I currently own four bass guitars, though only three are in playable condition and two are in regular use. Details are listed below, along with the year I acquired the bass.

2009 – Akai Nineteen NinetySeven (Primary)

This bass was originally given to ex-Whitenake, Black Sabbath, Michael Schenker and Brian May Band bass guitarist Neil Murray by Akai on his 1997 tour of Japan with the Brian May Band. Neil has very generously passed it onto me, where it has become my primary bass.

The pickups have been changed by Neil to Lace Alumitone Bass Bars, and they really do enhance the clarity of the overall tone, and also give the bass another level of versatility. Combined with Rotosound SM-77 flatwound strings, they create a very “earthy” and “moody” tone, but can easily be very bright and melodic as well. The Akai can be heard here, on one of my Rock School Grade 5 tracks, Queen For A Day:

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2008 – Ibanez EDA900 (Secondary/Backup)

Ibanez produced the “Ergodyne” EDA line of basses until some time during 2007. I managed to pick up this bass on eBay for £200 – a very reasonable price, given that the model originally sold in the UK for up to £600. The bass is moulded from Luthite, a special composite plastic designed by Ibanez, and while it feels very solid, the sound produced is more refined and concentrated than the Akai, however it still gives a versatile tone when combined with the Fishman MonoRail-II acoustic piezo pickups mounted on the bridge.

Unfortunately, one of the piezo pickups has stopped working, so to avoid getting an uneven sound across all four strings, I have the piezo circuit turned off. As the EDA900 is a discontinued model, finding spares for it is quite difficult, so if anyone has any contacts or recommendations, please email me!

2003 – Peavey Grind Bass BXP4

After my Tanglewood bass had seen better days and been used and abused while at secondary school, I bought a Peavey Grind Bass BXP4 at a local music shop after trying one in-store. It has been versatile and has been my primary bass for over five years, before finding the Ibanez above on eBay. Although the electronics are passive, the tone can be very bright if EQ’d properly.

2000 – Tanglewood Rebel 4K (Display)

My first bass guitar was a Tanglewood Rebel 4K, which has now been signed by the cast and band over the last few years at We Will Rock You in London.

Among the signatures are both past and present cast, as well as Ben Elton and Brian May.

Due to a split in the neck of the bass and also due to the quality of the other basses I have, I have retired it from use completely, and will (one day) become a display piece.

Amplifiers, Strings and Playing Technique

For practice, I run through my Behringer Xenyx 802 mini-mixer as part of my home audio set-up, as this saves space and means I don’t have to set up my amp every time I want to practice. For live concerts and gigs, I use a Trace Elliot 715SMC 150W combo, with onboard compressor and 7-band graphic equaliser. While the 15″ speaker does give me a very bass-heavy tone, I can adjust this as necessary using the equalisation both on the guitar and the amp itself.

I mainly use Rotosound flatwound strings (either the RS77 or Steve Harris’ SH77 signature series) and EQ the bass for a rounded but top-heavy tone. The main reason I use the flatwound string type is that my main influence as a player is Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, who uses flatwound strings to create his distinctive tone. I mainly play heavy metal, so this tone also works for me. My technique is “walking” finger-style, with the tips of my fingernail used to produce a good level of punch and attack in the notes. As with my string choice, this technique was copied from Steve Harris.