Playing a EVH prototype from Fender Custom Shop, thanks to Chip Ellis at Mammoth.
3 Pro, and that thing was a tank! I would lug it around to practices and gigs. I upgraded to an SVT-7 Pro head, and that was a game-changer in terms of tone and portability. I’ve also been using the Ampeg SVT-810AV cab for years.”Can you remember your first performance with Mammoth?“It was at Shipping & Receiving in Fort Worth, and it was incredible. It was also where I met Jonny, Frank, Garrett, and Mike Wolf for the first time. The sound that night was just massive, loud and alive.”How does your approach change when you go from the studio to a live setting?“It doesn’t really. Wolf produced the record, and he’s pretty spot-on with what he wants us to sound like. My goals for a studio tone are a little different; since it doesn’t have to push through the guitars as much, I can get a little wild with it.“For ‘Don’t Back Down’, I grabbed a pick for the first time since 2001, and went nuts with some pick slides and palm muting.”What are your goals for Mammoth moving forward?“Well, we all can’t wait to get back to work with touring and recording new music. We’ve been writing new songs here and there; due to our schedules, it’s been a bit slow, but we’ll have some new music soon. We all love playing together, and it’s very easy for us to be creative since we all understand each other well.”When you’re not playing bass, what are you usually up to?“I work at my uncle’s motorcycle shop. I’ve always loved bikes as much as I’ve loved music, but guitar is my first love and my first passion. Thanks to my uncle, I can have fun in hands-on work fixing motorcycles and still get weekends off to play music.”Don’t Miss
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Doug Wimbish on Def Leppard’s Hysteria, grandmaster bass techniques and how Bob Marley changed his life“Whether I’m on stage, in the studio, at the shop or at home, I need to be making music in some way. I used to write music with my friends when I was a kid; melodies came easy to me, but words do not. I’ve always got something floating around in my head.””Your tone can make or break a sound of any band.”