Remote Session Bassist

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

A: Peter Hook, Eric Avery, Kim Deal, Martyn P Casey, Nick Oliveri, Carlos Dengler, Krist Novoselic,

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Collaborating with people and using skill, instinct, conversation, and experimentation to help bring someone's vision to life.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Solid, groovy, muscular, unassuming, girthy.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A sense of feel and honing in on what the artist, writer, and producer are trying to achieve so that I can add to it.

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

A: Write, arrange and record electric bass parts for songs.

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

A: Anyone interested in pushing their own boundaries and trying to break into new ground aesthetically, emotionally, or any other way. Genre unimportant.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Playing in time and with the groove, and knowing when not to play, are the two most important things I try to keep in mind musically. If it sounds and feels good, and makes you smile, then you are probably on the right track.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Arrangement and feel, seeing the instruments and parts as a cohesive piece, and using the bass to fit seamlessly with the rest of the production - from note choices, sustain, how hard or soft to play, what type of strings or instrument to use, and of course what kind of tone. I play my bass parts with the rest of the production in mind so that it does exactly the job it needs to do.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both have their strengths and weaknesses. My personal workflow is Bass > DI (one signal to converters, one signal back out) > Pedals (if needed) > Amp > Mic(s) > Mic Preamp > Converters. I won't use digital processing for the bass tracks I send unless specifically asked to, because the mix engineer is better placed to make those decisions when the bass is heard in the context of the other instruments and sounds. Most of the tone-shaping I do is in how I play the bass - using fingers vs pick, what type of pickup, what type of strings, what kind of gain and eq are on the amp etc. I will provide additional suggestions and tonal options that I think could work. For my part it is mostly analog, but the digital conversion in my setup is solid and works very well.

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

A: That my first priority will be in trying to achieve what YOU want for the track, and to realise YOUR vision for the project. Making music as an intense, emotional, and sensitive process so it is important that the artist's ideas and intentions are honoured and respected. It's my job to help you go after the sound in your head first, not mine.

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

A: I started out like many bassists by playing guitar. I picked up the bass because no one else did or would, and kept going because I found it more interesting and liberating than guitar. I have been playing bass in bands and on recordings for over 15 years.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: This past year I have stripped back a lot of clutter. I am currently using a Fender Precision Bass clean and direct into my soundcard to allow for the quickest turnaround of ideas as well as absolute tonal consistency, and then processing or reamping my parts once the arrangement is finalised. If the arrangement doesn't work then it doesn't matter how good the bass sounds.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Most important: What is your vision for the project and what are you looking for a musician like myself to bring to the table? What is the nature of your project? Is it a single track, or part of larger project or body of work? Lastly (but importantly), what are the technical specifications you are working to? What bit depth and sample rate would you like the files delivered in?

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

A: That bass parts are somehow more simple to arrange and record than guitars, or that a guitarist filling in on the bass will be able to bring the same sort of feel and understanding to the bottom end of the track.