@MarkMichell

Mark Michell

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How do you rate the Neo cabs? Do they have proper batting, as the older (now discontinued) MB cabs weren't the most friendly for low C/B and lower as they had none and rattled and were a little flubby in the low end despite the relatively smaller low end excursion, clearly not with your tone though!

I've never been one to get crazy specific with gear technicalities, and although I consider myself to have a good ear for tone and EQ, I just keep dialing until it sounds good. So, the NEO cabs have always sounded awesome to me. Balanced, even, and really hot and intense output. I've been playing the same exact cab since 2009. NEO cabs are 30 lbs. lighter than most cabs, so that was a big reason I got it to begin with.

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Have you had a chance to try out the GK MB Fusion? If so, thoughts on the MB500 vs The MB500 Fusion vs the RB1001?

Haven't tried out the Fusion amps, but I'm told they're very similar to the regular MB amps. I've only ever played RB1001, RB700, and MB800. RB series are the same amp, just different wattages. MB series I prefer better. I haven't genuinely A/B'd them, but I don't remember the RB amps having this much headroom and hot of a tone, it's amazing. The weight/size are obviously a landslide in comparison to the RBs!

Opinion on the Gallien Krueger RB vs the MB heads? With tones like yours, Duff McKagens, Fleas etc, I'm thinking of switching to GK, the MB's are sweet due to being so small/light but do I need an RB to get that balls to the wall growl grind and grunt?

No way, the MB amps are even more powerful with an even better tone. It's amazing how something that small and lightweight can push that kind of sound. I was being told I was too loud at STS rehearsal today, and my master volume was at 12 o' clock. Ended up turning down to 10 o' clock.

Hey Mark, I've been playing bass for about 3 years now - all self taught. The first 2 years my ability really took off, between technique and writing, but over the last year I feel like I've kinda plateaued. Is there anything you can recommend that might help get on the path to increasing my ability

You need to quit doing everything you're doing and give your practice regimen a 180 degree turn. If you spend every day playing the same 5 ____ songs, the same 5 ____ scales, the same 5 _____ exercises, the same technique, that's how you plateau. I value something called "subtractive learning" with music; you take away what you're really comfortable with and only let yourself practice unfamiliar things. It's the quickest shortcut to becoming more versatile. If you spend all day listening to metal and play shred with fingerstyle, take a month off from that and do nothing but slap bass and funk music for the month. You have to mix it up, and 9/10 times when I find myself in a rut, it's because I'm just doing the same things over and over and it loses direction.
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Liked by: DJ

How do you recommend warming up for a show? A lot of the times my fingers freeze/lock up on songs that i can play perfectly during rehersal, and i embarass myself.

You must stretch. Playing an hour-long gig is no different than playing an hour-long football game or something, there are muscles in use and a lot of physical body elements working together. Stretch everything from fingers to full arms. I spent about 30ish minutes warming up about an hour before we play, and usually just get some of the harder parts under my fingers. I never like the show to be the first time I've played "that hard part" that day, so I make sure to play them at warm-up. That way, when I play the show and "that hard part" comes up, I have some peace of mind knowing that I've already played this earlier today!
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Liked by: Conner Elmes

I've been playing on standard tuning for a while. I've tried down tuning before but I had a hard time with drop B and C. I tried using A bigger gauge (155 for E string). It worked but there was a huge amount of tension and for a while I couldn't handle the pressure on my hands. Any suggestions?

I've seen a few good string tension/charts that show what is best for each depending on scale length and such, maybe someone can link one here. I'm honestly not very savvy with that stuff as I've quite honestly never played in a drop tuning in my life other than Drop D and Drop A, and I didn't change strings for it or anything. Sorry I couldn't help!

Two questions! First: Did you hear about that solo bassist Zander Zon? (If not, definitely check him out!) Second: What are some good practices to induce better composing ability?

Yeah my brother has shown me his stuff before, very cool! As far as bettering your composing ability, I'd say being able to play other instruments (even at a super basic level) will help you understand them just enough to be able to write reasonable music on them. For instance, it may be hard to write a drum beat if you've never been behind a drum set before.
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how lighter is the custom thumb compared to the production one? :)

My custom one is actually heavier by 4 oz. or so!

What do you know about the Gallien Krueger 400RB? Been seeing one online for cheap and want to know if it's worth getting

It's the same amp as I use now, and the RB series are all the same, just different wattage ratings. I think that's a 280W amp? Used for smaller cab configurations. Excellent amp!! Definitely worth it. I'd go with the 700RB though in case you wanted to ever upgrade to playing bigger rooms using larger cabs.

Is STS doing anything special for their first tour date for this time around being that it is the same day as Chris's solo album release? I will be there and I cannot wait!

BillSnyder’s Profile PhotoBill Snyder
Nothing planned of that sort, but we'll see you at the show!
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Liked by: Bill Snyder

I think I know the answer to this question but is the new Warwick coming on tour this summer?

You definitely know the answer.

Since you've contributed to many of the tracks on Letchfords "Lightbox". Is there a possible Mark Michell solo album in the future? Also, your work on The Migration was amazing!

BradyQueen’s Profile PhotoBrady Queen
Most definitely, just a matter of time (and finding it). Have a nice library of ideas demos at least already!
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Liked by: Jesse miller

I'm interested in buying your sightreading for bass book but I mostly play six and seven string guitars. Can I take the teachings in your book and apply them to six string guitar?

Thanks for the interest! I'd say a good portion of it would be usable; there are several chapters dedicated to simply learning the notes on the fretboard, tips on how to sightread, checklists to go through, things to look for on the page, etc. However, the book is obviously written in bass clef so I'm not sure how ideal this would be for guitar, as all guitar music is in treble clef. But notes are notes and rhythms are rhythms, so it just depends!

How would you describe funk bass to a young bassist?

It's when the bass becomes a drum set instead of a guitar that's just an octave lower.
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Liked by: Robert Percy

how's that new acoustic working for you? write any inspiring pieces on it yet?

It's incredible, I've been wanting to add a dynamic instrument like that to my collection for years to use for more low-key songs/gigs. Haven't written much on it but going back and learning a lot of songs I always thought would sound great on an acoustic.

34'' or 35'' inch scale?

Definitely 34". 35" is just long enough to where I can't stretch far enough for a lot of common positions lower on the neck. Very noticeable difference.

What's your opinion on fretless basses? Woud you play double bass on a STS record?

I love 'em, wish I was better at playing them. It's not so much the ear as it is the technique and left-hand precision. Never have really played a double bass before, regretfully.
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Liked by: J

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