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Bass Musician Magazine’s Year of the Luthier – Oscar Prat
Bass Musician Magazine’s Year of the Luthier – Oscar Prat…
How did you get your start in music?
I played the recorder and guitar when I was a little kid, nothing serious. But I always wanted to play music. In my first year of college, my friends had a rock band, and their bassist left the group… so it was my opportunity.
Are you still an active player?
No, I wish! Family and work don’t leave me much free time!
How did you get started as a Luthier?
When I was a kid in my father’s workshop, I built an inspiring “mini harp” (a frame with rubberband strings!) But seriously, how it all started was a life chance. I met my American wife in college in Barcelona and I later came to the USA to be with her. To get the funds to move, I sold my own bass and the music equipment I was using. I knew how to work with woods, so I decided I would craft my own bass. As you can imagine, this first bass was a piece of crap! But this first attempt at building sparked curiousity me. That’s where the passion to craft a perfect bass began… ahhaha! Years and years of learning; in the beginning through books and studying theory and later in the workshop of the master luthier Steve Higgins. Prat Basses has only been around 10 years of professional building and I’m still learning!
When did you build your first bass?
I can say I built my first real bass, the first “good” instrument, in the year 2000. I never wanted to make a Fender copy or something like that. Maybe it is a smoother route to understand some concepts, but I always wanted to develop my own idea and so mine was a longer path.
How did you learn the art of woodworking/Luthier?
I started seriously with the theory. At that time the internet was in its early stages, so the only resources I had were books. Like you know, I lived in Barcelona at that time, and my English was really limited and the few books I had were in English. It took a lot of effort to understand all the concepts. With these books I built a few basses, but then I met Steve Higgins. He was an incredible American luthier living in Barcelona, making classic and acoustic guitars. He accepted me as a student, and it was cool because he had never built an electric bass, so we both learned together! We crafted a few instruments together, until I developed my own style.
Who would you consider a Mentor??
Steve was my Master Luthier and mentor. Our friendship taught me what is was to be a Luthier. Back in the USA, I marketed my instruments and myself as a Luthier. It was risky, because I had never really compared my basses with other professional basses, ever. But I always believed in my work.
How do you select the woods you choose to build with?
The wood says a lot just how it shows. I always had a connection with wood, because I worked restoring antique furniture in Spain, and also I had my own antique store in Barcelona for years. I think it is a mix of intuition and past experience. I always choose small quantities of the wood, selecting the very best of the pile!
How about pickups?
I really don’t have any preference for pickups. The customer should make their choice. But of course I like to work with companies that have good customer service and can fulfill my requests for custom pickups or electronics.
What electronics do you use right now??
Currently, I’m using Nordstrand pickups (USA) and Noll preamps (Germany) for my standar orders, but like I said, all pickups and electronics are available.
Who were some of the first well-known musicians who started playing your basses??
Before I moved to the USA, Josep “professor” Merchant, and Charlie Moreno. Here in The USA, Garry Goodman and Jared Lees, to say some.
How do you develop a signature or custom bass for an artist?
To build a signature bass we first need to have a connection, not just agree to build a “different” bass. I need to know the artist personally, and I need to have a positive feeling. Normally it is “easy” to work with a great bassist, because they know very well what they want! I have a clear idea of what the artist wants before I start building – almost like following instructions… hahaha!
What are a few things that you are proud about your instruments and that you would consider unique in your instruments?
There are so many good Luthiers! I am truly humbled when I go to the NAMM shows and I can see the work of other colleagues. Almost everybody comments about my instruments playability and choice of woods. I agree with these opinions.
Which one of the basses that you build is your favorite one?
All of them.
Can you give us a word of advice to young Luthiers who are just starting out?
I’d say not to choose this work for money. It is a very difficult profession, because the industry has its own standards and stars and it is very hard to be recognized. You need to believe in yourself and love the work firstly.
What advice would you give a young musician trying to find his perfect bass?
Go to the music shop with a blindfold. Play a few basses with the blindfold on and make a mental list of which is your favorite, the second favorite… buy the first one if you can.
Sometimes we just look at brands!
What is biggest success for you and for your company?
I consider myself so lucky. I won the Bass Gear Magazine award for best bass product in my first NAMM show in 2010. I have always had so much support from everybody in the industry; from so many amazing players, so many great companies… but the most important to me is that I’ve made so many good friends through my work.
Are you preparing something new, some new model or new design?
I’ve had my standard models for a while now. I’m playing with some new ideas and objectives, maybe moving to Europe, again, who knows? New models always resulted from personal life experiences… It is an artistic projection!
What are your future plans? 2 words:
Family. Basses.
Visit online at www.pratbasses.com
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
Featured Videos
Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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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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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
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
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
