I get hundreds of e-mail messages each week, many asking the same questions. This page will answer some of the more popular questions and will grow over time.

Q: What equipment do you use?
A: There are lots of basses in the bass room in my house! Since 1983 my main bass has been a Fodera Monarch 4-string which has come to be known as "Number One". I also regulary play a Fodera Monarch Signature Yin Yang 4-string and a 5-String fretless made for me by my late friend, Joe Compito. Along with my Fodera Monarch Tenor, those are the basses you'll most often at Flecktones shows.

On stage, I use and Ampeg SVT 4-Pro amplifier with Ampeg BXT-series cabinets that I helped to design along with Steve Bailey.

I'm always trying new effects, so you may see different things in my rack or on the floor from time to time. Lately I've been using a BOSS GT-6B, which I really like. The looping that you sometimes hear during solo spots comes from a Lexicon JamMan. I also used a Roland V-Bass on the new CD, "Soul Circus" and will be taking it on tour. It's really cool!

Q: Who are your influences?
A: My parents and my brothers have taught me the most about music and life. Other influences have included: Stanley Clarks, Jaco Pastorius, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham, Marcus Miller, and James Jamerson. I've also been influenced by some friends that I grew up jamming with like James Genus, Oteil Burbridge, Keith Horne, John Billings, Jacques Jones, Alvin Moody, Ralph Hedgepeth, Don Burford, Rusty Springfield, Jimmy Lawson, John Gragg, Carter Beauford, Billy Drummond, Steve Wilson, and many more.

I've met and played with other influences like John Pattitucci, Bill Dickens, Edgar Meyer, Steve Bailey, Matthew Garrison, Mike Pope, Lincoln Goines, and lots more. Other musical influences include Tony Williams, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Moles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Elvin Jones, Billy Cobham, Dennis Chambers, Mike Stern, Scott Hamilton, John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth and more. Some of my strongest musical influences are musicians that are just beginning. Trying to figure out what they're going to be playing in 20 years is a huge influence on me.

Non-musical influences include Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ghandi, and many more from my history lessons. Also, Bruce Lee, Sifu Brian Edwards, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brown, Jr., Charles Worsham, Jon Young, Kostas Danaos, John Chang, birds, animals, you, and me.

Keep in mind that this is a partial list. Everybody and everything is an influence.

Q: How long have you been playing?
A: I started playing bass at about 3 years old.

Q: What bass, amp, or strings should I buy?
A: Equipment is like clothing. Choose what makes you comfortable.

Basses: Try out all the instruments at and below your price range. You may find the perfect instrument well below what you expected to spend. The music comes from you, not from the bass. Find an instrument that's going to allow you to get your sound. Check the newspapers for used instruments.

Amps and Speakers: Take your bass to the store and try as many as possible to find a rig that best gets your sound.

Strings: I use Fodera or D'Addario nickel-wound strings. Stainless Steel feels a bit too rough for me and seems to respond slightly slower to my fingers. My standard four string basses use the following guages: .40, .55, .75, .95. I add a .120 'B' string to my fretless 5-string and a .30"C" string to my YinYang fretted 5. The tenor bass is strung A, D, G, C, .75, .55, .40, .30.

Remember: Don't buy something because someone uses it. Try it out because they use it, but only buy it if you like it.

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