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The NAMM Show and “THE SOUND”
It’s Thursday morning and my shuttle to the NAMM Show is late. I’m waiting with great anticipation to see all of the latest gear and play on the hottest basses. I first ran into Ben Jones, the new bassist for the Neville Brothers. He told me about his new bass from David Minnieweather. I couldn’t wait to talk to David.
The crowds seemed larger this year. The sounds seemed louder and I felt older! I went to section E first. That’s where I first found most of the builders of the Extended Range Instrument movement. It was great to see Fred of Bee Basses. He makes some of the best ERI in the business. I stopped by to see Jake Kot, always a step ahead! And I found some very inventive products for our pursuit of happiness.
I planned to spend every waking moment looking at equipment until…I stopped by Jorg Schroeder’s booth. I must add that I’m a recording engineer when I’m not touring and I’ve been looking for “The Sound” for my 5 string bass for years. I needed the clarity of a studio reference speaker. When you spend thousands of dollars on a custom bass, you want to hear what it sounds like. Most speakers and amplifiers have their distinct sound. This may be the secret sound combination for many but I have been seeking clarity.
I purchased a 4×12 model from JORG since the Namm Show. It’s and Incredible addition to my sound. I love the Marcus Miller bass sound. I’ve been a fan since the 70’s. I bought his Signature Bass, his strings and played through the same kind of amp, but I didn’t come close to his sound. When I played on Jorg’s cab, while also playing one of his new Jazz Bass models, I heard “The Sound”. It was as if I could rest! I tried several bass styles with the rig and I was done with the whole NAMM Show!
I hung out with the Pro Tools people and went home the next day. I also found out that I love Pecan Pie from Denny’s. I knew then that GOD truly loved me! I found “The Sound” and Pie! Who could ask for more?
I have to tell you about equipment and me; I am VERY opinionated I know what I want and I am not looking for free equipment. I am blessed to have a career in music and I thank God that I can afford to buy the tools of my trade. It’s so hard to find versatile equipment that gives me what I need.
When you’re on tour, it all comes down to 4 feet. On stage, you’re 4 feet from your cab if you’re a sideman. If you’re far from your rig, they put you in the monitors. The name of the game is to have a low stage volume so that the Front of House engineer can do his job. You don’t want tons of stage volume fighting the PA system. As a bassist, sound guys love to hand you a direct box. I can’t stand that! A guitar player has his pedals and his vintage amp and you mike HIS SOUND, but when it comes to the bass they hand us a direct box and then they create a bass sound for us. I MUST have a bass rig with POST eq so that I can send the FOH engineer MY SOUND.
We all have an ideal of what we want to sound like. I love so many bassist styles and sounds. I used to dream as a child of sharing the stage with Miles, Jaco, Stanley and Larry, and I would always wake up before my solo! Truly a Nightmare!
For whatever tool you choose to play, you need the right rig. For my 11 string, I will always use my HYDRA cabs from Madison. They have 21-inch subs. They have a pleasing coloration for my thin high strings. When it comes to session work and recreating YOUR bass sound, you have to find what’s right for you. I’m finally HAPPY!! I am hard to please.
Stay Blessed…
Your pal Al
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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