BassPlayer 2017-05

MUSIC
& TAB
ARETHA FRANKLIN’S “LET ME IN YOUR LIFE”
LEARN STANLEY CLARKE’S RANGE-DEFYING BASS LINE
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PEDAL PRIMER
EFFECTS MASTERCLASS
JUAN ALDERETE
HIS NEW BAND: HALO ORBIT
PLUS TIPS FROM TOP PEDAL PURVEYORS
REVIEWED
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FODERA
MONARCH-P & EMPEROR-J
MAY 2017
A NEWBAY MEDIA PUBLICATION
SCOTT COLLEY
ON SPONTANEOUS COMPOSITION
LAUREN TANEIL
BRINGING BASS ENERGY WITH BEYONCÉ
NEW JACO ALBUM
REVIEWED!
NEW COLUMN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
C ontents
MAY 2017 | VOLUME 28, NUMBER 5 | BASSPLAYER.COM D B S T W
DEPARTMENTS
BASS NOTES
10 COMMUNITY
Lowdown, Dig My Rig,
the Real World, Court of
Opinion
26 NEW GEAR D’Angelico,
Trickfish, Zoom,
Electro-Harmonix
48 TECH BENCH New!
The Inquirer
66 THE INNOVATORS
Mark Gooday of Ashdown
12 NICK BEGGS Plenty to say
with the Mute Gods
14 BRANDI DISTERHEFT
Dedication & detail
18 LAUREN TANEIL Booty for
Beyoncé
22 BP RECOMMENDS
28 JUAN ALDERETE
From the Mars Volta to his latest project, Halo Orbit, effects wizard Alderete is on
a mission to keep the bass moving forward. Plus: An effects roundtable with top
artists and manufacturers. By Jon D’Auria
PAUL HAGGARD
36 SCOTT COLLEY
How to get thrown into the musical deep end—and come up swimming.
By John Goldsby
54 ARETHA FRANKLIN’S
“LET ME IN YOUR LIFE”
A cocky, pre-fame Stanley Clarke takes chance after chance on this 1974 session
with the Queen of Soul.
Cover photo: Paul Haggard
Bass Player (ISSN 1050-785X) is published 13 times a year, monthly plus a Holiday issue to follow the December issue, by
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SOUNDROOM
WOODSHED
44 GENZLER AMPLIFICATION
Magellan 350 combo amp
46 FODERA Monarch-P &
Emperor-J Standard Classic
4-strings
50 JAZZ CONCEPTS
Just passing through
52 R&B GOLD
Babbitt keeps bobbing up
6 bassplayer.com / may2017

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8 bassplayer.com / may2017

COMMUNITY LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
C ommunity
LOWDOWN
CHRIS JISI
99% Inspiration
AS WE PLAN EACH ISSUE OF BASS PLAYER, WE STRIVE FOR STYLISTIC BALANCE IN OUR
artist and educational content, and a cross-section of gear coverage. But a schedule of names is like a band with
new charts, or a bassist having learned the songs by a band, about to play with them for the first time: The magic
happens after the count-off. That’s what came to mind when I read the very inspiring words by the collection of artists
in this issue. Cover subject Juan Alderete shares that he’s constantly looking for where the bass can go next,
so that the instrument is not left behind. Scott Colley discusses how he learned to jump into the unknown, musically.
Stanley Clarke recounts how he brought his game-changing vision for the bass to a classic R&B session. Nick
Beggs talks about the importance of making music that has something to say, while Brandi Disterheft advocates
composing with no inner criticism. Ashdown’s Mark Gooday tells his motivating tale of establishing two amp companies,
while continuing to look forward. To cap it off, I’m pleased to announce BP Senior Contributing Editor Jon
Herrera’s return to our Tech Bench section with his eclectic new column, The Inquirer. Jon’s stirring initial column
focuses on detail, something all of the above artists were no doubt well-versed in as they headed down their singular,
successful paths. My hope is that, like me, you’ll read their stories and see the possibilities. Let me know what
you think at bpeditor@nbmedia.com.
DIG MY RIG!
I MADE MY FIRST SOLO-BASS LOOPING CD,
Basscapes, in 1998. I used a Boomerang and DigiTech guitar
effects because that’s all that was available. Around the same
time, Steve Lawson independently arrived at some similar musical
territories and continued to push the envelope. I eventually
took a long break to raise a family. I later discovered Eventide and
Looperlative effects, and I made a second CD, Mourning Guests
Who Never Arrived. This current setup reflects the evolution of
my playing and sound, and it’s also designed to be portable. I
can now return to playing small, intimate settings, and I hope
to post some music on Facebook and YouTube soon. I usually
go right into a small PA or the house system.
As you can see, I really love Marc Garza’s handmade basses.
He has built 6-, 8-, and 12-string fretless basses for me. I also
play a short-scale Ergo 6-string electric upright, mostly for arco.
The signal chain is a Dunlop Bass Preamp and Bass Compressor
into a Bespeco volume pedal into an MXR Carbon Copy into an Electro-Harmonix Mel 9. It then goes into the Boomerang and the Strymon Big Sky, and
from there, it goes into the Eventide Eclipse and the Looperlative LP1. I like to have a looper in front of and behind the most intense reverbs and delays.
I also like the option of having a beautiful, relatively clean sound for playing melodies over (and under) ambient pads. —SCOTT KUNGHA DRENGSEN
Got a rig you think we’d dig? Send a photo and description to digmyrig@gmail.com.
10 bassplayer.com / may2017

THE REAL WORLD
Nick Yordon
Home base Oakville, Connecticut
Occupation Self-employed
Gigs Total Shock (hard rock originals plus covers of rock/metal/
alternative songs from the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s), Menaces To
Society (punk, reggae, hard rock, and ’90s alternative originals
and covers), solo acoustic guitar performances
Basses Fender Precision, modified (my main tool), Squier Classic
Modified Jazz Bass, active Fender Deluxe P Bass Special, Squier
Matt Freeman signature Precision, short-scale Gibson SG Special
USA guitar
Rig Fender Bassman 400 head, Fender Bassman 4x10 & 1x15 cabs
Effects The raw power and tone I get from my bass and rig is all I’ve
ever preferred. If I do use an effect, I use the Boss Bass Chorus
CEB-3 pedal.
Strings DR Strings Hi-Beams or Rotosound Swing Bass 66 nickels
Heroes & inspirations Paul Simonon, Duff McKagan, Karl Alvarez,
CJ Ramone, John Paul Jones, Mike Watt, and Dee Dee Ramone,
who inspired me to start using a pick
Introducing Players
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How did you come to play bass? What’s a lesson you’ve learned along the way? What are your musical goals?
I originally wanted to play guitar, but I didn’t have the
patience for it. So I bought a P-Bass thinking I only had
to play single notes. Then I learned how to play bass
and what the instrument is all about, and the rest is
history.
To have patience and things will fall into place
correctly. Be passionate about the music and the
instrument you’re playing. Put in the time and the
preparation, and absorb everything you learn.
That’s what will shape you.
To keep learning, to improve my playing to levels
I may consider impossible to achieve, and to be a
full-time working musician.
COURT OF OPINION
What’s the #1 pedal in your collection?
My Xotic X Blender. When you’ve got a pedalboard as bonkers as
mine, it’s good to have a dry/wet mix to keep your fundamentals
front and center. Also, you can switch off all of your pedals in one
go, without having to tap-dance around like Fred Astaire. —Matt Hudson
My TC Electronic SpectraComp Bass Compressor. It’s always on,
and squashes my signal just enough that my plucking and
tapping remain a consistent level, but still allows me to have
some dynamics. —Ryan Sloan
Always, always, always a Tech21 SansAmp. Front of house sorted.
Optional dry or effect to amp onstage. Just a cracking piece of
gear I’ve had forever. —Brad Sinclair
Boss TU-2. All the effects in the world won’t make an out-of-tune
bass sound good. —Thomas Hunting
I use the (ancient) Boss AD-3 Acoustic Instrument Processor with
my Fender Kingman acoustic bass guitar. It helps with feedback
and gets me really close to a standup sound. I have not been able
to find a product similar that is made specifically for acoustic bass.
—Chuck Best
Hands down, my go-to pedal for years has been a Tech 21
SansAmp Bass Driver DI; it adds buckets of tone to any rig. But I
never use it with my Ampeg B-15, because you don’t mess with
something that is already perfect. —Chuck Peterson
I love my Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff—great sound,
plus it serves as an emergency backup DI (just in case my amp
fails). —Brad Stephens
Tech 21 Sans-Amp Bass Driver DI. It’s an SVT in a box, and a killer
pedal for bass direct recording, as well as getting some
overdrive/grit in a live setting. —Tony Gregory
A 4"x5" piece of felt under the bridge to kill the high-end ring.
Total cost: 47 cents. —Greg P. Davis
The Boss LMB-3 Bass Limiter/Enhancer is the mainstay of my
pedalboard. It helps eliminate the clicking sound of my fingers
hitting the strings, hence a clean, fat low end. —Anthony Erwin V
I’ve become a total pedal geek over the last few years, but if I
had to cut down to one with a gun to my head? Hands down, my
Boss CE-2 Chorus. —Robert J. Nimmo Jr.
bassplayer.com / may2017 11

LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
BASS NOTES
B
BASSNOTES
THE MUTE GODS, STEVE WILSON, STEVE HACKETT
Nick Beggs Artist To Sideman & Back
BY FREDDY VILLANO | PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE DEL TUFO
NICK BEGGS’ RESUMÉ MAKES IT KIND OF HARD
to believe that he hasn’t considered himself much of an artist
for quite some time. He is a musician’s musician who’s toured
and recorded with everyone from pop icons Gary Numan and
Belinda Carlisle to prog pioneers Steve Wilson and Steve Hackett.
He’s even backed John Paul Jones on Chapman Stick in support
of the Led Zeppelin legend’s Zooma solo tour in 1999. But
for Beggs, there is a clear distinction between being an artist
and being a sideman. He’s been predominantly focused on the
latter since his band Kajagoogoo helped define the MTV newwave
era with the hit 1983 single “Too Shy” [White Feathers,
EMI]. “You take on a different kind of mantle when you’re somebody’s
hired gun versus your own creative force,” he explains. “I
had put that part of myself into hibernation and concentrated
on working for other people.”
Three years ago, however, Beggs’ artistic self came out of
hibernation when InsideOut Music approached him with the
idea of putting together a project that reflected his own creative
vision. He recruited colleagues from his other gigs, including
keyboardist/producer Roger King (Steve Hackett) and drummer
Marco Minnemann (Steve Wilson), and the Mute Gods
were born. They released Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me in
January 2016 and followed that up with this year’s Tardigrades
Will Inherit the Earth.
Beggs covers a lot of territory on Tardigrades, playing Chapman
Stick and guitar and singing lead vocals, but his bass playing
is what elevates the prog-inspired material into otherworldly
places. He creates smooth, infectious sub-hooks with cascading
bass lines that skip and glide along the verses on “Animal Army”
and in the bridge section of “We Can’t Carry On.” His fretless glissandos
introduce the songs “Early Warning” and “The Andromeda
Strain,” revealing a melodic sensibility that evokes the nuanced
phrasing of his fretless 4-string heroes, Mick Karn and Percy
Jones. All of the record’s guitar-like solos are performed by Beggs
on Chapman Stick. Check out “The Dumbing of the Stupid” or
“Windows onto the Sun” for his skill on the instrument.
Lyrically, Beggs’ songs have a cerebral quality not unlike
some of his earliest influences, such as Genesis and Rush. And
his subject matter reflects his vegan/pacifist worldview—he’s
deliberately appealing to one particular audience while agitating
another. “I know at least 50 percent of the population sees
the world in the way that I do. That’s my audience. The other
50 percent will think I’m a fruitcake or they will be outraged by
me. I like to outrage the outraged.”
How did the Mute Gods come together?
Thomas Waber, the CEO at InsideOut, said to me, “You’re
doing all of this stuff for other artists. Why don’t you do something
of your own?” And I said, “I don’t know if anyone would
be interested.” And he said, “Let us worry about that. Put a
record together, we’ll put it out, and we’ll see what we can do.”
It sounded like a good challenge.
What does it mean to you to be an artist?
Putting on the garments of being an artist again forced me
to think of how I wanted to present myself. I thought, Who’s
going to listen? One of the challenges I threw down for myself
was, “If you’re going to do this, you’d better make sure you’ve
got something to say.” I didn’t want this to be just a bunch of
songs that don’t have any message.
Being the main lyricist, what’s your message?
I decided it was going to be the zeitgeist. I was going to take
the world and what it represents and make it a commentary from
my perspective. It’s the world according to me. There are certain
institutions, ideologies, and dispositions that I’m going after;
they antagonize me because of their existence and the way that
they do things. It’s very strong subject matter.
When writing, do you tend to lean on a particular
instrument?
It depends on what idea I have for a song. I can approach a
song from a Chapman Stick/bass point of view, or I can approach
it from a Stick/lead or melodic side. Both are completely different
from a bass guitar point of view. The most important thing
is, what does the sonic picture require? What’s needed at this
point? What idea do you have about moving the song forward?
It has to do with putting the right textures in the right places.
How did you cut your bass parts on Tardigrades?
It’s all DI into Logic Pro X. I process it afterwards. Nothing was
amped. Logic Pro X has a huge number of plug-ins that have endless
parameter possibilities, so I’ll experiment with amp modeling.
If I get something approximate, Roger [King] will tinker with
it until it sounds better. I just need to get the thumbnail down.
So, no outboard gear?
I did buy a piece of hardware last year, which is unusual for
me. It’s a Korg Kaoss Pad. It’s basically a screen with oscillators
12 bassplayer.com / may2017

i INFO
EQUIP
LISTEN
The Mute Gods, Tardigrades
Will Inherit the Earth [2017,
InsideOut Music]
Basses (all Spector) NS-5H2
buckeye burl top (lined fretless),
Coda4DLX,
Coda5DLX, Euro4LX, Euro8LX,
Legend5 Classic (lined fretless),
Forte5
Amps TC Electronic RH750
Compact Head, TC Electronic
RS212 & RS210 cabs
Strings Spector Nickel Plated
Steel (.045–.105, .045–.130)
Picks Planet Waves Black Ice
.80mm
that respond to wherever you put your finger on the pad.
I put my Chapman Stick through it on the solo section
of “Tardigrades,” and it made it really nasty. It has an
otherworldliness to it.
What’s your advice about tracking bass and
vocals on a record like Tardigrades?
In the studio, you very rarely record more than one
thing at a time, unless you want to record as a band, but
we haven’t had that luxury [Tardigrades was recorded
remotely]. And to focus and get the optimum effect, you
want to be doing one thing at a time. It doesn’t matter
how good you are at bass or vocals, one of those will take
a hit when you’re focusing on something else. You can
practice to get it good enough for live, but it’ll always
be better if you do one thing at a time.
When gearing up for a tour as a sideman, what
goes into your preparation?
With Steve Hackett I often record my parts as I hear
them, and I send them to Roger and Steve to make sure
they are as they want them. I went through a period of
writing everything down longhand, but you must then
go through the process of forgetting all that.
Hints of Rush and Genesis abound on Tardigrades.
Was it a conscious decision to channel those influences,
or do they seep in unconsciously?
I think we’re influenced by everything. It’s like eating
something and saying, “That hasn’t affected me.” You’ve
already assimilated it into your body—it has affected you.
And music is the same. We are the sum of the musical
diet we’ve been on. BP
CONNECT
Check out the official video for
the Mute Gods’ “Tardigrades
Will Inherit the Earth.”
bassplayer.com/may2017
bassplayer.com / may2017 13

LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
B
BASS NOTES
i INFO
Brandi Disterheft Deep Blue
BY RICK SUCHOW |
“MY CONCEPT CHANGES EVERY FEW
months,” says New York jazzer Brandi Disterheft on how
she gets her big upright sound. “Sometimes I’m craving
gut strings, other times low-action metal strings with a
growly sustain. Sometimes the music calls for a hard-hitting
aggressive attack, and other times, the opposite.”
She brings the same varied approach to her recordings
as well, most recently Blue Canvas, Brandi’s fourth solo
release in eight years. The album mixes obscure standards
and creative originals, uptempo swing and moody
ballads, instrumental improvs and lyrical vocals that
highlight Brandi’s smoky, ethereal voice.
The North Vancouver native found her musical footing
early in life, soaking up the jazz keyboards played by
her mother and observing the necessary disciplines that
go along with the craft. Brandi followed suit and studied
piano at the Royal Conservatory at age five, eventually
switching to upright at 13 and later receiving a
B.A. in jazz performance from Toronto’s Humber College.
Pursuing classical bass, as well, she was hired for
LISTEN
EQUIP
Brandi Disterheft, Blue
Canvas [2016, Justin
Time], Gratitude [2012,
Justin Time]; Oliver Jones
& Hank Jones, Pleased to
Meet You [2009, Justin
Time]
Basses 1920s Pfretzschner
carved e upright; Yamaha
Silent Bass; David Gage
Czech-Ease upright; 1981
fretless Fender Precision
Amps Acoustic Image
Coda; Phil Jones Double
Four Micro
Strings Thomastik-Infeld
Spirocore medium gauge;
Velvet Garbo gut
Other David Gage Realist
pickup; DPA d:vote
4099B Bass Mic
14 bassplayer.com / may2017

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BASS NOTES
LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
B
Canada’s Pops Orchestra when she was just 18. In 2000 she made the biggest
move of her young career when she relocated to New York to study with jazz
legend Ron Carter. She never looked back.
What was your goal with Blue Canvas, and how did you want it to differ
from your three prior solo albums?
I knew I wanted to make a trio album, as my previous albums had showcased
larger bands. My goal was to showcase the bass first and foremost, and
complete the trio with the great Harold Mabern and drummer Joe Farnsworth,
who have been playing together for 25 years. I chose songs that would work
best for this trio. I knew I wanted to include a few Bobby Timmons and Phineas
Newborn hits, and quickly a collective was formed of obscure standards we
all enjoyed playing. I also had a writing spree and composed 40 tunes in three
months, whereas the year prior I seemed to suffer from writer’s block. Part of
the block, I found, was when I would put parameters on what was naturally
expelling out of my subconscious. Now, I write down anything that comes to
me with no inner criticism, and fine-tune after the fact.
Tell me about the musical influence your mother has had on you.
My mother, a B3 organist and jazz pianist from Chicago, went on the road
in the ’60s opening up for acts including the Supremes and Antonio Carlos
Jobim. She has romantic stories of her early years in Las Vegas: intimate cabaret
rooms with pink flamingo wallpaper, carrying her wig bags and wearing
sequin dresses, exchanging chord voicing ideas with Jobim before soundcheck.
Playing upright bass in my mother’s trio as a teenager,
I learned how to navigate through chord changes
quickly by ear, subsequently learning many songs
from the American songbook early on. I witnessed
her dedication transcribing the great jazz pianists,
including Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, relentlessly
for hours and hours on a daily basis.
You eventually moved to New York and studied
with Ron Carter.
I wanted to study with him; many of my favorite
bassists I had met over the years advised me how
Mr. Carter was also revered as a serious teacher,
known for getting rid of the “iron fist.” Having
grown up playing road hockey with my brother, I
felt I had to hit the bass as hard as I could to produce
a powerful thump, or perhaps to prove to the
boys I was a serious player. Mr. Carter taught me
to refine my sound.
What were some of the musical concepts
he taught you?
Time, touch, sound, conception of walking lines,
focus. His attention to detail surpasses anyone I
have ever met. BP
Mike Watt has always known that you can’t be an original if you’re playing what everyone else is. Start your own legendary journey at reverendguitars.com.

BASS NOTES LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
B
i INFO
BEYONCÉ
Lauren Taneil
Laying It Down For The Queen
BY JON D'AURIA |
LISTEN
Beyoncé, Beyoncé [2013,
Columbia/Parkwood]
(European Release)
RAISED IN A MUSICAL HOUSEHOLD TO A
father who was a devoted instrumentalist, who encouraged
the same from his daughters, Lauren “LT” Taneil
was only seven years old when she decided bass was
the instrument for her. "My first bass was a Music Man
Stingray,” she enthuses, "and I’ve been a complete bass
head ever since the day I got it.” Instilled with her dad’s
intense drive, she played along with his record collection
and the radio, while growing up in Atlanta, Georgia—gathering
the influences of Marcus Miller, Pino
Palladino, and Victor Wooten along the way.
On the creative and performance sides, Taneil
honed her skills in the GG’s (which stands for God’s
Grace), a keyboard/drums/bass trio she formed with
her sisters, in which they all sang and wrote. While
performing with the GG’s in 2010, she was seen by
Beyoncé’s musical director. This led to an appearance
at the Black Girls Rock Awards and then the opportunity
to back Beyoncé at the 2011 Michael Jackson
Forever tribute concert. The call to become Queen B’s
permanent bassist came soon after. In bonding with
Beyoncé through their shared work ethic, energetic
stage presence, and passion for soul music, Taneil
is a key fixture in Beyoncé’s show, where her rumbling
PRS blasts the farthest walls of arenas in every
corner of the globe.
How do you prepare for a Beyoncé tour?
We take a lot of time beforehand making sure we
know the show inside and out, and finding ways we can
improve from previous tours. Every time I play, I want
it to be better than the last time. I learned that from
Bey. She watches the tape of her show every night to
see how it could be better.
continued
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18 bassplayer.com / may2017

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B
What’s your working relationship like with Beyoncé?
It’s a blessing being able to watch her and learn from her. She’s such a hard
worker that everyone around her has to put in the effort to keep up. It’s a pop
gig, but she’s into old-school soul music and R&B, so we have to cover a lot of
ground. Most important, I have to make the bass parts feel good and groove.
Do you have some wiggle room with the bass lines, live?
Certain songs have to be played like the record, especially on the #1 hits,
where people want to hear it the way it sounds on the album. On most of the
other songs, I have room to improvise and put my stamp on the parts. My
approach onstage is to liven it up and make the electric bass a big part of the
music. If a song is very keyboard bass-heavy, I’ll play keyboard bass to keep the
original version’s vibe. But on a lot of songs that were recorded with keyboard
bass I’ll play electric bass and add some fills to make it feel more exciting and
live. That’s what Bey likes.
Do you approach keyboard bass differently than electric bass?
No, my intent is to approach both of them the same. I want to play the keyboard
bass like I’m a bass player and not a keyboard player. It has to have the
groove and feel of a bass, no matter what I’m playing.
What’s your tonal concept in the large arenas and venues you play?
I like for my tone to be big, round, and full. It’s what I call “booty.” My bass
has to have a really big booty. It’s also important for everyone to hear the definition
and clarity of the notes I’m playing, especially the performers onstage.
It helps to be tight with the sound engineers; I appreciate what they do and I
let them know.
Which techniques do you use for the gig?
It’s mostly fingerstyle, although I do some
slapping in a few songs. And I use a lot of rightand
left-hand muting to tighten up the parts. My
technique comes from the dynamics of the songs.
Sometimes I have to play hard and aggressively,
and sometimes I have to play light and soft. It’s a
two-and-a-half-hour show, so I need to preserve
my hands, as well.
Do you have favorite songs to play?
I love playing a new song from Lemonade called
“All Night,” which has Marcus Miller on bass. It’s fun
trying to replicate his bass line live, and I use effects
to match the tone he got. Bey loves the song, too,
so we play it with a lot of energy.
What’s it like to walk out and take the stage
in front of screaming fans every night?
It’s unbelievably exciting and inspiring, and it
makes you want to play your very best. I’ve been
with Bey for five years, and that feeling never gets
old; it hasn’t lessened one bit from the first show I
played with her. BP
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BASS NOTES LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
B
BP RECOMMENDS
JACO PASTORIUS
TRUTH, LIBERTY & SOUL—LIVE
IN NYC [Resonance]
Released on Record Store Day, one year after
the release of the soundtrack to Robert Trujillo’s
excellent film, JACO, this package is a
gem among gems. It captures the complete 130-minute Kool Jazz
Festival concert by Jaco’s Word Of Mouth Big Band at Avery Fisher
Hall in New York City, on June 27, 1982. That means over 40 minutes
of never-before-heard material, and everyone involved considers
this to be the band’s best version—and performance—due
to the contributions of Gotham’s finest horn players.
First, a word about the extensive liner notes, a great read rife
with revelatory information and anecdotes. They include thoughts
from the project producers, original and remix engineer Paul
Blakemore, Trujillo, Victor Wooten, and Wayne Shorter; a concert
overview from Jaco biographer Bill Milkowski; and riveting
reflections on both the concert and Jaco from Peter Erskine, Bob
Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Othello Molineaux, John Pastorius, Bob
Bobbing, Larry Warilow, Ron McClure, Jimmy Haslip, and others.
Now to the music, brought to vivid new heights by Blakemore’s
superb remix. The crackling opener, “Invitation,” plus “Three
Views of a Secret,” “Liberty City,” “Reza/Giant Steps,” “Okonkole
Y Trompa,” “Bass and Drum Improv/Amerika” (with Jaco’s looping
and Hendrix quotes), and the closing “Fannie Mae” remain
the powerhouses they were when first introduced to us on Jaco’s
1983 album, Invitation, and/or the 2008-released Twins I & II
(both recorded live in Japan, in January 1982). The differences
are much better sound, a more active Jaco in support, and some
slightly faster tempos. Elsewhere, the free-form big band improv
“Twins” is a tonal treat, as is a killer version of Bob Mintzer’s
swinging “Mr. Fonebone,” one of Jaco’s underrated but best covers.
Newer to the ears is a Molineaux-featuring cover of “I Shot the
Sheriff” that maybe wanders a bit; a stellar “Sophisticated Lady”
that lacks the big band orchestration of previous versions, but
more than makes up for it with Toots Thieleman’s ever-amazing
harmonica flights and Jaco’s eye-opening use of false-harmonics
chordal arpeggios; and a cover of Thieleman’s classic jazz waltz,
“Bluesette,” done with more of a 6/8 tropical feel. Finally, “Donna
Lee” gets a masterful reworking, starting with Dave Bargeron’s
striking, overtone-rich, rubato tuba solo, into a unison melody
reading, and then oodles of Jaco’s unique walking feel behind
the soloists, complete with spontaneous reharmonizations and
ear-grabbing step-aways. Whether you were there that night (as
yours truly was) or not, here’s a chance to experience Jaco at his
peak powers. —CHRIS JISI
SHAUN MUNDAY
[shaunmunday.com]
You might expect an album of just vocals
and bass to be empty, but a soulfully booming
voice and intricate bass lines are more
than enough for recent Berklee grad Shaun
Munday. On his debut album, Munday proves that he’s going to
be a bass heavyweight, as his flawless slap work and his melodically
challenging lines are only ever outshined by his buttery
crooning. —JON D’AURIA
MJ12
[Gonzo]
Amid the welcome return of Brand X, Percy
Jones releases a gritty quartet record (with
guitarist Dave Phelps, drummer Chris Bacas,
and saxophonist Stephen Moses), reminding
us that no one coaxes more tones and moods out of a fretless bass
than the legendary Welsh low-ender. Percy’s propulsive groove
side drives the opener, “Call 911,” via a relentless broken-16th
pattern, while his solo rubato starts to “Bad American Dream”
and “Wow Signal” capture the clean-tone, upright-like growl of
his Ibanez 5-string, thanks to his piezo pickup preference. Throw
in delay and filtering, and Percy pulls out all the stops on “Talk
Time,” with thunderous octaves, bombastic slides, and exploding
clusters of harmonics. Throughout, Jones and his mates strike the
ideal balance between written passages and like-minded improvisational
excursions. —CHRIS JISI
ROBYN HITCHCOCK
[Yep Roc]
A Nashville resident since 2015, Brit art-pop
iconoclast Robyn Hitchcock refers to his latest
album as residing in “the portal between psychedelia
and country,” and with a posse of session
aces behind him that includes bassist Jon Estes, he makes
good on the promise. Estes, for his part, brings a wide-angle versatility
to the role, from the pillowy-sounding melodic runs of the
trippy “Sayonara Judge” and the stately, late-’60s Floyd-ish mood
of “Autumn Sunglasses” to the thick, floor-hugging lines that drive
the barroom brawler “I Pray When I’m Drunk.” —BILL MURPHY
JOHN BROWN’S BODY
FIREFLIES [Easy Star]
Dan Africano and Nate Edgar lay down the
kinetic grooves that make your body move on
this ten-track disc of “Future Roots Music.”
Their deep, hypnotic bass lines epitomize the
22 bassplayer.com / may2017

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and their communities is music education. That’s why we
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age-old-adage that the notes you don’t play are as important as the ones you
do. From “Who Paid Them Off” through “Mash Them Down,” their infectious
playing will have you dashing for the dance floor. —FREDDY VILLANO
WARPAINT
HEADS UP [Rough Trade]
On Warpaint’s third studio album, Jenny Lee Lindberg
displays how much she’s come into her own as a player
with more developed and creative lines than ever before.
Coming fresh off her first solo release (2015’s Right On!),
Lindberg has honed her Rickenbacker-driven sound, which now boasts even
more of a low presence along with a myriad of pedal-induced tones. Driving
tracks like “So Good,” “The Stall,” and “Heads Up” show how much power
Lindberg contributes to each song. —JON D’AURIA
THE BLACK ANGELS
DEATH SONG [Partisan]
Austin’s resident psych-rock gurus are back after a fouryear
absence, and their timing couldn’t be better. Rippling
with darkness and foreboding, Death Song finds the
band returning to its hard-edged roots, with Kyle Hunt
laying into the low end with groove-inspired abandon, especially on cuts like
the head-nodding “I’d Kill for Her,” the McCartney-esque “Grab As Much (As
You Can),” and the marauding “Hunt Me Down,” where he plays high up on
the neck with a gruff, dry-sounding riff that seems to ooze from the innards
of his ’72 Fender Jazz. —BILL MURPHY
CACTUS
BLACK DAWN [Sunset Blvd.]
Pete Bremy channels the late-’60s vibe of vintage Tim
Bogert while adding his own personality to this re-vamped
version of the band once dubbed “America’s Led Zeppelin.”
Check out his solo on “Dynamite,” or the John Paul Jonesinspired
bass lines in “Another Way or Another” and “C-70 Blues,” for the kind
of adventurous bass playing that once defined an era. —FREDDY VILLANO
HAVOK
CONFORMICIDE [Century Media]
Nick Shendzielos’ debut with thrash metal outfit Havok
kicks off with a bang, as he opens with a full-out slap
assault that doesn’t relent until the album’s conclusion.
Equipped with Warwick basses and impressive dexterity
and technique, Shendzielos takes command on “Hang ’Em High,” “Dogmaniacal,”
and “Masterplan,” where he alternates between blazing-fast finger
work and a jackhammer thumb. Even listeners who don’t fancy metal will be
able to appreciate Shendzielos’ talent and showmanship. —JON D’AURIA BP
bassplayer.com / may2017 25

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ELECTRO-HARMONIX
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EHX does it again with a pint-size pedal that
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26 bassplayer.com / may2017

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CS
JUAN
ALDERETE
CAUSE &
EFFECTS
THE PEDAL GURU DISHES ON
HIS NEWEST PROJECT, HALO
ORBIT, AND IMPARTS WISDOM
ABOUT STOMPBOXES AND ALL
THINGS EFFECTS
JUAN ALDERETE MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM. IT STARTED INNOCENTLY
enough, but what began as a budding curiosity has grown into a full-blown obsession.
At the beginning of his career, in the ’80s, Alderete used a single compressor for
cleaner tone and more precision; now, he has a studio for his pedal collection, which
contains over 400 pedals—and it’s still growing. Even broaching the subject of effects
with the 53-year-old Los Angeles native might bring out the museum curator in him:
Be ready for eloquently recited dissertations on, say, the merits of a multi-function
distortion pedal.
Alderete’s infatuation with bass gear has led him to become one of the world’s
great authorities on pedals and effects, granting him sommelier status that has fueled
his popular website pedalsandeffects.com, his nationwide tours for effects demos,
his global seminars at bass camps, and his crusades through small-town pawnshops
to find hidden bass gems. If this seems like an exaggeration, consider that an hour
before this interview, Alderete had purchased yet another bass, in San Francisco: “It’s
a gorgeous Ibanez Roadstar Precision from the ’80s,” he gushed. “I called my wife and
told her I had to get it.”
Fortunately, Juan’s gear has always been put to good use. Best known for his stellar
work with bands like Racer X, Distortion Felix, Big Sir, Vato Negro, and the Mars
Volta, Alderete has recently been laying down grooves for hip-hop heavyweights Deltron
3030 and Dr. Octagon. Halo Orbit, his recent collaboration with drum phenom
By Jon D'Auria
Photograph by Piero F. Giunti
28 bassplayer.com / may2017

assplayer.com / may2017 29

CS
JUAN ALDERETE
Mark Guiliana and Japanese guitar virtuoso
suGar, is a power trio that’s heavy on the
tones. Hero Orbit’s self-titled debut, years in
the making, is well worth the wait: Alderete
harnesses a barrage of sounds that are wildly
distorted on “Subump” and “Angels Flight,” rubbery
and elastic on “Love or Lost,” and sandpaper-gritty
on the title track. Regardless of
the project, the band members, or the genre,
though, he is always pushing the boundaries
of effects on the bass guitar. Juan Alderete
might indeed have a problem, but fortunately
for us, it’s a good problem to have.
What was the evolution of your pedal
obsession?
In Racer X, we focused on shredding, and
I got the really precise tone I needed by using
a Boss CS-2 Compression pedal and my Jazz
Bass. But in the ’80s, everyone was using a
chorus pedal, so I got a TC Electronic Stereo
Chorus Flanger. Then I bought a Boss OC-2
Octave because my bass teacher, Steve Evans,
used one while he soloed. In the ’90s, I started
getting into Electro-Harmonix Micro Synths.
I wasn’t the first to do it—Michael Anthony
of Van Halen would use the up bass feature
on a Micro Synth when he soloed. Then I got
a fuzz pedal, and before I knew it, I was getting
into all sorts of distortion, which got me
into researching pedals and buying and selling
them left and right.
How many effects were you using with
the Mars Volta?
My pedalboard kept getting bigger and
bigger until I had four massive pedalboards
on tour. My setup got so huge that it weighed
more than anybody else’s stuff on stage. Then
I built a studio in 2011 for my effects collection,
which is 400 to 500 pedals.
Which ones end up on your board
these days?
My old joke is that I put Mexican flag
stickers on pedals that make the cut. As
for the most indispensible ones, I’d say the
Boss CS-2, OC-2, and VB-2 pedals; my vintage
Micro Synth; the Earthquaker Devices
Hummingbird, Afterneath, Hoof Reaper,
and Rainbow Machine; Red Panda’s Context
Reverb, Godlyke’s Great Divide, the Chase
Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl, the new Dunlop
Effects Roundtable
Top Players & Industry Heavies Weigh In
IF A BASS PLAYER COULD ONLY OWN
Darryl Anders, bass
three types of effects, what would they be,
products manager for
and why?
Dunlop Manufacturing A
Steve Lawson, solo
preamp/DI is a great
bassist For me, it’d be a
pedal to have in case the
delay, a reverb, and an
amp fails, the battery
overdrive, but that’s not
fails on an active bass, to
what I’d choose for a add boost and tone control to a passive bass,
wedding gig! In that
and to control the tone you send to the FOH
setting, I’d go for an
engineer. An octave is great for adding more
envelope filter, a chorus, and an overdrive—I depth and covering synth bass parts. And
can cover a lot of sonic range with those three, distortion/overdrive adds grit and dirt that can
and in a band setting they’d be more widely help cut through a wall of loud guitars.
applicable than the time-based effects.
Andrew Barta, president
Jamie Stillman, founder
of Tech 21 USA For me,
of Earthquaker Devices I
it would be distortion/
almost always see
fuzz, compressor, and
bassists using compression,
overdrive, and EQ.
depends on one’s
chorus. Obviously, it
I’m personally a fan of
musical style, as it’s
fuzz, but I think a lot of unlikely a jazz player would want distortion,
bassists avoid it because it annihilates the
while other players are rarely without it. A
signal. I like that “annihilation” tone.
compressor helps even out your sound,
Jeff Slingluff, U.S. guitar especially if there’s subpar backline or if your
product manager for bass isn’t all that great. A pitch-shifting/
Boss/Roland The first harmonized chorus always adds some nice
one is easy: A compressor,
like a Boss BC-1X and it won’t waver the foundation.
depth and dimension; it’s more usable for bass,
Bass Comp. Bass is
Jonathan Hischke of Dot
inherently dynamic, and
Hacker, Broken Bells,
it’s important to have a compressor to maintain
and Hella Drive is
your string levels. Bass distortion, like the
probably the most
Boss BB-1X Bass Driver, would be the second
important category. A
most important—it’s a quick way to add fat,
good overdrive pedal can
interesting harmonics and overtones. The third
function as a tone-shaping,
always-on effect, or as something to kick in
is more of a toss-up, but for me, it would be
a bass synthesizer, like the Boss SYB-5, because for a little more power or color, and it can also
they’re useful for any style of music, from funk get you into distortion and fuzz territory. These
to rock.
days, lower octave/subharmonic effects have
become important for bass players. And, of
course, compression is a vital (and often
misunderstood) element of any bass tone heard
on record and in most performance capacities.
30 bassplayer.com / may2017

Tim Lefebvre of the
Tedeschi Trucks Band
and Donny McCaslin I
would say an octaver and
some sort of overdrive. If
you’re so inclined, a
compressor, too, I
suppose. You don’t need any of them in a
perfect world, but tastefully used, these effects
can help push the music forward without it
sounding dated or too “effecty.”
Dave Boonshoft,
president/CFO of
Aguilar Amplification
Get a distortion pedal
that offers a flexible
amount of saturation;
that’ll give you the ability
to “rough up” your sound with just a bit of
distortion or go for heavier sounds. Get a
compressor that offers both high- and
low-compression ratios so that you can set the
ratio (or slope) high for limiting on slap
techniques and use low ratios for long
notes. And a good octave pedal will give you
the ability to add synth-like overtones to your
bass lines.
In terms of general categories (distortion,
modulation, delay, dynamics, filters, reverb,
pitch shifting, etc.), what are the best practices
for a signal chain?
Stillman I tend to go: input > dynamic or octave
effects > overdrive > fuzz > filter > modulation
> delay > reverb > EQ, but it all comes down
to preference. Anything can sound great if you
know how to use it.
Anders This is really a personal choice, and it
depends on the player’s style, but I’d recommend
compression, octave, dynamics, filters,
modulation, delay, pitch shifting, reverb, and
distortion.
Lefebvre I would put the devices that drive the
signal first. From there, you can put the stuff
that modulates for the best overall effect. You
can also put stuff after the modulators for “finishing”
the sound, like a plug-in.
Lawson I’m a fan of experimentation—chain
’em up and see what happens. There are a
few “rules” just ripe for breaking. For example,
delays often end up at the end of the chain,
but put a filter after a delay, and the envelope
will gradually close as the repeats get quieter. I
do like having a pitch-shifter at the start of the
chain, because that can get really gnarly if you
have delays and reverbs before it. Sometimes,
gnarly is exactly what I’m looking for!
Slingluff A good starting point is to place delaybased
effects, like reverb, delay, and chorus after
compression or distortion. Effects like wah and
T-wah tend to work best pre-distortion, and EQ
works well in either position, depending on your
needs. But the fun of pedals is creating your own
order and finding your own unique sound.
Barta The basic rule of thumb is that tone-modifying
effects like distortion, compression, pitch
shifting are first in the chain, and time-based
effects, such as delay and reverb, should be last.
Filters can be first or last, depending on what
you’re trying to achieve. We always recommend
trying it both ways.
Boonshoft The first pedals in the signal chain
should be the ones most sensitive to dynamics
and input level, including modulation and filter
effects. Next, place pedals that control dynamics,
such as compressors and limiters, and then
add distortion and fuzz. The last pedals in line
should be reverbs.
Hischke The general template I keep in mind is:
fuzz (if it’s the type that responds differently to
a non-buffered signal), tuner, compression, “attack”
effects (swell, sustain, freeze, etc.), octave,
pitch shifting, distortion, overdrive, tremolo,
envelope filter/synth, amp simulation, bass
boost/lowpass filter, delay, reverb, and modulation.
There are always exceptions, of course,
and experimentation is important, but I find that
setting up my chain along these lines tends to
be both effective and versatile.
Do you see any developments in DSP and
other digital technologies that will encroach
on analog effects?
Slingluff Absolutely. The new technologies
we’ve developed, like the MDP (Multi-Dimensional
Processing) used in the Boss BC-1X Bass
Comp and Boss SY-300 Guitar Synthesizer, are
only plausible in a digital world.
Stillman The biggest way DSP developments
are affecting players is limitless possibilities. I
think people get more creative when they have
limitations; they tend to get more experimental
when they have to create new sounds from a
couple old effects pedals. With all these do-it-all,
rack gear/digital audio workstations disguised as
multi-effect pedals, it’s easy to get bogged down
in technology rather than actually playing.
Lefebvre Nothing really tracks real-time like
analog effects, but guys like Owen Biddle and
Zach Danziger of Edit Bunker are making serious
strides in that area. What they are doing is
stunning.
Anders I can see DSP being used to control
analog effects, making for better tracking and
fine-tuning of analog parameters.
Boonshoft I think DSP is great when working
totally “in the box,” that is, recording directly
into computer software. Still, adding analog effects
adds a much more complex and musically
compelling sound to the bass. Analog effects
integrate better than digital into the whole
system of player, bass, and amp.
Hischke There is so much happening in that digital
realm, and a lot of it is really sounding authentic
these days. I think analog effects will be
safe as long as players value a simple interface
and the ability to tailor their sound on the fly,
and I tend to be one of those people. If you’re
a player doing a prescribed and consistent set
night after night, however, current technology’s
modeling and signal-chain versatility could save
you a lot of headache. And if you have the time
and know-how, the digital world has endless effects
to explore. But there’s something magical
about an analog fuzz or an analog delay that I
can’t describe.
Barta There are constant developments, but
it’s unlikely that analog is going to fade away
anytime soon. Digital sound quality has gotten
better, it brings costs down, and user interfaces
are getting a bit easier, but the biggest disadvantage
of digital effects is the learning curve—programming,
menus, hidden functions, etc. You’re
Continues on page 32
bassplayer.com / may2017 31

CS
JUAN ALDERETE
Continued from page 31
lost without an owner’s manual. Analog gear
is basically “what you see is what you get”:
just plug in, turn the knobs, push a couple of
buttons, and you’re ready to play. While we do
use some digital technology in some of our
products, they are designed with an analog
mind.
Lawson Being able to save the same five effects
in totally different orders is what DSP
does so well. DSP excels at fixed variation, and
analog is great for continuous/random variation.
I pretty much always have both—a pile
of analog pedals, and these days, a MOD Duo
with a ton of different digital “pedalboards.” I
keep the analog pedals up at hand height so
I can continually vary what they’re doing. My
big interest with pedals is continuous control,
whether that’s hooking up a MIDI controller to
my processor or tweaking the time on a delay
to get freaky sounds.
How can a bass player incorporate effects
into their live rig without compromising supportive
low-frequency response?
Anders By using a mixer or blender pedal to
retain the amount of dry unaffected signal.
MXR Bass Innovations pedals have a separate
dry control built into each effect for this
specific reason.
Lawson Sometimes, I like using effects
designed for a guitar precisely because they
don’t preserve the bassy qualities, but if you
get pedals designed by bass players for the
job we do, more often than not, they can deal
with the demands of every gig. I love having
the option to choose; the MXR Bass Chorus
Deluxe, for example, has a separate switch
to leave the low frequencies unprocessed if I
want to add chorus just to the upper harmonics,
and the Darkglass VMT has a blend control
to mix processed and clean signals. It’s lovely.
Lefebvre You try to use effects tailor-made
for bass, like bass fuzzes and overdrives. In
the absence of these, try to find pedals with
blend knobs so that the clean bass tone is still
represented. Also, shoot for effects that are
true bypass.
Slingluff Effects like compression and EQ
don’t compromise low frequencies, and others,
like distortion, do. People who run a lot of
distortion via pedal or distorted amps often
send a DI signal to the house so they can
take advantage of the subwoofers. In some
instances, a second amp for bi-amping is also
a great choice.
Stillman Narrow your options and find the
one that works best for your playing style.
What works well for one bassist probably
won’t be the same for everyone, so experiment.
I love low end, so all our pedals do a
pretty good job of passing a full-frequency
response, even though they were all designed
with guitar in mind.
Barta Use bass-oriented products to keep the
low end intact. Many distortion pedals are notorious
for emphasizing midrange and cutting
lows, which is fine for guitar. Likewise, many
chorus pedals also cut the low end, or they
get wobbly and make you seasick. The important
thing to do is try different products and
listen for yourself. Last, the cabinet you use
greatly influences the resulting sound. Simple
physics dictates you can’t pump 1,000 watts
into a 1x10 cabinet and expect it to sound
good. Bear in mind that your entire signal
chain is only as good as the weakest link.
Hischke I spend a lot of time researching
which pedals don’t compromise these elements
in the first place. Rather than looking
for effects that might take me out of the
bass realm, I am interested in things that take
me further into it and add another level of
versatility or creative spark. Many people think
it is as easy as running a dry blend alongside
the effected signal path, which can work in
many circumstances, but I shoot for a more
integrated approach.
Boonshoft Don’t buy effects that roll off low
end. For that matter, don’t buy effects that
roll off high end, either! That said, these are effects,
and they’re supposed to change things
up in your sound. Know which effects make
the music you are playing better, and use effects
that unleash your creativity. BP
Crybaby Mini Bass Wah … man, I could go on and on.
Which players inspired your penchant for effects?
I remember seeing Tim Bogert at Musicians Institute in the
’80s, and his Boss pedalboard had a bunch of effects on it. He was
going crazy with them, and I didn’t get it. I wasn’t ready for it yet,
but I look back on that as a big moment for me. A lot of guitar
players, like Eddie Van Halen and the Edge, influenced me heavily,
too. In my opinion, the Edge is the greatest pedal user of all
time. He’s always gotten such insane sounds, and he changed the
whole landscape of using pedals.
Which current pedal users rock your world?
Lately, I’ve been digging the pioneering stuff Tim Lefebvre did
on David Bowie’s Blackstar album. There are a ton of players in
the fusion world who are killing it with effects, though it can be
hard for me to digest that music. I love Timmy’s pedal use with
Rage Against The Machine. His bass work on “Bulls on Parade”
with the distortion is huge, and I like what he does with a wah.
Are there any pedals that you’ve always wanted but
haven’t been able to get?
I’d really love to get the rackmount version of the Micro Synth,
but they only made ten of those, and they’re really hard to find. I
just got my hands on this ’60s Vox Ampliphonic Stereo Multi-Voice
synth that I had been seeking forever. Kid Koala, who’d been telling
me about his for a while, found one in a music shop in Seattle,
and I bought it over the phone.
How do you get to know a new pedal?
32 bassplayer.com / may2017

PIERO F. GIUNTI
I play multiple basses through it to see how it reacts. I might
feed in some guitars, keyboards, and drum machines to see how it
responds; that usually helps me figure out how to use it with bass.
I test all its settings, explore its range, figure out how I could use
it, and then see how it pairs with my other pedals so I can know
whether I’ll want to run it exclusively with a fuzz, a compressor, or
anything else. Really, it’s all about exploring it from top to bottom.
If a bass player could only own three types of effects,
what should they be?
An octave or a sub, a synth pedal, and a fuzz pedal. The octave
and synth are important because we live in the low end, and those
really boost that. And the fuzz is just necessary. If I could pick a
fourth type, I’d throw a modulation [chorus or flanger] in there, too.
What’s a powerful fuzz or distortion pedal for players
who aren’t into the Big Muff?
I always suggest the Earthquaker Devices Hoof Reaper. It’s
two fuzzes in one, and then some. You get the Hoof and the Tone
Reaper distortion options, and you also get the octave up; you
can use both fuzzes at the same time, or the distortions and the
octave, all at once. I also like the Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder,
which was my main distortion in Mars Volta. The Amptweaker
TightFuzz is really heavy without being overly noisy. There are
so many options for distortion and fuzz pedals, but those are
great places to start.
You also have quite the bass collection. How did you get
your fretless Warwick Jonas Hellborg Bass?
When I met Jonas about five years ago, he handed me his
bass and said, “Play this.” I didn’t want to play in front of a dude
as ripping as him, but sure enough, I started shredding and playing
phrases I had never played before. That bass lit me up. It was
like when I met my wife—it changed my whole life and the way I
think. I knew I had to get one of those, so I began bugging [Warwick
founder] Hans-Peter Wilfer to build me one, and he finally
did. The only differences are that instead of one pickup and one
knob, mine has two pickups and four knobs, for volume, volume,
tone, and pickup selector. I also had mine built to be 31"-scale,
and the standard Hellborg is a 32", which is a big difference for a
fretless bass. The only bummer was that I didn’t get it in time for
the Halo Orbit album.
How did Halo Orbit come together?
I met suGar in the ’90s when her band Buffalo Daughter and
my band Distortion Felix were opening for Girls Against Boys.
Her playing immediately blew me away; she’s a complete anomaly
on the guitar. We became close friends, and over the years, we
talked about doing a project together. When I was in New York
with Mars Volta in 2010, one of my drummer buddies told me I
had to meet Mark Guiliana, so I put him on the guest list and we
hung out. He was such a good dude. Without even hearing him
play, I told him we should collaborate, and he was all for it. In
2012, they flew to L.A., jammed, and cut six ideas in the studio.
We did it all in six hours, Mark flew home, and suGar and I wrote
the rest of the material. Eventually, they both flew back out to
L.A. again to cut the remaining tracks.
How did you track your bass parts?
Because I use so many effects, I just put a mic on my amp. Your
sound is your bass through your pedals, through your amp, through
bassplayer.com / may2017 33

CS
JUAN ALDERETE
PIERO F. GIUNTI
your speakers—what comes out is your tone and what you’re trying to go for.
Putting it all through a DI makes it sound completely different. I also like to use
my Ampeg flip-top [B-15 amp] in the studio because I love the sound it gets.
How did you approach this project differently than Big Sir, Mars
Volta, or any of your other bands?
I love this project because it was a different role for me. Vato Negro is my own
thing, so I can do no wrong. In Mars Volta, Omar [Rodrîguez-Lopez] is guiding
the ship, so I just have to lay in the cut and wait for what’s coming next. In Big
Sir, I’m writing compositions to vocals, which is one of the
most challenging things I do. But in Halo Orbit, I’m writing
to impress two musicians with whom I’m in love, musically.
I’m the worst musician in the band because I don’t read sheet
music and my theory knowledge isn’t on par with theirs, so
I had to step it up. It can be stressful, but it makes me strive
to be way beyond what I am.
You get a huge, distorted sound on the opening track
“Subump.” How did you get that tone?
It’s all the Hoof Reaper. It has the octave up option on
top of its fuzz function, which is just massive. New pedals
usually inspire me to write a bunch of compositions around
that sound. I wrote that main guitar riff and the bass part that
LISTEN
i INFO
Halo Orbit, Halo Orbit
[Alpha Pup]
comes in, suGar overdubbed the wah guitar parts,
and Mark came in and nailed that song in one take.
What would you tell a bass player interested
in building a pedal collection?
Depending on what kind of music you’re playing,
get a good-sounding distortion, fuzz, or overdrive.
Next, get a compressor. A good chorus always helps;
I like analog choruses, myself. Delays are weird for
bass, because you’re the timekeeper,
so unless you use it right, you might
have issues; be cautious with those.
And any wah is good, because, well,
Cliff Burton.
Once you get into effects, you’re
not just running a bass anymore—
it’s an entirely different animal. Nowadays,
it’s important for young bass
players to diversify their sounds if they
want a career. Pedals are an important
part of landing gigs. Not everyone
can be in Foo Fighters.
34 bassplayer.com / may2017

EQUIP
i INFO
Basses Goya Panther I, fretless 1970
Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Custom
Shop “Raider” Precision Bass, Warwick
Jonas Hellborg Signature Bass,
Kala Fretless U-Bass, fretless 1976
Gibson Ripper, fretless Landscape
Archtop ABP-1 Hollowbody
Rig Ampeg SVT-VR head, Ampeg
Heritage B-15N combo, Ampeg SVT
4x10
Pedals (Used on Halo Orbit)
Guyatone Bass Wah Rocker, Chase
Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl, DOD
Meatbox Subsynth, TWA Great
Divide and FB-04 Chorus, Dunlop
Cry Baby Bass Mini Wah, MXR M83
Bass Chorus Deluxe,
Red Panda Context
Reverberator,
Endangered Audio
Research AD4096
delay, Walrus Audio
Descent Reverb/
Octave Machine,
DigiTech Multi-
Play PDS
20/20 delay,
Fairfield
Circuitry
Randy’s
Revenge
Ring
Modulator,
several Boss
pedals (including
the CS-2 Compressor/
Sustainer, OC-2 Octave, DS-2 Turbo
Distortion, and VB-2 Vibrato), as
well as Hummingbird, Grand Orbiter,
Rainbow Machine, Terminal Fuzz,
Afterneath, and Hoof Reaper pedals
by Earthquaker Devices
Cases Mono Vertigo Bass Cases
Strings Ernie Ball Slinky roundwounds
and flatwounds, and La Bella
tapewounds, all .045–.105
Picks Dunlop Tortex
What’s the best way to set up a signal
chain?
Samplers [such as loopers] should go last,
because you’re going to be sampling your whole
board. Delays go next, so that you can put anything
through them. Compressors, modulation
pedals, envelope filters, and choruses are in the
middle, and then distortions and fuzz pedals go in
the front. It changes with each band and with the
sound that I’m going for, but that’s a rough sketch
of how I’d do it.
How can a bass player incorporate effects
into their live rig without compromising supportive
low-frequency response?
You can run two rigs, one that’s clean and one
that runs all the effects, so you get both at the
same time. I did that with Halo Orbit, but I used
effects on both channels. There are ways that pedals
can work for your sound and maintain the thickness
you want.
What do you see in the future
of bass effects?
I think sampling is a big thing.
I’d love to be able to sample myself,
truncate it, and lock it in time. It
would be pretty amazing if a pedal
could guess your bpm [tempo] and
lock it in on the fly. The Kemper
Profiler Rack + Remote is pretty
crazy, but it could be ideal—
the more bundling we can
do, the better. And it’s
portable, which is really
important. Line 6 and
other companies are doing
a lot for things like that.
Why are pedals so
important to your musical
identity?
Because I think it’s important to try
new things, get new sounds, and not be afraid to
experiment. I can play straight, standard bass, but
I’m trying to push our instrument somewhere—
because if not, it dies. I’m trying to transform the
instrument and push it into the future so we’re
not left behind. I tried to do something new with
the speed of bass in the ’80s, and then in the ’90s,
I explored fretless to see if there was anything new
we could do there. And now I’m into effects, shortscale
basses, and subs. I’m always looking ahead to
see where bass can go next. BP
bassplayer.com / may2017 35
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36 bassplayer.com / may2017

FOR SCOTT COLLEY, THE LINES SEPArating
bass playing, composition, and improvisation
are blurred. “Once a composition hits the
page, that’s just the beginning,” he says. “Those are
the seeds of what’s possible. Everything else after
that is spontaneous composition. A song is living
as long as we continue to play the tune, work with
it, change it, and manipulate our musical options.”
Colley cruises the upper echelon of the jazz
scene. The ultimate bass sideman, he has worked
with everyone from Jim Hall, Chris Potter, and
John Scofield, to Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove,
and Michael Brecker. Also a noteworthy bandleader,
Colley has delivered several critically acclaimed
albums in the past two decades.
In 2017, Colley juggles a foursome of collaborative
projects. At a recent workshop at the Conservatorium
Maastricht in Holland, I talked with Colley
about how he learned to play the bass, his work
with the masters of jazz, and his current bands.
What is your goal when you compose and
play music?
Music is never either only cerebral or visceral;
it’s always a combination. Even when I listen to
The Rite of Spring, where I hear a lot of intellectual
structures, it still creates something within me
that’s a feeling—a groove. When I’m writing and
playing music, I want it to appeal on both levels—
cerebral and visceral.
You’re involved in several cooperative
projects. Are you the bandleader in any of
these groups?
“Current” is the name of my band; I formed it
in April 2016 when we played at the Village Vanguard.
I waited until after we played a week together
SCOTT
COLLEY
IS A MASTER OF
COLLABORATION
to start writing, so I could hear the bandmembers’
individual strengths.
Tell us about your other co-led groups:
KCB, Steel House, and your group with saxophonist
Joshua Redman.
I started a band with Joshua, Ron Miles, and
Brian Blade called “Still Dreaming.” The concept
is based on a group called Old And New Dreams,
originally with Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman,
Ed Blackwell, and Don Cherry. We play some of
the music of the band Old And New Dreams, plus
some new music that we’re all writing. Joshua’s
father was in the original band. When Joshua and
I played at the Charlie Haden memorial service,
we came up with this idea.
KCB is a group with saxophonist Benjamin
Koppel and drummer Brian Blade. We just finished
our second album, and it’s an ongoing project.
In the fall, we will premiere a concerto for full
orchestra based around improvisations of the trio.
The music for orchestra is composed by Anders
Koppel, a fantastic composer, who happens to be
BY JOHN GOLDSBY
Benjamin’s father.
Steel House Music is the new band with Edward
Simon and Brian Blade. We’ve recorded an album and
we’re starting to make plans for some future gigs.
West Coastin’
You grew up in Los Angeles in the ’60s and
’70s. How did you find the bass and get your
start playing jazz?
I had the benefit of my older brother’s record
collection—everything from Earth, Wind & Fire
to classic jazz, like later Miles Davis from the ’60s
and ’70s. We were lucky to be in an area called
Eagle Rock where they had a music program with
an incredible band director named John Rinaldo.
Monty Budwig was a West Coast bass
legend. Tell us about your lessons with him
in the ’70s.
Monty’s stepson was in the high school band,
and from the time I was 13, I got to study with
Monty. He was a generous teacher, and my lessons
would go three or four hours, and include dinner.
The lesson would start with, “Have you heard this
record … how about this record?” When I left, I
would have a big stack of records, and he would
tell me to learn certain tunes.
How did you meet Charlie Haden and eventually
come to study with him?
After high school, I was preparing to go to New
York, when I heard that Charlie Haden was teaching
at the California Institute of the Arts. I didn’t
know anything about the school, except I knew
I’d get to meet Charlie if I auditioned.
I didn’t think much would happen when I auditioned
at Cal Arts. But at the end of the audition,
they asked, “Do you want to go to school here?”
bassplayer.com / may2017 37

F
SCOTT COLLEY
They gave me a scholarship. I was fortunate, and
I was interested in everything Charlie was doing.
You also had classical lessons from Fred Tinsley,
who played with the L.A. Philharmonic.
How did those lessons compare to the instruction
you got from Monty and Charlie?
What I didn’t realize at the time was that Fred
was reworking my technique on the fundamental
level. A lot of my technique was self-taught, although
I had studied with Monty. Monty’s approach was
more conceptual—learning standards, and learning
how to listen. Same thing with Charlie—very
intuitive and conceptual aspects. Fred taught me to
use the weight of my body to play and get a center
on the instrument. It was about how to create
as much strength and relaxation as possible. He
listened to what I was trying to do, and helped me
figure out the best way to do that—he steered me
in the right direction.
Finishing School
You started working with the legendary singer
Carmen McRae in the ’80s while you were still
in college. How did that gig come about?
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SCOTT COLLEY
My second year at Cal Arts, Carmen held auditions—which
was odd, because auditions usually don’t
happen in the jazz world. One thing I got right when
I auditioned was that I had studied how she accompanied
herself on piano when she sang. At one point in
the audition, she had the rest of the band lay out for
a bass-and-voice duet. She had an incredible sense of
time, and she could phrase way ahead or way behind
the beat with her voice. I knew I should keep the center
of the beat very strong, because she would stretch the
time. After I moved to New York around 1990, I was
still able to tour some with Carmen.
You played many years with Jim Hall, a
guitar player of enormous depth and musical
maturity. What were your experiences with
this jazz master?
I can’t express how important Jim’s influence has
been on my music. I’m fortunate to have been able to
play with him off and on for almost 22 years. What I
enjoyed most about playing with Jim was his empathy
and generosity of spirit. He taught me to stay silent
when silence is the most powerful thing to do, and
not be afraid of silence. Then, when you put something
inside the space, it has much deeper meaning.
How did your work with Jim Hall differ from
some of the other bands you’ve worked with?
Playing with Jim was always a surprise. No matter
how many times I would explore a particular song with
him, he could always come up with some direction
that would be different. He could play very softly at
times, and I was conscious that the range of dynamics
was not reduced, it was lowered. This taught me
that creating drama in music does not come from
volume, but from contrast between soft and loud,
sparse and dense, long and short.
Andrew Hill was a pianist, composer, and
bandleader who made an indelible imprint
on the Blue Note modern mainstream sound
from the ’60s onward. What was it like playing
in Hill’s Point Of Departure band in the ’90s?
As a composer and arranger, Andrew was a unique
voice in music—the most inventive musician I’ve ever
played with. He would always try to break whatever
formula he thought you were setting up. He would
make sure you’re in the moment and responding to
what’s happening right now, rather than having something
polished or sounding rehearsed. One time, we
did a duo recording live at Caramore—we had never
played in duo before. As they were announcing us, I
asked him what we were going to play, and he said the
“Tough Love Suite.” I had never heard of the “Tough
Love Suite,” but we went out and he just started playing
… and it became an album.
Another time we started a set, and he told the
rest of the band that just the piano and bass would
start. He started playing solo and played a long
opening tune—just solo piano, and I was trying to
figure out the form and the changes. When I played
my first note, he smiled this beautiful smile, got up
and walked off the bandstand over to a table and sat
down with his wife. This was the first tune of the
night, packed house, and we’re a sextet—but I’m the
only one onstage playing a piece I had never heard
before. I learned to jump into the unknown, not only
in the obvious ways, but with curiosity and a sense
that something is going to happen that’s very different,
unique to this moment.
You also worked with Herbie Hancock,
another jazz legend from the South Side
40 bassplayer.com / may2017

of Chicago, like Hill. What is it like to play
with Herbie?
With Herbie’s groups, we would have certain
songs in mind, but very often we would not have any
fixed sense of what was going to happen. The trio
playing was very open. There was a version of “Dolphin
Dance” where he opened up each section of the
i INFO
song for other events to happen. The key was that
one of us would eventually give a cue to move on,
and each section was a deconstruction of the piece.
Sometimes “Dolphin Dance” would be ten minutes
long; sometimes it would be the entire concert—
it would take us two hours and 45 minutes just to
play the one tune!
What did you learn about music from the
piano masters Hancock and Hill?
Andrew and Herbie are two people who don’t think
about music like most mortals do. It’s all about learning
to listen and respond. How I respond on one day
is different from how I would respond on another
day. The key thing is to stay in the moment and be
present, so that I hear everything that’s going on. BP
See music sidebar, page 42
LISTEN
EQUIP
CONNECT
Scott Colley,
7 [2017, Artist
Share], Empire
[2010, Cam
Jazz], Architect
of the Silent
Moment [2006,
Cam Jazz]; John Scofield, A Moment's
Peace [2011, Emarcy]; Chris Potter,
Imaginary Cities [2015, ECM]; Pat
Metheny & Gary Burton, Hommage to
Eberhard Weber [2015, ECM]; Julian
Lage Trio with Kenny Wollesen,
Arclight [2016, Mack Avenue]
Bass 1950s Andreas Morelli
Amps Wayne Jones preamps and
speakers
Strings D’Addario Orchestra Medium
Microphone Schoeps CMC6 (with
supercardioid capsule)
Pickup David Gage Realist
Become an integral part of Scott Colley’s
latest album release, 7, through
your participation on ArtistShare.
Join in Scott Colley’s ongoing project
with Benjamin Koppel and Brian Blade
on ArtistShare.
Check out Steel House, Scott Colley’s
collective trio with Ed Simon and
Brian Blade.
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the instrument at your fingertips. Come and HEAR THE
LIGHT for yourself.
Learn more at willcoxguitars.com/bassplayer
bassplayer.com / may2017 41

F
SCOTT COLLEY
Rising Up
Example 1 shows Scott Colley’s composition
“Don’t Rise,” from his new
album 7. Colley begins the gospeltinged
3/4 piece with a strong yet
subdued rendering of the melody.
His tone on his vintage Andreas
Morelli bass is majestic, reminiscent
of his former mentor Charlie
Haden. Colley spent “only a few
minutes” writing the song, but the
result brings forth a feel-good, lifeaffirming,
peaceful ballad.
In contrast to “Don’t Rise,” “Fragment”
lights the burning, post-’60s
jazz fire with gasoline (Ex. 2). “Fragment”
is loosely based on Charlie Parker’s
bebop classic “Segment.” Colley
deconstructed the bop anthem’s vibe
to arrive at the new composition. “I
changed ‘Segment’ into a different
key, took away the melody, elongated
the form, and then wrote some oddmeter
sections. I love the process of
taking something familiar to me,
focusing on some small aspect, and
drawing out something new.”
“Fragment” takes the listener
on a journey, with Colley and drummer
Nate Smith acting as polyrhythmic
tour guides. “You can set up a
compelling groove by playing polyrhythms
and creating tension,” says
Colley. “The decision to make when
playing with someone like Nate, who
has so much rhythmic knowledge, is
when should we finally resolve into
playing one. We can float around
and play polyrhythms for chorus
after chorus—and sometimes we
do, just to see what happens. When
we finally hit the downbeat, then the
skies open up.”
Bass melody —freely
Swung funk
= 62
G D B7/D# Em Em7/D C C/D G
Em
Em/D Em/B
5 7
3 4 4
7 7 5
7
5 7
4 4 4 8 9
8
9
8
Asus A7 A/B C G/D Ebdim D7#5 Em G/D G/B
EX. 2 EX. 1
13
7 7 6 7 9 9
C
Broken swing
5
= 118
12 9 7 4
Bm7
9 7 9 7 5 8 9
G B7 C6 D7sus G
7 5
Bm7 C#m7b5 F#7b9 Bm7 C#m7b5 F#7b9
2 5 4
3
C#m7b5
3
2
F#7b9
2
4
11 9 7 6 4
7
5
5
7 4
Bm7 C#m7b5 F#7b9
7
7 5
2 5 5 4 4 3 2
2
2
2
0
0
0
42 bassplayer.com / may2017

SOUNDROOM LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
S
SOUNDROOM
Genzler Amplification
Magellan 350 Combo
BY ED FRIEDLAND |
FOLLOWING UP ON THE SUCCESS OF THE MAGELlan
800 amp and Bass Array 12-3 cabs, Jeff Genzler decided it
was time to think small. As the man behind some of the most
successful mini-combos of the past ten years, it’s no surprise
he struck gold with his newest effort, the Magellan 350 combo.
TWO-PACK FOR SURE
While most combo amps are one-piece units, the MG-350-
CRADLE (included) allows you to detach the head for use with
larger cabs, making it easy to tote the six-pound powerhouse
wherever you go. Essentially a stripped-down version of the
Magellan 800, the 350 sports the same preamp design and features,
minus the Drive channel. Genzler chose a 350-watt rating
to set it apart from its larger sibling while still providing gig-worthy
output from the ICEpower 300ASC module. It also drops the
unit to a lower price point: The 350 head by itself has a street
price of $440. The Magellan 350 head is outfitted with an XLR DI
with ground lift, pre/post EQ, and line/mic level options. The q"
stereo line-level aux input lets you plug in other sound sources,
and the headphone jack gives you a silent-practice option. With
Class D designs, cooling is a critical factor, and the Magellan’s
whisper-quiet thermal-sensing fan increases speed as the amp
works harder. The SMPS automatically senses and corrects to the
line voltage, making the Magellan a handy world traveler, and the
impedance selector switch lets you optimize the output for 8-,
4-, or 2.67-ohm loads. The front panel gives you a piezo-friendly
1 megohm input jack, mute switch, gain, a/b contour, bass,
sweepable mid, treble, and master volume. The EQ section is
flexible and powerful, but for major personality shift, the Contour
options point the Magellan in two distinct but useful directions.
44 bassplayer.com / may2017

Contour A’s “Classic to Modern” response gives
you a mid scoop via boosting the lows and highs,
useful for slapping (upright or electric), or getting
a fat, studio fingerstyle tone. Contour B’s “Thicker
to Vintage” curve bumps the low mids and tapers
the highs—great for conjuring up the limited frequency
response of old-school rigs.
ARRAY OF SUNSHINE
The Magellan 350 head is mounted to Genzler’s
new BA10-2 cabinet, a smaller version of the
groundbreaking BA12-3. The vertical array of
four custom neodymium 2.5" drivers handles the
upper mids and highs, with a crossover point of
1.6kHz, while the woofer does the heavy lifting.
The array configuration provides wider dispersion
across the horizontal plane, and the 2.5" speakers
give the critical upper mids greater clarity without
getting pointy. The high-frequency response
is strong, but because it’s produced by small paper
cones instead of a piezo tweeter or compression
driver, the BA10-2’s top end has a natural sweetness
that tames the savage bass. The premium Eminence
neodymium 10" cast-frame woofer is well
housed in a small, vented bass-reflex cabinet built
with a slight upward tilt toward the ear. Stacking
the combo on top of another BA10-2 creates an
arc that magnifies the design’s dispersive nature.
Because the head accepts a 2.67-ohm load, it is
possible to stack three BA10-2 cabs—though it is
recommended to do so on a solid, preferably uncarpeted
stage for better stability. The black textured
vinyl covering seems tough, and the metal corners
should prove durable. The well-placed heavy-duty
edge lift handle gives the already-lightweight amp
an easy balance point for schlepping.
BRAVE COMBO
I’ve been touring extensively for the past year
with the Magellan 800, and I have nothing but
high praise for its beefy response, flexible control,
and reliable performance, so I was curious to see
how Mini-Me would stack up. I have no need for
the Drive channel, so it wasn’t missed on the 350,
but the overall tone, response, and effectivenessrelative-to-task
is just as good as the higher-powered
model. I auditioned the combo on several
upright bass gigs and found it had more than enough
power, and its excellent dispersion meant I heard
myself better. The velvety highs of the BA10-2
made the often-strident transients of slapping
the doghouse much more listener-friendly, while
the stout low end supported the tone with authority.
The amount of bottom is surprising for such a
small enclosure—I found myself rolling back the
bass control to 11:00 on one gig. But of course,
there’s more to life than getting a great upright
bass tone, so I dragged out a few choice “slabs”
to see if the little guy could rock. The 350 Combo
did not back down when confronted with aggressive
slap from my G&L L-2000: It threw it back
at me with a smooth, musical finish. With a passive
Fender Precision, it gave an even, full-range
representation of whatever I put into it—righthand
dynamics, subtle shifts of hand placement,
even the slightest roll of the tone pot were clearly
audible. The 350’s uniform response was a boon
when I plugged in my Muckelroy HMC 6-string.
While the bass itself is tonally well-balanced, the
rig reproduced the instrument’s full range without
over-accentuating the lows or wimping out
on the highs. In testing, I naturally try to push
the amp into the red, and while the Magellan did
acquiesce, it was not until I hit a volume level that
would be inappropriate for a rig of this size. Let’s
not kid ourselves, this is not an 8x10.
The game changed considerably when I stacked
the Magellan 350 combo on top of a second
BA10-2 cab. Taking advantage of the head’s full
power and the combined oomph of the two woofers,
I now had a lot more destruction at my fingertips.
Compared to your typical 2x10 scenario, this
rig has more depth and punch than most, and it
produces intelligible upper mids and clear highs.
I didn’t have a third cab at my disposal to hear the
amp at max output, but it seemed unnecessary.
Having spent many years gigging with Mr. Genzler’s
previous small combo design, it is apparent
from the improved performance and practicality
of the Magellan 350 combo that lessons were
learned. The 350—with or without the BA10-2
extension cab—can handle surprisingly volumedemanding
circumstances while delivering great
tone, but upright players in search of the “perfect”
small combo for gigging need to give this
little dynamo a serious look. BP
SPECS GENZLER AMPLIFICATION
S
SPECIFICATIONS
Magellan 350 Combo
Street $960
Pros Small, light, loud, lovely
Cons None
Bottom Line Heavyweight performance in
a lightweight package.
Power Rating 175 watts @ 8Ω; 350 watts
@ 4Ω, or 2.67Ω (with 2 extension cabs)
Input Impedance 1MΩ
Tone controls bass: ±15dB @ 75Hz; mid:
±15dB @ 150Hz–3kHz; treble: ±15dB @
6kHz
XLR DI output Pre/post switch and
ground lift
Power amp Class D
Power supply Switchmode
Output jacks Two Neutrik Speakon NL-4
Configuration 1x10" woofer + 4x2.5" line
array mid/high drivers
Speaker impedance 8Ω
Power handling 250 watts
Frequency response 55Hz–20kHz
Sensitivity 96dB @ 1W/1M
Made in Taiwan (head), USA-assembled
(cabinet)
Contact genzleramplification.com
bassplayer.com / may2017 45

SOUNDROOM LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
S
Fodera
Monarch-P & Emperor-J Standard Classics
BY JONATHAN HERRERA |
FEW BASS LUTHIERS ENJOY FODERA’S
sterling reputation and enviable artist roster. The
Brooklyn workshop earned its reputation the hard
way, innovating at important moments in the instrument’s
history while maintaining a consistent standard
of excellence for over three decades. Fodera’s
rarefied perch atop the boutique pile is matched
by its jaw-dropping price list, though, making its
instruments the object of fantasy for most players.
To broaden its customer base, Fodera released its
Standard line of instruments a few years ago. The
Standard basses were no less high-end than their
custom counterparts; they just didn’t offer the
same broad option suite and custom details. Now,
the Standard line has expanded to include a pair
of genuinely new Fodera basses, the Fender-esque
Monarch-P and Emperor-J. And while they’re still
quite costly, they’re at least cheaper than the average
new Fodera.
It feels like a universal law that at some point,
even the most ardent bespoke luthier will feel compelled
to build Fender-style basses. It’s a sound business
decision, given the enduring popularity of the
Jazz and Precision, but it’s also an easily defensible
conceptual choice: As we all know, Leo Fender’s
most iconic basses were so well designed at their
inception, and so ubiquitous on records, that for
many players they fit the bill perfectly. Given the
huge number of builders with Fender-style basses,
yet another pair wouldn’t register as noteworthy,
but in this case our testers’ provenance makes
them worth a close look. Who wouldn’t want to
see what the Fodera folks would do when tasked
with making a P or J?
ROYAL BLOODLINES
Our test instruments were aesthetically pleasing.
Each evoked the essential contours of its inspiration
while being identifiable as coming from
Fodera’s aesthetic wheelhouse. Based off the Monarch
and Emperor models, Fodera added a couple
of vintage-style touches to the Standard Classics
that help classify their ancestral heritage, including
pickguards, groovy solid-color and sunburst
finishes, and a plain take on the company’s famed
butterfly headstock logo.
As one would expect for the price, our testers
were exceptionally well made and included all sorts
46 bassplayer.com / may2017

Precisions. A quick swap to a set of flatwounds got
me closer to the Jamerson-esque sound that some
may want out of their P-style bass. The Emperor-
J had a lithe feel and fast attack, with the sort of
burbling and rich midrange people expect from a
J-style bass. With the pickups blended it proved an
excellent slapper, and I especially dug the slightly
hollow bark of its soloed neck pickup.
The incentive to buy the Fodera Standard Classics
can’t be their uniqueness: they simply aren’t.
There are plenty of alternatives out there, some
costing as little as a quarter the price. Rather, the
incentive to get a Fodera Standard Classic is to
have a taste of the flawless construction and attention
to detail that rightly made the brand famous.
It’s also an especially cool way to join the Fodera
family if the company’s other more modern looks
and sounds don’t appeal to you. BP
of little details that separate high-end instruments
from their lower-cost cousins. The proprietary hardware
on offer was rugged and substantial, including
the always cool Fodera bridge. Rather than source a
bone or plastic nut, Fodera opted for a brass example.
Each instrument’s enormous control cavity
was thoroughly shielded with copper foil, and the
soldering and wire dressing were top-shelf. One
perk of having a large control cavity is the ease of
installing an active preamp, should you decide to
go that route down the line. Fodera also offers its
well-regarded Pope preamp as an optional upgrade.
The test instruments’ fit and finish was no less
impressive. The frets were superbly dressed, and
the finish (the only part of the build that Fodera
outsources) was even, lustrous, and free of buffing
marks or haze. The neck joint was rock solid, as was
the installation of all the hardware. Even though
our test instruments endured a NAMM show en
route to Bass Player, their setup was excellent.
Renowned for its extensive wood supply, Fodera
didn’t skimp on the Monarch-P and Emperor-J.
You won’t find fancy figured tops like on some of
the other models, but you do get well-aged examples
of the classic Fender combinations: ash body/
maple fingerboard or alder body/rosewood fingerboard.
The three-piece maple neck showed attractive
grain, and the multi-part arrangement can help
ensure stability as the weather changes.
Each instrument’s playability was excellent, too.
The subtle changes to the Fender designs and lightweight
headstock made each balance better than the
typical P or J. The basses have a subtly carved area
at the neck joint to improve high-fret access. Both
necks are fairly narrow at the nut and small overall,
and I couldn’t discern a difference between the
Monarch-P and Emperor-J profiles, unlike with P-
and J-style basses typically. While I appreciate that
Fodera’s basses are set up to accept Dunlop-style
straplocks, I prefer a solution that includes the ability
to use a regular strap in a pinch. As designed,
there’s no protruding strap pin to grab on to. There’s
nothing worse than realizing you’ve forgotten your
straplock-equipped strap at a gig only to discover
that you can’t use one borrowed from, say, another
band on the bill.
NEW & CLASSIC
The Fodera Standard Classics did an excellent job
evoking the now deeply familiar sounds of Precision
and Jazz Basses. The proprietary Seymour Duncan
pickups feature a vintage-style wind and even come
equipped with cloth-covered wire. I have a host of
cool Fenders on hand here for comparison, and the
Foderas acquitted themselves well against some
pretty special examples of the breed. The Monarch-
P tended toward the grindy, aggressive end of the
P spectrum, rather than the syrupy vibe of some
SPECS FODERA
S
SPECIFICATIONS
Street Monarch-P Standard Classic,
$3,950; Emperor-J Standard Classic,
$4,000
Pros Flawless construction and attention
to detail; excellent tone that remains true
to form; superb playability
Cons In relation to the competition,
they’re expensive
Bottom Line A cool example of what happens
when a boutique builder tasks itself
with making a simple bass.
Construction Bolt-on
Body As tested, Monarch-P, ash; Emperor-
J, alder
Neck Three-piece maple
Neck width at nut 1.5"
Fingerboard Indian rosewood
Fingerboard radius Compound
Frets 22
Tuners Fodera Gotoh-style
Bridge Fodera chrome
Pickups Seymour Duncan proprietary P-
and J-style
Scale length 34"
Controls Monarch-P: volume, tone;
Emperor-J: volume, volume, tone
Made in U.S.A.
Contact fodera.com
bassplayer.com / may2017 47

TECHBENCH LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
T
TECHBENCH
THE INQUIRER
Chasing Excellence
BY JONATHAN HERRERA |
LIKE EVERY ARTISTIC ENDEAVOR, BASS PLAYING
is complicated. Drill down on any single part of the craft and
it’s immediately clear that mastery is a mirage. There’s so
much subtlety; an infinitely motivated player with boundless
patience could make a life’s work of the subtle vagaries
of seemingly simple ideas. On this attention to detail, my
North Star has long been Anthony Jackson, who said in a
’90s BP interview:
“Honesty is an automatic self-correcting process
… Unless you are a supremely arrogant, shortsighted,
narrow-minded individual, your mouth should go dry
when you hear yourself play and tune in to the buzzes,
squeaks, and inconsistencies of all types. Ultimately, the
responsibility for excellence is yours alone.”
I relay the above not only because it’s an all-time favorite
quote from an all-time favorite player and it deserves another
day in the light, but because this magazine’s raison d’être is to
aggregate and contextualize insight so that you can get better.
The critical eye that AJ champions is meaningless without
focus. We can’t make the process any easier, but
we can help make it more efficient. But there’s a
catch, and it’s a big one: in print, we only have
30-something pages, 13 times a year, to fulfill
that mission. That catch has consequences. It
means we leave stuff out. Stuff that matters.
We’re forced to weigh the merits of an artist’s
insight in an interview with the objective value
of a harmony lesson. Should we review that hot
new amp or run a piece about bass setup? With
minimal space to achieve a maximal goal, we
make choices that inevitably mean each issue
fails to comprehensively cover the craft.
This column will not solve that problem,
but I hope it will help. It’s intended to be
eccentric; to explore the myriad issues that
sometimes fall through the editorial cracks; to
inquire. Given I’m a gear guy, technology will
often be its focal point, but I’m also a player,
producer, and teacher, so it will undoubtedly
veer into those lanes, too. Regardless, I aim
to make it useful and to leverage the (perhaps
misguided) carte blanche I’ve been given to be
Bass Player Senior
Contributing Editor
Jonathan Herrera is the
magazine’s former Editorin-Chief.
An accomplished
player, Jonathan has been a
full-time musician and producer
since first leaving the
magazine’s staff in 2010. His
latest endeavor is Bay Area
recording studio Airship Laboratories.
Catch up with him
at jonherrera.com and at
airshiplaboratories.com.
authentic; to probe the industry without feeling overly unencumbered
by politics.
My inaugural focus: I hereby encourage people to futz with
their bass. Those of you that teach can relate, I’m sure: How
often have you had a new student bring in a bass so profoundly
out-of-whack that it easily explains their perhaps decadeslong
frustration at being stuck in a rut? Almost to a person,
my students come in with long-neglected instruments. Loose
pots, rattling tuners, action as high as a mountain and harder
to climb. No wonder they’re discouraged.
Often, my first advice to students is to get their hands dirty.
A little common sense, some cursory Internet research, and a
modest set of tools (shout-out to my fave, the Cruz Tools Bass
Player Tech Kit) are all that’s needed to learn how to take care
of an instrument. Plus, at least structurally, it’s pretty hard to
break anything (one warning, though: the trussrod requires
minor adjustment). And most important, just like in any relationship,
intimacy deepens the connection.
If you’re tweak-phobic, consider this a fear-facing call for
catharsis. Find out the sizes of each adjustable screw and nut
on your bass (if you don’t know where to begin, contact
the manufacturer). Most likely you’ll need #1 and
#2 Phillips screwdrivers, a metric and imperial
hex key set, a ball-end hex wrench for trussrod
adjustments, a short steel ruler with a metric
scale, something to cut strings with, and a q"
and 5 /16" nut driver or at least an adjustable
crescent wrench. There are approximately 50
bajillion videos on YouTube illustrating the
setup process and you’ll find standard specs
to aim for on many manufacturers’ websites.
I tend to take the jazz approach to setup,
though: I improvise, but steeped in self-taught
awareness. Only through trying will the symbiosis
between your instrument’s adjustable
bits reveal itself, and you’ll get to the point
where you easily intuit what needs a fix. Most
important, if you do find yourself in a seemingly
irredeemable setup quandary, folks like
me are typically happy to take your $40 and
fix it for you.
Don’t be coy. It’s time you and your bass
had a date night; you won’t hurt it, so long as
you don’t overtweak the ’rod. BP
48 bassplayer.com / may2017

W
WOODSHED LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
WOODSHED
JAZZ CONCEPTS
Passing Fancy
The Chords Between The Chords
BY JOHN GOLDSBY |
“IT’S JUST A PASSING CHORD.” BASSISTS HEAR
this slightly condescending explanation from guitarists and
keyboard players who don’t want to bother clarifying what’s
really happening in a chord progression. A passing chord is a general
description for any chord outside of a diatonic key center,
often connecting two chords that naturally occur in the key
signature or key center.
Last month, we looked at 12-tone rows, which use all 12
notes of the chromatic scale. In a 12-tone row, an atonal sound
is created because no note is repeated in the entire row of 12
notes. This month, let’s explore a couple of exercises that use
all 12 notes in a series of sweet-sounding,
major-scale-based diatonic chords
and passing chords. We’ll use the key of
C major, and add passing chords between
each diatonic chord generated from the C
major scale.
Example 1 shows a common exercise
using all of the triads from the C major
scale: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim, C. Note
that each triad arpeggio, or broken chord,
is built from the ascending notes of the C
major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If Ex. 1
seems unfamiliar to you, take time to practice
the line slowly. To master this exercise,
i INFO
Check out John’s
new video lesson
series, The Upright
Bass Handbook.
More info at
truefire.com and
johngoldsby.com.
• Watch Ariane Cap
play diatonic triads
play the arpeggios in several positions on
all over the bass!
the neck. Once you have the written example
under your fingers, create your own
• Learn the intricacies
of diminished
patterns using these chords and the exact
notes of each arpeggio. Note that we’re only
using triads (three-note chords), not 7th
chords (four-note chords).
To review: Major scales use seven notes
from our 12-note music system. Major
scales adhere to a formula of whole-steps
(W) and half-steps (H), which looks like
this: W–W–H–W–W–W–H. Start on the
passing chords from
Indiana University’s
Tom Walsh.
• Review diminished
chords from John
Goldsby’s Jazz Concepts
column.
bassplayer.com/
may2017
note C, and count up a whole-step (up
two half-steps, or up two frets) on your
bass to arrive at the note D. Count up a
whole-step (two frets) from D to the note
E. Following the formula you see that the
next note is a half-step up (one fret up, to
JOHN GOLDSBY
CONNECT
the note F). Continue the formula until you’ve found all seven
notes in the C major scale.
Now for the fun part. Let’s add a passing chord between
some of the diatonic chords in the scale. Example 2 shows the
ascending diatonic arpeggios of the C major scale, with passing
chords between each of the diatonic chords that are a wholestep
apart. Remember that there are seven notes in the major
scale, leaving five notes where we could build passing chords:
Diatonic chord in C major
C
Dm
Em
F
G
Am
Bdim
C
Passing chord
C#dim
D#dim
F#dim
G#dim
The C#dim triad sits between the C and Dm chord
in bars 1 and 2 (Ex. 2). This type of passing chord
occurs in countless standards, often as a substitute
for A7. Listen to songs like “I Got Rhythm,” “It
Could Happen To You,” and “Easy Living” to hear
this useful diminished passing chord in action.
The D#dim triad in bar 2 connects the chords Dm
and Em. This passing chord is often used in “I Got
Rhythm” and other standards. In bar 4, the pattern
moves from Em to F, two diatonic chords from the
C major scale. Since Em and F are a half-step apart,
there can’t be a passing chord in between. The F#dim
chord in bar 5 shows up in blues-based tunes as a
passing chord between the IV (F) chord and the V
chord (G7). In bar 6, the G#dim triad leads nicely
from the sound of the C major scale into A minor,
which is the relative minor of C major.
Bar 6 of Ex. 2 shows the only passing chord in
the exercise that is not a diminished triad. The Bb
major triad in bar 6 is a passing chord between two
diatonic chords of the C major scale: Am and Bdim.
The Bb leads smoothly into Bdim, which resolves
Bb
50 bassplayer.com / may2017

perfectly into Cmaj.
Example 2 doesn’t outline a particular chord
progression to a standard song, but it contains
many typical passing chords and familiar sounds.
You can build your harmonic prowess by getting
this exercise in your ears and under your fingers.
Example 3 bops through the progression using
only chord tones, a couple of inversions, and some
rhythmic variation. Once you have this exercise
down, write your own line over the progression.
You can use just a few bars of the progression,
or focus on two diatonic chords and one passing
chord to compose your own line. Understanding
passing chords will add color and harmonic swag
to your goody bag of bass skills. BP
Slowly & accurately
= 60
C Dm Em F G7 Am
Bdim (Bm7b5)
C
EX. 3 EX. 2 EX. 1
4
6
= 60–100
= 60–110
2
4
2 5
4 7
9
7 10
2 5
3
2 5 2 3
3 5
5 7 10 7 9
9 10
3
3 5
5
C C#dim Dm D#dim Em F
2
4
2 5
2 5
2 5
3
4 7
5
3
3
3
3 4
4 5
5 6
6 7
7
F#dim G7 G#dim Am Bb Bdim (Bm7b5)
C
5
4 7
4 7
5 9
7 10
7 10
4 7 4 5
5 6
6 7
7 8
8 9
9 10
C C#dim Dm D#dim Em
2
2
5 2
2 5 2
3
4 4 4
2 5 2
3
3 4
4 5
5 6 6
6 7 2
0 3
F F#dim G7 G#dim
2
5 2
4 7 4 4 7 4 7 4
3
3 4
4 5
5 6
6
6 7
0 3
10
Am
Bb
Bdim (Bm7b5)
C
9 9 5
7 8
10 7
8 9
10 7
9 10 12 9 10 5 2
3
bassplayer.com / may2017 51

WOODSHED LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
W
R&B GOLD
Even More Great Moments In R&B Bass
BY ED FRIEDLAND |
THIS MONTH I’LL RETREAD THE “GREAT
Moments” format as a brief break from exploring
the vaults of Motown. When searching for R&B
Gold nuggets, I’m often surprised by what the
sediment of music history holds—unusual facts,
or strange connections that remind us that this
music was created in a much smaller world than
the one we live in now. The music business back
then was indeed the “cruel and shallow money
trench” Hunter S. Thompson once referred to—but
it was relatively young and still willing to experiment,
resulting in some great music that would
never be released in today’s perfection-obsessed,
mega-hit-driven music industry.
One of the great R&B bass breaks of all time
is the intro to the King Curtis hit “Memphis Soul
Stew.” The original version was on Curtis’ 1967
album King Size Soul and featured Tommy Cogbill
on bass. During the 1960s and ’70s, Cogbill was
in a group of select session players who became
casually known as “the Memphis Boys.” His active
style owed a debt to James Jamerson for sure, but
his laid-back feel put an indelible Southern stamp
on it. In 1966, Cogbill went to Muscle Shoals, Alabama,
to record with Wilson Pickett; he played
guitar on some tracks, but switched over to the
bass for “Mustang Sally.” While burnt-out bar
bands may scoff at the mention of this staple,
the original Wilson Pickett version is an indisputable
masterpiece. Cogbill anchored several other
monster hits such as Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,”
Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” and
Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” to name a choice
few, but his intro on “Memphis Soul Stew” is a
classic riff all bassists should know. Example 1
is the basic idea, followed by something resembling
the main riff (Ex. 2). Now, jump to 1971 and
check out Jerry Jemmott playing the same tune
on King Curtis’ Live at the Fillmore West. While the
essential part is the same, it’s an amazing study in
contrast. Where Cogbill is loose, chill, and in the
pocket, Jemmott is tight and bubbly, crackling
with electricity. (I discuss both Cogbill and Jemmott
in my book The R&B Masters: They Way They
Played, from Backbeat Books.)
Another great moment in R&B bass is the intro
to the Temptations’ version of “Papa Was a Rolling
Stone.” In my search to identify the player, several
interesting things came to light. While it might seem
natural to assume it was James Jamerson on bass,
there were other players tracking bass at Hitsville
USA, and the tone and performance made me consider
the possibility of Bob Babbitt being the man
behind the groove. But there was also a pre-Temptations
version of the song, which I was not aware
of, that Babbitt did play on, by the Motown recording
act the Undisputed Truth. I found a post from
E7
EX. 1
i
INFO
EX. 2
= 114
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9
E7
7
9 9 7 9 7 9
9 9 7 9 7 9
7
7 9
7 9
ED FRIEDLAND
Ed Friedland is
currently touring
with Grammy
Award winners
the Mavericks,
and living outside
of Nashville,
Tennessee.
edfriedland.com
= 120
Bbm
EX. 3
6
4 4
4 6 4
52 bassplayer.com / may2017

Babbitt’s own forum, dated 2008, that said: “Hey
guys, the Undisputed Truth version was yours truly.
I had first been told that the Temptations version
was Leroy Taylor, but then Eddie Watkins’ name
was also mentioned to me. Recently, Wah Wah
Watson and I had a discussion about the session,
and he told me that Jamerson and myself were both
on the session, but when producer Norman Whitfield
asked Jamerson to just keep repeating the bass
line, Jamerson got up and walked out. Wah Wah
said that Norman had me play the line. I told Wah
Wah that I did not remember this, but he insisted
that is what happened. As a result, if several versions
were recorded and the credits had three or
four bass players on the album but did not list who
is playing on each cut, then there would be confusion
as to who played on what.” We may never know
for sure who played bass on the Temptations version,
though my money is on Babbitt.
The Undisputed Truth was assembled by
Norman Whitfield to develop his psychedelic soul
sound, and their biggest hit was “Smiling Faces,”
EX. 6 EX. 5 EX. 4
5
= 118
= 113
= 118
Bbm
1
Bbm
1
Bbm
3
3
1 3
1 1 1
1
1
3 1
3 1
which rose to #3 on the U.S. pop charts in 1971.
But their prototype version of “Papa” contains a
few surprises. First, like the better-known version,
there is indeed a bass solo for the introduction
that leads into the main groove. However,
unlike the Temptations take, the intro riff is completely
different from the song’s main groove—
and the main groove is completely different from
the more famous version. Example 3 is a close
approximation of the idea behind the Temptations
intro; it’s a simple, spacious riff that repeats
as the main motif for the entire track. Example
4 illustrates the intro figure played by Babbitt on
the 1971 Undisputed Truth recording. While he
plays it with the groovy assurance he is known for,
the line is a dead ringer for the main riff of Donny
Hathaway’s “The Ghetto,” recorded a year earlier,
shown in Ex. 5. The only difference is that Babbitt
plays 1–5–b7–8–5–4 for the riff’s first half,
while Hathaway’s song makes the slightly awkward
jump from the b7 to the root for a melodic profile
of 1–5–b7–1–5–4. While bassist Marshall Hawkins
4
4
1 3
1 3
1 4
4
4
1 4
4
is credited as playing on “The Ghetto,” he was a jazz
upright player, and he can be clearly heard playing
a melodic solo that doubles a vocal breakdown at
3:28 in the track, leading me to assume someone
else played the electric bass part. Also listed on the
album personnel is Phil Upchurch, better known
as a rhythm guitarist, but he is definitively listed
on bass for four tracks on the record. (Another
bassist on the Hathaway disc is Louis Satterfield,
who recorded with B.B. King and Muddy Waters,
and notably played the bass line on Fontella Bass’
classic recording “Rescue Me.” If his name seems
familiar, it may be because Satterfield also played
trombone, and he wound up joining his college
buddy Maurice White’s new band Earth, Wind &
Fire, featuring one of his more famous bass students,
Verdine White.)
Once the Undisputed Truth version of “Papa”
gets underway, Babbitt switches to a sparse eightbar
pattern with a cool fill that ventures into the
upper register (Ex. 6). Unfortunately, I am unable
to make a conclusive determination of who played
the groove on the original “The Ghetto,” but Willie
Weeks played the hell out of it on the famous
Donny Hathaway Live recording (which also features
Phil Upchurch on guitar). Did Babbitt rip
this riff? It’s hard to say for sure, but the similarities
are too great to assume he had not heard the
Hathaway track.
These internal connections fascinate the
researcher in me, as does the possibility that one
man (Babbitt) could have recorded so many hit
records that he would have a hard time remembering
which ones he played on. Regardless, the riffs
are legendary in their own right, and the mysteries
encountered are par for the course when digging
for R&B Gold. BP
1
1 4
1 1 1
1 4
1 4
4
1 6 8
6 8
6 10 6
bassplayer.com / may2017 53

LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
TRANSCRIPTION
?
TRANSCRIPTION
Aretha Franklin’s
“Let Me In Your Life”
Stanley Clarke’s Complete Bass Line
BY CHRIS JISI | PHOTOGRAPH BY HEADS UP INTERNATIONAL
A LESSER-KNOWN ASPECT OF STANLEY CLARKE’S EARLY
career is that while he was in the throes of revolutionizing the bass, the Philadelphia
native had a solid three-year run in the early ’70s as a groove-minded
New York City session musician. “It was an amazing time,” Clarke recalls. “I had
Fenders and Gibsons, and an Ampeg B-12, and I would do three or four sessions
every day. I was paying $35 a month in rent and I’d make that in the first hour
of my first session! In addition to doing record dates, I remember first meeting
Clarke today and in the studio circa 1974 (inset).
Billy Cobham on a Campbell’s Soup jingle and doing
an Avon jingle with Herbie Hancock.” These recordings
reveal Stanley’s ability to throw down while also
offering a glimpse of his innovations that would
change the bass landscape forever with Return To
Forever and his landmark solo sides. Perhaps the best
example is Aretha Franklin’s cover of Bill Withers’
54 bassplayer.com / may2017

“Let Me in Your Life,” from her 1974 album of the
same name. The classic platter also features Willie
Weeks and Chuck Rainey (including his peak performance
on “Until You Come Back to Me,” transcribed
in BP February ’97), but it was Stuff/session bassist
Gordon Edwards who sent Clarke in to sub for him.
The session took place in September 1973, at
Manhattan’s famed Atlantic Studios on the corner
of Broadway and 60th Street. In the main room,
opposite the strings, Clarke was set up between
drummer Rick Marotta and guitarist David Spinozza,
with arranger/electric pianist Eumir Deodato,
organist Bob James, and percussionist Ralph
MacDonald nearby. He recalls Aretha being in a separate
vocal room and Donny Hathaway in a room on
acoustic piano. Stanley played his Fender Precision
with flatwounds, recorded direct via a tube DI, as
well as a miked Ampeg B-15, “to get some grit.” Deodato
provided a chart that was mostly chord changes
with some notated cues. The ensemble did two or
three run-throughs and one or two recorded takes.
The track begins with a two-bar intro that includes
Deodato and Spinozza riffing, leading Clarke to boldly
jump into the groove with his upper-register fill in
bar 2. “I was young, cocky, and confident, so I went
for it. The New York session scene at that time was
friendly to the next hot young player coming up, and
I was that guy on bass—which is smart, because to
move music forward, you always have to acknowledge
what the youth bring to the table. This was
particularly true of Aretha’s producers on the session,
Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd.
They always had their eyes on the young guys and
the next new sound, and they dug what I was doing.
Wexler liked that I took chances. He listened to the
take and said, ‘Yeah! That’s a bass track!’”
Rather than a verse-chorus-bridge format, the
song follows more of an A section/B section form,
consisting of what Clarke describes as a “masculine”
A section and “feminine” B section. Letter A
is the hard-driving A section, with Stanley and his
rhythm mates finding their way to a syncopated
pulse during run-throughs. Clarke pivots between the tonic G and F, with some
open-E pickups, and he uses chromaticism when moving to the IV chord C the
second time (bars 17–18). “There was a language of contemporary R&B at the
time created by masters like [drummer] Bernard Purdie and [guitarist] Cornell
Dupree, and for me, on bass, James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey—and we were
all fluent in it. We had the rhythms, the tonalities, and the licks down from listening
to those guys. But at the same time, we added our own subtle twists and
takes on it, as newer guys with varied influences. I remember Rick’s hi-hat feel
was slightly different from Purdie’s.”
Letter B is the song’s first B section, for which Clarke unleashes a series
of ear-grabbing but tastefully phrased descending fills in the back half of each
measure. Of note is how he starts his run on the 3rd (C) of the Am7b5 in bar
21 and moves to progressively higher starting notes in the successive chords;
this includes the major 7th in bar 23, the 9th in 26, the 5th and 4th in 27, and
the melodic motif in 31. Also key is how he uses the open G, D, and A strings to
navigate these considerable spans. “There was space after the downbeat, and I’m
thinking David, Rick, and the keyboardists aren’t doing anything, and even the
string line is whole-notes, so I went for it! I thought [the section] needed some
movement, and it came out naturally and quickly, without a lot of thought. I
was a jazz musician; I knew chords and I knew which notes to pick. I remember
Rick looking at me wide-eyed and then nodding. I was fearless and willing
to be myself, plus everyone had made the session so comfortable for me. The
other factor was that Aretha is aggressive and growling in the A section, which
we all responded to, but in the B section she’s more passionate and pleading.
I wanted to play something beautiful and emotional on the bass in response.”
As for the open-string use, Clarke adds, “My whole approach to bass lines goes
back to my roots on acoustic bass; utilizing open strings is a common device for
getting around on the upright. But another part of my open-string use was for
tonal purposes. As a melodic-minded player, I liked to have ringing notes, and
back then, flatwound-strung electric basses had a short, thumpy sound, which
is why I liked to have a miked amp when recording.”
For letters C and D, Clarke mirrors his A and B output, with a bit more expression
via slurs, slides, and hammers in D. This leads to the outro at E, which rides
the A-section pocket. Stanley remains reactive, coming up with a motif in bar
69 (repeated in 72) that he builds off in bars 74–76. With the fade looming, he
submits one more greasy, upper-register idea in bars 78 and 80.
Clarke, whose output this year has included an historic week of duets with
Ron Carter at the Blue Note in New York, a co-starring role on Bunny Brunel’s
latest all-star bass effort, Bass Ball [2017, Nikaia], and an upcoming album with
his own band, advises, “Listen to the track and work out the fingerings. When
you have it down, go back and try your own ideas, keeping in mind that the best
bass lines elevate the song.” BP
bassplayer.com / may2017 55

TRANSCRIPTION LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
?
“Let Me In Your Life”
Med. R&B
3
= 93
Intro
5
9
18
S
19 18
Transcription by Chris Jisi
H PO
15 17 15
G7
A
1 3 3 0 1 1 1 (1) 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1
Am7b5 Gmaj7
3 3 3 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 1 3 1
0
3 3 2
C
G7
3
0 0 1 1 3 3
2 3 3
0 1 1 3 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 1
13
Am7b5 Gmaj7
3 3 3 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 3
0
3
17
C
G7
3 3 3 3 0 0 1 1 2 3
1 3
3 3
0 1 1 (1) 2 2 (2) 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3
LET ME IN YOUR LIFE
Words and Music by Bill Withers Copyright (c) 1974 INTERIOR MUSIC CORP. Copyright Renewed
All Rights Administered by SONGS OF UNIVERSAL, INC. All Rights Reserved Used by Permission Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard LLC
56 bassplayer.com / may2017

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TRANSCRIPTION LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
?
21
25
29
3 3
3 3
B
Am7b5 D7b9 Gmaj7
0
5 4 2 2 0 3 2
0 0
7 5 4 0 0 0 2
11 9 0 0 0 2
3
3
5 4 0 2 0 2 2
Am7b5
Gmaj7
0 0
12 11 0 0 2 0 2 0 0
16 14 0 0 0 2 0
19 17 0 0 0 2
3 3
3
5 4 0 0 0 2 0
Am7b5
Lay back
Gmaj7 G7 Cmaj7 C/D
3
540 540 1214 12 0 0 12 0 0 0
0 0
203 0 0
20 3 3
3
3 3 3
35
C
G7
3 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 1 2
39
Am7b5 Gmaj7
C
3 3 3 0 1 1 3 3
0
3
2 3 3
3 3 3 0 0 3
1 3 3 3 0 1 1 2 2
43
G7
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 1 1 1
58 bassplayer.com / may2017

TRANSCRIPTION LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
?
47
51
55
3 3 3 0 1 1 3 3
Am7b5 Gmaj7
0
3
C
3 3 3 0 1 1 3 3
2 3 3 3 3 0 1 1 2 2
G7 Am7b5 D7b9
D
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 3
Gmaj7
S
S
3 5 3 3
12 911 0
0 0 2
S S
3 5 3 3
0 0
Am7b5
H
5 4 0 4 5 4 0
0 2 0 0 2 0 0
5 4 0 2 0 3 2
0 0
5 4 0 2 0 3 2
H
9 11 9
2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0
59
Gmaj7
Am7b5
5 4 0
0 0 2 0
3 3
5 4 0
0 0 3 2 0 0
5 4 0
0 0 2 3
0 0
5 4 0
0 0 2 0
3 3
63
Gmaj7 G7 Cmaj7 C/D G7
E
11 9 0
0 0 2 0
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 0
3 3
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1
68
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 1
3
3
H
4
0 2 3
(0) 2 3 3 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1
60 bassplayer.com / may2017

TRANSCRIPTION LINK FACE TECH PLAY LEARN
?
72
75
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3
1 3
0 2 3
(0)
2 3
3
H
4
3 3
78 Fade out
3 3
0 2 3
19
H
17 15 17
1 3
0 2 3
0 2 3
0 2 3
(0) 2 3 3
(0)
(0)
2 3
2 3
3
12
S
15
0 2 3
2 3 3 4 4 0 0
3 3 3 0 1 0 1 3 1
3 3
19
H
17 15 17
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64 bassplayer.com / may2017

assplayer.com / may2017 65
BASS SHOWCASE

D
By Jim Roberts
Ashdown’s
Mark Gooday
Mark Gooday (right)
with Michael Rhodes
Jim Roberts was
the founding editor
of Bass Player and
also served as the
magazine’s publisher
and group publisher.
He is the author of
How the Fender Bass
Changed the World
and American Basses:
An Illustrated History
& Player’s Guide (both
published by Backbeat
Books/Hal Leonard).
FOR MARK GOODAY OF ASHdown
Engineering, being innovative is a
matter of looking both forward and back.
A 35-year veteran of the bass amplifier
wars, Mark has seen the trends come
and go—from bigger is always better
to how small can it be, from nothing
but tubes to it must be Class D. He sees
value in many design concepts, old and
new, but has remained faithful to one
primary principle: “It’s all about tone,”
he says. “I’ve always wanted a really,
really big bass sound that was deep and
round and warm.”
In the early ’80s, Mark was playing
bass and looking for that big sound. He
bought a Trace Elliot amp. He liked some
things about it but thought he could make
improvements. “I went and saw them and
said, ‘Guys, I can make all your products
better and cheaper for you.’ They ended
up employing me to run the factory,
and within a year they made me managing
director. And then the company
grew and grew.” Mark was at the helm
during a period when the Trace sound
matched musical trends—the amps were
“a slapper’s delight,” he says—and the
U.K. company’s radioactive green logo
graced many concert stages.
In 1992, Kaman Music acquired Trace
Elliot and helped to expand its presence
in the American market. But, as so often
happens with distant corporate masters,
the relationship became strained.
Unhappy with budget cuts and micromanaging,
Mark left the company in
1997 and took six months of “gardening
leave” to consider his options.
He came back strong, launching Ashdown
Engineering with a line of amplifiers
called Ashdown Bass Magnifiers. The
first ABMs were literally do-it-yourself
projects, built by Mark and his family in
their living room. He took them around
to retailers and got a surprising response:
They liked the look and sound but thought
the controls were too simple. “We had the
VU meter [on the front panel], because
I wanted something to distinguish it
onstage,” he says. “And we had bass,
middle, and treble. There’s no need for
much more than that.” Mark worked with
his engineering team to tweak the control
layout, adding midrange EQ, but he
still firmly believes in simple, straightforward
front-panel designs—and solid,
reliable electronics. “With our amps,” he
emphasizes, “if it says it’s 500 watts rms,
it’ll do it all day long and all night long.
We’ve stuck with trying to make them
so they’d last a lifetime.”
That said, Mark has not ignored the
current trend toward Class D heads and
lightweight cabinets, although he is somewhat
of a skeptic about their ability to
produce that “big bass sound.” He says
he has focused on making Ashdown’s
EVO amps “as powerful and reliable as
we can make them,” but he still believes
in the sound delivered by handcrafted
tube heads and heavy, well-constructed
cabinets. That’s the “backward” part of
his vision, and he intends to remain
faithful to it.
On the “forward” side, Mark is
moving Ashdown into what he calls
the semi-consumer market, which the
company has addressed with a number
of new products, notably the B-Social
“desktop amp.” A compact 75-watt unit
with two 5" speakers, the B-Social has
wireless connectivity and a USB connector
for digital recording, as well as
a second input for collaborative composing
and playing. Its App-Tek input
allows the user to access any of the evergrowing
number of apps available to musicians.
Ashdown displayed the B-Social at
the CES show in Las Vegas last January;
Mark says the response was overwhelmingly
positive. “They got it,” he says. “It
was like, ‘Oh man, you mean I can record
straight from this? I can plug in a friend?
It’s wireless and Bluetooth?’ You’re definitely
going to see more products down
that route from us, ones that make the
musician’s life easier.”
Looking back at his career, Mark says,
“We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve
had our massive successes and a couple
of failures, but we carry on working at it.”
And looking forward: “It’s about getting
it right. We want to make what we like
to make, make it well, and make it last.”
For more about Ashdown Engineering,
go to ashdownmusic.com. BP
66 bassplayer.com / may2017

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