest di� erence between transistors and valves is how they behave into loads of varying impedance. Please note that when we refer to a valve amp we’re talking about an ampli� er with a valve output stage and an output transformer, not an ampli� er with one or many valves in the preampli� er and a solidstate output stage – this is called a hybrid amp and with respect to your loudspeaker it behaves just like a conventional solidstate amp (even though some hybrid amps sound very much like valve amps!)
Output transformers – they are big, they are heavy, they’re pretty clever tooWith a transistor output stage
the output impedance of the transistors is very high, the voltage relatively low and the current relatively high. This allows you to connect the output stage directly to a loudspeaker, and the lower the impedance of the loudspeaker the more power you get out of the ampli� er, until you reach its minimum impedance (below which the transistors are at risk of overheating or breaking down electrically). With a valve output stage the output impedance of the valves is low, the voltage very high and the current very low – this is unsuitable for directly driving a loudspeaker so the signal has to be passed through an output transformer to turn the signal into one with lower voltage and higher current. The e� ciency of power transfer from an output transformer to a loudspeaker depends on how well the load matches, hence output transformers tend to have di� erent ‘taps’ so you can connect cabs of varied impedance and still get good power transfer. The relationship between impedance and power output for transistor and valve amps is illustrated in Fig. 1.
Higher or lower?The most obvious thing on this chart is that if your valve output tap and cab impedance don’t match then the amp’s maximum power output will be restricted. Fortunately a halving of power ‘only’ represents a 3dB change in loudness and valve amps sound nice on the limit so we can get away with about a 2:1 variance either way, so you can use a cab whose impedance runs between 2 ohms and 16 ohms on an 8 ohm tap with no detrimental e� ects. With a transistor amp you get more and more power out as the actual impedance decreases until you hit the minimum load limit. With a valve amp you get the most power when the transformer tap and actual impedance match and then as the impedance goes higher the power is limited by the voltage delivery whilst as the impedance goes lower the impedance is limited by the current delivery. As we established last time the reduced power delivery at resonant impedance peaks isn’t a problem in terms of dB SPL from the loudspeaker but unfortunately these peaks cause the load re� ected through the output transformer to the valves to rise hugely. As you’ll know if you’ve used valve
Actual impedance (not nominal impedance!)
Maximum power output into loads of various impedances (watts)Ideal 300W @ 8 ohms
transistor amp300W valve amplifer with output transformer with four di� erent impedance taps
Fig. 1 – How maximum power output varies with impedance
Barefaced Bass_BC.indd 68 04/11/2011 16:39
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 73
amps it is unsafe to use them without a speaker load and when driving a very high impedance you’re approaching this condition of there being an in� nite load, thus reducing valve life and risking transformer failure.
Valve amps and modern cabsFig. 2 shows a modern low Q driver
(blue) vs a more traditional high Q driver (red) both in sealed enclosures. Note how high the impedance peak is with the modern low Q high power driver. High Q drivers tend to be found in sealed cabs whilst low Q drivers tend to be found in ported cabs, especially more expensive ones (the lower the Q, the more powerful the magnet tends to be, and the more magnet, the more the driver costs!) So somewhat confusingly, the most expensive amps on the market (i.e. valve amps) are often best paired with the least expensive cabs – or ones that are expensive because they’re big and contain lots of small magnet drivers (i.e. sealed 6x10” and 8x10” cabs).
Solidstate amps and low impedance loadsEvery solidstate ampli� er has a minimum load impedance it can drive – usually 4 ohms or 2 ohms in the case of bass amps, although some have a minimum load of 2.7 ohms and others with two power amps often have a minimum load of 8 ohms when bridged. This minimum load is determined by both the maximum current the transistors can handle and the maximum heat the ampli� er can dissipate. Obviously the amount of current running through the transistors increases the louder you turn up the ampli� er – and likewise the amount of waste heat generated increases with how hard you push the amp. So the minimum load rating is based on you pushing your ampli� er hard into that nominal load, and
it also factors in that although a load may nominally be 4 ohms in reality it may dip to 3 ohms at certain frequencies (this is absolutely normal for speaker cabs). Furthermore a well designed ampli� er should be able to drive highly reactive loads (this is one of the big reasons why two ampli� ers can both measure exactly the same into a simple resistive load but one is much louder cleaner and fatter when driving real loudspeakers) and this requires much more current delivery than the impedance implies. In short, the minimum load impedance for solidstate amps is a guideline which is best followed but using an amp into a sub-minimum load at bedroom volumes is unlikely to be problematic.
Some brief valve amp guidelines1. A 2:1 discrepancy either way is � ne with transformer taps and nominal impedances – if there is a mismatch then the transformer tap being higher than the cab’s nominal impedance is preferable.2. Sealed cabs with high Q speakers are always preferable because they present a better impedance load (and sealed cabs almost always have high Q speakers because low Q speakers in a sealed cab would sound thin).3. Valve amps tend to sound louder than solidstate amps of the same rating because when they reach their limits they do so in a more appealing manner so you can push them harder. However this actually makes life easier for the loudspeakers because the power peaks are lower than those from a similarly loud sounding (but higher rated) solidstate amp.4. Typical valve ampli� ers are relatively low power compared to solidstate amps (100-300W rather than 500W+) so you need larger cabs to reach the same loudness (dB SPL) if you want a clean sound.
Actual impedance (not nominal impedance!)
Maximum power output into loads of various impedances (watts)Ideal 300W @ 8 ohms
transistor amp300W valve amplifer with output transformer with four di� erent impedance taps
Fig. 2 Modern low Q driver vs traditional high Q driver in sealed cab
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 63
to resonate at. At this resonant frequency they work as a far more e� cient transformer between the electricity from the amp and the air which they’re moving to generate sound – this rise in e� ciency is seen as an impedance peak. A good way to understand this is to sit in a canoe and paddle in the air and note how little the canoe moves (an imperceptible amount!). That’s what the connection between woofer and air is like most of the time. Then dip the paddle in the water – the water pushes back against the blade and the canoe moves forward much more easily. That’s like the speaker at the impedance peak – it pushes back at the amp as it works more e� ectively. So, although the impedance peak might be at 60 ohms so the amp can only deliver 40W at that frequency, it doesn’t matter in the least because the speaker’s rise in e� ciency exactly cancels out the reduction in power delivery. Neat. Some years ago I read an article which suggested that a particular design of enclosure improved bass output because it caused the impedance peaks in the lows to be less high, so the ampli� er could deliver more power – which suggests that whoever wrote that didn’t understand what was actually happening. High impedance peaks usually imply that the design has superior acoustic coupling with the air – remember, it’s all about moving air, not moving speaker cones! When designing horn subwoofers you can cause the impedance peaks to be so large and across such a broad part of their bandwidth that a cab with a 4-ohm nominal speaker actually becomes an 8-ohm nominal cab – and that’s a good thing because all that extra impedance is due to acoustic impedance from the air coupling with the woofer, not just extra voice coil resistance.
Series/Parallel WiringIf you connect two cabs to the back of an amp, each of them sees the same voltage from the amp – parallel wiring. This means that if they have the same impedance the power is split equally – if one has twice the impedance of the other it’ll get half the power. However, often you’ll get a 4x10” being 4 ohm and a 2x10” being 8 ohm, so that means that each 10” woofer will get the same amount of power, which is a good thing! If you connect one cab to an amp and then another cab to the back of that amp (aka daisy-chaining) this is electrically identical to connecting both to the back of the amp – parallel wiring. If you make up a special lead that connects the positive on the amp to the positive on cab one, then negative on cab one to positive on cab two, and � nally negative on cab two to negative on amp,
then that’s series wiring. With parallel wiring the impedance drops – the current has two separate routes to get round the cabs so it � ows more easily, like if you had a water pipe and added a second pipe next to it. With series wiring the impedance increases – the current has to go all the way through one cab and then all the way through the next, like if you added another water pipe after the � rst one, so it has to � ow twice as far.
Unmatched CabsWhen you connect two di� erent cabs to an amp the normal way (parallel) they are both driven exactly as if they were connected individually to the amp. How their acoustic output combines could � ll another column, so it’s generally a case of try it and � nd out – on the whole, cabs that are designed to work together (not merely look good together!) or are identical will work better than other combinations, but sometimes you � nd that the coloration caused by the response/phase di� erences works well for your speci� c sound. However, if you connect two di� erent cabs in series, then because the electricity from the � rst cab � ows through the second cab (and vice versa because it � ows both ways), the di� erences in impedance curves will cause weird humps and dips in response. In fact, if you connect a cab without a tweeter in series with one with a tweeter then you’ll lose almost all your treble output from the tweeter, as the tweeterless cab’s woofer’s inductance blocks the high frequencies from passing through.
What Is Nominal Impedance?As these three plots show very clearly, the impedance of an 8-ohm speaker isn’t actually 8 ohms at all. These two woofers are from opposite ends of the spectrum, so you can assume that most bass cabs’ actual impedance curves will look like something between the two. If you could see these plots in greater resolution you’d notice that the minimum impedance drops to about 5.5 ohms – this is actually the DC resistance of the loudspeaker, the simple resistance of the long coil of thin wire that the current � ows through to make the cone move. The maximum impedance is much higher – but the good thing with solid-state amps is that they like those high resonant peaks as they � nd it easier to put out the required voltage into high impedance loads.The nominal impedance is simply an approximate value to help indicate how much power a cab will get from an amp and to help you work out how many cabs you can run in parallel before going below its minimum load – which we shall leave for another time …
Since its arrival on the scene in 1969, bassists have revelled in the delights of the Ampeg
SVT (Super Vacuum Tube). It contained fourteen valves and weighed in at 95 lbs. It was designed to drive not one, but two eight by ten speakers and delivered 300 watts of all valve power, providing a truly astonishing volume for the time (anyone who has tried an all-valve head will know that valve watts are substantially louder than transistor watts). This all combines to form a truly colossal monster, so much so that the inventors were so worried about damaging peoples’ hearing - and the possibility of lawsuits - that all SVT’s carry a health warning. Its sound dominated the low end of stadium concerts and
records of the time and it continues to do so today. Being a pragmatic bunch, we often crave the sound of an Ampeg but find lugging a backbreaking SVT and 2 wardrobe sized speakers a problem. What if we could have a simple pedal that gave us that distinctive sound? All that face ripping rock tone, and none of the trips to the chiropractor?
HistoryHAO are a branch of JES international, a small importer / distributor of guitars and related products in Japan. JES pride themselves on only dealing with products that they themselves would use. HAO pedals are the brainchild of engineer Toshi Torii who joined JES in 2000. He had previously worked with several big companies designing DSP algorithms and guitar pre amps. He is a keen guitarist himself with a broad interest in vintage guitars, amps and effects. HAO strive to build original circuits completely by hand using the best components they can find, Claiming not to be just another boutique effect, “HAO pedals are AND sound nothing like other effects pedals on the market” – “Hearing is believing”. HAO build very well respected drive pedals of all sorts and Toshi Torii still designs new circuits for HAO and Guyatone to the present day.
What if we could have a pedal that gave us that distinctive SVT sound...without the trips to the chiropractor?
In UseAt first glance, the Rust Ride seems short on options. The solitary chicken head knob atop the blue enclosure may disappoint those of us who like things to twiddle. However, this is perhaps its greatest trick. The beauty of the Rust Ride is its ability to achieve
a wide range of overdrive and distortion tones with the minimum of fuss and need for endless tweaking.
On the right are inputs for both active and passive basses - although the manual suggests you try both to see which suits your playing style best. The left hand side has direct and effect outputs - you can use two amps (one for each output) and the effect output will only engage when the pedal is switched on, leaving you with just you direct signal as the default (always on) amp.
The three EQ settings give vastly different results. Each has its own characteristic curve, but all retain the original frequency range of the instrument well. The result is a range of overdrive tones that are clear and cut through the mix of a band, whilst retaining all the low end. Many OD’s will compress the signal greatly and HAO has gone to great lengths to maintain untainted note attack and release. The Normal setting recreates the tube saturation of a SVT, albeit a cranked one. We usually associate overdrive with subtle grind, this is not what the RR offers, it’s full on drive, but unusually you hear no loss of definition. With the EQ switch set to bright, unmistakeable SVT drive is heard again with a boost to the top end, thick, ripping and with no shortage of bite. The warm setting creates a rich creamy drive with a noticeable roll off of top end.
Aside from the obvious drive, the Rust Ride features a great interactivity with the user’s playing style. Just like the valve amps it mimics, when using finger style techniques the pedal gives depth and fine nuance. When played with a pick, zingy clanky tones exude from your amp. Whatever style you choose the pedal seems to respond, and respond favourably.
Meet Chris HanbyChris has amassed a staggering amount of insightful, interesting and sometimes irrelevant information on bass guitar equipment during his career as a professional bassist. Some would say it’s a gift, others that he is a nerd – either way we continue to push boxes of electronics under his nose and make him report to us on his favourites.
Rust RideBass Driver HaO 2011
Essential FX_BC.indd 62 07/11/2011 11:09
Bass Guitar MaGazine 75
AvailabilityUnfortunately they are diffi cult to fi nd this side of the pond, but can be ordered from www.godlyke.com for $194.25. Be aware that when importing pedals you will be charged a small fee by customs when it enters the country.
AlternativesThe Rust Ride is a truly original take on the bass overdrive, as a result no ‘clones’ or copies exist with an identical circuit and control options. That said, there are many bass specifi c overdrives available. The classic Ibanez Bass Tube Screamer has drive and level controls, as well as bass and treble pots. Rather than having two separate outputs for clean and dry signal, it features a mix control to blend the two signals to taste, and is widely available for around £150. Those on a limited budget may wish to try the Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive at around £80. Most bassists have owned one of these at some point, and many are polite when asked. Second hand they can be picked up for very little, and with the usual Boss standard
of construction will survive the most liberal of beatings.
If you would prefer the boutique option, you may choose the Xotic Bass RC Booster; an up to date version of the Tube screamer specifi cally voiced for bass. It has no blend option, but has a tone that many fi nd mouth-watering. £180
If you wish to emulate the valve drive of an Ampeg, then the Tech 21 VT Bass is a fantastic option and will recreate valve vibes from 70’s SVT grind to vintage Portafl ex. £160.
ConclusionWhether or not HAO set out to create another SVT emulator or just inadvertently did so is hard to say. What we can say is that what they have created is one of the best we’ve tried, and therefore a thing of some considerable beauty. Combining their mission statement goals seems to have worked well in this instance to give bassists a simple to use tool to recreate the magic of the Ampeg sound. For those about to rock, HAO we salute you!
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STEFANREDTENBACHER
Stefan ‘The Count’ Redtenbacher is the bassist, bandleader and writer for the RB Funkestra, a fortifi ed Jazz-Funk band with a strong fl avour of groove and tantalising brass work.www.rbfunkestra.comwww.stefanredtenbacher.com
Music Man instruments(www.music-man.com) were launched in the mid seventies.Initially designed by Leo Fender and tested by Sterling Ball in 1975, the designs and trademark were incorporated into the Ernie Ball company in 1984. Along with the initial Stingray bass, the Sterling, Bongo and most recently the Stingray Classic have turned these iconic instruments into a “must have” for any serious player. For more information visit www.musicmanuk.com
Bass Techniques
STEFAN REDTENBACHER – FUNKYOLOGIESExploration 16: Roachmotel
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
76 Bass Guitar MaGazine
Chords ‘n’ funk – an uneasy relationship?Being bass players we naturally have to know our chords, and ideally a fair bit about harmony and chord progressions in general as we are the ones banging out the roots for everybody else to sit on.
I personally love the sound of chords, chord progressions and the multitude of ways one can re-harmonise tunes with clever tricks like tritone substitution or modal interchange (check out Hal Crook’s book called ‘Ready, Aim, Improvise’ if you want to look into these concepts).
So isn’t it really strange that I choose to play Funk (ok, Jazz Funk) as this genre is known for its emphasis on rhythm rather than harmony and melody. Funk purists probably consider a proper Funk tune to be built on one or perhaps two chords. Early James Brown repertoire was often built on Blues and Soul chord progressions and the music was not as funky as in later stages. Tunes like ‘Please, Please, Please’ or ‘Try Man’ are quite diff erent to ‘Make it Funky’ or ‘Say It Loud’.
So let’s explore the relationship between funk rhythms and harmony for a little bit.
Mixing funk rhythms with chords• What do you get if you mix Funk rhythm with one or two chords (often Blues chords like Dom7, Dom9 and 7#9 chords [i.e. the ‘Hendrix chord’)?
You’ll get ‘standard’ or pure Funk in the vein of James Brown. The stuff we know him for most. Also, James Brown brought us the famous ‘Take it to the Bridge’ IV chord…reminiscent of his more traditional Blues changes days. The amount of funky, Soul and R’n’B tunes that move to the IV or IV7 chord must be equivalent to the pebbles on a medium size Cornish beach.
• So what do you get if you mix Funk rhythms with Blues type and jazz chords?
You’ll get Soul Jazz like Ramsey Lewis and Cannonball Adderly’s soulful output with Joe Zawinul on piano (anyone recall one of my repertoire recommendations that he penned…indeed – ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’) but also get bands like Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power and The Crusaders…
• What do you get if you mix Funk rhythms with ‘modern sounding’ chords and chord progressions (inversions, voicings in fourths, upper structure triads, poly chords and similar)?
You’ll get the, in many circles dreaded, (Jazz) Fusion (also call Jazz Rock, i.e. Jazz played at a loud volume with ‘Rock’ beats)…Chick Corea Electric Band, Lorber, Weather Report, Yellow Jackets…fi ll in your own favorite Fusion artists if you have some.
You can also get, in some circles even more dreaded, ‘Smooth Jazz’ – melody and harmony lushness on top of varying
degrees of funk(ish) rhythms. Think Lee Ritenour, Acoustic Alchemy, and a lot of the artists that were funky in the 1970s and sound a lot smoother these days, partially because enjoying smoother and silkier things advances with age, and also the wisdom to go where a larger market segment is. Believe it or not, ‘Smooth Jazz’ is huge in The States. Listen to artists like George Duke, Jeff Lorber and Tom Scott back in the day and now.
Of course, this is a very simplifi ed way to describe the outcomes when mixing Funk rhythm with harmony…as always in music, the lines are blurry and no clear lines of defi nition between styles can be made.
However, this categorization provides a platform for thought and discussion and perhaps inspiration to write new tunes…
note length, held chords and funkinessAnother thought on harmony and Funk is how the chords are actually played.
In my opinion held chords (especially 7th chords and chords with tensions, but also basic triadic structures or 3 note chords) ‘soften’ the hardness of a funk groove.
Check out these three ‘Chords ‘n’ Funk’ examples:
Example 1 – This is a standard ‘101’ Funk groove cooked up by drums and bass, the kick and bass drum following the same rhythm. The chord quality is the typical James Brown Dominant 7 chord with a ninth and the ‘sex machine’ chord
Mildly opinionated views on the world of funk bass
‘What do you get if you mix Funk rhythms with ‘modern sounding’ chords and chord progressions...You’ll get the, in many circles dreaded, (Jazz) Fusion’
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Bass Techniques
Bass Guitar MaGazine 77
that leads back to the beginning of the phrase on beat 4 in bar 2. Following the rhythm of the drums and bass makes this a very funky sounding 2 bar vamp.
Example 2 – the drum and bass are doing the same thing but the chords are held this time. Try this with your mates in the band and you will find that this makes the Funk groove a lot softer…it dampens the hardness of the groove and also elongates the feel because of the long harmonic rhythm of the chords.
Example 3 – again, the drum and bass pattern are the same, the harmonic rhythm makes the drum & bass pattern sound softer and in addition the chord quality having being changed from a dominant 7th chord to a major 7th chord makes the whole thing a lot smoother. This reminds me of the sounds of Maze or Brass construction. This example also highlights a very important point. The funkiness of a bass line can often only be judged in the context of the other parts, in this case the harmony.
Becoming more analytical about what makes your bass line funky or creates a Funk tune will hopefully make you also more aware of what the musicians around you are up to…mixing and matching these various concepts can be very creative and a lot of fun too.
PS: Perhaps we should explore Melody ‘n’ Funk in one of the next explorations?Would love to hear your thoughts. Just email me on [email protected]
Chords ‘n’ Funk
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78 Bass Guitar MaGazine
Brass Construction – ‘Changin’ from Movin’ and Changin (2004) - bass: Wade Williamston
Earth Wind & Fire – ‘Can’t Let Go’ from I Am (1979) – bass: Verdine White
Ramsey Lewis – ‘Salongo’ from Salongo (1976) – bass: Ron Harris
Listening Recommendations
Bass Techniques
‘RoachmotelThis month’s track is from my very first record – Redtenbacher’s Blue Funkestra – Boozing Wizards (Searching for the Stone of Funk) from way back in the mid 90s. We recorded it in the bathroom of a house in Boston, but I think it still sounds all right. Also, the tune has proven to be a fun one to perform live over the years and although we don’t play it exactly like on the record, large chunks are still the same.
The intro The intro is unusual on a few levels. First of all the bass and guitar unison line does not start on beat one and leaves a lot of space for the drum groove. Secondly the notes are ambiguous and only the very last note of the two bar phrase hits the root of the chord that is C7#9. Finally, rather that a repeating the two bar phrase twice or four times, the intro is six bars.
The A sectionThe A section brings in the melody and also features a run with chromatic approach notes in bars 7 and 8. After the solos the bass is playing the melody for 2 bars. This run might need a little time to get under your fingers at speed but the tune also works by playing the two bar vamp as in the head the first time round.
The B sectionThe B section features the classic IV7 Blues chord and another two bar vamp in unison with the guitar. This time around without any harmonic ambiguity as the root F of the chord is played on beat one at the beginning of each bar. Bar 8 and 9
presents you with a heavily syncopated sixteenth note run leading towards beat ‘2+’ in bar 9. Besides the fact that the B section is 10 bars long it is also easy to lose your place in the first or second ending. Make sure you are nailing the downbeat of the beginning of the B and C section.
The intro
The A section
The B section
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ACTIVITIES
RepertoireThe allmusic review of the album notes that Joy and Pain is the work of a band that made consistently rewarding soul and funk by sticking to its guns. There you go – lush chords and funky rhythms…and an enigmatic bassline.
• The original - Maze – ‘Joy and Pain’ from ‘Joy and Pain’ (1980) – bass: Robin Duhe
• A cool ‘smooth jazz’ instrumental version by Austrian Soul Jazz Funkateers Count Basic – ‘Joy and Pain’ from ‘Moving in the right Direction’ (2008) – bass: Willi Langer (killer bassist who happens to be from Austria
WEBSITE Of ThE MOnThThis month I would like to recommend a great tool for transcribing bass lines. It is called Transcribe (currently on version 8.21) and available at www.seventhstring.com A software tool well worth having.
Go to www.soundcloud.com/rb-funkestra to listen to this month’s track and play along to the ‘no bass’ version. The respective bass chart can be downloaded for free at www.funkybassonline.com.
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Bass Guitar MaGazine 79
The C sectionThe C section is the first of the two solo sections. In this case it gives Thomas Feurer, the alto saxophonist room to ‘fly’. Harmonically this is yet another Dominant 7 chord, not the expected tonic C7 but instead Ab7, a dominant chord a major third down from C. Make sure to hit the A7#9 stab in bar 4 on beat ‘3+’ for 4 times at the end of the four bar loop before playing your own lines around the Ab7 chord for another 16 bars.
The D+f sectionThe D+F sections are the release sections of the two solo sections. The first time round the D section starts with the Db Dominant 7 chord a perfect fourth up from the Ab7. The second time round the same Db7 is a half step lower than the D7. You might argue that the D7 is the tritone substitution of Ab7 (i.e. the chords share the same most important notes C and F/Gb but with different bass notes).
The bass line is again quite bubbly and packed with sixteenth notes. Use my idea as a guide but make up your own ‘full pelt’ line. Watch out for the dead stop in bar 8 followed by the Eb7#9 stab on beat ‘3+”.
The E sectionThis is the second of the two solo sections. Dave Limina rips it up on the Hammond organ over this D7 vamp, a whole step away from the key centre C and 16 bars in length. The bass line is definitely inspired by Rocco and Jaco, basically a bubbly sixteenth note line that really should be morphed and interpreted by you as much as possible to make it your own.
The Coda sectionThe coda requires a little bit of concentration as the end of the syncopated run leads you into a false ending, i.e. a pause for 7 quarter notes. You just have to stay focused for this one. It repeats the syncopated line and ends on beat ‘2+’. Don’t get fooled where the downbeat of the next bar is and hit the final few chromatic approach notes towards a massive F, a fourth away from where we started.
‘Roachmotel’ is stretching the basic I7 and IV7 JB idea by introducing other dominant chords (with and without altered tensions) built on non-diatonic tone centres like Ab7 (D7), A7 (Eb7), Bb7, B7 (F7) and Db7 and using tritone substitutions to move between them. All the heavy harmonic analysis aside, it is still funky I think.
The C section
The D+F section
The E section
The Coda section
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Bass Techniques
80 Bass Guitar MaGazine
Ex 01
1. This exercise shows how Jamerson would often use dampened ‘ghost-notes’ to add a percussive element to his more funky bass lines;
I WANT TO PLAY LIKE...JAMES JAMERSON
Learn The Licks Of The Motown Legend
James Jamerson played on almost 30 number one hits during the ‘60s and ‘70s, but at that time you probably
wouldn’t have heard of him, or indeed, any of the Funk Brothers; that tight-knit group of session players who backed the singers signed to the Motown label.
Jamerson was born in 1936 in South Carolina, and started out by playing double bass in high school jazz bands. His natural ability and fl air for the instrument eventually led to him being hired by Berry Gordy, boss of Motown Records to go on a series of tours supporting signed artists. From the early ‘60s, Motown employed him as their fi rst choice bass player, and he played on nearly all of the great songs to come from ’Hitsville USA’, the small studio that was the home of Motown Records. Unfortunately, Jamerson developed a serious alcohol problem that would hinder him throughout his career, and at one stage he was in danger of being dropped by the label and losing his job altogether.
In 1973, Motown moved to Los Angeles, and Jamerson followed, despite no longer being contracted to them. He continued to play on numerous hits, both for Motown and as a freelancer, but his alcohol problems and reluctance to adopt newer styles and approaches meant that work became less and less frequent. For the next 10 years things slowly went from bad to worse; as well as being seriously injured in a mugging, his health slowly declined and in 1983 he died from liver failure at the age of just 47.
A project shortly after his death brought together the cream of the world’s bass community who
James Jamerson. There are dozens of number one hits to choose from, but here are a few real highlights:
‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell‘For Once In My Life’ Stevie Wonder ‘My Girl’ The Temptations ‘What’s Goin’ On’ Marvin Gaye‘This Old Heart Of Mine’ The Iseley Brothers‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ Marvin Gaye‘I Was Made To Love Her’ Stevie Wonder‘Bernadette’ The Four Tops‘Darling Dear’ The Jackson Five
Jamerson’s styleJamerson’s approach was to provide a rhythmic and melodic counterpoint to the vocal line rather than the traditional ‘root-5’ that had been so common before. He was a great sight-reader, but he was also a great jazz player and would usually improvise the bass line using just a chord sheet and his ears. His normal approach was to state the root note on the fi rst beat of the bar, then outline the chord using simple diatonic harmony – nothing unusual there, but it was his ability to lay down a bass line that rhythmically complimented the vocal line which really stands out.
A favourite trick of Jamerson’s was to use the sixth to create tension; a great example of this can be heard in his intro to ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’.
Here are three examples illustrating some of his other trademark harmonic and rhythmic ideas.
To get an authentic tone, all these exercises should be played ‘Jamerson Style’ in half or fi rst position.
participated in the production of a book, recording and documentary fi lm called ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown – the life and music of the legendary James Jamerson’ which did much to raise the profi le, albeit posthumously, of this great musician.
Jamerson’s gearApart from the old German double bass used on some of his early recordings (Martha and the Vandellas’ Heatwave and Mary Wells’ My Guy are two of the best known) most of Jamerson’s career was spent playing his sunburst ’62 Fender Precision. Back then, Fender basses came with chrome bridge and pickup covers, and Jamerson was one of the few bassists that preferred to leave these on the bass, often pushing a piece of foam inside the bridge cover to dampen the sound.
The strings he used were heavy La Bella fl at-wounds (.052 – .110) and legend has it that he never, ever changed them! Jamerson’s amp of choice was the Ampeg B15 ‘fl ip-top’ combo, but for most of the Motown recording sessions he was plugged straight into the desk.
All these elements were part of Jamerson’s, and Motown’s, sound but the most important aspect was his right hand technique; he would use just his index fi nger (which he nicknamed ‘the hook’) whilst resting his second and third fi ngers on the chrome pickup cover. This meant he would pluck the strings further toward the neck of the bass, enhancing that rich, plummy tone.
Essential Jamerson TracksListen to any Motown recording between ’60 and ’70 and you’ll almost defi nitely be listening to
KEV SANDERSKev Sanders is a freelance electric and double bassist who has gigged and recorded with artists as diverse as singer Clare Teal and legendary saxophonist Pete King, to the Levellers and multi award-winning Korean classical pianist Ingrid Wu. As well as numerous BBC radio and television sessions, he’s played over 4000 live gigs, appearing everywhere from Brussels to Broadway and as head of Bass Studies for AMS he developed and wrote both the full time Btec and Degree courses. www.kevsanders.com
Kev Sanders DPS_BC.indd 70 03/11/2011 13:58
Bass Techniques
Bass Guitar MaGazine 81
Ex 03
2. Here’s an exercise that illustrates how Jamerson would often use ascending diatonic or (more often) chromatic phrases to reach the next chord tone.
3. Jamerson often used ‘swing quavers’ to add momentum to his basslines, frequently as part of the chromatic movement to the next chord change;
Ex 04
It’s interesting to note how Jamerson would often play some of these trademark phrases, even when they didn’t exactly fit harmonically! If you listen carefully to his bass line on, for example, ‘Heard it Through the Grape Vine’, there are plenty of examples!
Here’s a 12 bar that uses a typical James Jamerson style bass line. Unless you’re lucky enough to own a ’62 Fender Precision with very dead flat-wound strings, try using the neck pickup of your bass and taking out most of the top and very low bass frequencies to approximate the sound. You could even try the old trick of putting an elastic hair tie just in front of the nut to dampen sustain.
Ex 02
Kev Sanders DPS_BC.indd 71 03/11/2011 13:58
JANEK GWIZDALAA member of the Institutes visiting bass faculty, Janek is a solo recording artist, musical director for Capitol recording artist V V Brown, and side man to the likes of Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Delta Goodrem, Airto and Pat Metheny.www.janekbass.com
The Institute is widely recognised as one of Europe’s leading schools for bass guitarists and has been developing and delivering cutting-edge tuition to students of bass and contemporary music for longer than any other UK-based school.
DRUM COURSES: Masters Degree, BMus (Hons) Degree, BA (Hons) Degree, Cert HE, Higher Diploma, Diploma and part-time courses
DEGREE COURSES COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 2012: The Masters is for those who aspire to fully master their instrumental abilities; the BMus Degree is for bassists wishing to reach a professional standard of musicianship and build a sustainable career in the music industry; the BA Degree focuses on developing musical creativity within the band environment, challenging musicians to express their unique creative voice. Visit our website or call to book your free assessment | www.icmp.co.uk | 0207 328 0222
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
82 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE
JANEK GWIZDALA
In a little bit of a departure from my usual technique column, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about some realities of the music industry that are actually relevant to all of us no matter what style
we play in. It’s all very well talking about right and left hand technique, and motivic development, and about practicing your art for many hours every day, but what happens once you’ve done that? Do you wait around for the phone to ring with an o� er to travel the world with a well known artist? And then when you’ve paid your dues as a sideman get a call from an A&R cat at a record label o� ering you a 10 album solo instrumental deal with Atlantic Records?
Well not quite. The industry has changed considerably since the 80’s, which I think might have been the last time that all of the above could possibly have been realistic in terms of starting a career. Now, the responsibility is on us as individuals to be conscious of what tools we have available to create a successful and happy career from music. And I’m
aware that not everyone reading this column is intent on making a career out of music, but there are some interesting things I want to talk about today that might pique your interest as an amateur, and as a listener and fan too.
The most important part of any success I’ve had in my career has been communication. Now that’s
Bass Techniques
“When I fi rst started playing learning to keep my mouth shut and my ears open were the main building blocks of my initial musical communications”
So you’ve got your chops together, now what? Here are some practical tips on maximizing your exposure.
Janek_BC.indd 86 04/11/2011 16:19
BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE 83
Bass Techniques
“getting an audience for your music can be a challenge if you don’t move with modern technological advances and keep current with how the rest of the world works...the infrastructure that we play music in isn’t timeless. It DOES CHANGE!”
quite a broad statement and you might be wondering what falls under that umbrella of communication. It’s meant many di� erent things to me over the years, starting out as musical communication when I was working intensely on my craft. Learning to communicate with other like minded musicians when I � rst started playing, surrounding myself with people that were better than I was, and learning to keep my mouth shut and my ears open for the most part, were the main building blocks of my initial musical communications. I didn’t keep my mouth shut ALL the time as it’s good to ask questions about things you don’t understand, but for the most part you’re generally learning more if you’re lips aren’t moving…
Now when I look at the state of modern technology, when I � rst started playing the bass mobile phones were not yet commonplace, and the internet was in its infancy. So had I been starting out now I would have been exposed to many di� erent forms of media and might have gone about things di� erently. But regardless of you start, where you’re at, or what level you play at, you can always be well informed about basic human communication. Because, let’s face it, at the end of the day you probably want to communicate what you do as a musician to an audience somewhere. And getting an audience for your music can be a challenge if you don’t move with modern technological advances and keep current with how the rest of the world works. I’ve found it easy sometimes to lose track of what’s going on around me, and think that music is timeless and it’s all good. But the infrastructure that we play music in isn’t timeless. It DOES CHANGE! And one of the most important things (that is rarely taught at any music school in the world) is how musicians can better communicate with their audience, promote themselves, and get their music heard all across the world. And all of this with no manager, no record deal, no publicist, and no booking agent. Now this isn’t some marketing jargon claim that I’m making out of thin air, this is the reality of what I do and how my career works. I have no manager, no booking agent, no publicist, and certainly no record label. And that is a very powerful thing in my opinion. I think that with the way social media and internet marketing can aid your self promotion, you can take control of your entire career on every level, and you then only have yourself to answer to in terms
of success. Some fundamental aspects of your online presence that you might want to think about might be:
1. Professional looking website(Something that doesn’t cost a fortune anymore!).
2. Facebook Fan PageFree to set up, and priceless in terms of value.
3. Twitter accountEssentially a simple blogging platform that lets you talk to your fan base
4. BrandingMaking sure your online pro� les all have a consistent look and feel, to bring strength to your brand
5. InteractionPeople want to feel like they’re part of something, and when you interact with your fans and your audience this enhances your visibility, and gets people talking to their friends about what you’re doing.
6. BlogVery important to have an opinion about things, not just music. Also drives tra¤ c to your website by blogging about these subjects.
7. Having a product worth sellingThere’s no point putting together all the things I’ve just suggested when your product sucks. You want to be selling or promoting something that people want, crave, need… etc. etc. Now these are just a few of the things that I have on a pretty thorough check list in terms of basic infrastructure for positive communication and self promotion of what you do. And this is by no means exclusive to music! These are techniques employed by businesses and entrepreneurs across the world. But they ARE things that most musicians that ask me questions about how I am successful don’t know about. I’m in the middle of writing a pretty comprehensive book on all of this stu� and a ton more, and it basically chronicles my path from not knowing the � rst thing about building a website to being successful in the new media industry as a musician. The tagline for the book (and this is not marking nonsense, it’s completely true) is “How I went from not having next month’s rent to making a 6 � gure salary in under 10 months”. Sounds like something you would read on some cheesy ad for an online marketing course right? But it’s actually true, and I hope more people can become aware of the few basic tools it takes to become successful as a musician these days, and ultimately, happy doing what you do.
As always check out my blog at www.janekgwizdala.com, my video lessons at www.videobasslessons.tv, and look out for the book! I’m going to be doing a killer giveaway to the � rst 100 people that sign up when I launch it, so go and sign my mailing list right now and be the � rst to get a free copy!
Janek_BC.indd 87 04/11/2011 16:19
Bass Techniques
Andrew McKinney: TuiTion TipNew Series! DRUMS ON BASSDrummer Interview: Erik Stams
When thinking of a new direction for my Tuition Tip series, it occurred to me that most columns of this nature are written by bass players about bass playing. There’s loads of great stuff us bass players can share and learn, but when playing and performing music, we’re very rarely working with and hanging out with other bass players. As you’ll probably agree, our closest ally in the band is the drummer, and it’s definitely the most important musical relationship there is – fact!
Although drummers may not talk to us in bass-player terms about notes or techniques, in listening to the way they think about music and what they think about bass, we can gain an important insight into how to approach our role in the rhythm section.
The drum department at Tech Music School (formerly Drumtech), has been educating drummers now for 28 years, so has a considerable reputation in the industry. As a bass player at TMS (student or staff!) this means that we get to rub shoulders with a huge number of great drummers, all people we can learn from. To start off this new series I’ve been talking bass to the Head of Drums, Erik Stams.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Erik studied at New York’s High School of Music and the Performing Arts (Fame) and also at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. From there he has toured the world with many different artists, including Walter Schreilfes (Quicksand, Rival Schools), Butch Thomas, Drill Queen, Adrian Portas (of New Model Army), disco diva Viola Wills, Jamie Lawson, The Darling Buds and many more. He writes articles and records play along CDs for Rhythm, Drummer and Total Guitar Magazine. He even appeared on BBC1’s ‘Play it Again’ teaching singer Aled Jones to play the drumkit!
So, one lunchtime at TMS I cornered Erik to get down to the nitty gritty; what do YOU have to say about bass??!
What are the qualities that you look for in a bass player?“Time, sound and feel are the obvious aspects for me, and also a musician I can interact with. Somebody who plays things that take me in directions I might not have thought of. In terms of that dialogue between bass and drums, one of the things I’ve found is that I like somebody who looks at my foot. I’ll look at the bass player’s fingers as they pluck. It’s like hand-eye coordination – If I’m watching where you’re placing your fingers, my foot is immediately going to fall in the same place.”
Who are your favourite bass players to work with and what is it about them that you most like? “Dave Marks, who to me is like a living, breathing musical note! He’ll play things that will musically excite a drummer. It could be a matter of feel, like playing straight in the middle of a groove that has a swung thing, Also, he has a fundamental understanding of different styles of music, and what to play in different genres that feels and sounds right.
“Nick Pini is another one; he plays every note like it’s his last. Again, he is well versed in different musical styles. He’s always got a different take on things.”
In your opinion, what are the most common things bass players get wrong? “You’ve got to feel the subdivisions in the same way to make a groove really sit. Sometimes you’re playing with someone and they’re feeling things in a different way; maybe they’re swinging the eighths or the sixteenths and they should be
straight, or the other way round and not picking up on the fact that you’re playing it the other way. It’s like a conversation that isn’t working. I say, “Hello how are you”, and you say, “I have a bicycle”.
“It’s always better to play with people who have a fundamental understanding of different styles of music and don’t play everything in the same way. It’s about understanding where the accents fall and appropriate phrasing.”
What are some of your favourite drum/bass grooves? “Favourite grooves for drums and bass would be ‘Rock Steady’ (Aretha Franklin) and ‘Kid Charlemagne’ (Steely Dan) – both Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie. I also really like the John Mayer album Continuum with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan, especially the track ‘Vultures’. They’re not trying to think of something else to play, but just sitting in the pocket in that trance-like repetitive fashion.
“Also anything by Little Feat or the Meters – that looseness, half-way between straight and swung – the New Orleans vibe. A lot of that stuff isn’t perfect, it’s got life and breath in it, and occasionally even mistakes – it’s not quantized – there’s a beauty to that.”
EXERCISESExamining how other musicians approach practicing their instrument can give us ideas and a fresh perspective on our own practice. If we want to be better at playing with drummers, why not try practicing like they do? Not all things will transfer directly on to bass, but many of the more general rhythmic concepts will, so I put this to Erik:
You mentioned it was important for a bass player to feel the subdivision in the right way. How would a drummer work on this?“Firstly you need to have a really solid grasp of the main rhythmic subdivisions. The term rhythmic subdivision refers to the division of the pulse into two or more equal parts (eighth notes, sixteenth notes…). One of the most effective ways to go about developing your sense of time is to practice the most commonly used rhythmic subdivisions slowly and regularly with a metronome.
“Timekeeping is an elusive and intangible subject. It requires an understanding of both time and space; the spaces between notes. As a drummer, keeping time is our prime function, but it is just as important on every other instrument – especially bass. We need to learn to space musical notes evenly, like the ticking of a clock. We need to be able to hear and feel time when no musical notes are being played. Without a good sense of time all other musical ideas will crumble.”
84 Bass Guitar MaGazine
Andrew McKinneyHead of bass at Tech Music School in London and who plays with the James Taylor Quartet.
For the full Tuition Tip archive, including sound files and videos, visit Andrew’s teacher profile on the website: www.techmusicschool.co.uk.Each issue Andrew will be featuring a specific class taught at the school, giving you a bite-size chunk of the lesson and an insight into what it’s like to be on a course.
in AssociATion wiTh
Andrew’s column is brought to you in association with Tech Music School in London.
www.techmusicschool.co.uk 020 8749 3131
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I hope you enjoyed this alternative viewpoint and have learnt something valuable! I’ll be interviewing various drummers over the next few issues and trying to get to the bottom of what it is they think about bass, and how we can turn that to our advantage. Any questions you’d like to put to drummers, or angles you think we should explore, just email me at [email protected]
See you next time!
EXERCISE ONE – SUBDIVISIONS
EXERCISE TWO – ACCENTS
“Once my drum students have got the hang of the subdivisions, we move on to accents. This is an important part of stick control, and something bass players could definitely get a lot out of too. It’s really important to keep the timing consistent, which is a real challenge when varying the volume of notes.”
Use a metronome and loop each of the bars round, keep saying the subdivision out loud and work on getting a consistent volume difference between the notes. These are all written on one note, but us bass players can keep it interesting by varying the notes. Try applying the exercises to a scale, arpeggio or even a riff – have fun!
Practice the following exercise slowly and regularly, with a metronome focusing on the pulse and being as even and consistent as possible. 60bpm is a good tempo to start at.
Practice with a metronome in the following ways:1. Play each bar four times. 2. Play each bar two times. 3. Play each bar one time.
When playing this exercise, Erik has the following advice, “You need to focus on the pulse – tapping your foot will help. It also really helps to verbalise the subdivision out loud, and this is something I make all my students do whether they like it or not! The first version of the exercise you have four bars on each line, so you can really lock into the feel of each one before moving on. As you start to change subdivisions more quickly, it will take a while to adjust each time you switch. Keep working on this until you can instantly switch subdivisions and nail it from the first beat. You can even try just playing one beat of each subdivision and switching in a random order.”
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Dave MarksDave Marks is a busy freelance bassist living and working out of London. His playing and recording credits span a wide range of bands and artists, including Hurts, Nik Kershaw, Wishbone Ash, Julian Perretta, Larry Carlton, Albert Lee, Carl Palmer and many others.
At the minute his time is spread between pounding out 8th-note rock with the Rick Parfitt Jnr band, touring with his ‘RhythmMatters’ masterclasses and depping internationally with Hurts and for Thriller Live on the West End.
Aside from his full playing, teaching and masterclass schedule, Dave maintains a heavy web presence, between his own site, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
For backing tracks to use with this lesson, visit www.davebasslessons.com
Bass Techniques
Dave Marks:rhythM section DevelopMentMeloDic Bass playing
in association with
Dave’s column is brought to you in association with RhythmMatterswww.rhythmmatters.co.uk
86 Bass Guitar MaGazine
Welcome to the fifth installment in this series, aimed at turning you into a more melodic bassist. This month, we’re going to look at playing under a two-chord vamp, using chords that do not belong in the
same key. Many bassists struggle when playing ‘over changes’, assuming that this kind of approach is needed only for Jazz soloists.
For a bassist, playing ideas that run through the chords, (instead of resetting your ideas with each new chord) can help us to create longer melodic lines which flow under a progression. Most importantly, it allows us to be melodic and still create a solid foundation for others to play over.
For our two-chord vamp, we’re going to use A min7 and C min7. Both of these chords have the same structure
Ex 02
Ex 03
Ex 01
In this exercise, we’ll play a funk-shuffle groove using only the Root, 5th, b7 & Octave. The riff repeats in bars 1 & 2, and we simply move the whole shape up a minor 3rd (3 frets) for bars 3 & 4. Although this approach is melodic, outlines the harmony and locks in the groove, it is not the only good approach…..
Because we’re using the same chord type, I’m also going to use the same scale for both chords.
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Ex 04
Ex 06
Rather than focusing on the difference between these two tonalities, it’s important to consider the similarities they exhibit. If we simply create a riff and move that entire phrase around the neck, we are playing with a fairly simplistic Blues-based approach.
Exercise 04 shows how we can play the arpeggios and scales for both of our chords without changing position. This creates a much more refined approach to the harmony. By staying in position and using different shapes, we instantly avoid that obvious ‘moving-riff’ sound.
In exercise 03, when the chord changed, all notes in our groove jumped by a minor 3rd. If you compare the notes used in exercise 05, you can see much smaller changes.
Aside from the minor 3rd jump in Root notes (A / C) the E in bar 1 becomes Eb (semitone) the A becomes Bb (semitone) and the G becomes A (tone). Although the rhythm is exactly the same, and the contour is very similar, by making these smaller adjustments, you create a more subtle and refined route through the harmony.
This example makes use of common tones (i.e. notes shared by both scales). The aim here is to try and use the same notes wherever possible and change by the smallest degree wherever needed. The Root notes change by a minor 3rd, E becomes Eb (semitone) G & A stay the same (common tones) and B becomes Bb (semitone).
Ex 07
Our final groove for this month moves to a higher position and again uses the idea of a root note, followed by a melodic phrase. With the melodic phrase, we only change the notes when they clash and we use the smallest changes possible.
Incorporating this level of melodicism into your playing requires a solid knowledge of chord types and scales. It does, however ensure that your lines are melodic without obscuring the harmony. The most important thing is to work slowly and carefully with chords, ensuring that you know which notes are available. From there, it’s simply a matter of creating lines that you like the sound of.
Ex 05
Dave Marks_BC.indd 75 07/11/2011 10:08
Franc O’SheaHead of the Bass Department at BIMM Brighton, Franc has worked with Steve Howe (Yes), Lisa Moorish, and Mike Lindup (Level 42). Described by Bass Guitar Magazine as ‘the most musical of virtuoso bassists’, Franc has also produced two solo albums. His most recent album, ‘Alkimia’, features Flamenco and Jazz legends Jorge Pardo and Rubem Dantas from Chick Corea’s and Paco de Lucia’s bands. Franc uses Jeff Chapman basses and Elites strings.www.francoshea.com
Franc O’SheaA journey into rhythm
Franc’s column is brought to you
in association with BIMM.
www.bimm.co.uk0844 2 646 666
in aSSOciatiOn with
Over the last few month’s I have been looking at some advanced rhythmic concepts. In the coming
month’s I will be looking at various topics that will often incorporate aspects of both rhythm and the pitch material, which I looked at previously in my first series of columns. This month I am going to be exploring the fascinating subject of voice leading by looking at the concept of creating tension and release by using chromatic approach notes in two part harmonies. You could extend these ideas to three or more parts but since things can become muddy quite quickly on the bass guitar I suggest mastering the two part harmony concepts presented here first. It is worth noting that you can also use these concepts for writing for other instruments as well, such as voices or even a string quartet. These ideas can also be used for writing solo performance ideas on bass, used in bass solos and also used for creating walking lines as we will see later on in this month’s column. The concept of tension and release is an age-old device used by such noted composers as J.S. Bach and Mozart to create a dramatic flow within the movement of a piece. I have looked at the concept of tension and release in previous columns by demonstrating how tension can be ratcheted up on the V Dominant chord and then released on the Tonic I chord in a perfect cadence chord sequence. For example this simplest form of perfect cadence would be a V major triad to a I major triad. In the key of C this would be Gmaj to Cmaj. The tension is created by the third of the G chord, B, being a semitone away from the root of the C chord. The 7th of a major scale (in this example the note B) is called the leading note as it has a tendency to want to resolve a semitone higher at the octave root note. This movement of chord V to chord I as straight triads doesn’t actually provide that much tension but if we add a b7th to chord V, thus creating a V7 chord, things become considerably more tense. Since the b7 of the G7 chord would be the note F, we now have the two main components of the C major chord surrounded by semitones, that is its root and major 3rd. The B note of the G7 rises a semitone to resolve to the root note of C major, and the F of
cadence. These ideas can be moved around the fingerboard and used to outline chord sequences. For example you could try using these ideas on a standard Jazz turnaround such as Imaj7, VI7, IImin7, V7, using either root and 3rd or root and 5th but paying attention to the smoothness of the voice leading between changes. Also remember that this type of voice leading works best with sequences that have two chords to a bar. In Example 2 I demonstrate how this method could be applied to a standard Jazz sequence. This is the A section of the famous ‘Rhythm Changes’ sequence, which is 8 bars long (the whole AABA sequence is 32 bars long in the original). You will notice that there is an anacrusis or pick up into the first beat of bar 1 providing a lead in of tension. I have provided the names of the chords that are being outlined above the notation. When you play through this you will have a sense of the smooth contrapuntal motion that is created. I used a similar technique on part of a bass solo piece that I wrote call ‘Pearl’, of which you can hear the full version on my myspace solos page www.myspace.com/francosheabass. The similar movement starts at 1:29. You could even separate the groups of two notes by playing them one after the other as quavers and to create a single melodic line which could be used in a solo. Or you could even separate the top line from the lower line completely, to create an interesting walking bass-line. Example 3 demonstrates this by separating the lower line from the top. You could try playing this over the chord progression to see hear how it works. As well as providing the chords above each bar I have also indicated which notes of the chord are being targeted (in terms of interval numbers) to land on the strong beats of 1 and 3 in the bar. You will notice that either the root or the 3rd (either major or minor 3rd) or the 5th are being targeted since these are the strongest notes of the chord. Example 4 shows the top line of Example 2 separated from the lower part. This would also work
the G7 moves down a semitone to resolve to the 3rd of C major, which is the note E. We can ratchet up even more tension by either raising or lowering the 5th of chord V by a semitone. For example the #5th in a G7#5 chord would be a D#, which is a semitone below the 3rd of the C triad, that is the note E. The b5th of a G7b5 would be a Db, which is a semitone above the tonic of chord I, which is C. If we were to add a b9 to the G chord creating a G7b9, we would be adding an Ab. This Ab is a semitone above the 5th of Cmaj, and will resolve down a semitone to land on this note, that is G. So we see that this tension is created and subsequently released by using notes in your tension chord that are a semitone away from notes in the chord that you are resolving to. In Example 1 I have provided some TAB to demonstrate how we can use this concept to create two part harmonies. I have used TAB so that you can get a sense of convenient fingerings to use for these patterns, which are all in C. In all the bars in Example 1 you will notice that each movement starts with two tension notes that then resolve to the next set of notes. The first bar demonstrates tension notes that are a semitone below the root note and a semitone above the 3rd, giving us the key notes of a V7 to I maj perfect cadence. In the second bar of Example 1 we can see that exactly the same movement occurs except that the root note is now an octave higher, providing a variation of the first movement by inverting the intervals. The third bar demonstrates tension notes that are a semitone below the root note and a semitone above the 5th of chord I. This gives us the feeling of the movement from a V7b9 to I maj in a perfect cadence, with the Ab moving down a semitone to the fifth of the C chord which is G. The fourth bar is the same as the third except we have once again placed the root note an octave higher to create a variation by inverting the intervals. Bars 5 and 6 are the same as bars 1 and 2 but resolve to a root and a b3, providing a minor variation for the perfect
‘These ideas can be used for writing solo performances, used in bass solos and also used for creating walking lines’
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Bass Guitar MaGazine 89
Bass Techniques
as an interesting walking line for the ‘Rhythm Changes’ sequence. Some of you may be acquainted with the method of using chromatic leading notes to target root notes when creating walking bass-lines. You will notice that the voice leading approach takes this a step further by targeting other notes in the
these ideas by finding tunes that have two chords per bar. A good place to look would be in the Jazz Real Book, which is also available as a convenient iPhone application. You could also practice them with a guitar player or keyboard playing the chords so that you can see how they sound, or even record the
chords yourself and play over the top of them. I also suggest that you experiment with these ideas and come up with your own sequences as well. There is a lot you can get from the techniques presented here. Until next time…
chord apart from the just the roots. Of course you could work this out anyway with using just a single a single line but remember that you gave to play a fair amount of roots as well in walking bass-lines otherwise the sequence will loose its foundation and integrity. I suggest that you experiment playing with
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