New, cool and otherwise attention-grabbing bassists whose playing you need to hear, in their own words.
DIEGO ‘ASHES’ IBARRA DEVILDRIVER
For our new album, Dealing With Demons I, I used a series of Darkglass pedals in the studio, combined with an Avalon head, which gives you several compression options. You get a super-punchy sound that way. For basses, I used Warwicks – I switched to them a while back. For this kind of music, I need the active electronics for some extra bite in the sound. I went over there to the factory in Germany for a few days, and they were very cool to me. I spent all day playing basses, and the one that I chose is the Robert Trujillo signature model – he has Bartolini electronics and EMG pickups, which I also endorse, on his bass, and it suits Devildriver perfectly. The tone, the feel, the hardware, they’re exactly what I was looking for. I can’t wait to take mine out on the road.
Dealing With Demons I is out in October. Info: www.devildriver.com.
ISABELLA MORRISON ALLORA
I stepped up to bass when we started Allora and realised we didn’t really have a bass player. I always wanted to learn bass, so that was my opportunity. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and then pretty much started playing by ear. I bought a black Vester bass with rusty strings and the thickest frets I’ve e
