Mark White @ the DFW TB GTG

[Mobay45]

I went to the DFW Talk Bass get together today and had the pleasure of meeting a phenomenal bassist and really nice guy today. His name is Mark White and he plays with the Spin Doctors.

One reason I'm posting this here is that he plays Stingrays. He owns 4 of them right now and the one in the pic is obviously custom painted but it's also had the neck pocket routed to lower the neck, the neck has been shimmed and the pickguard is custom made to be thick enough to bring it up level to the neck.

Jack and Ray, you really should have been there. The band Powerhouse really ripped up some classic blues rock tunes and Mark's clinic was really good and informative.

Notice that there is lefty content in these photos!

Mark giving his clinic:



Mark and me with his Stingray:

[JB1]

2 of the same pic bro......?

[Mobay45]

You saw it before I was able to edit it. It's fixed now.

That is one wild looking 'Ray and he can play the strings off of it.

[bovinehost]

I completely forgot this was going on today, Larry. Ray and I went over to the Fort Worth Guitar Show and had lunch and basically screwed off all day.

But this has me scratching my head:

"...it's also had the neck pocket routed to lower the neck, the neck has been shimmed and the pickguard is custom made to be thick enough to bring it up level to the neck."

Okay, you route the pocket to lower the neck, then you shim the neck to bring it back up to a height that makes it playable?

I'm clearly not seeing what the point is. Help!

[Mobay45]

The pocket was routed to lower the neck deeper into the body and the a shim was added for the tilt. I don't totally understand it myself. Guess I should have asked a few more questions about that one. The pickup, neck and pickguard were all on the same plane.

[bovinehost]

I don't totally understand it myself.

I COMPLETELY don't understand any of it! But if it works for him, yeeeewwwwkay!

What was he doing in Texas at a bass wankfest?

[Mobay45]

One of his students talked him into doing the clinic. He lives in Katy. I know you know where that is!

How was the FW Guitar show? Did you guys see Ed there?

[bovinehost]

I do bleeb I remember Katy, Texas, yes I do.

The show was kind of sucky. Definitely local. No manufacturers, lots of wankers playing hockey stick metal guitars with hellish levels of distortion. It certainly would have been interesting for an acoustic guitar aficionado. Taylors, Martins, lots of other high-end acoustics.

Very few basses, although Ray found a decent Mex Squier P for 2 bills and took it home.

Saw some weird OLP stuff that looked a lot like those Traben basses.

Also noticed a handful of EB six string guitars, including an Albert Lee, but the prices were nothing to talk about. (I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that I somehow acquired an EB guitar and it was such a good instrument that I actually could play guitar. Mostly from fear of GAS, I avoided playing any of those today.)

Other than that, the usual gaggle of vintage Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, Gretsch, etc etc etc.

[Father Gino]

What's with the ponytail holder thingies on his bass? In picture one they're beyond the nut and hence maybe just decorative. But in picture 2 they're wrapped around low G. Capo? Mute?

I don't get all the neck/pic guard thing either. You could play really high notes up the pick guard until you ran into the pickup. You could maybe play low F backwards by holding the string down near the bridge and plucking above it. Does he slap a lot?

Does he ever smile?

Nice paint job though. I get that part.

[Mobay45]

What's with the ponytail holder thingies on his bass? In picture one they're beyond the nut and hence maybe just decorative. But in picture 2 they're wrapped around low G. Capo? Mute?

I don't get all the neck/pic guard thing either. You could play really high notes up the pick guard until you ran into the pickup. You could maybe play low F backwards by holding the string down near the bridge and plucking above it. Does he slap a lot?

Does he ever smile?

Nice paint job though. I get that part.

He uses the wrap to practice one handed. He showed us a lot of techiniques where he can practice with his left hand (he's left handed) by sliding the wrap onto the strings. He is a extremely dedicated player that spends countless hours practicing every day. And he is also a perfectionist. One tip that I'll pass along is using a metrenome set a 40 bpm, play a familiar bass line at that tempo. It will really strengthen your overall timing.

He slaps a lot. Almost exclusively. But it was very funky and controled unlike some others I've heard. His style is very percussive at times but he's also got monster chops with his right hand too when he wants to be melodic.

He smiled a lot. Even cracked several jokes in his clinic. He told a great story about how he would make fun of a song that his guitar player wrote with some antics he would pull off on stage.

He introduced me to a style that I've heard but didn't have the slightest idea how to recreate. One thing that strikes me about the mods is that he doesn't have to go to the neck to slap since the p/g is on the same plane and not lower than the neck.

[Psychicpet]

I do believe the point of the 'shim' is not to raise the entire neck higher but rather give it a 'shim' so that the neck is at the proper angle. So.... by lowering the neck pocket the neck is now lower and the action can be Vic Wooten/Matt Garrison low, then the shim just helps with angle of the neck in the pocket so that it can be straight and flat but not raising the height of the entire pocket up..... make a little more sense?? .... Jon???

[AnthonyD]

Sounds like a great time spent with and awesome bass player!

Re: the "pony-tail thingies" - I believe they're pulled down a bit on the neck and used as string mutes. I've seen Victor Wooten use them as well.

[smallequestrian]

I was there as well, so I will add my two cents. Pyschicpet has got the right idea about the shim. As far as the pickguard goes, its the same idea behind the Gary Willis ramp system. The pickguard is flush with the pickup height so its the same effect. Listening to him was really cool. Mark must have one of the best senses of time that I have ever heard in a musician. Groove wise he is rock solid, and he has enough funk not to become robotic like. Time is just innate with him.

[Mobay45]

I can't believe that leftylb and psychoward haven't commented on this lovely lefty Stingray!!!

[BASSBOY007]

Hello there, everybody
I guess I should clear up that neck routing shimmy cocopop thing.
If you find an old jazz bass, look on the back and if you see three screws, you'll also notice a small hole. In that hole is a screw that you turn and it actually tilts the neck for you. I like a little tilt so that i can get a little buzz or "gank" as i like to call it. I had the neck lowered only because i like really low action.

hope that clears that up
(thanks moby for the cool pictures)
mark