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
This playlist features samples of productions I've played on for artists from around the world. The songs are grouped by genre.
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.
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 Avid Eleven Rack , an amazingly clean-sounding audio interface from the manufacturer of the studio standard recording software Pro Tools. The Eleven Rack 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.
If you don't have any special requests about the sound, (ex. extremely 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 add a slight amount of compression and adjust the sound with a little bit of EQ. I prefer to use a channel strip plugin by
Solid State Logic
. 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 from Gallien-Krueger. 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.
Want some effects? Besides having a huge amount of FX plug ins (like the incredibly authentic-sounding Ampeg SVX plug in from IK Multimedia), I am endorsed by 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 effect pedals that I can dig out, 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
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
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)
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)
Gregg Bissonette
Hal Blaine & Don Randi
(The Wrecking Crew)
Dale Bozzio's Missing Persons
Ray Parker Jr. (Ghostbusters)
Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake)
Phil Campbell (Motorhead)
Uli Jon Roth and Don Dokken
Carmine Appice
Warren DiMartini (Ratt)
Mark Boals (and Uli Jon Roth)
Kofi Baker (Sons Of Cream)
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY...
"I wanted to thank you again for your effort. You have been incredible to work with and have elevated all the songs to a higher level! I hope you'll be doing this for a long time to come because it's not easy finding someone of your caliber."
Craig College, USA
"You did a great job creating these bass lines! You read my mind, that was exactly the way I wanted it to be! Great recording quality, and awesome performance."
Gui Gomes, Brasil
"It's amazing what a great bass track can do! I keep listening over and over and your tracks add lots of energy, feel, they glue great and sound super solid."
Omar Borrego, Mexico
"Both of your basses have a very pleasing timbre! And very, very consistent playing! Very very PRO!"
Jyrki Jokinen, Finland
"Was soll ich sagen? Echt toll gespielt, Profi!! Und super schnell."
Markus Rummel, Germany
"Everything sounds great. I really appreciate your talent and creativity."
Jeff Sonntag, USA
"PERFECT; you are one crazy bassist! Slide/gliss sound is exactly like I wanted. I can't thank you enough."
Minoru Magi, Japan
"Absolut perfekt und sehr geil!! Gefällt mir seeehr gut! Melodisch, rockig und echt!"
Philipp Kanjo, AustriaLET'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: