A Pair Of Beautiful Basses
In our first bassist interview we talk with Chris of Melbourne rock band Arakeye.
Post by: Brett
in Gear Interview
WHEN DID YOU START BASS?
I started playing bass around the year 2000. I was about 15 years old and played in a band with a few good mates called Judgecasper.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY BASS? CAN YOU PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS?
A few mates had a garage band going called Sewerats jamming on Pennywise, Millencolin and Blink 182 covers. They needed a bass player and I could play a little bit of guitar at the time so I bought the cheapest Samick bass of all time and started having a hit out with them. I actually still have that Samick and it's still a piece of shit but it has good memories attached to it so I will never get rid of it. I play a bit of guitar and hack around on the drums terribly.WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DECENT BASS?
The first reasonable bass I got around on was a schecter diamond series that I borrowed off my mate Dale. 15 years later he still hasn't got the case back (sorry not sorry). Played plenty of gigs on that bass in a few local hardcore and metal bands for a few years (Spade), (The Gallantry). Before that I kicked around on a green Jordin Warwick imitation, wasn't the greatest bass but definitely got the job done.WHAT IS YOUR DREAM BASS?
The Warwick thumb was always the sweet sweet dreamboat.WHAT BASS DO YOU PLAY MOST, AND WHY?
The Warwick was the workhorse for many years but the Dingwall definitely gets played the most these days.DO YOU USE EFFECTS IN YOUR RIG?
I have a small pedalboard setup that consists of a korg pitch black, a boss dd20, a sansamp, a darkglass B7k and a darkglass duality fuzz pedal. I use a few delays in some of the older Arakeye songs hence the dd20. Through most of my setup I try to run 3 main sounds which consist of a nice clean smooth sound through the sansamp, a gritty main sound through the B7k and a full blown distortion through the duality.
ARE YOU A TUBE AMP OR DIGITAL FAN?
I have been running the same Labsystems amp for probably a good ten years now, awesome amps. Haven't really played around a lot with digital other than messing around a bit in the Arakeye home studio but i am keen to look a bit more into it.
Search
Warwick Thumb 5 bolt on 2001
TELL US ABOUT YOUR Warwick thumb 5 bolt on 2001
This was the dream bass ever since I saw the mudvayne-dig film clip. Loved the look of it and the sound of it. I wanted this bass for years but could never afford it. In 2009 I won a bit of coin in a poker tournament and this bass was one of the first things I bought. A friend was selling it second hand at a great price and I was lucky enough to have the money at the time. I was so excited driving home after picking it up that I nearly crashed the work van.Search
Dingwall Nolly Getgood NG2
TELL US ABOUT YOUR Dingwall Nolly Getgood NG2
Absolute weapon of a bass. I saw a few video playthroughs of these basses and they immediately peaked my interest. The look was something I was definitely digging but the tone was the main reason I had to get my hands on one. I was lucky enough to have my wife organise my friends and family to throw in and buy me this bass as a 30th birthday present. I have not been disappointed it has quickly become my number one bass. Holds the low tunings for our most recent material perfectly, super light weight (as opposed to the Warwick which is like having a tree tied to you) and sounds amazing. The fan frets didn't take long to get used to either. Had to wait a fair amount of time for the shipment to come in with the exact one I wanted (6 months) but it was definitely worth the wait. Couldn't be happier with this bass.
