British experimentalists Don Broco have released their fifth studio album, Nightmare Tripping, which is once again based around the Earth-shattering basslines of Tom Doyle.
Not quite pop rock and not quite nu metal, the nature of the band’s songwriting has precluded too much elaborate bass playing, Doyle explains, but he’s relaxed about it all, making his point through economy rather than extroversion.
“An important thing I was once told was about knowing your role as a bass player,” says Doyle. “It’s really about supporting the guitars with a strong fundamental tone, and adding whatever frequencies might be missing.
Article continues below“Unless you’re doing your own solo thing, you should be holding it down with the drummer and playing for the song, not to show off. If you overplay on bass, you’ll just get lost, but if you can find those little pockets where it can just pop at the right moment, you can give the listener something really interesting.”
Asked if his band follow the rest of the pack and tune down to stomach-churning depths, he explains: “A lot of the new songs are already in pretty low tunings. Si might be playing a 7-string guitar tuned to A, with an octave beneath that as part of his tone, so I have to be able to play the lower octave as my fundamental.
“That gets trickier when he transposes the entire thing down a tone! In songs like Cellophane and Hype Man I tune my bass to a low G when we play live.
“Generally though, I am usually dropped a whole tone down from standard tuning on a 5-string bass, so A-D-G-C-F, but because of shifting keys around and making certain parts more playable there are a few variations in there.”
Doyle used a number of different basses during recording, but it was his trusty Spector Euro LX that he used to handle the lion’s share of the bass work.
“I’ve also got a Dingwall Combustion – the Nashville Edition with the Rupert Neve Designs preamp – and that’s the only bass I’ve played that can really deliver that low frequency while still keeping the note clear.
“It’s been perfect for adding all that extra grunt without sacrificing the fundamental note. Even my tuner struggles to register it at that pitch!”
What are your favourite Don Broco tracks to play live?
I think that we’re lucky to have a pretty diverse sound, so I can enjoy different songs within the set for different reasons. Sometimes it’s the crowd involvement, and sometimes it’s just getting to sit back and groove with our drummer Matt for a while. At the moment, it’s a lot of fun to play Euphoria – albeit quite a workout.
How is your mindset different when playing live compared to in the studio?
As much as I’d love to think I could get the perfect take every night when playing live, it just isn’t realistic. You have to be able to let things go if you make a mistake. You’re part of a bigger show, and bringing energy and performance for the crowd is more important than hitting every note perfectly.
In the studio, are you the kind of person who’ll wait for the perfect take?
There’s a lot of subliminal feeling that comes from the most basic parts, and a lot of that can be lost if something’s edited beyond belief. It’s always worth aiming for the perfect take, but sometimes the magic comes from the very first take, when no one is overthinking anything. I think there’s a balance to be struck.
What’s your setup in the studio?
My studio setup can vary quite a lot. Sometimes it’s just a DI into a software amp on the computer. Other times, I’ll go through a preamp/amp sim like an Origin FX BassRig, Darkglass B3K, or Neural DSP Quad Cortex. On some of our previous albums, we re-amped everything through my EBS Fafner.
For several tracks on Nightmare Tripping, we actually went down to Chris Wolstenholme’s studio to track drums and re-amp the bass and guitars.
What was it like working with Chris?
The songwriting was already done, so Chris took more of an engineering role – but it was pretty sweet to run my bass through such a legendary rig. A lot of the songs had evolved from demos and had been chopped around quite a bit, and I wish my strings had been a little fresher, but it was an incredible experience.
Chris has a great ear. The drum sound he got from a relatively small space was awesome. He set up a room mic in a tiled shower just off the live room, and everything came out sounding fantastic. He’s also a great drummer – I had no idea he even played!
You also collaborated with Nickelback on the new album.
We’ve always been big fans of Nickelback, so having them feature on the title track was amazing. Their guitarist, Ryan Peake, had come to see one of our shows in Vancouver, and later reached out to ask if we’d support them on some of their European dates.
When we were writing Nightmare Tripping, we could already imagine Chad and Ryan singing on the chorus, and to our surprise, they were totally up for it. I’m sure our fans were as shocked as we were, but everyone seems to love how it turned out, so we couldn’t be happier.
What do you remember about playing the main stage at Download?
That was our first show back after heading off to write Nightmare Tripping. You always worry people might have forgotten about you or lost interest, but Download was the perfect antidote to being cooped up in the studio, working non-stop. It was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do.
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Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I like to always hear the line-check before we go on stage. It gives me confidence that everything is sounding how it should sound and working properly. Then I can relax into the show.
What bass players have influenced you?
I grew up listening to Incubus and trying to learn all of Dirk Lance’s funk bass parts. When he left the band and Ben Kenney joined, I was equally drawn to his more melodic lines. Both of them have had a huge influence not only on the tone I aim for, but also on the parts I try to create. Away from rock and metal, I’d spend hours learning all the early Jamiroquai basslines.
Do you like technique guys, like Victor Wooten or Billy Sheehan?
Absolutely. I’m constantly inspired by players who are far beyond my ability – the dedication it takes to reach that level is mind-blowing.
I remember going to a Marcus Miller gig at the Jazz Cafe and being completely blown away – his slap technique, tone, melodic playing, and rhythm. And I’ve pored over Victor Wooten playing Amazing Grace countless times!
Pino Palladino is my all-round favourite bass player. He just knows how to fit whatever artist he’s playing with. His work with D'Angelo is mind-blowing.
If you had some lasting advice for bass players, what would it be?
Keep listening, keep watching, keep practicing – there’s always something to be learned. I should take my own advice more.
