Contents

Issue 58 September 2010

20 BOOTSY
COLLINS
Meet the man behind
some of the most
famous basslines
in history as classes
begin at Bootsy’s Funk
University

Regulars Interviews
08 THE LOW DOWN
Keep up with all the latest new gear and
industry news…

14 BASS TO THE FUTURE:

JOHN BIRD
Introducing John Bird of Liverpool band Xander
and the Peace Pirates

16 TAKE FIVE: GLENN HUGHES

Currently performing with supergroup Black
Country Communion, the sometime Deep
Purple bassist reveals his favourite bass albums

18 BASSICALLY SPEAKING
We talk to bassists Joey Daniel, Pete Stow, Will
Sowers, James O’Brien, Jaxin Hall and Tom Fry
BassicallySpeaking BassicallySpeaking

Bassically Speaking
Bassists tell us what they do in a minute or less!
28 STANLEY CLARKE
Joey Daniel Tom Fry, Ben Matthews Trio
Bass legend Stanley Clarke talks us through the
arsenal of bass instruments utilised on his new
e Last ‘My bass style is jazz-splattered groove. I use mainly double basses:
my favourite is a cheap and nasty plywood job from a drunken
Republic eBay purchase. I also play a Warwick 5-string Infinity. It’s versatile
and absolutely gorgeous. With the double bass the sound of strings
‘I use a battered old Mexican
Fender Jazz through an
Jaxin Hall, Of Mice & Men should be great enough, but I own a Holy Grail and a Mini Q-Tron
begrudgingly. Amp-wise, for double bass I play through the Phil
Jones Bass Briefcase for pretty much every small gig and rehearsal.
old Ampeg SVT-2 preamp, ‘I spend most of our set running, throwing my bass around It’s the best-sounding most practical amp I’ve ever bought, without

James O’Brien, Black Soul Strangers
‘I don’t play 5- or 6-string bass,
because I’ve never needed
one. I find the lines and style
I play can be achieved quite
well with a 4-string bass, so
why complicate it? Maybe
DI box for overdriven sounds,
and an Ashdown 500 EVO
head with an Ashdown 4x10
cab on top of an Ashdown
1x15. The most important
thing about a bassline is that it
full potential. My favourite
bass – by a mile – is my current
70s Precision. I’d sleep on
the streets before I’d sell it.
Producer Michael Beinhorn
(Korn, Soundgarden, Red Hot
and an Ampeg 300 power
amp into an 8x10 Ampeg
enclosure. I recently bought
a new ’52 reissue P-Bass but
I can’t seem to put down
the Jazz. On my floorboard
I use a Tech 21 DI Driver
along with an Ibanez delay/
echo pedal to achieve those
Pink Floyd-style delay-heavy
rhythms. I also use a Boss
stage tuner and a Boss line
and jumping off stuff, or in the crowd. We put a lot of focus
on performance and energy, so I do my best to get into the
groove of the music and throw myself around accordingly. I
use a Fender Jazz American Deluxe and an American P-Bass
with a SansAmp pedal and an Ampeg SVT-4 PRO. The secret
of good bass is being passionate and being able to get into the
music you’re playing. My favourite bassists to watch are the
ones that you can see losing themselves in the music they’re
performing. Obviously practice helps too, but I’m all about
passion over actual ability. Not everyone can be Flea, but you
can play with the same passion and that’s what I think is the
most important. My first bass was a candy-red Squier Jazz. I
recording
a doubt. On bigger gigs, the jack plug falls into whatever sound
system is around, in the hope that the soundman is worth his
while. The secret of playing bass well is…other players. Listening.
Deftness of touch. Learning to love the long notes but not
forgetting the intricacies of the groove. My bass heroes are Charles
Mingus, Jimmy Jazz Prescott, Ray Brown. I slap the double bass – it
is a percussion instrument after all – but not proficiently. I do not
slap the bass guitar for fear of humour.’
www.myspace.com/musicisrubbish
© Helen Purvis

34 HUGH MCDONALD 40 JD DESERVIO

in the future, when I want to
experiment more with sounds
and styles, I’ll look into 5- or
6-string guitars. I play a 1972
Fender Precision (otherwise
known as my baby) through
an MXR bass DI and SansAmp
fits the song and provides that
solid foundation. The groove
between bass and drums is
essential in providing this
rhythmic foundation to build
the song on – without it the
song may never achieve its
Will Sowers, Emarosa
Chili Peppers and many more)
has asked me for a loan of it
on a few occasions to record
with. In his words, it’s “the best
P-Bass I’ve ever recorded”. I rest
my case!’
www.blacksoulstrangers.com
selector because I use a bass
synth through my set-up. I’ve
always stuck to 4-string basses
– any more strings and it’s
just jazz! I think the secret of
good bass playing is to get a
grip of the fundamentals first
and stay as tight as possible
with your drummer – do
that and you can’t go too far
wrong. My bass heroes, and
loaned a friend of mine $300, and until he could pay me back he
gave me his bass as collateral. The money never came back, but
it worked out in my favour as I decided to learn some tabs off
the Internet, and a few years later here I am.’
www.myspace.com/ofmiceandmen
Pete Stow, Obsessive Compulsive
‘I alternate between five Vester Clippers (Warwick Thumb copies), which are

the people who inspire me
the most, are Paul Simonon
‘I use a Marcus Miller Fender Jazz plus Fujigen and
and Roger Waters, plus
Ernie Ball StingRay basses with GHS strings. They go
people like Martyn P Casey
into a Fulltone OCD pedal and then to an Ampeg SVT
from Nick Cave’s band the
Classic. All my bass heroes always played simple
Bad Seeds and Peter Hook
and – most importantly – effective basslines, so I have
from Joy Division and New
always tried to accomplish the same, and I’ve always
Bon Jovi’s ‘unofficial’ bass player shows us just Joel McIver meets John DeServio of
in varying stages of decay. One of them is held together with Meccano after
the body split down the middle onstage after many tours. I bought my trusty
Warwick Streamer after eating little else than baked beans for a year in 1992.
I also have a very metal-looking Vester Argus. I keep effects to a minimum. I
use a Boss ODB-3 set really dry to get a little dirt in the background – fewer
leads, less stuff to go wrong. For 18 years I’ve used a Trace Elliot Series 6 GP12
with a PPA 1200, but I’ve recently moved onto an AH500-12, as my back ain’t
gonna last forever! As for cabs, I use a Laney 2x12 – it’s slightly damaged so it’s

what it takes to take to the stage with one of the Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society
Order. The list could go on
felt that a 4-string bass gives the best tones for that got a bit of growl to it – with a Trace 1x18. The secret of playing bass is being
and on. One of the best ever
style of playing. The secret of playing bass well is focus at one with the instrument. Onstage you’re not playing the bass – it’s playing
is James Jamerson – that
and keeping the beat. Bass is essentially a rhythm you. My first bass was a strip of plywood – I drew frets and strings on it and
guy was just amazing. I don’t
instrument, as well as the backbone of the melody, I’d go into school, skip class and sit in the cupboard in the music room playing
really like slap bass – the
so if you’re off from the rhythm section the entire the bass. I’d write stuff and then practise it on my plank at home, until the
sound of it goes through me. I
group sounds off as well. My first bass was a Bentley local vicar’s wife gave me an old acoustic. She probably thought I looked like
much prefer someone who is
that I bought with my dad from a local pawnshop. an idiot, sitting there running my hand up and down a plank of wood. I soon
understated and tight as hell
My bass heroes are Trevor Bolder, Peter Hook, Colin

world’s biggest stadium acts

with his drummer.’  swapped it for an early Peavey bass, which made my plank sound good!’
Greenwood, John Deacon, Paul McCartney and Flea.’ www.myspace.com/obsessivecompulsive
www.thelastrepublic.co.uk
www.myspace.com/emarosa

18 Bass Guitar Magazine Bass Guitar Magazine 19

Basically Speaking_1nw.indd 18 Basically

02/08/2010 Speaking_1nw.indd 19
16:54 02/08/2010 16:54

4 Bass Guitar Magazine

Contents_1nwindd 4 10/08/2010 13:24

 42 BURNS NU-SONIC Gear Reviews
Launched in celebration of the
company’s 50th anniversary, we take a
closer look at this retro reissue

52 TC ELECTRONIC BG500
The latest combo from TC Electronic
boasts 500 watts of power and a
comprehensive feature set

Bass Techniques

DAVE MARKS:
DEVELOPMENT
RHYTHM SECTION
TIME
DEVELOPING 3/4 grooves: the country
waltz, jazz waltz and
an ‘all-
going to move
lesson in our series
that This month, we’re
Welcome to the second blues’-style groove. 3/4.
skills. In last ideas of playing in
your rhythm section beyond the traditional
helps you expand 3/4
looked at some ‘standard’
month’s column, we

DAVE MARKS Figure 1

a funk groove that
for funk. Fig 1 shows
Dave Marks is a busy
freelance Fig 1: Funk in 3/4
groove, 3/4 can be
an awesome time
signature
make sure to use hammer-ons
and pull-
and
out of If you have the right note lengths throughout
bassist living and working Watch out for the
and recording has a great pocket.
London. His playing sounding fluid.
rage of bands offs to keep the riff
credits span a wide
Larry Carlton,
and artists, including Bass Techniques
Paul
Albert Lee, Carl Palmer,
others.
Carrack and many
his time is spread
At the minute,
out 8th note
between pounding

Franc O’Shea:
Parfitt Jr. band,
rock with the Rick
grooves for

BaSS BeYOnD
playing deep soulful
for
Ola Onabule and depping two bars of groove
West End. Figure 2 Fig 2 alternates between
Thriller Live on the of To create this ‘two-
notes in the space and two bars of hits. A journey into the
Fig 2: Playing two
playing,
Aside from his full we play a dotted quarter
teaching and Rhythmmatters three beats
against-three’ feel,
the ‘and’ of beat two. chromatic univer
trick in the context
of last month’s note on beat one and se of the tempered scale

T
Dave
masterclass schedule, Let’s try a nice rhythmic even division of it means ‘play this
web presence, Usually, we feel the When we dot a note, note
maintains a heavy ‘all-blues’-style example. to split the bar So in this case, each
site and his month I am bar. However, it’s possible length, plus a half.’
blogging on his own three beats in each going to explore two
bar in half, we get lasts 1½ quarter notes.
keeping his Youtube
channel dominant 7#5b9 if we divide our 3/4 the
would give us
content. down the middle:
creates tension
chord, looking
at how it E7#5b9 to Cmaj7.
stocked up with fresh as a b9 of E7#5b9, F, Here
1½-beat divisions.
V7 in a II-7 V7 Imaj7 substitute for chord resolves by moving we find that the

Gear
www.davemarks.com progression and to E, which is the down a semitone
scales it will work which 3rd of C major.
one of the possible with. Since the G#, moves down The 3rd of E7#5b9,
7#5b9 is a semitone to
THE LONDON
Bill Ward

types of altered
Zildjian Cymbalscymbals

resolve at the 5th

Rock’s drumming legend

C major, G, and
82

A range of new K Series

said that it is derived

DRUMMER MAGAZINE

chords, it could the b7 of E7#5b9, of

from the altered be move both down D, could be said
Issue 82 August

Franc
Drumming Matters

be when we look
at the altered scale scale. This would major, or a tone to resolve to
Interview
DANIEL
2010

Exclusive!

BEN
FARRUGIA
at the root of C
Ben Johnston

“I’d sooner take a

using its scale up a tone to

shaker than a

degrees as enharmon harmonically,

O’Shea
floor tom!”
Bill Ward

in the exact midway resolve at C’s third, E, as it lies

Download Festival

Johnston
Interview
NICKY
BIFFY CLYRO
BOMBA
The usual voicing ic equivalents.
degrees of C major. point between these two chord
“The sign of a
Daniel Farrugia

for the altered

good band is
most
“Music and drums are the
life.”
understanding
the dynamics”
important thing in my

a major scale but scale is the same

James Hester Debra

I
major (see Example have provided an example in
Interview

Head of the Bass

KASPER
RAST
with everything as
Dobkin

Department (apart from its flattened or altered

“I feel everything

F
Kasper Rast

as a funk

2) that uses the

drummer”

PDP X7
NEW GEAR kit
at BIMM Brighton, root note), 1 b2 melodicall notes
b3 b4 b5 b6 b7,
Maple
performance from
“high

Franc has
TESTED
the name ‘altered’, y, built both from of a 7#5b9
WWW.DRUMMERMAGAZINE.CO.UK

great value drums”

Figure 3 hence
Moongel

with the 5th degree

Roland TDK-12

beats backbone of Western the major scale being the C, and the 3rd
Silver Fox Sticks

worked with Steve we used a

notes across three
Stageworks Pads

of the key,
Tycoon Percussion

degree, E.
Crash Pad Practice Pad

chunks. Previously, Howe

X Heads
Remo Tattoo & Ambassador

Playing four equal-sized (Yes), notes). music from which I wrote this tune,
2010
UK £3.95 Issue 82 August

3: four
Also Inside:On Fire

Fig
Special Feature:

bar into
James Hester - Cars

3/4 Lisa Moorish, 1½ eighth names are all

OYSTER HOUSE

to the stars

the
MEDIA

the which
Guest tuition from

ultimately derived.
Debra Dobkin - Percussionist

even further and break eighth note (worth

and Mike Lindup interval album, appeared on my
Chris Bussey (trioVD) 06/07/2010 09:59

that
We can take this idea use a dotted (Level 51, we can look But as Esprit, as a dedication first solo
1
Cover 82-4ic.indd

Do you have a drummer notes). This time we’ll 42). Described at the altered scale we saw in BGM to the late
with him (worth 1½ quarter by Bass chords, where saxophonist Charlie
Parker, a man who great bebop
you play with? Practise dotted quarter note Guitar Magazine
as ‘the most its formula becomes 1 b2
in terms of altered
many
is writing which is where new avenues of opened up
too! Darren Ashford musical of virtuoso the 7#5b9 could #2 3 b5 #5 b7, the chromatic
in field of jazz. The universe in the
a RhythmMatters column Franc has also
bassists’, from. be said to be derived excerpts I have
so they’ll have produced two tune ‘Bubbaloo’ provided from
Drummer magazine, But the altered
scale isn’t the only are based on a my
each of your solo albums. His standard jazz blues bebop blues (ie
drum parts to fit with most recent mode that fits
with this chord. parent scale as opposed to a
bass grooves. album, ‘Alkimia’, table provided By looking back sequence), but a ‘Blues For Alice’
features to the shown
Flamenco and modes fit in the
in BGM 56, you
will notice that just the two variations here is not the whole head
e-books, rhythm Jazz legends 7#5 four from the last of but
For backing tracks,
and a lot Jorge Pardo and contain flattened category, three of which also the full 12. In both
the first-time and
the four bars of
section masterclasses Rubem Dantas 2nds, and therefore the second bar second-time bars,
these columns, from Chick Corea’s
VERY NICELY IN 3/4: two other scales
that will fit with there are also demonstrates
more to help with
OUT THAT GROOVE and Paco through the use the 7#5b9 chord, notes of a 7#5b9 a melody built
TUNES FOR YOU TO CHECK de Lucia’s
chord. You will from the
of enharmonic
check out
A LIST OF SOME Day Over’ - Norah Jones
bands. FrancIsuses from the altered equivalents, apart chord stated for note also that
the
www.rhythmm atters.co.uk. FINALLY, HERE’S ‘Come Away With JeffMe’ & ‘The Long
Chapman basses
and
scale.
the harmonic major These are the third mode where the #5 or
this
b9 are
melody is a dominant
7th chord,
Jimi Hendrix
Elites–strings. scale, which is of as I have mentioned not shown. This is because,
‘All Blues’ – Miles Davis ‘Manic Depression’ the fifth mode Phrygian b4, and
IN ASSOCIATI ON WITH – John Coltrane Man’ – Billy Joel
www.fran of the harmonic providing before, most jazz
‘My Favorite Things’ – Bic Runga ‘Piano coshea.com
Red Hot Chili Peppers
the Phrygian dominant. minor scale, the harmony accompanists
& ‘Honest Goodbyes’ ‘Breaking The Girl’ – Interestingly enough,which is chords when playing will not include the 5th in
‘Beautiful Collision’ Davis Jr
these scales are both a standard dominant 7th
Matthew Band Bojangles’ – Sammy used interchang would leave the
‘Kit Kat Jam’ – The Dave ‘Mr music, eably chord.

48 WARWICK
Bird as well as being in flamenco voicing options So I
(chorus section) – Wallis ‘Norwegian Wood’ –
The Beatles used in jazz. All they would base open to them,
‘Blossoms In The Street’ shown in notation
in Example 1, with three scales are on the melody. which
– The Dirty Hands If you now look
‘Purple Rain’ (verse section) Taylor as enharmonic
equivalents to the notes used at the final scale
to you – James create a 7#5b9 Example 1, you provided in
Dave’s column is brought ‘Sweet Baby James’ highlighted for
comparison. chord will notice that
it is a composite
RhythmMatters of both the Mixolydian
in association with The group of notes b2 scale and the
that make up the dominant. I arrived
www.rhythmmatters.co.uk (1 b2 3 #5 b7) 7#5b9 chord at Phrygian
in aSSOciatiOn especially in the
have a particularly
interesting sound, include the octave) this 8-note scale (9 notes if
with context of a V7 by compound you
Since there are Imaj7 progressio 7#5b9 built both ing the notes of
on the 5th and a

STAR BASS II
five notes in this n. For example, if 3rd degrees of
84 Bass Guitar
Magazine a distinctive chord, and it has the key was C a
major, then chord key.
10:43
10/08/2010sound when played such G7#5b9, would
say that it is also as a
a pentatonic scale scale, you could III, E7#5b9,
contain G, Ab,
B, D# and
V, a
F, and chord
So how does it in its own right. would contain
work in terms equivalent of C) E, F, G#, B# (the
V7 Imaj7 perfect of creating tension and D. When we enharmonic
Dave Marks_1nw.indd
74 cadence? If we in a together from put all these notes
major, the dominant were in the key G, we
the b9, Ab, resolves would be G7#5b9. We find that
of C and F, which gives would have G, Ab, B, C, D, D#,
the E
G, which is the by moving down
a semitone to and Phrygian dominant.composite of Mixolydian b2
5th of I have provided
Franc’s column
is brought to you moves up a semitone C major. The 3rd of G7#5b9, example from
the root of C for the notated
in association with to resolve at the B, interesting thing convenien
the British The #5 of G7#5b9,
D#, moves up root of C major. about this composite ce. The
Mixolydian b2

Warwick’s Star
Institute of Modern at the 3rd of C a semitone to is the fifth mode scale is that
Music. major, which is resolve parent scale, and of the
www.bimm.co.uk F, moves down
a semitone to
E, and the b7 of
G7#5b9, of Phrygian dominant harmonic major
0844 2 646 666 could say, just resolve at E. So the harmonic minor is the fifth mode
like the tension you causes the original parent scale. So
which we looked
at
created by a 7b5
chord, key to temporaril this, in effect,
notes of the I major last month, the V7#5b9 has the of the harmonic y
parent scales, either shift into one
by semitones. chord it is resolving before it once again resolves major or minor,
to surrounded to the melodic
But this enigmatic scale on chord major
I major.
trick up its sleeve. group of notes
also has another case of the temporary It is also interesting that in

Bass II offers a
the
chords bVII7, bII7
I demonstrated
in BGM 54 how chord V7, a sophisticat shift to the harmonic minor
and III7 (which ed form of parallel on
apart) can all be are all minor 3rds is created. In an modulation
used upcoming issue
V7 to Imaj7 perfect as substitutions for chord V7 parallel modulatio
n in more depth,
we will be studying
cadence. The 7#5b9 in a at examples including looking
also works really chord actually in popular tunes
well as a substitutio to create tension. where this device
built on the third n is used
degree of the key. for chord V7 but Until next
So in C major this month…
82 Bass Guitar

clear change of
Magazine

Franc O'Shea_1nw.i
ndd 82

direction for the

Techniques
09/08/2010
16:07

German company

62 THE 74 ANDREW MCKINNEY

WOODSHED Tuition Tip: Reading Notation
58 MARK NEW!
STUDIO 1
Mark Beazley plugs into
this impressive software
Regulars 76 STEFAN
REDTENBACHER
package from Italian 62 THE WOODSHED ‘Funkologies’
We meet Barry Gibson, head honcho at Burns Guitars
amp giants Markbass 80 JANEK GWIZDALA
Modern Bass Improvisations
68 ESSENTIAL EFFECTS
Akai UB1 UniBass Harmonized Bass Distortion 82 FRANC O’SHEA
Bass Beyond: The Tempered Scale
60 AGUILAR 70 ON REVIEW
AGRO BASS We preview the latest bass-related CD releases 84 DAVE MARKS
DISTORTION from the likes of Incognito and Herbie Hancock Rhythm Section Development
We road-test
Aguilar’s latest 86 JAMIE WILKINS
72 BUT THIS GOES TO 11… ICMP Scholarship Diary
fuzzbox The science part…

Bass Guitar Magazine 5

Contents_1nwindd 5 10/08/2010 13:24