Any tour dates planned soon? You guys should come to NY!
Yeah, pretty killer summer tour coming up, July/August. Definitely a NY date. For the record, we've played in NY 6 times in the last 10 months!
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What did you recorded The Migration with ? Spector Legend 6 Classic w/ EMG 45Js ?
Yes, EMG 45JX pickups to be exact. Also had a modified pre-amp, EMG BQC system I think (whichever one has 4 knobs, stacked bass/treble)
Hey Mark! While listening to Migration, I always wondered how you get your tone. Which part of the midrange do you emphasize more? The lo or the hi? I can already tell you cut a little bit of treble, right?
Emphasize the hi-mids a lot, and the lo-mids a little. I actually go for the "sad face" EQ on my live rig. The mids shape the tone, the treble and bass really just fill out both sides, just enough bass until it feels like a "bass" sound, enough treble to have a top-end sparkle, but way before it gets clanky and excessive. I don't really cut treble usually.
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Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
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Do you own any acoustic instruments? Specifically bass?
Used to own a small classical guitar, and I really, REALLY want an acoustic bass. Don't have one yet though!
Do you ever get stage fright? If you do, how do you deal with it, any tips?
Before I really began playing live in a professional manner (and was performing much less often), I was a super nervous wreck when it came time to perform anything in front of any audience. Once I got into college and played in the jazz band, I got a little more used to performing, and now performing every single day for months out of the year, I rarely get nervous anymore. I do not prefer to play sober, and usually have a drink or two before playing, for no other reason than it calms my over-analytical "Type A" personality. If I play sober, I psyche myself out about parts of the set coming up 20 minutes from now so bad sometimes that I can't really focus on what I'm currently playing. I find my mind races a lot, and it can lead to nerves. Playing after a couple drinks, I tend to relax and enjoy the music, and focus a lot more "in the moment", and objectively perform much better.
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chris walden
Why do you think about the chapman stick?
I'm not sure why I do, probably because it's a killer instrument!
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Rick Thatcher
have you listened to the band "Bad Salad"?
I've really only seen their Dream Theater split-screen covers
Are there any bassists that you would consider to be highly under rated? Or maybe just really good but less known? I really enjoy getting to hear new bassists.
I'd say all of the session bassists from the Motown era who laid down the tastiest basslines put to tape but hardly anyone knows about them.
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Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
Austin Averill
Not to ask a stupid question, but have you ever used/tried Markbass amps? I know you're endorsing GK but I'm just saying for shits and gigs haha.
Yeah, Jeff from The Reign of Kindo used MarkBass on our tour with them last year. A nice, round fullness from those amps, sounds great! I've just used GK so long that I'm extremely partial to them.
When you're recording bass are you listening to the kick and the rest of the music to make it match, or do you just go for a good sounding bass and trust it will be just fine?
Most of the bass tone work is done in post-production. I normally record with my usual gear, so the tone is already going to be good and in the ballpark. There are too many factors at play when recording to afford to spend studio time (charged hourly) on the "perfect tone" prior to recording, and then in the mixing process way down the road you find it just needs to be changed anyway. Double-working yourself is the plague in a studio setting. More often than not, I just record a dry, direct line and just re-amp it later. Technology is advantageous!
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Stef Exelmans
Keith Everett
Hey Mark, can you guide me through your technique in "Evergreen" ? And the tone settings you use for the same ?
Harmonics have to be played a certain way to really make them speak; normal fingerstyle with the pad of the finger isn't really effective or ideal. Sort of have to pluck the strings as if you were finger-picking on guitar, plucking very abrasively and away from the body of the bass, not "through" the strings. All finger-tip mostly.
Harmonics also rely on mid-range, so always best to roll heavily to the bridge pickup (or even solo it entirely), and pluck harmonics very close to the bridge; the higher tension will allow you to execute the technique easier. After all that, harmonics sound best with hi-mids boosted and lo-mids a little as well. Treble usually just makes them sound too shrill and noisy, i usually roll down a bit on the treble. Good luck!
Harmonics also rely on mid-range, so always best to roll heavily to the bridge pickup (or even solo it entirely), and pluck harmonics very close to the bridge; the higher tension will allow you to execute the technique easier. After all that, harmonics sound best with hi-mids boosted and lo-mids a little as well. Treble usually just makes them sound too shrill and noisy, i usually roll down a bit on the treble. Good luck!
Have you ever played a mayones? What are your opinions?
Played one at NAMM 2013, played like butter from what I remember!
how is mayones feel in hand?
Never played one.
do u like warwick thumb and has it helped ur carrerr?
yeah
have you been writing any cool new parts for a new STS album?
Currently working on parts for Chris' upcoming solo album, we won't be really working on any new official Scale the Summit stuff until later this year probably.
How involved with the musical aspects (song structure in particularly) of The Migration was Jamie King while producing you guys?
I've recorded two albums with Jamie now, and both times he chooses to let the music and compositions stay exactly the way the artist wants, but instead offers more input on things more relevant to the recording process and the sonic presentation. He'll maybe offer opinions on tones, pickup selection, how things are mic'd, dialing in effects, play this harder, hit this crash cymbal less abrasively, etc. However, he occasionally will offer an outside ear opinion if you ask!
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Lalson Ngaihte
How exactly did you wind up auditioning for STS. Did they come to you?
The guys and I in Tetrafusion got to know them back in the MySpace days via networking when I was searching for other regional bands who were instrumental (since TF was at the time). Got to know them a bit, eventually TF played a Houston show, invited them out, hung out, kept in touch occasionally over the next few years. Then when their previous bassist Jordan left they asked Evan Brewer if he knew of anyone suitable to fill the spot, and Evan recommended me I believe. That, plus kind of knowing them already helped me land an "audition". Learned the set, went down, played, and the rest is history!
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steve sipler
Garrett Miller
Kabloogadie
How goes the double thumbing? I probably started getting into it more or less around the time you did and I'm finally starting to get a feel for it. Learning Marcus Miller's "Power" helped me out a lot, it's fast so applying it elsewhere after learning it is cake.
Meh, dropped the ball on it a bit due to other priorities, but its always sitting around waiting when I get the itch to woodshed something new!
What is the funniest GIF ever?
How do you think a practice schedule should look ? I have plenty of time but I don't know the most efficent way to use it.
It really just depends on what you're going for with music...is it just a hobby, or even less than that and you just noodle around from time to time? Are you about to go to music school, or looking to make it a full-time career? Bottom line is, you can't ever really use the excuse "I don't have time to practice", it's just not true. You have to view practicing on the same level as doing the dishes, taking out the trash, doing laundry...you also may feel you don't have time for those things, but you just /do/ them, right? You make time for them, so make time for music. It's just all about time management, but it really just depends on where it lies with your other priorities.
How would you recommend learning the ins and outs of your fretboard? I play a 6 string and for the most part play by ear or tab but I'd love to learn more on how the scales and stuff work. Cheers man!
I've developed a really specific exercise for this that I cover in a lot of my lessons (and covered in my new Sightreading book very extensively) that focuses on one note per day over a 12-day cycle, and basically forces you to learn the fretboard entirely and equally, rather than learning it in sections, which was a huge hinderance for me years ago. Hard to really explain here, but work to utilize the full fretboard, meaning, know the notes from frets 20-24 just as well as frets 1-5, you don't ever want to avoid an area of the fretboard just because you aren't as comfortable with it, that's extremely limiting. Once you know the notes very well, understanding how scales and their respective patterns work is much easier to visualize, and I feel it must be learned in that order or else it becomes a little confusing. Good luck!
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Garrett Miller
Steven James Simpson
Alright Mark. Be honest and precise. Is "no" the next word you are going to say?
I don't get it
Do you ever plan on releasing an instructional book for 6 string bass?
Both of my instructional books are playable on 6-string bass!!! Even through my technique book is written for four string, the exercises are fully applicable to basses with more strings. The exercises are just based on fret patterns, nothing "note" related, for example, a string-skipping exercise would go from (strings) G to D, then G to A, then G to E, with the exercise just using the same frets. Then, you could just start on the C string and do the same pattern all the way to the B string. And my Sightreading book, it just has notes on standard notation, so those can obviously all be played on a 6-string.
Have you ever considered doing more solo pieces on any Scale The Summit albums? I'm a huge fan and I'd love to see some solo work from everyone.
Never know! It'd be cool for sure. Glad you like the one I did!
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Andrew Kuzemchak
alexis
Bill Snyder
Elaborate on your experience with your trumpet background and how you use the exercises to cross over into your bass practice (scales, warm ups, etc).
I'd say they're pretty mutually exclusive, but my background with trumpet obviously just gave me lots of experience playing music, doing auditions, performing live, practice ethic, which is all obviously universal and applies directly to bass playing.
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