Hey! I play electric and upright bass and have experience playing just about every style of music you can imagine. I love having the opportunity to help artists achieve their vision and I always put as much time and care into the songs I play on as I would my own.
I have a Bachelor's and a Master's from Berklee and am currently based in Brooklyn and working as a freelance musician, writer, and producer, performing with local artists like 2LATE and Nadia Kazmi. Check out the Spotify link below to hear some of the tracks I've played on.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2zwnZqhIHHDEClcR6d32vM?si=71b063625a15418c&pt=78409ced0da9c0be27e6a6f82ddc1554
Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.
Interview with Johnny Nicholl
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I'm especially proud of my work with Ava Swan. I've played on five tracks for her, two of which have been released, and we formed such a great bond while working with her and I feel that came to understand her music on a very deep level.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Right now I'm working on some of my original music and practicing with a few different bands around New York.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise that I'll work on your song until I get it right, no shortcuts.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I like the variety of music that I get to spend time with.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started playing bass about 12 years ago and got really serious about recording for others around 2016.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: It's been a dream of mine for a while now to play with Remi Wolf. The energy of her music and artist persona is captivating.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Less is more
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Most commonly rock, although there's lots of pop, R&B, and various singer/songwriter styles in there as well.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Time - time is everything. It's gotta be rock steady.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I like to think that I bring a level of musical intuition that comes with the experience of having played a lot of different stuff over the years, which allows me to make confident choices about what to play when.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I like to start by listening to the song a few times without playing, as well as any reference tracks the client provides, and try to be really thoughtful in my listening before I start playing. It's important to give yourself over to the process in order for the best ideas to come out.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I record into a Scarlett 18i20, usually through my MXR Bass Preamp and/or Sans Amp VT Bass pedals.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: St. Vincent, Remi Wolf, Steely Dan, Kero Kero Bonito just to name a few.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: My most common type of work is recording electric bass, although the styles I play vary greatly.
- Bass ElectricAverage price - $50 per song
- Bass FretlessAverage price - $50 per song
- Bass UprightAverage price - $50 per song
- American Fender Jazz Bass
- 5-String Active Jazz Bass
- Epiphone EB-0
- Warwick Corvette Fretless
- Shen Double Bass
- Korg Minilogue Synthesizer
