This article series is about the tools of popular guitarists or bassists.. What are their favorite guitars or basses and how is it related to them? This time with Zander Greenshields (King King).
When you start bass playing and do you remember your first bass?
I started around 1985 when I was 14 years old. My friend played guitar and we wanted to start a band so I was talked into buying a bass guitar. It was from my mothers catalogue and was branded Kay.
What are your influences and which bass players are your favs?
I have many influences on bass from blues, rock, pop etc. I was first influenced by Steve Harris from Iron Maiden along with Neil Murray from Whitesnake and John McVie from Fleetwood Mac. All amazing players who made a big impact on my style and outlook of playing bass.
How many basses do you own and what are your favorite models?
I currently have 14 basses at the moment ranging from Music Man, Fender, G&L and Spector. I have been using my Spector basses mainly on the current tour and our UK tour in October. They are based on the NS-2 designs from Spector and deliver a great tight and punchy tone ideal for King King.
What do you think makes the perfect bass and amp?
Depending on the style of music this can vary. With King King I use an Ampeg SVT-4 bass amp and 610hlf cabinet. This matched with my active basses delivers the perfect low end tight sound that I like. I tend to have very little bass and treble in my sound and rely mainly on pushing the mids which allows our sound man to fit me perfectly into the mix and to add the low end from front of house.
Which basses and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
On our last album „Maverick“ i used 2 Music Man USA Sterling basses. For the new album I have recorded using my G&L L2000 Custom bass straight into an Ampeg plug in suite in the recording software. It has my exact model of amp and tone built in and sounds great.
When you only can choose one bass, which one will you take?
My number one bass for the past 4 years has been my G&L L2000 custom bass in blue paint flake. It’s a beautiful instrument and one I will never part with.
