Reader Spotlight: Omar Harb

Meet Omar Harb, a busy bassist who attended Berklee, has played and recorded with hundreds of international projects, and is heard as the bassist on the Arabic version of “The Voice.”

Omar is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…

Bio:

I’m a professional bass player who graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2004, and I have played and recorded on hundreds of local and international projects. I’ve performed live or recorded with artists including Dave Weckl, Tom Brechtlein, Ed Cherry, Ryo Kawasaki, and others. I’m also the bass player for the hit TV show “The Voice” (Arabic version).

Location:

Bierut, Lebanon

Day gig:

I’m a professional bass player and an audio mastering engineer at the prestigious JMR Studios.

Years experience:

23 years

Bands & Gigs:

I play with so many projects and work as a session musician. But at the moment I’m playing original material with two bands. One is a piano trio called Oxygen and one is a two-bass band called The Subtones.

Gear:

• F Bass AC Classic 6
• Custom Armen Bass 6
• Pedulla Raptor Bass 5 with John East pre
• Pedulla Pentabuzz 5 fretless
• Pre-Gibson Tobias Classic 5
• Ibanez GWB
• Fender ’77 original
• TC Electronics RH 450 head and 2×10 2×12 RS Cabs
• Many pedals

Why I play the bass:

I’ve always loved the sound of bass but probably listening to Steve Harris and Geddy Lee made me realize what I can do with the bass.

My bass superpower/claim to fame:

I like to think that I have good right-hand technique. I use my 4 fingers in various combinations to be able to play many different kinds of grooves and lines.

My influences:

Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Alain Caron, Jaco Pastorius, Dominique Di Piazza, Matt Garrison, Anthony Jackson, Marcus Miller, and many others.

Videos:

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More on the web:

• First Autumn In Beirut video with Tarek Skaikar
• OmarFaqir: Giant Sticks by Omar Faqir