On a sound stage somewhere outside Hollywood:

"Quiet on the set........Roll playback." My band's new single blasts out of the P.A, rattling the post-apocalyptic set for our latest video. I'm doing my best to stay active for every take on this long day of shooting. But as I review footage on the monitor, I notice my face isn't visible in the shot because my head is turned looking at my fingers. It seems even when I'm "bass syncing" and not actually producing sound, I habitually concentrate on my hands. We move on to the Desert Planet set and shoot another take for close-ups. This time I try to release any awareness of my fingers, look ahead, and just feel the track. Then I have a "light bulb moment." Insight comes at the strangest times.

This month, rather than explore the ins and outs of making a video, I've found something more important to discuss: connecting your creative musical instincts with your hands and eyes.

Notes, patterns, and strings form the link between your internal musical core and the sound that comes out of your bass. It's easy to become stick on that bridge and dull the connection. you know the feeling: You begin to practice and end up playing the same thins over and over, letting your fingers do the walking rather than drawing upon your creativity. Here are some exercises that might help you connect that musical instinct to the bass.

1. Try playing with your eyes shut or blindfolded. This encourages you to get your musical ideas from the inside.

2. Leaving your eyes covered, sing a melody or riff. Recreate it on the bass. Don't worry about exact pitches.

3. Randomly de-tune your strings, and then play some of your usual patterns. Notice and or record new ideas, and try to recreate them using standard tuning.

4. Transcribe and learn other people's music.(All instruments) You'll always find inspiration in learning new material.

5. Revisit recordings of old gigs or rehearsals. Notice your patterns, habits, and tendencies. Being aware of them can help you stretch beyond what you've already achieved. Have you ever noticed, in classic live photo's how clearly you can see musical legends feeling that moment? They have connected. This is what we should strive for as well.

My "light bulb moment" inspired me to revisit some of my own material, and I transcribed a few bass lines people
often ask me about: "Neckbone" (Ex. 1) and "Standing 8" (Ex. 2) from Mega!!KungFu Radio and "Operate Annihilate" (Ex. 3) from Tonight the Stars revolt! Stay Connected!!!

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah I had mentioned that my band was making a record. So in we go to NRG studios, a Los Angeles favorite used by artists from Korn to Fiona Apple. The goal for me-and probably for most bass players recording heavy music-is to cut through and blend with the distorted guitars. Our producer, Terry Date, and I discussed finding that perfect place for the bass amid more than 50 tracks of drums and loops, programming, layered vocals, and two guitarists that double their rhythm tracks and lay down various overdubs. Good EQ is essential to providing bass tone options for a great mix.

Going through a Neve console, we split the bass signal to four tracks.(Fig.1) We used some compression both before and after hitting 2" tape. I tried triggering a MIDI synth module, but no matter how I tried, it just wouldn't track the lower strings well. I hope MIDI for bass will be perfected soon. (Any manufacturers listening out there?) On previous records I've used lots of bass effects, but this one was going to be so dense we figured we'd just zero in on achieving a great natural, growling bass sound.

Studio Journal:

Day 1: Pick a bass, any bass.
The songs on this album use lots of different guitar tunings, even going down to C# and C. So I think I'll play everything on a 5-string; that way I can perform every song with out transposing, retuning, or switching instruments (Especially efficient for shows).

Day 3: Hurry up and Wait.
Now that all the gear is set up and we've got drum sounds, I'm ready to lay down some basics, but there's a problem with the coffee maker in the lounge - our first set back.

Day 5: Stop - Don't change anything.
I think I have the heaviest, most booming, foundation-shaking tone ever! Nope, that was a 4.6 Earthquake swaying the studio.

Day 6: Frankincense.
While choking on guitarist Adam 12's incense, the band cuts the tracks in the main room, primarily for getting drum takes. I then move into the control room to overdub most of the bass tracks. While I track my parts, I find having the kick and snare much louder than everthing else - including my self - helps me lock up super-tight with the drums.

Day 8. Stop.....change everything!
That's the worst flabbiest bass sound ever. Oh wait, that's our producer's gag remote fart machine, again and again, and again...

Day 10. Note to self.
Don't be scared of the clank. When fighting to be heard in this metaltronica, I'm overcompensating with lots of mids and highs that will later be eaten up by all other tracks. If it sounds just the way you like when your listening back to drum and bass basics, then it probably needs more clank.

Day 15. Energy Crisis
A California rolling blackout blows some of the meters in the console. It's totally dark, and something's touching my leg! Oh, just one of M33's guitar heads; there are 5 or 6 of them in every room of the studio.

Day 25. Keeping busy.
While guitars and vocals are being cut, I use the free time to capture video footage. During the last tour I filmed and edited our home video "Backstage and Beyond the Infinite". Being productive is essential. But taking breaks and engaging in other activities is healthy. You can't think Bass 24 hours a day. Sometimes not practicing is good for your playing, but that's another column.

Day 42. Finshed already.
While vocalist Spider One is busy with an interview and drummer AL3 starts taking down the voodoo masks from his cymbal stands, Terry is making rough mixes. We've cut 15 songs and other interlude peices. Later, when everyone is istening in the control room, I'm thinking to myself, I wish I could make ten albums a year. I love the whole recording process from start to finish. Phase one is done; now it's on to picking a single, making a video, and preparing these songs for the live show.

So it's 2001 and I'm fortunate enough to be in a major-label band cutting a new record, filming videos and going on tour. Given the opportunity to do a column, I figured I'd write about my experiences on this journey, so I immediately bought a micro-cassette recorder to capture ideas. You know when it happens; while driving, just before going to bed, while you're on the toilet. Losing ideas can be worse than falling asleep at the wheel, or on the can.

Of course the first thing I recorded on the micro was a bass line. So I ran with it. But as much as I tried to expand or add to the line, I kept coming back to the one riff. Three hours and two raw hands later, there it was, the idea for the article and the solution for the riff: the repeating bass line.

Not only a powerful songwriting technique, the repeating bass line (bass line, bass line...) is a great tool for working on endurance, timing and focus. Simplicity is genius, and there's nothing more distracting than a musician playing a heap of unnecessary notes - especially a bassist. Remember, too much ear candy can make you sick.

Ex.1 shows the repeating line that lays down a solid foundation for Radiohead's "The National Anthem." And while playing a cover of Bjork's "Army Of Me" on tour, I really keyed into the impact of repetition. Here it is adapted from keyboard (Ex.2).

Like many in the metal/dance crowd, Powerman 5000's bassist favors StingRays - but his tone sets him apart. "Modern bass players always seem to have the 'smiley face' EQ, with super sub-bass and really clicky highs," notes Dorian 27. "But I've never enjoyed that - I go for the low-mids thing, 200Hz or whatever. It just feels warmer and more soulful."

Dorian's distinct sound comes through clearly on PM5K's second DreamWorks release, Tonight The Stars Revolt! - though he admits it took some tweaking. "It's hard to get the mids without getting too trebly, and in the studio you have to add more mids and highs because the other frequencies eat them up. In rehearsal you might play right in front of your amp, so it sounds great. But the studio's a whole different thing."

A Berklee drum alum, Dorian 27 (he won't answer to any other name) wielded his sticks in blues bands for years after graduating. "As a drummer I was getting into heavy soul and funk: Sly Stone, Meters, James Brown. I went from digging it on drums to noticing the bass, which I picked up fast because of the percussive aspect. I've always been a rocker too, so Powerman is the perfect outlet to fuse everything I have." With their retro space suits and nostalgically futuristic CD packaging, the Boston band brings a lighter touch to a Korn- and Limp Bizkit-dominated genre. Radio-friendly tracks like "Supernova Goes Pop," "When Worlds Collide," and "Nobody's Real" shocase PM5K's clever grooves which depend on Dorian's expertly crafted finger-style lines.

A non-slapper, 27 had to simplify his approach after the band's first DreamWorks record, Mega!! Kung Fu Radio. "We had one guitarist and a percussionist, so I had a lot of space to fill up. But I tried not to overplay. Now we have a second guitarist, which lets me step back and be more musical than flashy. I try to establish a deep tone under the guitars, setting a foundation as opposed to creating a hook."

As PM5K has begun to playing larger and larger venues, Dorian has had to scale up his amps from the old Peavey TNT combos he used as stage monitors. "The Peaveys were fun, but when we started doing arenas, they weren't cutting it." Dorian now uses Ampeg SVT-4 Pro rack-mounted heads into 12- and 15-loaded cabs. His effects are 80's retro: a Pro Co Cat distortion pedal, Morley wah, DOD envelope filter and "an old analog delay."

A schooled musician and ten-year veteran rocker, Dorian says both aspects of his background are important. "Training's good, but it all depends on what you do with it. You can get caught up in theory and technique and lose your instinct and feel - I've seen it happen to tons of people. I know a bit of theory; it's still in my fingers. But I also play raw."

-Thomas Wictor