Boasting well over a million followers on YouTube, Charles Berthoud is one of the most visible bass players to come from the social media generation. His YouTube channel is loaded with play-along clips of him shredding over a variety of pop covers, and, of course, a few bass battles with fellow YouTuber Davie 504.
Having already showcased jaw-dropping arrangements of 'September' by Earth Wind and Fire and 'Toxic' by Britney Spears, Berthoud’s latest series sees him perform a 60 seconds audition reel taking aim at the likes of Rage Against The Machine, Dream Theater, Red Hot Chili Peppers and in his latest video, masked metalheads Slipknot.
The video – which clocked up over 300 thousand views in its first 24 hours – sees Berthoud wielding his Le Fay D-Tuner 4-string bass to Slipknot’s 2004 metal anthem 'Duality', taking his lightning fast fretboard pyrotechnics to the extreme.
“I started out on piano, so I had a lot of experience playing solo and accompanying myself,” says Berthoud when I asked about his solo bass heroics. “I’ve worked with bands and I love doing that, but I’ve always found that I really love the freedom of playing solo. I’ve never felt like I’m doing some weird bass thing that no one else is interested in. And I think most people enjoy it.”
Charles delivers his signature tone via an arsenal of different Le Fay and Schecter basses. Though he primarily stays true to a Le Fay D-Tuner when it comes to executing technical lines of any calibre. “My main bass is a Le Fay, but Schecter have been really nice with hooking me up with instruments."
To watch more mind-blowing bass videos from Charles Berthoud, subscribe to his YouTube Channel or visit charlesberthoud.com
