Latest
Willis Takes on Your Questions
First, an update from last issue’s question from Nick about wrist problems and mountain biking. I recently put Avid Elixir CR’s on my Cannondale Moto and wow what a difference. These are better than anything I’ve experienced.True 1-finger lockup and the least amount of tension on my wrists and hands that I can imagine.
Check it out:
Hey Willis,
You I noticed that you’ve started your own YouTube channel and there’s a couple of 3-finger technique exercises. Do you have anything for 4 string, or could you upload something? I’d like to see your basic string crossing exercise but for a 4 string bass.
Thanks,
Nathan
Hey Nathan,
I’m uploading your answer as I type.
Yeah, It’s not happened as quickly as I would have liked but my plan is to answer the type of question you’ve asked and also to take requests (as long as they don’t violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines 😉
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Hey Willis.
First, I have purchased all three of your instructional books: 101 Bass Tips, Fingerboard Harmony for Bass & Ultimate Ear Training. I enjoy 101 Tips more than the other two. The question is are all the examples of Key-Finger-String in the Fingerboard Harmony book written for a five string bass? Some of the finger locations really don’t make a lot of sense to an old guy who has only seriously been playing bass for a couple of years.
Thanks,
Joe
Hey Joe,
Speaking of an old guy, I don’t remember . . . Let me look it up . . . Nope, there’s no Key-Finger-String positions for the B string, so it’s all four string. One thing that might be confusing is that there are some K-F-S positions used for 2nd finger on the D string. This will make sense if you remember how the 2nd finger position connects to the 4th finger position below. On a four string bass, you have to imagine the root of that 4th finger position starting on a B string even if you don’t have one. The same thing happens on a five string bass with positions on the A string so don’t feel like you’re being discriminated against;-)
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Hey Willis,
I’d like to know what your amplification rig was for the Progressive Bassics” Video. Were you using 15’s back then? I remember reading that you were blowing 15’s on tour with Tribal Tech around the time you discovered the Eden 10″ drivers. Now you are using Aguilar 12’s. Does this represent a compromise between the sound of a 15 vs. a 10 and if so, why?
Jordan
Hey Jordan,
That rig was a Carver power amp, probably a Yamaha bass preamp and cabinets that I built myself or JBL cabs with an almost identical design. My 15″ cabinet design was basically a big speaker in a shallow box so it had a lot of definition but didn’t move that much air, but at least you didn’t hear the sound of the box that much. Most 4×10 designs use a bigger box tuned to move more air and sound bigger than 10’s naturally do. While the 12’s weren’t really an option with most manufacturers at that time, 10’s were really starting to become popular and I had much better success not blowing speakers.. Then I played Aguilar’s 10’s until I heard their single 12. I had the fortune of participating in Aguilar’s evaluation process and as soon as I heard it, I knew it had the “throaty” quality I was looking for that didn’t come from any combination of speakers or cabinet size I’d heard before. So it’s definitely not a compromise, but to me, pretty much an ideal speaker.
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Hey Willis,
I’m going crazy with DVDs, books, online information. No teacher locally. WHAT SHOULD I PRACTISE? AHhhhhhh….
How do I gain the right focus?
How do I know if I’m making any progress?
All I want to do is play really really well :>)
Hey Anonymous,
IWhy is it that every one of these questions so far is making me feel old?
OK, back in my day, we didn’t have this internet thingy and this humongous warehouse of information, video, music and instruction only a few clicks away. So pardon me if I don’t sympathize too much. Still, I suppose the glut of choices might make someone feel frozen and not know which direction to go. In a way, I still feel lucky that I never had an electric bass teacher. For that reason, I feel like I’ve had success teaching people how to teach themselves. (which is what I had to do) You do have your own learning process, but maybe you haven’t zeroed in on it yet. Also, you have to realize that everybody is on their own schedule so don’t worry about comparing yourself to the latest young bass-stylist-flavor-of-the-month. Try focusing on the learning process that you’re using. Do you enjoy it? Do you feel free to create exercises for yourself? Do your ear and imagination play an important part in the learning process. If you can answer yes to all three of these questions and throw in some discipline while you’re at it, you’ll be well on your way to making progress. Stay with it long enough and you will play really really well. Now get out of my yard, you kids!
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Hey Willis,
To me, the ramp is the most important advance in electric bass regarding playability since bass body shapes became contoured for us beer lovers. Adjustable
ramps are only offered by your bass and other high-end boutique manufacturers (Fodera, etc). Have the Ibanez guys thought of including ramps in other models, or expanding your signature series to fretted and 4-, 6-string basses? Please, answer yes and end my suffering.
Thanks,
Miguel
Hey Miguel,
Your’e a genius! Why didn’t I think of that? “The Beer Ramp” Wait . . . OK, nevermind
So the answer is kinda yes but mostly no. I am able to personally offer a fretted and/or left-handed version of my signature bass, but 5 string only. Several years ago, I was shown a 4 string Willis prototype but the extra manufacturing/labor cost of including an adjustable ramp on less expensive basses doesn’t add up. The competition in the low-end and mid-level instrument market is intense. Maybe you could start a grass-roots, internet-signature-collecting kind of movement:
Yes we can. . . have a ramp on every bass . . .
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Hey Willis,
I am 20 years old and I started playing a couple of years ago. Although I am happy with my progress in general, I have one persistent problem that has always remained.
Whenever I hold a chord, be it a two note, three or four note one, I cannot hold it for more than 10-15 seconds without this shooting pain in the muscles between my left thumb and index finger (I’m right handed)…this was a problem I faced while playing guitar as well (albeit to a lesser degree). I have tried all sorts of hand positions, but that pain doesn’t seem to go away, or it comes later. Are there any adjustments I could make to my left hand technique to reduce the pain or delay it?
Thanks a lot,
Arunabh
Hey Arunabh,
OK, first thing to do is stop playing those 3 and 4 note chords! That’s what keyboard players and computers are for! (guitar players just wanna solo and could care less about chords)
Now, the next place to start is the setup of your bass. There’s information on my site about setup (it’s kind of dated but still works).
Once you’re sure that the bass is set up with the lowest action you can have without buzzing. The next equipment consideration is the height of the nut. Compare how much the string moves when you fret a low F and while it’s fretted, press down the F#. Look to see if there’s a lot more movement when you only press the F. If there’s a huge difference, then your nut is too high. This can be addressed by a luthier or yourself if you’re comfortable with acquiring and using the right tools.
Once those two things are accounted for, then we can consider your technique.
This would be taken from a chapter in my 101 Tips for Bass book.
Repeatedly play a C on the A string but center your left hand finger directly between the frets – on top of the dot.
Continue repeating the C and gradually lift your finger until you hear it buzz. Observe how much pressure is necessary to keep the note from buzzing. Probably less than you normally use, no?
OK, now move your finger up the string until it’s almost on top of the 3rd fret. Do the same thing – repeated C’s and gradually lift up until it buzzes. Keep alternating – buzz/clean to see how much pressure is actually necessary to keep the note from buzzing. I expect you might be surprised how much more pressure you might be using than necessary.
Two things to remember – first, you’re probably using a lot more pressure than necessary to keep your notes from buzzing. Second, if you maintain a very accurate placement of the left hand fingers so that they are in contact with the fret – it will require even less pressure. Less pressure should equal less to no pain – I hope. Also remember, fewer chords on bass equals more gainful employment.
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
Bass CDs
New Album: Avery Sharpe, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
Avery Sharpe and his Double Quartet to release, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
A new recording will be released on JKNM Records by internationally renowned bassist/composer Avery Sharpe, “I Am My Neighbors Keeper” is scheduled for release in June 2024.
Sharpe has composed a new work that highlights our commitment to one another. Avery initiated the project as a response to the political and racial division that has grown over the past seven years in the country. “The U.S political climate has drastically changed in the past 40-plus years, especially during the last seven of those years. In this age of greed, which Sharpe refers to as “IGM,” I Got Mine, basic human compassion has been eroded. Racial, economic and social strides are being turned back.
“We have food insecurity, the unhoused, pandemics, school shootings, domestic violence, and an opioid problem, just to name some. There is a need to remind people that each of us is here on this planet for a very short period of time. It doesn’t matter if one has a religious approach or a secular approach, it all comes down to concern and compassion for each other. Through these compositions and recordings, Avery’s mission as an artist is to remind us that we all are interconnected and that ‘We Are Our Neighbor’s Keeper.’ When we help to uplift one, we uplift everyone,” Sharpe said.
Each movement in the piece describes the values we should strive for to help one another for this multi-media (video slide show during performance) and multi-discipline performance.
Many of Sharpe’s projects and recordings have been about “standing on the shoulders of ancestors, heroes and sheroes.” Among his recordings and projects, include “Running Man” (celebrating the athlete Jesse Owens), “Ain’t I A Woman” (about Sojourner Truth), and his most recent project “400: An African American Musical Portrait” (marking the 400 years from 1619 to 2019).
Avery Sharpe has recorded and performed with many jazz greats from Dizzy Gillespie to Yusef Lateef. He had an illustrious run of 20 plus years with the legendary Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, of which he recorded more than 25 records with Mr. Tyner and performed countless worldwide concerts.
Visit online at averysharpe.com/
Bass Videos
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
Spector Launches Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II…
Spector Musical Instruments expands their celebrated Woodstock Custom Collection with the Volume II series – a breathtaking series of 12 handcrafted, one-of-a-kind bass guitars, each one masterfully designed by members of the Spector team. Crafted in the Spector USA Custom Shop in Woodstock, New York, these works of art go beyond musical instruments and expand the boundaries of Spector Bass design.
Spector’s iconic design lays the foundation for the Volume II collection. Each bass showcases a unique vision, including the selection of tonewoods, electronics, captivating finishes, and intricate design details. The collection highlights Spector’s commitment to craftsmanship and artistry and the individual people and stories that make up the team.
“The Woodstock Custom Collection was such a huge success, and we had so much fun with it that we couldn’t wait to do it again,” said John Stippell, Director – Korg Bass Division. “With Volume II, we’re expanding on everything we learned from the first collection, as well as pushing our design and Custom Shop team even further. These basses are a testament to the inspiring talent, creativity, and skill of every person on the Spector team. I’m excited for all of these basses and love how they tell the unique stories of all involved.”
Visit online at spectorbass.com/