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 Becky Baldwin (Fury).
When you start bass playing and do you remember your first bass?
I started playing bass at the age of 13, for my birthday I got a cheap p-bass looking one by a brand called ‘Chester’. I covered it in stickers I collected from magazines and felt very cool playing it!
What are your influences and which bass players are your favs?
My favourite bass players are Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath and Cliff Burton of Metallica. I also feel that Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and Lemmy of Motorhead influenced my playing and sound significantly too!
How many basses do you own and what are your favorite models?
I own 7 basses, including my first ever bass. My absolute favourite is my white Rickenbacker 4001, which was made in 1977 and makes me think of Motorhead ‘Overkill’ music video every time I look at it! I also love using my jetglo 4003 Rickenbacker, and Fender Deluxe Jazz 5 string bass if I ever need that low B string!
What do you think makes the perfect bass and amp?
Aggression and clarity, a good rumble you can feel through the floor! Also, I love that amps are getting so much lighter and more portable now, but still sounding incredible. Loading heavy 8×10 bass cabs up venue stairs seem to be a thing of the past, thankfully!
Which basses and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
For the latest Fury album ‘Born To Sin’ I mostly used my Rickenbacker 4003. Both of my Rickenbackers have been fitted with Seymour Duncan pickups and are sounding great, but this album is the first Fury album I’ve played on that has featured downtuned guitars (to D standard). This is the bass I have set up for that tuning, although the Fender also got to come out to record the song ‘If You Get To Hell First’ as this was tuned to C standard – so tuning my 5 string up a semi tone was easier than taking the 4 string down another whole tone! I didn’t actually use any real amps on this album – the whole thing was a DI signal via my Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra pedal for some grit!
When you only can choose one bass, which one will you take?
Although the vintage Rickenbacker is my favourite, I usually end up taking my 5 string Fender for most gigs. It is the most adaptable bass in its tone, it sounds great recorded, and having an extra low string comes in handy at a lot of performances!
