Latest
Ask Willis: Willis Takes on Your Questions
Meet Willis –
Hey Willis,
I was in Vitoria and I saw your shows with Triphasic. Congratulations . I was surprised by your show and music.
I’d like to ask about which program you use for video editing and the show live.
And for your Triphasic logo screensaver ?
I have a macbook pro 13′.
Thanks a lot
See you soon,
Manel
Thanks Manel,
I use Final Cut Pro for editing and Arkaos Grand VJ on stage. (I use a MacBook Pro 15″) The lettered logo is from the Shaman CD artwork illustrated by Oriol Malet
http://www.oriolmalet.com/portfolio
The blue background is from a pack of video loops from jumpeyecomponents.com. The triangle shape is a simple mask from a black and white jpeg and composited as a “difference” layer. It’s continuously looped throughout the whole show on an iPod Touch and I switch to it as necessary with the Roland/Edirol V-8 video mixer.
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Hey Willis,
First of all, let me say, that I’m a great fan of your playing. you’re certainly my biggest influence when it comes to fretless bass and I appreciate your very profound approach to the bass. I’ve got the GWB1 model and lately one of the neck screws seem to have worn out the corresponding hole in the neck. It ighten it for as long as I can and it won’t go tighter. Now i’m afraid that the bass hast lost stability/tone/sustain and I have since not assembled the bass again. What would you recommend I should do?
Furthermore, the neck pocket on the GWB1 seems pretty loose. On both sides of the neck joint, there’s a slight space between body and neck. I’d like to hear your point of view on bolt-on necks here because I heard that it doesn’t matter if the neck joint fit is tight. The more important thing is, however, that the surface of the neck joint that touches the heel of the neck has to be very tight because that’s where the vibrations are being transmitted.
Would you say that is correct?
greetings from germany,
Flo
So has it definitely lost sustain or do you just suspect it? Anyway, the first thing to do is fix the screw hole. Take a toothpick and trim a centimeter or so off of it and place it in the hole. Mark the length and trim it so it sits in the hole but doesn’t stick out. You could probably insert a 2nd piece as well. This should fix the stripped wood and get the screw to working again.
For the neck joint itself, I haven’t had the opportunity to experiment a lot. However, with Ibanez, we did try a prototype with a glue-in neck. Everything else about the bass was the same. When I first listened to it I though the pickup was defective or something because the output was about half. It turns out that the bolt-on neck joint is kind of a “black box” of technology that nobody has been able to definitively figure out. Still, something about having a less-than-perfect contact between the neck and the body gives it the ability to resonate the way we want it to.
It also makes sense that it’s more important that the back of the neck makes good contact with the neck pocket. And that the sides are likely not as important.
Let me know if fixing the screw hole makes a difference in sustain or (acoustic) output.
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Hey Willis
I’m trying to learn Say Never from Actual fiction and transcribe your solos.
And i just wondered how you think when you improvise over the Eb69 and the Db69 part of the progression.
Håkon.
Hey Håkon,
It’s a fairly simple progression (for the readers: all 69 chords |: Bb C | D Bb| //// |Bb C |D Bb| //// |Bb C |D Bb |Eb Db| Bb //// :|)
Since the chords keep moving – getting your ideas out of one particular sound helps. For the Eb and Db part there are a couple of things that work. Bb minor (dorian) will be correct with both chords, although you probably are aware of my aversion to thinking about scales. Another thing that works is Cmi pentatonic – works naturally for Eb and give you a #11 over the Db. I try to approach improvisation like a language so I usually do better the less I think. To speak a language fluently means you have to think about it so much that it becomes subconscious – but that’s an answer for another question.
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Why does your signature bass have a string spacing of 16.5mm? I had your signature bass (older one, made in Korea), what a great bass!!
David
Hey David,
I think it was for the production year of 2004 that the bass was manufactured in Korea and the basses from that run were outfitted with a different bridge that had the slightly smaller string spacing. ‘Turns out I preferred the 16.5 and we switched back to that when production returned to be hand crafted Japan.
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Hey Willis,
I have had the GWB1 for nearly a year (got it second hand) in Flat Black finish and lemme begin by saying that I totally love it! I play rock/pop covers and the use of fretless in a rock context gives me a different approach to things that I’m sure fretted bassists don’t have. It’s my only bass, by the way.
I’m curious to know why your new GWB1005 series isn’t offered in black or the corresponding fretted versions. For the former, is it due to the thicker finish’s effect on tone? And for the latter, is it just due to demand and supply?
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Yong Xi
Hey Yong Xi,
Good to hear that the bass is working for you in those diverse situations. The Flat Black finish is on the GWB35 – so that’s probably what you have. The GWB35 is made with a basswood body. Basswood doesn’t have much of a grain to look at so a clear or stained finish just doesn’t work. It’s true that painting a GWB1005 would require extra sealers and finish that would compress the tone quite a bit. But, I can special order you a fretted version of the
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GWB1005 (only available through me) . Send me another email and I can give you the details.
Hey Willis,
What is the decision process for using extensions like a 9th, #11, or a 13th instead of a regular 7th chord? Is there voice leading involved or is it more a matter of a “denser” chord? I know “because It sounds good” is a legit answer but I was hoping for some insight on the subject of using chord extensions.
Thanks,
Kevin
Hey Kevin,
On a regular, functioning (means it’s part of chords that are in the same key) 7th chord, the decision process goes something like this:
Do I want to keep my job and play with this band again?
If yes, go on to next question, if no, then play whatever you want.
Are there “style” constraints that, if ignored, would get me fired (or at least not called for the next gig)?
If yes, then go on to the next question, if no, then play whatever you want.
Does the context of this song allow me to be creative with my note choices while still fulfilling my role in the group?
If yes go on to the next question, if no, then in the famous words of Ron Carter “just play the letters, not the numbers”.
If you’ve got this far, then the answer depends on your role: soloing or reinforcing the harmony.
In either case, the natural 9 and 13 are safe bets to work while still allowing you some degree of creativity in soloing or a support role.
The #11 you mentioned is not diatonic and should be reserved for soloing – It’s often necessary in soloing to use non diatonic chord tones to create interest and tension. The natural 11 is an obvious bad choice because if its conflict with the major 3rd sounding an interval of a minor ninth below. All circumstances require an understanding of voice leading since often your extensions need to be resolved by your successive note choices. Some situations even allow you to alter the 7th chord’s extension (b9, #9, #5, etc) and so you have to be even more conscious of voice leading and how your extensions should resolve.
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Hi Gary,
Im preparing for an admission test to attend a jazz course at university here in lisbon (Portugal) and i met a teacher who works there… at a gig and he told me that they really value the ability to effectively walk on jazz changes, thats a big one for them… ..the thing is its really to difficult to emulate the traditional walking on the electric bass …i got your book fingerboard harmony and im a huge fan of your work on Allan Holdsworth “None too Soon”, can you give some info on how to become a little more efficient on playing walking bass on electric ?
Thank you
Sérgio
Hey Sérgio,
Eventually, the book will give you a global approach to harmony that will let you create really smooth, efficient walking bass lines (as well as smooth solo lines, fills, etc). Remember that the “feel” that you’re trying to create has very little do to with the physicality of the acoustic vibrations of a acoustic bass (big wooden box). Upright players in a jazz setting actually have it easier (harmonically) since the pitches are less discernible and the notes decay rapidly. Effectively walking over jazz changes involves a few different skills that you may not be able to develop in a short period of time. First, you need to be able to analyze the harmony immediately. Once you’re able to diagnose the different kinds of chord sequences and key changes then it makes it easier to connect your lines to become more efficient. Having a subconscious vocabulary for what happens in a given key and putting your hand in the best position to play in that key is another goal of the book that, of course, takes time. Another thing that really helps is memorization. The quicker you are at memorizing and not having your eyes glued to the paper, the more you’ll be able to listen and interact musically with the band. Other things like having a good sense of time, tone, form (the structure of the song) and style are also very important but are still difficult to improve rapidly.
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Hello Gary!
Hope all is well with you. 9 months left on my course and I’m out there into the big bad world of music. I’m pushing real hard to develop your technique properly, and I know you say about buzz with left hand muting. If for example you were to play the first 7 notes of teen town, how would you personally go about muting the strings once you’d played them? I’ve tried slowing it right down and using my middle finger to dampen both the A and G when I do the octaves and can’t get the speed required from the damping finger.
Would be great if you can point out anything I might have missed, trying to keep my playing free of left hand buzz and darn open strings ringing as I’m playing a fretted 6.
The books are great by the way, fingerboard harmony and 101 bass tips so far. I’m hoping Santa will bring me some more! =P
Thanks
Joe
Hey Joe,
One of the ways to see if the right hand damping is working is to do what you’re talking about: slowly play every note of a phrase short and damped with the right hand. In this case I would play all 3 of the low C’s with the first finger and the upper descending C, Bb & A all with the 3rd – each finger dampens its own note. The last g could be played by the first or 2nd finger. BTW, this is starting with the C on the E string and avoiding the open G.
Best of luck with Santa and graduating to the big bad world.
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Gear News
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass…
Esopus Guitars is proud to announce the new “Tailwater” bass guitar, from legendary bass luthier Stuart Spector. This 32” scale bass is handcrafted by Stuart using the only finest woods and components at the Esopus Guitar workshop located near Woodstock NY in the Catskill Mountains.
From its fully carved spruce top (the top is carved on both its exterior and interior surfaces) with a thumb rest that is elegantly carved into the top, to its custom-made Fishman piezo pickup and super hard Carnauba wax finish, every detail of the Tailwater is part of creating the ultimate playing experience.
The Tailwater bass features a fully chambered spruce over alder body (15.5″ lower body bout width, 2.25″ body thickness measuring from the peak of the carved top) that delivers a super comfortable tonal tool for all your low-end needs.
Each Tailwater bass is hand-signed and numbered on the back of the peghead by Stuart Spector. A very limited number of Tailwater basses are handcrafted each year at the Esopus workshop.
“I am proud to present the Tailwater bass, a bass that I have spent the last three years perfecting. The Tailwater is a culmination of all of my 45 years of experience, knowledge, and passion for bass guitar crafting. I am so eager to hear what fellow musicians create with this exciting new instrument.” -Stuart Spector
Direct Pricing : $4995.00 plus options.
For more information about Esopus Guitars and Stuart Spector’s handcrafted instruments, visit www.EsopusGuitars.com.
Bass Videos
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
Ian Allison Bassist extreme…
Most recently Ian has spent the last seven years touring nationally as part of Eric Hutchinson and The Believers, sharing stages with acts like Kelly Clarkson, Pentatonix, Rachel Platten, Matt Nathanson, Phillip Phillips, and Cory Wong playing venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Staples Center and The Xcel Center in St. Paul, MN.
I had a chance to meet up with him at the Sellersville Theater in Eastern Pennsylvania to catch up on everything bass. Visit online at ianmartinallison.com/
Latest
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
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Features
Interview With Audic Empire Bassist James Tobias
Checking in with Bergantino Artist James Tobias
James Tobias, Bassist for psychedelic, Reggae-Rock titans Audic Empire shares his history as a musician and how he came to find Bergantino…
Interview by Holly Bergantino
James Tobias, a multi-talented musician and jack-of-all-trades shares his story of coming up as a musician in Texas, his journey with his band Audic Empire, and his approach to life and music. With a busy tour schedule each year, we were fortunate to catch up with him while he was out and about touring the US.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Dallas, Texas and lived in the Dallas area most of my life with the exception of 1 year in Colorado. I moved to the Austin area at age 18.
What makes the bass so special to you particularly, and how did you gravitate to it?
I honestly started playing bass because we needed a bass player and I was the one with access to a bass amp and bass. I played rhythm guitar and sang up until I met Ronnie, who I would later start “Audic Empire” with. He also played rhythm guitar and sang and we didn’t know any bass players, so we had to figure something out. I still write most of my songs on guitar, but I’ve grown to love playing the bass.
How did you learn to play, James?
I took guitar lessons growing up and spent a lot of time just learning tabs or playing by ear and kicked around as a frontman in a handful of bands playing at the local coffee shops or rec centers. Once I transitioned to bass, I really just tried to apply what I knew about guitar and stumbled through it till it sounded right. I’m still learning every time I pick it up, honestly.
You are also a songwriter, recording engineer, and a fantastic singer, did you get formal training for this?
Thank you, that means a lot! I had a couple of voice lessons when I was in my early teens, but didn’t really like the instructor. I did however take a few lessons recently through ACC that I enjoyed and think really helped my technique (Shout out to Adam Roberts!) I was not a naturally gifted singer, which is a nice way of saying I was pretty awful, but I just kept at it.
As far as recording and producing, I just watched a lot of YouTube videos and asked people who know more than me when I had a question. Whenever I feel like I’m not progressing, I just pull up tracks from a couple of years ago, cringe, and feel better about where I’m at but I’ve got a long way to go. Fortunately, we’ve got some amazing producers I can pass everything over to once I get the songs as close to finalized as I can.
Describe your playing style(s), tone, strengths and/or areas that can be improved on the bass.
I honestly don’t know what my style would be considered. We’ve got so many styles that we play and fuse together that I just try to do what works song by song. I don’t have too many tricks in the bag and just keep it simple and focus on what’s going to sound good in the overall mix. I think my strength lies in thinking about the song as a whole and what each instrument is doing, so I can compliment everything else that’s going on. What could be improved is absolutely everything, but that’s the great thing about music (and kind of anything really).
Who were your influencers in terms of other musicians earlier on or now that have made a difference and inspired you?
My dad exposed me to a lot of music early. I was playing a toy guitar while watching a VHS of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble live at SXSW on repeat at 4 years old saying I wanted to “do that” when I grew up. I was the only kid in daycare that had his own CDs that weren’t kid’s songs. I was listening to Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, and The Doors when I could barely talk. I would make up songs and sing them into my Panasonic slimline tape recorder and take it to my preschool to show my friends. As I got older went through a bunch of music phases. Metal, grunge, rock, punk, hip hop, reggae, ska, etc. Whatever I heard that I connected to I’d dive in and learn as much as I could about it. I was always in bands and I think I kept picking up different styles along the way and kept combining my different elements and I think that’s evident in Audic’s diverse sound.
Tell me about Audic Empire and your new release Take Over! Can you share some of the highlights you and the band are most proud of?
Takeover was an interesting one. I basically built that song on keyboard and drum loops and wrote and tracked all my vocals in one long session in my bedroom studio kind of in a stream-of-consciousness type of approach. I kind of thought nothing would come of it and I’d toss it out, but we slowly went back and tracked over everything with instruments and made it our own sound. I got it as far as I could with production and handed it off to Chad Wrong to work his magic and really bring it to life. Once I got Snow Owl Media involved and we started brainstorming about a music video, it quickly turned into a considerably larger production than anything we’ve done before and it was such a cool experience. I’m really excited about the final product, especially considering I initially thought it was a throwaway track.
Describe the music style of Audic Empire for us.
It’s all over the place… we advertise it as “blues, rock, reggae.” Blues because of our lead guitarist, Travis Brown’s playing style, rock because I think at the heart we’re a rock band, and reggae because we flavor everything with a little (or a lot) of reggae or ska.
How did you find Bergantino Audio Systems?
Well, my Ampeg SVT7 caught fire at a show… We were playing Stubbs in Austin and everyone kept saying they smelled something burning, and I looked back in time to see my head, perched on top of its 8×10 cab, begin billowing smoke. We had a tour coming up, so I started researching and pricing everything to try and find a new amp. I was also fronting a metal band at the time, and my bass player’s dad was a big-time country bass player and said he had this really high-end bass amp just sitting in a closet he’d sell me. I was apprehensive since I really didn’t know much about it and “just a little 4×10” probably wasn’t going to cut it compared to my previous setup. He said I could come over and give it a test drive, but he said he knew I was going to buy it. He was right. I immediately fell in love. I couldn’t believe the power it put out compared to this heavy head and cumbersome cab I had been breaking my back hauling all over the country and up countless staircases.
Tell us about your experience with the forte D amp and the AE 410 Speaker cabinet.
It’s been a game-changer in every sense. It’s lightweight and compact. Amazing tone. And LOUD. It’s just a fantastic amp. Not to mention the customer service being top-notch! You’ll be hard-pressed to find another product that, if you have an issue, you can get in touch with the owner, himself. How cool is that?
Tell us about some of your favorite basses.
I was always broke and usually working part-time delivering pizzas, so I just played what I could get my hands on. I went through a few pawn shop basses, swapped in new pickups, and fought with the action on them constantly. I played them through an Ampeg be115 combo amp. All the electronics in it had fried at some point, so I gutted it out and turned it into a cab that I powered with a rusted-up little head I bought off someone for a hundred bucks. My gear was often DIY’d and held together by electrical tape and usually had a few coats of spray paint to attempt to hide the wear and tear. I never really fell in love with any piece of gear I had till I had a supporter of our band give me an Ibanez Premium Series SDGR. I absolutely love that bass and still travel with it. I’ve since gotten another Ibanez Premium Series, but went with the 5-string BTB. It’s a fantastic-sounding bass, my only complaint is it’s pretty heavy.
Love your new video Take Over! Let us know what you’re currently working on (studio, tour, side projects, etc.)
Thank you!! We’ve got a LOT of stuff we’re working on right now actually. Having 2 writers in the band means we never have a shortage of material. It’s more about getting everything tracked and ready for release and all that goes into that. We just got through filming videos for 2 new unreleased tracks with Snow Owl Media, who did the videos for both Love Hate and Pain and Takeover. Both of these songs have surprise features which I’m really excited about since these will be the first singles since our last album we have other artists on. We’ve also got a lot of shows coming up and I’ve also just launched my solo project as well. The debut single, “Raisin’ Hell” is available now everywhere. You can go here to find all the links distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jamestobias/raisin-hell
What else do you do besides music?
For work, I own a handyman service here in Austin doing a lot of drywall, painting, etc. I have a lot of hobbies and side hustles as well. I make custom guitar straps and other leather work. I do a lot of artwork and have done most of our merch designs and a lot of our cover art. I’m really into (and borderline obsessed) with health, fitness, and sober living. I have a hard time sitting still, but fortunately, there’s always a lot to do when you’re self-employed and running a band!
Follow James Tobias:
jamestobiasmusic.com
Facebook.com/james.tobias1
Instagram.com/ru4badfish2
TikTok.com/@jamestobiasmusic
audicempire.com
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
Interview With Bassist Edmond Gilmore
Have Fret Sprout? Sharp Fret Management… a How-To Video
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
Interview With Audic Empire Bassist James Tobias
New Album: Avery Sharpe, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
