What basses do you play with Scofield’s Piety Street Band?I don’t trust the airlines with my PBass anymore, so I’ve been using a Lakland Skyline Series Bob Glaub on fly dates. Lakland is also building me a U.S. Series Bob Glaub. [Lakland’s Dan Lakin reports that Porter requested neck specs identical to his P-Bass, which measures 1.625" at the nut.] We recorded Piety Street in two sessions. I brought the Lakland on the first day and the P on the second. The first four or five tracks are the Lakland, and rest are the Fender.
Why did you shift mid-way?I like the P’s raunchiness, and the neck is so well worn that it feels warmer in my hands. I found out halfway through the session that they had originally wanted an upright bassist, so I decided to go for a muted sound on a few tunes. I took a length of sponge—the kind with the scraper pad on one side and put it under my strings at the bridge to deaden the sound. An upright rings with more overtones, but the note duration was about right.
Did you use the mute on “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”?No, but did I use a “half-fret” technique where I push the string only halfway to the frets on some notes rather than biting all the way down. I release the pressure to kill the note quickly when I want to get a ghost-note in there to bump that shuffle along.
How did the band work in the studio?I wound up being the de facto director because everybody could see me best. I made calls when it came to endings and break points. I was familiar with several of the tunes, but we usually do them in New Orleans with more of a street feel. Ricky Fataar plays drums in a more straightahead style, and he was staying honest to the classic gospel recordings. All I had to do was lock with him, and let [keyboardist] Jon Cleary and Scofield add the color.
How does playing with Scofield compare to some of the other guitarists you’ve played with?Sco likes playing outside. The record is a good representation of the songs, but not of the band. We go off more when we play live. But that’s really what you should expect. If a band’s show sounds just like the record, you should just stay home.
CHECK HIM OUT
John Scofield, Piety Street [Emarcy, 2009]; PBS, Moodoo [High Steppin’ Productions, 2008]; George Porter Jr., It’s Life [Independent, 2007]
GEAR
Basses Fender Precision Bass (’63 neck, ’70 body), Lakland Bob Glaub and Skyline Series Bob Glaub Basses (all with with Hipshot Extenders)
Rig Ampeg SVT-3PRO head, Ampeg BA210SP 2x10 combo, Ampeg SVT-410HE 4x10
Strings D’Addario XL Nickel Roundwounds (.055–.105) “I tried bringing out my EBS BassIQ envelope filter to get a tuba-like sound, but Scofield didn’t want it.”