Reader Spotlight: Ryan Griffiths
Meet Ryan Griffiths, a musician who started on piano and cello before finding his calling on bass. These days, Ryan plays in the Prince tribute band EndorphinMachine and has a deep love for pedals.
Ryan is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight (you could be next). Here’s his story…
Bio:
I’ve been playing bass since secondary school when some friends and I formed a band and began playing Beatles and Hendrix covers and writing original music. I continued my bass journey throughout University, playing in the Big Band, smaller jazz ensembles, an original indie rock band, and for musical theatre shows. Since then, I’ve played in bands covering a wide range of genres, including rock, funk, jazz, and hip hop. For the last 15 years, I’ve played in a 9-piece Prince Tribute band called EndorphinMachine. I also regularly play in the pit orchestra for musical theatre productions. Some of the shows I’ve done are Sister Act, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Rock of Ages, and Little Shop of Horrors.
Location:
Ilkley, West Yorkshire, UK
Years experience:
28 years.
Why I play the bass:
I started on piano and cello but never really connected with those instruments. Bass allowed me to play the music I enjoy listening to, and I like the role the bass plays in a band.
Gear:
My main bass is a G&L L2500. I love the sound of it for all genres, and the pickup-switching options make it really versatile. Other basses include a Reverend Rumblefish 5L, a Warwick Thumb 5 and an 80’s Streamer, and an Ibanez Portamento.
Amp-wise, I’ve used an EA iAmp 800 with a Dr Bass 2460D for years. Recently I got a secondhand Genz Benz Shuttle 8T combo, which is great as the head can be used with my Dr. Bass cab, and it’s much smaller and lighter than the iAmp.
I love stompboxes! In the Prince tribute, I like to use “synth” bass sounds by combining octave, fuzz, filter, and modulation effects. My pedal board consists of the following:
- Boss OC2
- Team Awesome Fuzz Machine
- Way Huge Pork Loin
- Robotalk 2
- WMD Superfatman
- Copilot Orbit
- Bananana Matryoshka
- Subdecay Echobox
- ZCat QMod
My Influences:
Flea, Stuart Zender, Jaco, Tim Commerford, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Pino Palladino, Joe Dart, Prince.
My bass superpower/claim to fame:
While at University, I was fortunate enough to play with some people who’ve gone on to great things. The big band I played in featured Bill Laurance (now of Snarky Puppy) on keys.
I also did a 3-week stint at the Edinburgh Festival in a production of Godspell. Jon Ranger was the M.D. of that production – he’s gone on to conduct shows on the West End and on the BBC.
I also once supported Akil the M.C. from Jurassic 5 while playing with hip hop group Shedmen, and with EndorphinMachine, we played a festival where Scottish rock band Texas was the headline act.
More on the web:
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