Reader Spotlight: Mykk Hannan

Meet bassist Mykk Hannan who says his claim to fame is “Massive earth shaking low end that will disembowel the front three rows.” We like it.

In addition to his bass playing, Mykk works on hot rods and classic cars by day. Also cool!

Mykk is our player in the spotlight for the week of April 4, 2012. Say hi.

Mykk Hannan

Bio:

I grew up just north of San Francisco, moved to a small town in Arizona where I lived for five years, and just recently packed up my things and moved on a whim to Los Angeles.

In Northern California, I played in a handful of bands over the years: Cancel, The Poison Apples, Orpheus, Analogue. In Arizona, I worked with; The Poor Kids Without Cable and Conviction.

In Los Angeles I am playing with the hard rock band Revolution Kill Pill, as well as studio/session work with various artists.

Location:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Day gig:

I work as a specialized Automotive Mechanic and build hot rods and custom cars at a shop in Long Beach, California. My main task is complete vehicle re-wiring where I strip and remove the car’s original electrical and wiring (sometimes as old as 80-90 years!), and I install new wiring harnesses, fuse blocks and retro-fit or adapt circuits to function with modern technology.

I also, occasionally, get paid to play bass in studio and session work.

Years experience:

Roughly fourteen years. I got my first bass (a P-bass copy) at age fifteen. I still have that bass.

Bands & Gigs:

I am currently rehearsing and getting things organized in L.A. with a band named Revolution Kill Pill. Some really cool guys with the same 90’s hard rock influences and same drive to succeed. I am also unofficially ‘jamming’ with a couple other L.A. bands too.

Gear:

My #1 go to bass is a black/maple neck ’98 Fender American Jazz with active EMG pickups and electronics. I also bring out a Epiphone Les Paul bass on rare occasions. I’d like to do some more work to it before it see’s more stage time.

I am currently restoring my first bass, a Fernandes P-bass copy now with a Mexican Fender Jazz rosewood neck, Badass II bridge, brass nut and passive Duncan Basslines pickups.

In the past I have owned an Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling, MTD prototype 5-string, Ibanez 6-string and several J-basses.

In my rack, I use an Ampeg SVT-IIP tube preamp, BBE Sonic Maximizer and Crest Vs1500 power amp into a Fender Pro 8×10?. I recently retired an Ampeg SVT810E, and before that, I had an Ampeg PR1832HE.

In the past I’ve used a Mesa/Boogie 400+ head, just needed to make sure to bring a backup head.

Why I play the bass:

When I was in middle school I had friends who played guitar and we were all talking about forming a band and they assigned me as the bass player. I had no clue what it was (nor did I own one). Come to find out after receiving my first bass and taking lessons, I realized I was always naturally attracted to the sounds and tones of the bass in recordings. I just didn’t know what was making them. My ears would automatically focus on the low end of my favorite bands and songs even before I knew.

My bass superpower/claim to fame

Massive earth shaking low end that will disembowel the front three rows.

My influences

I can’t necessarily think of any one bass player who has influenced my sound, but rather the bands as a whole: Alice In Chains, Sevendust, Filter, Ken Andrews & Failure, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins (I love the bass tones on Siamese Dream) and Tosin Abasi. For the softer side of things, I listen to Portishead, Bjork, Cinematic Orchestra and Xploding Plastix

More on the web:

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  1. Best Claim to Fame ever.