Profiles in Tone

Rocco Prestia has been making the world dance since 1965 when he first joined Tower of Power. His infectious and distinctive 16th note groove became a foundation of fingerstyle funk bass playing that innumerable bassists have been trying to master for decades. Prestia was born and raised in California, where he got into music at an early age. He joined...

If you’re going to play with some of the top hip hop and R&B names, you’ve got to know a thing about tone. That’s why we reached out to bass phenom Robert “Bubby” Lewis as part of our Profiles in Tone series. Born in Flint, Michigan, Lewis wanted to be a drummer until listening to Tom Kennedy on Dave Weckl’s...

So far in our Profiles in Tone series, we’ve covered two legendary, old school rock bassists. Now we’re diving into death metal with a detailed look at one of the kings of metal’s deep end: Alex Webster. As bassist and founder of Cannibal Corpse, Webster has been an influence to legions of metal bassists. The band has twelve studio albums...

Jack Casady has one of the most distinct tones in rock and roll, and it’s not by accident. The Hot Tuna/ex-Jefferson Airplane bassist has always been very detail oriented when it comes to getting his sound right. “I think tone is essential,” he shared with us in our 2012 interview with him. “I think tone is your signature as to...

As bassist for Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and The Doors, Jerry Scheff’s sound epitomized rock bass tone in the ’70s. Thousands of bassists have studied his style while learning The King’s live version of “Suspicious Minds,” the psyche-penetrating bass groove from “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors, and countless other songs from Scheff’s career. That’s why we’re kicking off...