Tag: bassporn

on by Danny Knapp

Presenting a softer, quieter Melonhead for a soothing evening vibe 😉.

Presenting a softer, quieter Melonhead for a soothing evening vibe 😉. I enjoy the challenge of getting to play ‘unplugged’ on my acoustic fretless bass — it requires adapting my bass lines to the highlight the essence of the song without getting in the way. I find that it’s much harder to play slow and quiet and still maintain technique and accuracy, because there’s a lot more room to mess up, and there’s no where to hide. At the same time, nothing’s more expressive than an a pared down acoustic song. It tugs at the heart 🖤.

You can watch some videos of me playing this bass on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr4r2OwDRmHkgkrxpOYXCgw

on by Danny Knapp

It’s been a minute since I last prepped for a live gig.

It’s been a minute since I last prepped for a live gig. I’m getting my “Sakura” bass polished and ready with fresh @curtmanganstrings to perform with @werenogentlemen tomorrow night from 8-10PM Pacific on Takeover Live. We’ll be doing an acoustic/storyteller set from 8-9p and then making it LOUD from 9-10p in typical WNG style.

https://facebook.com/events/s/were-no-gentlemen-live-online-/346119373208461

on by Danny Knapp

This bass is named “Elvis” because of its classic tone and flashy gold-star theme.

This bass is named “Elvis” because of its classic tone and flashy gold-star theme. It’s an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 5HH with a custom-made @alperiouspickguard. It’s different than most of my other fretted basses in that I keep it loaded with Dunlop Flatwounds so that I can get that fundimental thump that you can only get when using flatwound strings. Stingray basses lend themselves to flatwounds very well — thunderous tone and the string tension is just right. I use this bass for playing Latin, funk, disco, as well as lot of current stuff and original music. I love that Flatwounds have come back into the spotlight in pop and alternative music recently.

on by Danny Knapp

I just updated my @kemperamps_official to the latest firmware.

I just updated my @kemperamps_official to the latest firmware. There’s some fantastic new features and it’s rock solid and stable as always! I still use a few external pedals for certain specialty functions: bass synths from futureimpactpedal and c4synth, as well as advanced filter and distortion effects from @sourceaudio. My external effects are all midi-capable, which empowers me to use the Kemper to control all of their settings. I can change all of my effects (internal & external) with the tap of a button on my pedalboard. In one of my bands, we use @Ableton Live for audio, lighting, and video cues. Ableton even sends patch changes to my bass rig so that I can just concentrate on performing — no more doing the pedal dance. The Kemper Profiler has really been a game-changer for me.

on by Danny Knapp

Hey You!

Hey You!

Please caption this photo. I’m sure you’ll come up with something better than “Hey You!”.

Looking forward to rocking out with these non-gentlemen tonight (@werenogentlemen) at a rehearsal for an upcoming live video shoot.

on by Danny Knapp

Of all the fretless basses I’ve owned, this one is definitely my favorite.

Of all the fretless basses I’ve owned, this one is definitely my favorite. The rosewood in the custom @alperiouspickguard matches the rosewood in the neck, and features Alper’s signature ‘Exotic Shine’ design. This bass was originally a fretted Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray5H, but the team at @13thstreetguitars converted it to fretless using strips of rosewood to replace the frets, PLEK’d it, and set it up for me. The unfinished neck feels great and the tone is fantastic. I use @ernieball cobalt flatwound strings on this bass, which provide a nice blend of modern brightness and transients while still getting that classic flatwound thump. It’s easy to get this bass to produce those quintessential ‘growls & mewls’ that fretless instruments are known for, which is why I named it “Maulladora”.