Welcome to StudioBassist.com

WORLD-CLASS BASS TRACKS WITH FAMOUS CREDITS

Hey there! This is Martin Motnik, bass player for German pioneers of heavy metal ACCEPT and experienced session bassist for various world-renowned artists. I've recorded with musicians who played for Santana, Elvis Presley, Quincy Jones, Frank Zappa, Don Henley, Elton John, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, and many more. And I would love to play for you too!

 

After having worked for many years as a studio bass player all over the world, I've developed my own recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee, optimized for bass recordings. You're looking for a professional bass track for your song, from an experienced bass player who is proficient in many musical styles? You've come to the right place!


"I will give your song that live, organic, groovy low end sound of a professional bass track – fast, online, and ready to be added to your arrangement!"


Whether you're producing a song, a jingle, a commercial, or an entire CD or DVD, I would love to play for you! I've recorded on hundreds of songs for artists from all over the world, always with the goal of making the recording process for my client as easy and satisfying as possible.

Send me your song online in any sound file format, we'll talk about your sound and playing ideas, and I'll play a world-class bass track as I've played on several major label releases. It will make your song groove, and will add that live low-end feeling that only a real bass track can deliver.

Only when you're completely satisfied with my work, you'll get a track that will fit seemlessly in your arrangement, without hassle and with satisfaction guaranteed! Want to know more? Keep scrolling! Want to get started? Click here to contact me!




SAMPLES

Please enjoy this Spotify playlist with songs I've played on. It's a developing collection of released tracks ranging across numerous genres.
This embedded list is limited to 100 songs.
For the full playlist containing several hundred songs click here to visit the playlist on Spotify itself.




VIDEOS

Here are some videos showing me at work. For full-length videos of selected sessions check out this YouTube playlist.

A short presentation of what I offer through StudioBassist.com:

Highlights of my bass playing career – who do you recognize?



THE STUDIO

Welcome to my studio! I've spent many years searching for the perfect instruments, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, effects, and everything else necessary for a world-class bass sound (it's amazing what just a different instrument cable does to your sound!).

Now I have a setup that is extremely versatile, and that produces the perfect sound for every musical style, from a HiFi fusion sound to a dirty punk rock overdrive sound and everything in between. Keep scrolling to find out more!

My Custom Basses

My three basses by Ritter Instruments were custom-built and are an integral part of my sound. I own a five string Ritter Roya (with a Hipshot D-Tuner, reaching down to the low A) for rock, metal, funk, reggae and R'n'B; a six string Ritter Roya for funk and fusion songs, and a five string Ritter Roya Fretless with unbelievable intensity and warmth. I use Elixir Nickel Plated Steel Strings with Nanoweb coating which ensure an always fresh and brilliant sound.

All three basses produce an extremely precise, warm, and flexible sound that blends perfectly with your mix. I get the most positive reactions to my sound when I go directly into the recording system, leaving the bass sound as natural as possible. To capture the most natural sound, I go through a Universal Audio LA-610 channel strip, which adds a slight amount of compression.

basses by Ritter Instruments
basses by Ritter Instruments

Traditional Basses

There's a reason why one bass is the standard on thousands of recordings, and that's the Fender Precision bass. It sits just right in the mix and makes the audio engineer's job much easier. I have two different versions, a '59 vintage version with flatwound strings for the very traditional sound, and a modern Preciriosn Deluxe with active Sadowsky electronics for a more HiFi-sound. A similarly sounding bass is my Jazz Bass Aerodyne with Bartolini P/J pickups (formerly owned by INXS bassplayer Garry Gary Beers), which I keep tuned to E flat. For the authentic vintage McCartney sound I have a Höfner Club Bass (sounds just like Paul's violin bass), and for the unplugged acoustic sound I am using a trusted old Ibanez AEB-10.

Recording Equipment

After comparing several audio interfaces, I'm currently recording through an Universal Audio Apollo x6 , an amazingly clean-sounding audio interface from a leading manufacturer of studio standard recording equipment. The Apollo x6 is connected to my dedicted Apple Macintosh studio computer equipped with Apple Logic Pro X. In addition to a very clean DI signal, it also offers the possibility to record bass amplifier and effects simulations of high quality into the session, which can enhance the track depending on the song.

You will always get always get a top quality DI signal track which you can manipulate to your liking. In addition, if you don't have any special requests about the sound (maybe based on reference songs you like, for example extremely with low sub bass frequencies, slap sound, HiFi sound, effects like overdrive, distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, octaver, or whatever else you can think of) I will usually create an additional track, where I add a slight amount of compression and adjust the sound with a little bit of EQ, matching to the audio material. I own the entire collection by IK Multimedia which offers me an endless array of professional plugins, such as SSL® channel strip simulations and a fantastic rendition of the legendary Distressor®. That track is a suggestion which I create based on my best judgment from having recorded on over 1,000 tracks.

That's usually it, the rest comes out of the fingers (or the pick). The result of this combination is a very low-noise and very versatile bass track that will put a smile on your engineer's face (and ears). I usually record in 24 bit resolution in either 44.1kHz or 48kHz sampling rate, depending on the target media of your production (CD or DVD). It's possible to record up to 32bit resolution and 192kHz sample rate. I can deliver the track in either AIF and in WAV file format - whichever you prefer.

If you prefer a real live sound, I can also record the bass track with a microphone, amplified through a bass amp and speaker cabinet. Again, after many years of research and experience, I've found that Gallien-Krueger sounds punchier and more defined than every other brand I tried, and that I can get every sound out of it that I desire. But if you request a different amp sound, I have almost all possible amps and cabinets to my disposal thanks to IK Multimedia's AmpliTube simulation software.

Want some effects? Besides having a huge amount of FX plug ins at my disposal), I have been a long-time endorser of Line 6 whose Bass POD models hold the most popular bass FX in the world.


And if you're a vintage fan, I also have a few actual analog effect pedals that I can put into the signal chain, depending on the style of the song.

For all acoustic fans: my very round sounding acoustic bass from Ibanez can be recorded with the internal pickup or by a Neumann microphone. I also have a great sounding upright bass in my studio that I record with two microphones; a condenser mic for the presence and the air, and a dynamic mic for the low end. So if you have a song that requires the real upright sound, I'm happy to deliver that!

When I'm on the road, I have an Apogee One interface with me, and from there I go into a MacBook Pro with Logic Pro X. Even though I limit the amount of effects I put onto my tracks, I have a multitude of plugins that I can use if you'd like to get a certain sound. For amp sounds I can record the rig I'm touring with, or I can use an amp simulation such as GK Amplification Pro 2 , an incredibly realistic sounding amp simulation of Gallien-Krueger amps and speakers, made by Audified. I also use Amplitube by IK Multimedia for an even alrger array of amp simulations, from Ampeg to Trace Elliot.

I PROUDLY ENDORSE THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES



CREDITS


I've recorded on over a thousand tracks, and I can't wait to play on yours!










Awesome Artists I've Worked With

Akira Jimbo (Casiopea)
Atargatis
Ali Khan
Atma Anur (Jason Becker, Richie Kotzen)
Beyond the Void
Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Ted Nugent)
Carnival Cruise Line
Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Barbra Streisand)
Chantal Hartmann
The Choirboys
Chris Slade (AC/DC, Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
Clueless
Dan Lucas
Darkseed
David Andersen (Country Music Hall of Fame)
David Hanselmann
Disney Cruise Line
Dizzy Reed (Guns N' Roses)
Don Dokken (Dokken)
Don Randi (The Wrecking Crew, Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys)
Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio)
Doug Bossi (Jennifer Paige, David Coverdale)
Eisbrecher
Graciano
Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group)
Graham Bonney
Gregg Bissonette (Santana, Toto, David Lee Roth)
Hal Blaine (The Wrecking Crew, Beach Boys)
Helene Fischer
Ian Paice (Deep Purple)
Jason Sadites (solo)
Jesse Money (daughter of Eddie Money)
Jimmy Crespo (Aerosmith, Rod Stewart)
Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, Rolling Stones, Chickenfoot)
Kofi Baker (Son of Ginger Baker/Cream)
Las Vegas Jazz Trio
Lukas Rossi (Winner Rockstar Supernova)
Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Paul Gilbert)
Marianne & Michael
Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Royal Hunt)
Martha Wash (The Weather Girls)
Martin Lochner
Matt Bissonette (Joe Satriani, Rick Springfield)
Mattias "IA" Eklundh (Freak Kitchen, Jonas Helborg)
Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford)
Micky Moody (Whitesnake)
Michael Landau (Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Seal)
Missing Persons
Mugs Cain (Michael Bolton, David Foster)
Nepo Fitz
Omar Bowing
Pat Bautz (Three Dog Night)
Patrick Lindner
Peter Kraus
Peter Wölpl (Kick)
Ralf Jung
Richie Onori (The Sweet)
Rocky Horror Show Musical
Ru Paul
Steven Lincoln
Suzie McNeal
The Roxx
The Winners
Tim Tucker (United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps)
Uli Jon Roth (The Scorpions)
Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Christina Aguilera, Santana)
What4
Wolfgang Schmid (Kick)
Worlds Apart

GALLERY

Memories of Working With Some Fantastic Colleagues


Chris Slade (AC/DC)
Chris Slade (AC/DC)

Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette

Hal Blaine and Don Randi (The Wrecking Crew)
Hal Blaine & Don Randi
(The Wrecking Crew)

Dale Bozzio's Missing Persons
Dale Bozzio's Missing Persons

Ray Parker Jr.
Ray Parker Jr. (Ghostbusters)

Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake)
Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake)

Phil Campbell (Motorhead)
Phil Campbell (Motorhead)

Uli Jon Roth and Don Dokken.
Uli Jon Roth and Don Dokken

Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice

Warren DiMartini (Ratt)
Warren DiMartini (Ratt)

Mark Boals (and Uli Jon Roth)
Mark Boals (and Uli Jon Roth)

Kofi Baker (Sons of Cream)
Kofi Baker (Sons Of Cream)

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY...




LET'S GET STARTED!

Are you ready to get the same quality bass track as being heard on ACCEPT's album "Too Mean To Die"? The bass that has been on stage with The Scorpions' Uli Jon Roth and Missing Persons, or played alongside the most recorded drummer Hal Blaine, and played with Joe Satriani, Jennifer Batten, and Chick Corea's Frank Gambale? Let's do it! I will record world-class bass tracks for you at the following rates:

- One song: $199
- 3 songs: $500
- Each additional song: $150

I want you to be completely satisfied and will revise until you're happy with the track. Please send me your files to the following email address (Note: if your audio file is larger than 25 MB, go to WeTransfer.com and send your audio file from there to the following email address): martin@studiobassist.com

Provide me with as much info as you'd like about your song, and feel free to give me your sound ideas (fretted, fretless, effects, genre or style, such as rock, jazz, country, etc.) if you have any. If have you charts, lead sheets, MIDI files, or any other information in a separate file (PDF, TXT, etc.) send them along as well. Please let me know whether it's going to be a CD or a DVD recording, and I will record the song in the correct sampling rate.

You'll get an immediate response with detailed information about the estimated time for production (usually within 3 days), ideas about the bass sound, etc. It's also possible to discuss details over the phone, either via Skype or by regular phone. I also have a setup where you can watch the session live via Zoom so can listen and watcgh in real-time and can make remarks immediately!

After I've recorded my bass track, I will send you an mp3 with a mixdown of your song including the bass track, to get your approval or revision request. If you are satisfied with the track, I will send you a PayPal invoice, and you'll receive the uncompressed audio file(s) in full resolution (AIF or WAV / 44,1 kHz or 48 kHz / 24bit), online via WeTransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP, Yousendit.com, or on a CD-R by snailmail, immediately after receipt of your payment.

Sounds good? Let's get started! Any more questions? Write me an email ! Also, let's connect on: