ESSENTIAL DINGWALL, SCHACK, TORUN, PEAVEY AND ASHDOWN BASS GEAR ON TEST!
£8,500
un G o l d L e a f To r ide! reviewed i ns
“PEOPLE USED TO LOOK AT ME LIKE I WAS CRAZY!” CHRIS KAEL FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH MIKE D’ANTONIO KILLSWITCH ENGAGE STEVE LUNA LEMMY’S BASS TECH SHELDON DINGWALL LEE SKLAR YOUTH www.bassguitarmagazine www. bassguitarmagazine.com .com UK £4.75 Issue 132 July 2016
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BASSISTS Mike Antonio, Killswitch Engage
musicians I have ever met, and he has the tone skills to pay the bills. What a tone! Frank’s tone was the main influence in my new bass tone for the latest Killswitch Engage album
Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D’Antonio recalls a career among the low notes
Incarnate ,
and the tone I now use live. Angry,
cranky, and enough low end to disembowel a baby panda. When you’re playing bass, it’s okay to build a solid foundation that the guitars can build
I
’m completely self taught.
loved my 80s Gibson Thunderbird to death.
on. Not every bass player needs to be Les
I would describe my bass
It was my main bass for a long time. I had to
Claypool. Don’t play to impress, play what
playing as having a
retire the bass after the second on-stage neck
sounds right, and know your position in the
homegrown, moonshine
break. It was so sad: I couldn’t bear to hurt my
band. In my opinion, stepping all over a cool
type of distilled vibe.
baby again, so she now lives at my house, safe
riff is criminal. Overplaying a riff can hinder
Over time, I have been
from tour.
its simplicity, so don’t be frustrated by playing
crafting my skills into the
My bass heroes are Jason Black from Hot
rhythm to the lead guitar: know your role and
bass player I am today – aggressive, angry and
Water Music: not only a super nice guy,
to the point. I have small hands, so five-string
he has fills for days! I marvel at his bass
basses just do not feel comfortable to me. I do
‘wordiness’ and how it complements the
MDB4, will be coming out very soon. I’m super
like having an extra low string, but I’m not
guitars. Also Steve Harris from Iron Maiden:
stoked about the pickup arrangement of this
sure it’s always needed in my bands. They can
what can be said about Steve that hasn’t
new incarnation of my signature bass. The
be fun to play though… I just need those
already been said? The hairy man is the metal
MDB4, stocked with two Seymour Duncan
finger extensions first!
finger master! Harley Flanagan from Cro-
P-bass pickups, now includes a Jazz pickup at
Mags has the best live stage presence I’ve ever
the bridge. I feel like you can sink your teeth
friend who was selling a guitar and another
seen. He practically makes the audience eat
into that high end now and really make this
who was selling a bass. Unfortunately I could
his bass, by pushing it into their faces like
baby scream. This is my favourite of all the
only afford the bass, so I went with that. I
a battleaxe! Last but not least, Frank Bello
MDBs so far.
don’t remember having the bass that long, or
from Anthrax: Frank is a pro player and a pro
liking it that much, but the rest is history. I
awesome dude. Hands down one of the nicest
My first bass was a Washburn. I had a
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Bass Guitar Magazine July 2016
hold it down. My new signature bass from Ibanez, the
www.killswitchengage.com
DINGWALL Z3
What happens when you take a Z1 and a Z2 and put them together? You get a Z3, of course! Mike Brooks runs the rule over a Dingwall tone machine Bass Direct www.bassdirect.co.uk
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e’ve reviewed several Dingwall basses in the past, and no matter how often we hear the question ‘does fan-fretting actually work?’, we always come away from a review with a glowing appraisal of Sheldon Dingwall’s work. The man never rests on his laurels, with
new models and reworkings of existing models appearing regularly. So what does this Z3 bring to the party?
Build Quality You can always be assured that a Dingwall will be exquisitely crafted and built, and the Z3 is no exception: the body shape, contouring and all round craftsmanship are wonderful. The body itself is so comfortable to wear, and although there is no front chamfer on the upper body, the cutaways are deep,
with great access to the upper frets. The Translucent Black gloss finish looks classy, with just enough of the ash grain visible, while the satin-finished, lightly-coloured bleached maple neck and fingerboard provide a familiar but striking contrast, topped off by the matching headstock veneer and finish. There is some headstock dive, as you might expect on a bass with a neck of these dimensions: the scale varies from 34 to 37 inches on the low B string. This is remedied when the Z3 is placed on a strap. Although the neck is long, it is extremely comfortable: the way the bass sits on the player is a testament to Sheldon’s design skills and ergonomic outlook. The slim, shallow D-shaped neck profile draws the player in: playability is a serious priority here, despite the 53mm nut width and the use of banjo fretwire instead of regular fretwire. The 18mm string spacing also helps to give the Z3 a slinky feel.
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CONTENTS ISSUE 132 JULY 2016
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EDITOR Joel McIver,
[email protected] SUB-EDITORS Kate Puttick, Nick Robbins TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Stuart Clayton CONTRIBUTORS Angus Batey, Bob Battersby, Duff Battye, Andy Baxter, Nick Beggs, Jeff Berlin, Jamie Blaine, Silvia Bluejay, Mike Brooks, Joe Burcaw, Dave Clarke, Stuart Clayton, Ben Cooper, Joe Daly, Hywel Davies, Jon D’Auria, Daryl Easlea, David Etheridge, Mike Flynn, Paul Geary, Ian Glasper, Joel Graham, Ruth Goller, Spencer Grady, Paolo Gregoletto, Hugh Gulland, Chris Hanby, Andy Hughes, Ken Hunt, Kevin Johnson, Steve Lawson, Phil Mann, Lee Marlow, George Martin, Michael McKeegan, Stewart McKinsey, Greg Moffitt, Chris Mugan, Douglas Mullen, Ellen O'Reilly, Franc O’Shea, Dayal Patterson, Harry Paterson, Raz Rauf, Alison Richter, Steven Rosen, Kevin Sanders, Amit Sharma, Joe Shooman, Rob Statham, Scott Surine, Jon Thorne, Freddy Villano, Ray Walker, Alex Webster, Sam Wise ADVERTISING SALES Guy Meredith GRAPHIC DESIGN Steve Dawson AD DESIGN Matt Smith COVER PHOTOGRAPH Tina K STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY Eckie OPERATIONS DIRECTOR James Folkard ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Ruth Burgess PUBLISHER Wes Stanton ACCOUNTS Dave Deo SUBSCRIPTIONS 01926 339808,
[email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION RATE UK £69 For all subscription offers and overseas prices visit www.bassguitarmagazine.com or call 01926 339808 Printed in the UK © Blaze Publishing Ltd 2016. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system or integrated into any other publication, database or commercial program without the express permission of the publishers in writing. Under no circumstances should this publication and its contents be sold, loaned out or used by way of trade, or stored or transmitted as an electronic file without the publishers prior written approval.
hatever your preferred style of bass playing, you owe a debt to the great Stanley Clarke, who is most famous for his jazz bass explorations but whose importance in our world can’t be summed up in a single genre tag. We could have filled this entire issue with tales of his greatness when it comes to the low frequencies: it’s a genuine privilege to have him back on our cover, his first since BGM 31 back in 2007. Elsewhere in this issue we’re also treated to a chat with the equally veteran Lee Sklar, perhaps the most fêted session and stage bassist ever, and the mighty Martin ‘Youth’ Glover, most famous for his bass and production work with Killing Joke, the Orb and up-andcoming bass newcomer Paul McCartney. New (or new-ish) virtuosos from the bass scene appear in the form of Chris Kael and Mike D’Antonio of Five Finger Death Punch and Killswitch Engage, while Lemmy’s tech Steve Luna pops up to raise a glass to his late employer. As always, our reviews section is a feast for the eyes and a threat to the wallet, not least with the incredible gold leaf Torun 5 which will set you back no less than £8,500. And BGM wouldn’t be what it is without our world-class education section, where we aim to make you the best bassist you can be regardless of ability. Here comes the summer: let’s make it a bass-heavy one!
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Schack Unique 5
56
Torun 5
Joel McIver, editor
48 Gear Dingwall Z3
48 Dingwall Z3
Mike Brooks runs this fanfretted phenomenon through its paces
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Schack Unique 5
The love Schack is a little known place where we can get together – with Mike Brooks
DISCLAIMER While Blaze Publishing Ltd prides itself on the quality of the information its publications provide, the company reserves the right not to be held legally responsible for any mistakes or inaccuracies found within the text of this publication. Bass Guitar Magazine is an independent publication and as such does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of manufacturers or distributors of the products contained within. All trademarks are acknowledged.
56 Torun 5
This £8,500 bass is covered with gold leaf and costs £8,500. Ellen O’Reilly road-tests all £8,500 of it. Did we mention that it costs £8,500?
DISTRIBUTION Distributed to the news trade by Comag Magazine Marketing, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE
PUBLISHED BY Blaze Publishing Ltd. Lawrence House, Morrell Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 5SZ Bass Guitar Magazine is proud to support the Music Industries Association.
Headliner 1000 head & 60 Peavey Headliner 410 Cabinet Brooks meets the brand new Headlining team
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Ashdown AAA-60-10T AAA Combo
Joel McIver reviews Ashdown’s new budget bass box
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Bass Guitar Magazine July 2016
GEAR Dingwall Z3 £3750
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION Price | £3750 Made in | Canada Body | Dual density swamp ash in Translucent Black finish Neck | Maple, 34” to 37” scale Neck joint | Bolt-on (four bolt attachment) Nut width | 53mm Fingerboard | Maple Frets | 24 Pickups | Dingwall FD3 ‘Super Fatty’ pickups x3 Electronics | Glockenklang active three-band EQ Controls | Volume (active/passive push/pull), rotary pickup selector, bass (+/- 14 dB @ 40 Hz), middle (+/- 9 dB), treble (+/- 18 dB @ 18 kHz) (passive treble cut), neck pickup series/parallel selector, mid frequency selector (250 Hz/550 Hz), bridge pickup series/parallel selector Hardware | Gotoh ruthenium lightweight tuners, Dingwall black bridge units Weight | 3.9kg Case/gigbag included? | Gigbag included Left-hand option available? | No
WHAT WE THINK Plus | Vast tonal palette, supreme playability, balance and comfort, killer B string Minus | The price tag may be off-putting, but this is a hand-built bass. Listen to the tones! Overall | A top-notch instrument, built with care and attention to detail
BGM RATING BUILD QUALITY SOUND QUALITY VALUE
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