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Artist Spotlight :: Brian Timpe

Bio

Hi! I'm a bass player. A bit about me. I started playing guitar at the age of 12 or 13 years old and wound up making the switch to bass full time at 17. During the fall of my 18th year, I started college at the University of Washington and befriended another bass player (in a physics class, of all things) who was in the school of music. One thing led to another, and he told me the school of music desperately needed bass players for jazz combos. I had zero business doing that, as I had no background playing bass in a jazz band. I'd played trumpet in jazz band since jr. high school, but bass in that context wasn't something I'd even considered. I was busy learning Rush and Primus songs at the time. He assured me that they'd take anyone. When they accepted me into one of the groups, I also started taking private lessons with the bass instructor at the school of music. I was suddenly drinking from the firehose. I was practicing 3-5 hours a day, every day, to prepare for jazz combos, private lessons, and learning fundamentals that I'd never worried about because "it wasn't important". Like knowing all the notes on the fretboard. And learning how to read bass clef. And how to create a walking bass line that was passable, let alone interesting. I cannot stress enough how unqualified I was to be doing that gig. By my third year, I found myself being asked by the head of the percussion department (Tom Collier) to join a jazz combo with three of his percussion grad students playing material that was mostly written by him. His compositions are very Zappa-esque. Lots of odd meters and lots of compound meter stuff. It was challenging and a lot of fun. Being one of only two undergraduates in that group, I felt honored to have been asked and also felt a tremendous obligation to not suck. So I practiced. A lot. I provide all this background as it really set the tone for how I approach doing music things to this day. Practice. Be prepared. You don’t want to show up to the gig and be unprepared. There is always a line of people behind you who would gladly take that gig from you.

Outside of school, my first “real” band was an original project called Travis Shredd & The Good Ol’ Homeboys. They existed before I was asked to join, and I had been made aware of their material by a mutual friend. It was a heavy metal, country, and rap band. All three of those styles are in every song. Sometimes at the same time. Sometimes the verses would be country with a rap chorus and a metal bridge. You know. Whatever. It was a good time. We released two albums while I was in the band, and we had some mild local popularity/success. Most (all?) of that material is on YouTube as far as I’m aware. By the end of the 90’s, that band had run its course, and I started doing other things. A 9-piece horn funk band that did Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, etc… covers. Lots of fun, that. I joined another original project called Late September Dogs. We released one album while I was with that group. An 80’s pop cover band that did a lot of corporate gigs and weddings. Various things and whatnot along the way. I started doing freelance recording work at some point during the early 2000’s as well. I have no idea how much of anything I ever did ever made it to a finished/released product.

Today I’m officially in three bands: the Shortcutz (classic rock power trio), Jackie and the Holograms (7-piece 80’s rock/pop – think Madonna, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, etc…), and Queen’s X (a female-fronted King’s X tribute band). I’m available for fill in work on dates that I don’t have a gig – which are fewer and further between as my own projects are all pretty busy. Still do them though from time to time.

What/Who inspired you to pick up your instrument?

Making the change to bass from guitar was 100% inspired by Geddy Lee and Les Claypool. When I was 17 years old, I discovered both Rush and Primus, practically simultaneously. I had been playing guitar for about 5 years by then and had been focusing my efforts on learning the Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax catalogs. With a smattering of Steve Vai and Eric Johnson for good measure. When I got really into Rush and Primus, I sold my guitar, bought a bass, and here we are.

What piece of musical advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to the beginning of your musical journey?

Learn the fretboard immediately and start working on your ears. Tabs can be fine for getting going and keeping yourself interested. At some point, you need to remove the training wheels and put on your big boy pants. Sooner the better, as it is foundational for everything else that is to come.

What keeps you excited about playing?

Music. I love music and cannot live without it. Being lucky enough to have the musical conversation with competent, like-minded players is the most fun a person can have.

Desert Island 3 pedal pedalboard (not including tuner)

Tech21 Geddy Lee Shape Shifter - tonal bliss for when you want the overdriven, snarly tone that Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, John Entwistle, etc... had.

Boss OC-2 - the ultimate octave pedal. A good octave pedal goes a really long way.

J. Rockett Airchild 660 - best pedal-based compressor I've ever heard or tried. Essential for controlling your tone/sound in the wildly varying rooms/venues/events that I play.

When you find yourself in a musical rut, what techniques do you do to break out of it?

I'll dive back into something that I haven't listened to in a while. Recently, that's been rediscovering how much I absolutely love the 'Discipline', 'Beat', and 'Three of a Perfect Pair' King Crimson albums. I'm working on learning a bunch of random songs from those albums just for the sake of learning them and stealing ideas from Tony Levin. Hearing how another bass player approaches things is very inspiring.

The other thing that will help in this regard is seeing other bands live. Whether it's Gov't Mule or the Aristocrats or Barry Manilow. Live music is great for scratching the itch.

Who is your favorite artist/band today? And who was your favorite artist/band 10 years ago?

I'm currently deep into the Allman Brothers and the Tedeschi Trucks band. The latter is my current dream gig. If you're asking about new/current artists, the Black Pumas are right at the top of the heap. Gary Clark Jr and Lianne La Havas also deserve honorable mention.

When you find yourself in a music store - what is your go-to riff when test drive gear?

I don't have one. I mostly noodle about all over the fretboard in C major. Which is also how I tend to warm up. Arpeggios, scale patterns, two or three octave scales. That super exciting sort of thing.

What is your most prized/cherished piece of gear? And why?

My Modulus Quantum 4. It was the second bass I ever purchased (in December of 1992) and my first "nice" instrument. It's the most recorded instrument I own, and I lived with it during my college years. That bass and I have seen some hours together. The neck pickup has a groove worn into it from where my thumb tends to rest. I'll still play this bass from time to time at a gig. It sounds so very good. Honestly, if push came to shove, it's the bass I'd keep if I were forced to make a choice of "sell everything but one".

What is the next big musical purchase you're hoping to save for?

No idea. I'm pretty happy with everything at the moment. The only piece of gear I really, really want is to find the Hamer 12-string I custom-ordered in 1995 and then have the current owner sell it back to me. I foolishly sold it in 1998 because I needed the money, and I wasn't really using it at the time. Now I very much have a need for it, plus it's a one-of-a-kind custom instrument. To my knowledge, the Hamer custom shop only made one like it, and I wish I'd never sold it. It is none more black. Black paint, black hardware, black mother-of-pearl boomerang inlays, custom reverse shadow Hamer logo on the headstock. It's pretty amazing. Really hope the current owner is enjoying it.

Gear Breakdown

I have lots of gear. Playing for 30+ years can do that to a person. I feel like I should start with Rattlesnake cables. I was made aware of Rattlesnake cables about 4 years ago, and that's when I ordered my first patch cord. I was so impressed with the quality, I've slowly replaced all my patch cords, speaker cables, and XLR's with Rattlesnake cables. Having a good signal path from instrument all the way to speaker is important, and Rattlesnake cables are all I use for that - save the tiny EBS flat head cables on my pedalboard. The PA system that my wife and I own is outfitted with Rattlesnake pink weaves XLR cables. It's pretty amazing.

As far as other gear, the stuff that comes to gigs most often:
Amp/cabs: Demeter VTBP-201 pre/power amp with a Mesa Boogie Subway 2x15 or a Mesa Boogie M-Pulse 600 with two Aguilar DB112 cabs. I'll also swap out the Subway 2x15 with a GK CX410 if I'm going for a certain sound and/or I want to bring a specific bass. Some basses play better with amp/cab combinations than others.

Basses: my three primary gigging instruments are a 4-string Alembic Essence, a 4-string Alembic "shop night special", and a 5-string Alembic Orion. I custom-ordered the Essence in 2010. It's a 35" scale, and I had them add a bass control to the circuit that can provide up to 12dB of bass boost or cut - I no longer recall what frequency point it's centered on. The "shop night special" isn't technically a "real" Alembic. Employees are allowed to use the shop to build a personal instrument afterhours. Those instruments don't get serial numbers, and ever since sometime in the early 2000's they stopped allowing them to put the Alembic logo on the headstock. This one was made before that rule, so it does have the logo, just no serial number. It's a really odd bird. I've never seen another Alembic like it. It's based on the Orion body shape, has only one pickup (in the P bass position), and the controls are volume and a filter. Very simple. It's got flatwound strings on it, and it can make that 1970s rock bass tone go for days and days. The 5-string Orion was custom-ordered by the guy I wound up buying it from. Among other things, he upgraded it to Signature electronics, and that was the primary reason I wound up with it. I've got a Hamer 12-string bass that I use for the King's X tribute band. I've got several other instruments that still get used for certain gigs or recordings or just when I'm in the mood.

Effects: I've got three pedalboards that get used for specific things. A Pedaltrain Nano board for the King's X tribute that consists of only two pedals: a Tech21 dUg Pinnick pedal and a Darkglass X7 pedal. I switch between the Hamer 12-string and the Alembic Essence in that band, song depending, and the voicing of those instruments is radically different. They each need their own way to try and sound like dUg. I've also got two Schmidt Array boards (SA250 and SA750). The SA250 is my main gigging pedalboard that comes to literally everything that's not a Queen's X show. The SA750 mostly lives in my home practice space and is used as a pedal proving ground. It occasionally comes to a gig when I really need a LOT of tonal options for a gig.

Bands / Projects

The Shortcutz
Jackie and the Holograms
Queen's X

Social Links

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Reviews on Google

Kevin Robbins
4/1/2023
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5/23/2023
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Adam Trimble
2/20/2022
Excellent response time and an easy order. I had a custom order and Hank had it ready on no time. The cable arrived quick and it sounds great. My guitar came with an OBEL, and equipped with Rattlesnake’s TRS Cable and Splitter box. I ordered a standard matching color cable to finish the look.... Read

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