Jason Raso is a Guelph, Ontario based bassist, composer and instructor who has 8 discs to his credit, the latest of which is called Slingshot performed and recorded with the Jason Raso Quartet. He blends jazz with elements of funk but (perhaps surprisingly) comes from a foundation of rock music that influenced him early on … Read more
Bass Guitar Rocks: What has been your favourite experience since opening Ultimate Basses?
Dave: I have a lot of memorable sales to many very nice customers but one purchase that stands out is a bass that I had a tight time constraint with regards to delivery. He needed this instrument in time for a performance at the Montreal Jazz festival. I was able to co-ordinate a timely delivery with the supplier and personally hand the bass to my customer in St David, Quebec.
After chatting with Necro Hippie of Ash Lee Blade, I checked my tape recorder, packed up my stuff and bid him farewell. My band (Omega A.D.) was the next to hit the stage and I needed to get up stairs and prepare (You can read more about Molten Metal Mayhem 3 here). [ad#post-ad] An hour or … Read more
BassGuitarRocks: How often do you change your stings?
Necro Hippie: I try to do em every six months – you can play for like a year with em you know. If you want a good sound and are cautious about (breaking a string). Not many bass players have a back-up bass, so I try to change my strings (regularly) and I do the intonation and action myself.
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Bass Guitar Rocks: Harris and Butler are instrumental in the songwriting of their respective bands, do you write songs in your current or previous bands?
Necro Hippie: I did some writing on the second CD for Gutshot, and I wrote a little bit while I was in an Ottawa based band called Tidrake. The four songs on the Ash Lee Blade [self-titled]EP are written by myself and Ash. I’ve also written or co-written up to eight other songs in our set.
[ad#post-ad] My introduction to Necro Hippie and the band Ash Lee Blade was by way of a friend of mine. His comment to me was, ‘…check out the Zakk Wylde of the bass guitar.” In the email he attached a YouTube clip of a long blonde-haired dude rockin’ out on bass with wah and distortion … Read more
[ad#post-ad] As a Canadian bass player, there’s a lot of cool instruments and equipment that I’ve only had the chance to see online or in a magazine. Luckily, in the past few years there have been a few Canadian retailers emerging that specialize in bass-only gear. One such store is Ultimate Basses, located in Guelph, Ontario. I had a chance … Read more
