Artist Spotlight :: Victor Potesta

Bio

My name is Victor Potesta, but I'm better known by the nickname of Titti (that's a long story...). I've been involved in music almost all of my life. I started playing drums at age 8, then moved to bass at 18. I studied Sound Recording Engineering and served as drummer, bass player, vocalist, and sound guy for several bands. I'm actually the primary bass player and singer at our local church worship band.

What/Who inspired you to pick up your instrument?

I started my musical life as a drummer, and I really admired Stewart Copeland from The Police, but I also liked a lot the bass lines from Sting. At 18, I started studying Sound Recording Engineering, and my tutor suggested switching to a more musical instrument, so I picked up a bass because of Sting and also because I was listening to a lot of Weather Report and Jaco Pastorius music at that time.

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

Practice!!! You can't build a solid playing life without practice. It's the best investment a musician can do.

What keeps you excited about playing?

I love to serve my brothers and sisters and lead them in worship. I also enjoy playing with the worship team and collaborating on other projects. I just love to have a bass on my hands all the time.

Desert Island 3 pedal pedalboard (not including tuner)

I actually have a desert island board that goes (not including tuner) with a Keeley Bassist Compressor, which is the simplest and best-sounding compressor a bass player could use; then a Sushi Box Space Heather, a tube preamp to warm up the tone with that velvety sound, and a DSM Humboldt Bass Simplifier, that is a super efficient preamp with the benefits of Cab Sim, line in and headphones out.

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

If I find myself in that situation, I actually go back to my roots. Listening to the music that inspires me usually helps in getting out with new ideas.

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

That's a pretty difficult one, but today I can pick John Pattitucci as my favorite artist. Ten years ago was a different story, as I was still listening to a lot of Jaco and Weather Report.

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

I usually use a couple of tunes that we usually play at church, just to be sure that's the tone I'm after.

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

The bass I use the most is my Lakland Skyline 55-02, but my most cherished bass is a 2011 Fender American Special Precision Bass that I have upgraded with Hipshot hardware and an EMG Geezer Butler pickup. That Precision has the fastest and most comfortable neck of all my basses, and the Geezer pickup sounds massive.

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

2023 is a no-gear year, so I'll have plenty of time to save for a Fender American Professional II Precision Bass V in Miami Blue.

Gear Breakdown

My pedalboard is an FX69 board Powered by a Rockboard Power LT XL battery. My chain goes like this: Bass guitar connected using a Rattlesnake instrument cable into a TC Electronics Polytune 3 Mini Noir -> Darkglass Hyper Luminal Compressor -> Walrus Julianna -> Darkglass Microtubes X -> Darkglass Alpha-Omicron -> SFX Sound Micro Thumpinator -> Darkglass Vintage Ultra Preamp. All my pedals are connected with Rattlesnake Flex Patch Cables. From my board, I send the DI Output with Cab SIM to FOH using a Rattlesnake XLR cable and the parallel output to my Markbass Nano Mark 300 head that is connected to a Hartke HyDrive HD112 cabinet with a Rattlesnake speaker cable. I use Rattlesnake cables because I love the tone and punch I get out of them and because they're really solid and reliable.

Bands / Projects

Social Links

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