Ben Epstein plays in Duffy’s band and has toured across the globe in support of the Welsh singer’s debut album which has sold a staggering six million copies. The album spawned the huge single Mercy and led to Duffy winning three Brit Awards and a Grammy in 2009. Ben has also played with Marina And The Diamonds whose debut album hit the UK top five in February. His current success on the bass could not have been predicted, especially as it wasn’t even his primary instrument when he first started playing…
“I started bass at about 12,” he recalls. “I’d actually been playing classical and Spanish guitar since the age of six. I got an electric guitar but found that with the fingering techniques, it pushed you more towards bass. I had not been playing with a pick so it was a natural progression for me to go to bass. I still do a lot of guitar stuff but I don’t really have the gear for playing guitar live so it’s mostly recording; I end up getting the bass out most of the time. In fact it’s turned into a bit of an obsession as I have loads of bass gear! If I started collecting guitar gear as well it would turn into a bit of a nightmare…”
Despite having a lot of gear Ben is very reticent when it comes to endorsing any one product…
“I always said I’d never endorse anything unless it was really something that I genuinely believed in and really wanted,” he says. “I know of some players using gear which I think is crap but they use it as they got it for free. But I only use stuff that I like and that I’d go out and buy anyway you know?”
Fortunately Ben has no such problem with TC Electronic’s RH450, as he loves it, but it took some persuading to get him to try it out…
“At the time RH450 came out I had everything I needed and didn’t need a new amp,” he says, “but then a studio guy that I was working with said ‘TC Electronic make really good stuff you know and you should check it out’. I’d never really heard much about it and only knew that they did reverb units and stuff like that. But then I thought I’d give it a go. I ended up playing an RH450 in a shop in Tokyo and thought ‘bloody hell, it’s actually really good.’ So I gave it a chance at a couple of gigs and literally haven’t played anything else since it arrived. It’s just brilliant, it really is the best thing ever – so good I had to get another one! Now I take both out just in case something happens to the first one while we’re on tour.”
“I’ve used the amp in some gigantic places,” he continues, “some huge festivals outdoors, but where it really comes in handy is on day to day stuff. That amp is brilliant for everyday gigs and can easily fit into the back of my car including the cabs which is amazing. That amp works in every room I’ve been in, whereas other amps might struggle or you have to pull the frequencies out because the sound is bouncing around all over the place. I’ve done gigs in places like the Natural History museum where it’s a really bad room in terms of sound but that amp sounds brilliant. I think it’s because the 210s are up on their end so you have a bit more in the back and on the floor as well. Whatever it is they sound great and I never have to fiddle with the sound as the presets are unbelievable. I just go in, bam: three different basses, three different presets. I hardly ever have to mess with it as it always sounds right.”
Ben also used the amp in other gigging situations where the original recording wasn’t the classic tone you’d associate with Duffy…
“Playing with Cheryl Cole there’s a lot of synth bass on the record but I’m actually using the amp overdrive to play some of it live and it’s testament to the amp that I am happy to send that sound to the engineer.”
Ben has also been busy recording with a new artist Emil for Warners but is keen to get back out there playing live. “It’s all about the gigs really – I just want to be on stage,” he says, which is just as well as he will be over the next few months, playing live with Cheryl Cole. For more information and tour dates, visit www.myspace.com/cherylcolemusic.
We talked to Ben about his use and views on his RH450 setup on stage before the Duffy concert in Copenhagen.
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