Choices

          

                                                               Choices


     When I started playing bass, my idea of what I needed to sound like, what I needed to look like, the gear I used and the way I played were all influenced by others. I think that’s part of the process, but if you do not break away from that I feel like its detrimental. It certainly became detrimental to me. Productive practicing was something I learned much later than I should have. I cringe when I think about all the hours I could have spent playing instead of trying to figure out what Duff Mckagan’s amp settings were online.

       A lot of the realization that my tone and my playing were decent was a by-product of self-confidence. I know, first hand, that accepting that things are ok can be difficult. It took me a while, longer than it should have.
 

Credit:Nick H.

   I think the light bulb moment was listening to myself. Realizing my tone and my phrasing wasn’t coming from my fuzz pedal, or my newest bass, or any material thing. Sure, those things where all part of the end product, but the most important thing was that I was making the choices. The choices I made were not dictated by me, they were dictated by the music. I wasn’t playing things because I could; I was playing things because they mattered.

     This is all very timely, interestingly enough. A couple years ago was when I had this realization, I was at M-Sound in Philly with two incredible Albright musicians. We were recording two covers that day, Voodoo Child and St. James Infirmary.

    I’m super proud of Voodoo Child from those sessions. I felt like I played for the song, more than I ever had. I didn’t try to emulate anyone; I didn’t try to be anything other than a solid bass player, which is my job. There were a variety of experiences leading up to this unadulterated moment of clarity in my playing and my self-confidence as a bass player, including The Picturesque album. But I think the Voodoo Child recording cemented the kind of player I envisioned myself as. It sounded like me, and that was all that mattered.

     I had a really good practice session today, which kind of spawned this. But looking back, it’s interesting what a little belief in what you produce can do. If I went into those sessions and tried to copy Noel Redding note for note it would have sucked. It’s the fact that I went in there, not to sound conceited, with the sole intent to tear it up in my own way. And that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter if my bass cost $200 or $2,000 (it cost $150). It matters that we leave it all out there. As musicians that’s what matters and that’s what our legacy is at the end of the day.  A mantra I like to live by and judge anything musical I do is this: How hard did I go? "Hard" being a measure of how well I was able to execute what needed to be accomplished, wether it was a fill, a solo, riding a note or knowing when silence was key. 
    

October

I wish I had something to write for October, but I don’t really. Leaves are changing and it’s getting colder. Aside from that it’s just been about progress. There have been some setbacks and some hindrances. There have been success and conquests to. Both of those things are key, because they mean we are working. 

I'm having fun though, and I guess that is important. Fun in the sense that there is a challenge ahead. Challenges are intriguing. 

Pigs Have Flown

Well, it happened. Tyler inspired me to do a bass cover. It’s a lot of work, and I really appreciate what Tyler is accomplishing. Cameras, lighting and actually playing the song somewhat well are all tasks that we have to complete. There is no crew or engineers or anything like that. This song took me a while to get down (I still don’t have it a 100%) but it such a fun song to play. It requires intense musicality in a nine minute span, dynamics being chief among them.

I never pictured myself doing covers when I started, I actually tried to avoided them. I didn't get it then, and I certainly wasn't in a place of playing things with any sort of proficiency (not that I am now haha). I think a lot of this discouragement of covers had to do with not having the skills to put something out that I could be proud of.

Now I'm finding covers to be incredibly enjoyable, They are just another means to the end that is playing and recording. 

The video is one take. The rig I used was:

 Fender Blacktop P-bass

Boss TU2

Boss CS2

Fuzzrocious Rat Tail

MXR Phase 90

MXR M81 (for a direct signal)

Gallien Krueger Mb210

The mics I used were a D-112 on the amp, and an Audix f-15 a little further back. The majority of what you hear is the D-112 and Direct signal.

There’s going to be a lot more of these to come, this was fun to do. Tyler and I have some drum/bass covers in the works as well, so you get to see more of my bass faces. Anyways, here is “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus” by The Mars Volta:

A Reflection

It’s kind of hard to believe that we’re at the point where we are set to release covers. Tyler and I started doing this at least three years ago, without the intention of doing covers or anything like that. Back then we were using two dynamic mics and an m-box. That setup has expanded a bit, and we have both gotten better at what we do. Tyler has gotten incredibly good, like stupidly good, at drums. It’s rad to watch and experience. It took a while to get to the point where we felt our work was good enough. We certainly weren’t going to put anything out until the videos were as good as we thought we could make them.

    On my end, there has always been a love for music and a hunger to achieve as much as I can with it. That’s led to a lot of things, and they’ve all been great. This journey has been no exception. Getting the chance to make mistakes, learn and create something that I am proud of has been invaluable. It hasn’t been easy; it’s been a lot of work. Most importantly it’s been worth it.

    When I first started playing bass Tyler and I would jam, he’s the first drummer I ever played with. Remembering then, and watching him now, really shows the importance of dedication. It has been inspiring. No clearer example of practice makes perfect exists. 

   I want to be involved in music for as long as I can be, and learning the recording side is a part of that skill set. Thank you Tyler for helping me develop and improve that portion of my musical journey.

    These recordings represent the first time my mixes will be heard on a large scale. I’ll never say they’re perfect, but I’m very happy with what’s been accomplished in this untreated room.

    I’ve learned the hard way not to go into too much detail about signal chain, because that can change in an instant. The front end has been covered already, so I won’t elaborate on that too much. Basically its Shure SM-57s on snare and mounted toms, Akg D-112 on floor tom, Shure Beta-52 and Audix F-15 on kick and Sterling St-51s for overheads. As with anything mics change, or break, certain Eqs work in certain situations and fail in others. Its trial and error at its finest. And that’s what I love about it. It is an exercise in creativity and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

                                                 Here’s the first video, I hope you dig it :)

An incredibly biased love letter: The Fender Blacktop Precision Bass

    I think the Blacktop series is one of the best series that Fender has introduced in a while. The original series itself included a Jazz bass with P pickups, a P-Bass with humbuckers and a Strat and Tele with alnicos. It’s a really solid lineup, and if I were a guitarist I would be all over the guitar variations. However today I’m talking about the bass, specifically the P-bass.

A year ago I was in a search for THE bass. The one that I wouldn’t have to replace in a long time and the one that could handle whatever I threw at it. Fender has generally been the move for me when it comes to 4 strings. I’m comfortable with them, I know them and I can shred on them. I wanted something a bit different this time around, already having my traditional Precision and Jazz bases (pun intended) covered.

    I was leaning towards a couple of Fender models, especially the 70’s Jazz Bass, which is still on the “I want this” list. However I saw a bass that I hadn’t seen in too many stores that day and I kind of had to try it. Enter the Blacktop. My previous experience with humbuckers had been with active 5ers and a Thunderbird. Those were ok but didn’t really blow me away. I plug this thing in and there it is. That tone.

    I generally try to demo basses with some covers. I try songs that require different tones and movement. That day it was “2112” by Rush and “Content”/ “Leaving New York” by The Picturesque. On “2112” especially this bass sang.

 It took me a few months to accurately compare its tone to something. One day I had the realization that it sounds like a Rick. It gets that sort of growly purr that those basses can. This is rad for a variety of reasons. I value dexterity when it comes to my instruments. I have a variety, but nothing that could touch the Rick thing, which is a tone of it’s own. I’ve always wanted a Rickenbacker, and still do, but I don’t have that kind of money readily available. This Fender can hit that tone, but it does it by still being distinctly Fender. I don’t really know what “Distinctively Fender” means. The sensation I’m trying to describe is the feel of a Fender with a tone that was something else, but yet something familiar at the same time.  It was Fender in feel and sound, but at the same time it wasn’t.

I have basses that sing, I have basses that growl and I have basses that purr. If I need to I can make any of my basses go where I need them. However those other basses don't roar on command. I usually add some overdrive to my tone when running my Jazz or P basses. I don’t with this one. I don’t need to. It’s such a responsive thing, If I dig in I get the growl right back. If I want crunch I just need to dig in a bit more and if I want to lay back I just need to simmer down a bit. It’s one of the most responsive basses I own.

     The Blacktop series it seems has been discontinued, which sucks. The guitars look rad and the P-bass is a deadly weapon. I’ve been on the lookout for one of the black models to mod, hopefully one day I’ll be able to build my “Stealth” p-bass. But my silver one will be around for a while. It was just one of those weird occurrences where you find THE instrument.