Electric Bass that Elevates

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Yes. Live drum tracks from Jeffrey Anthony at Harbor Lighthouse Studios (https://soundbetter.com/profiles/118370-jeffrey-anthony).

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: When I play, it is analog—strings vibrating against a magnetic field. When I record, it is digital—a high-resolution signal captured from the instrument converted to data. So, in a word, both. In addition, with much higher resolutions available today in digital workstations that were unavailable when digital recording first began, I don't think analog and digital need battle each other any longer.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: My first recording experience as a professional was for a progressive rock outfit called The Minstrel's Ghost. I got to track bass with one of the best drummers on the planet, Zoltan Csörsz, Jr., formerly of Sweden's The Flower Kings and Karmakanic. It is called "The Road To Avalon". Even six years on, I can listen to that album in one sitting and push "repeat," it is that good.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on a 6-song EP with my post-progressive pop punk band Miller's Planet.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I will never give you "half-baked" bass lines. Your project will get my full attention until it is done.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to play almost any style of music, as I am called upon to do so. Every project makes me a better musician.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: People often think, as Paul McCartney did before he was tagged with bass duty for The Beatles, that the bassist is "the fat guy in the back". People also often think that musicians become bassists because "it's easier than guitar". Both of those misconceptions could not be further from fact. Bass is often harder to execute because it is both the rhythmic and harmonic anchor for any song. Even recording bass takes a lot of practice and experience.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What genre do you consider your song? How do you envision the bass line? Is there an artist whose style is inspiring you? Do you have chord charts? What is your time frame for completion? Would you be open to an alternate bass line in addition to one you might already have in mind?

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Make sure you listen to samples of any provider's work. Listen to make sure they show the harmony and skill necessary to create exactly the part you want. Read all the reviews diligently. Never be afraid to reach out and communicate with a prospective contractor before you commit to anything. The good ones will answer all of your questions before you pull the trigger on a project.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: I'm presuming this island has electricity. That said, I would take my workhorse Fender Rumble 500 v3, my Fender Jazz Bass, my fretless bass, my Mac, my Duet (and of course all the cabling and headphones required). That would pretty much do it.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been an actively working musician since 2006. I began to record seriously in 2010 and have progressively gotten busier. This year a producer suggested I begin offering my services for remote recording, so now I have begun to do so. I plan to build my skills recording for as many clients as I can, and upgrading my equipment and options along the way. I hope to eventually become a touring musician, recording remotely either on the road or at my home base.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm spare when I need to be spare, driving when I need to be driving, and busy when I need to be busy. I'm very much in the vein of the legendary Leland Sklar, who made a career being exactly who he needed to be to fit the song, yet distinctive in his style.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would love to work with Steven Wilson, who continually pushes the bounds of pop and rock into the experimental, yet remains firmly melodic. He's a stickler in the studio, so I know I would learn a lot.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: In order to capture the very best performance, you must first start with equipment and instruments that do not introduce unnecessary noise into an otherwise clean signal. Make sure your electrical power is balanced, and that everything is properly grounded. Check the lighting in your studio to make sure that those circuits don't interfere with your instrument's pickups and cause noise. If you have an instrument that has pickups that buzz as a matter of course, but it's the best instrument for the job, make sure you employ Logic Pro X's noise gate if you don't gate your signal going in. Once you know you are getting the cleanest, most noise-free signal into your recording software, set your levels and GO!

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I've recorded a wide variety, from pop, progressive rock, jazz, Americana/folk-rock, pop-rock, mainstream rock, blues.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Attention to detail, learning a song quickly, and composing parts that play to the strength of the song.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring a rich sense of harmony and rhythm, developed from years of choral experience, and from playing thousands of hours on stage in a wide variety of genres with some of the best drummers in the world.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I receive tracks from a client, I will listen carefully several times, consulting any charts they sent or writing up my own. I'll drop their tracks into Logic Pro X and start practicing. When I get a really solid practice where I'm confident with the part, I will set levels on both tracks and push the red button. On occasion, the best take will need to be fixed with edits from previous takes, but I try to capture everything in one sitting, as error-free and seamless as possible. After that, I will submit the tracks to the client for approval.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run two inputs through my Apogee Duet 2 into a MacBook Pro, recording into Logic Pro X. I will run a direct signal from my instrument, and a second signal through my amplifier, recording on two separate tracks in one performance.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I like the diversity of Tony Levin's output. I'm inspired by the sheer genius of Paul McCartney's song-crafting. Neal Morse is just an unstoppable music-generator, and his engineer, Rich Mouser, is an under appreciated sonic genius.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I will most often compose and record a bass line for clients. On some occasions they have written parts, either for some sections or for an entire song. I will record as written, and on occasion give them an option of an alternate part, if I hear something interesting going on in the music that I think a new bass line would fit.