:J i m i
Tell us about your current setup please.
• My current bass is a black 5-string Ibanez SR305; I like the relatively smaller body and the very versatile EQ. I use Elixer strings, .045.105 plus .130. Some people don't like the coating or the way it wears down, so I avoided them in favor of D'Addario, which I still keep as a backup set, usually. My dad introduced me to the Elixers, however, and I don't care how ugly the strings start to look, because they still sound great for a long time. For cables, I use CBI Bottom Zone. When using a wireless rig, I have a Line 6 X2 Digital Wireless. It is the easiest thing in the world to use, which is great for someone like me who likes to keep things simple, isn't really a gearhead, and still has a lot to learn regarding sound equipment. I bought it at Guitar Center in the US during a great sale. [Guitar Center is a musical megastore in the US, popular on the West Coast] Japan could use a Guitar Center, but I worry it'll get just as full of kids trying to play Metallica as an American one.
Where do you buy stuff then if there’s no Guitar Center? • There's a Guitar Center near my home back in the States, but for my normal musical needs I just spend half a day wandering around Ochanomizu [a part of Tokyo that’s chock full of music stores].
What about amps and pedals? • My preamp is a 3-channel programmable Sansamp Bass Driver DI. I don't use any other effects pedals at the moment. I usually play through Ampeg amps during live shows, though I am often beholden to the amps that the venues provide onsite.
Do you have a separate set of amps for live versus recording? • In a live setting I'm limited to what the live
house has, which is usually an Ampeg combination of some sort that I'm generally pleased with. Before I was playing larger venues or heavier music, I would often just go from a direct box into the PA system and use a practice amp as a monitor. Now I have to compete with two loud, effects-laden guitarists! But for recording, studios have a lot more resources at their disposal, especially since everything is digital and almost any effect or amp can be simulated. During recording for "In My Dream," I used my Sansamp as a direct box and plugged directly into the board and sound system, preferring to get a dirty tone that way. During recording for the Praparat single, I recorded through the Sansamp first and then put those tracks through an Acoustic head. That way I was able to mix and simulate different bass tones. In "Praparat" for example I needed a funkier slap bass and in the middle it goes into a sort of fretless sound, and in "Reincarnation" I made a picked J-bass tone and then ran it through a Boss Blues Driver in a couple of spots. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what other sort of big toys I'll be able to play with when we record some of our other songs.
What kind of bass do you prefer, or what’s a brand you really enjoy playing? • I used to be a 4-string purist, but having gone to 5 strings I don't think I can go back. I definitely like my Ibanez, but there certainly is something to be said for the standard Fender J- and P-basses as well. I'm also interested in Warwick basses, as I've always liked their tone. Once my dad built his own bass from scratch when he was a teenager and he uses it to this day. That might be the best bass I've ever played.
Well, if you could buy any bass in the world, what would you buy and why? • Rickenbacker used to make two models of 5-string basses, but they discontinued them some years ago. I'd love to track down one or both, if money were no object.
I heard you're quite the musical genius. What else can you play besides bass?