Today, we have my friend Tony Franklin with us, also known as “The Fretless Monster”. As the name suggests, Tony’s chops on fretless bass are outstanding and his intonation is second to none. He has played along side some of the best musicians of the world for many years (The Firm, Jimmy Page, Blue Murder, Whitesnake and more) as well as tracked bass for hundreds of albums. So being able to sit down with him to talk about his philosophy behind playing bass and finding the perfect grooves and bass lines was an absolute blessing:
“I find complete freedom and flexibility in playing the fretless. I love the ability to express myself and do these… almost vocal kind of lines. But I don’t treat to like that all the time, it’s still a bass: The job of the bass is to maintain the groove and hold down the low-end.
Especially in sessions it’s our job to play what’s right for the song. It’s not our job to play what’s right for us, or our egos. Usually, we have to keep it simple. And knowing when you can stretch out and play something special, that’s a very important skill.“
This was an impromptu video we did during one of our recording sessions, so not only were we able to pick his brain about all things bass, you’ll also see Tony track fretless and fretted bass to a Rock song we recorded at Sunset Sound, and hear him go all-out on the fretless and play amazing riffs in an “Over-The-Top” take.
We have recently released an in-depth bass recording and production course, where Tony goes into great detail on playing techniques, choosing grooves and creating bass lines that compliment the song. If you want too take your recordings and bass playing to the next level, this course is gold. Check it out at promixacademy.com.
I hope you enjoy the video!
Listen to the podcast of this interview/session:
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
Warren