Reader Spotlight: Ben Hands

Ben HandsMeet Ben Hands, a bass player who splits his time laying down the low end for party, prog-metal and jazz fusion bands in the UK.

While Ben avoided answering our favorite “superpower” question directly, we can’t help but admire his humble response. We also dig his gear list: simple, but effective.

Ben is the No Treble player in the spotlight for the week of April 15, 2013.

Bio:

My name is Ben and I am a bassist from the UK. My musical journey began as a teenager, and I ended up studying music at both the ACM in Guildford and BIMM Bristol.

Location:

Bristol, England

Day gig:

I play in a party band called Ego-Mania. We perform at several holiday resorts throughout the UK.

Years experience:

11 years

Bands & Gigs:

Aside from Egomania, I play in a prog metal band called Endeavour, a ska band called The Henchmen and a jazz fusion group called JazzMonkey.

I also do occasional deputy work for bands and musical productions around my local area as well.

Gear:

  • Ibanez basses
  • My fingers
  • Ashdown amps/scratch posts for my cat!
  • A Boss multi-effects unit

Why I play the bass:

I had just started taking guitar lessons at school and I had two friends who were really good at playing guitar. I was jealous of their abilities, so I gave up and decided to play bass instead!

My bass superpower/claim to fame

I don’t think that’s for me to decide.

My influences

John Myung, Zander Zon, Stuart Clayton, Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius and Karl Pilkington.

More on the web:

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Share your thoughts

  1. Hey, it would have been great to know which Ibbys you use, I’m a fan and becoming a gear geek :P. Nice interview by the way!