Reader Spotlight: Alvaro Martín Gómez Acevedo

Alvaro Martín Gómez AcevedoMeet Alvaro Martín Gómez Acevedo, a bassist from Columbia who is a man who has some pretty extensive lists: favorite genres, gear (wow), bands and gigs.

(Good ones, too).

Alvaro is our player in the spotlight for the week of August 7, 2012.

Be sure to say hi.

Bio:

I consider myself an eclectic musician who can list very diverse musical genres as true favorites. From rock to salsa, from Beethoven to James Brown, I’ve tried to take advantage of all those influences to create and define my own personality as a musician. Still lots of things to learn, but anyway I’ve accumulated a valuable experience as a player.

Location:

Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

Day gig:

Music teacher (different subjects) at two local universities.

Years experience:

I made my first noises with a bass guitar in 1986. Started with double bass in 1995.

Bands & Gigs:

I play bass guitar in a tropical music band called “Rey & Rey”, a rock band called “Agámez” and also play double bass in the symphony orchestra of one of the universities I work with.

Gear:

  • Stambaugh custom 5-string bass
  • Fretless EBMM Bongo 5-string
  • Rickenbacker 4003
  • Steinberger XL2
  • Peavey T-40
  • Cort GS Axe
  • Electric-acoustic bass guitar made by a local luthier
  • Höfner Icon
  • Kubicki Ex Factor
  • Sendel electric upright bass
  • Unknown brand double bass, played with German-style bow
  • MarkBass MoMark head
  • Schroeder 1210R cab
  • Darkglass B3K distortion/overdrive pedal
  • MXR M87 Bass Compressor
  • MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter
  • Strymon TimeLine delay unit
  • HardWire SP-7 Stereo Phaser
  • DigiTech Whammy DT
  • Copilot FX Planetoid ring modulator
  • Buzz Electronics programmable octo-loop
  • Loooper ABCD box
  • BSS Audio AR-133 DI Box
  • TC Electronic PolyTune
  • Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synth
  • Wilson 12 position Vintage Spec Bass Q-Wah

Why I play the bass:

I was taking acoustic guitar lessons and one day my teacher started playing something and told me to play the bass part with my guitar after showing me how it should be played. When I realized the importance of my role, I thought “Wow! This is very cool!”. That was the beginning.

My bass superpower/claim to fame

First, my eclecticism as a musician. If you check my YouTube channel, you’ll find very diverse stuff there. There are lots of players who are “jazzers”, “rockers”, “classical”… but most of the time they are “unidimensional” musicians, which is not my case. I’m very open-minded, and I consider that a big strength.

Second, my approach to bass tone. Not that it’s something “unique” or “outstanding”, but it’s the result of years of careful experimentation and listening to find a bass tone that represents me. Of course, it’s impossible that everybody agree with my point of view about tone, but anyway it’s a very valid one since it’s not picked up at random. This video from my YouTube channel elaborates on this topic:

My influences

Well, I admire lots of bass players, and I consider I’ve learned from lots of great musicians, but the man who I always list as my #1 influence is the great Stuart Hamm. Words aren’t enough to express what I felt when I saw him for the first time in his “Slap, Pop And Tap For The Bass” instructional video back in 1991. While I can’t play with such level of excellence, I consider my bass playing heavily influenced by him.

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Share your thoughts

  1. It’s nice to see fellow bassists from my country in the players spotlight :). Just one little thing, it’s not Columbia, but ColOmbia, with an O ;).

  2. Nice playing and nice guy,….and also a great lesson about EQing! Thanks Alvaro!