Hey there.

[phillipmorephil]

My name's Phillip Smith, I'm a 17-year-old bass player from DFW, Texas. My dad plays bass, which is probably why I became interested in it. My brother plays drums, my other brother sings, and my cousin currently living with us plays guitar. We're kind of like the Partridge family, but less successful and (slightly) cooler.

My username, for those curious few, can be interpreted as, "Phillip. More Phil, less lip."

I play a '72 Ibanez Silver Series. It's a PJ knock-off. The split coil is slightly closer to the neck than regular PJ's, and the controls are a little different; mine has a volume, a tone, and a three-way toggle switch for the pickups. It's lots of fun, but I've been meaning to replace the switch, among other things (pickups, tuners, bridge, and so on).

I like effects, to the dismay of many other bass players, and to the enthusiasm of most prog-rock fans. My rig, if you could call it that, is bass>80's era Ibanez bass compressor>Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive>Tech 21 Sans Amp Bass Driver DI>SWR Workingman's 15 (at home) and a Trace Elliot 4x10/1x15 (Donated to my church by a friend of mine).

I like to play with a pick, but I'm working on not doing that as much. I enjoy playing in DADG, but I play more commonly in EADG. I'm not the fanciest bass player in the world, but I'd like to say I have a firm grasp on time. I like shifting tempos and odd numbers, but I'm a fairly bluesy bassist when the music calls. I'm getting into slappy funky bass, but I'm not terribly good at it.

I look up to four bass players, for the most part. My dad, who's not flashy or showy, but did introduce me to bass; Victor Wooten, a slapping, double-thumping genius; Billy Sheehan, a seriously speedy "lead bass" with a decent grasp on showmanship; and Stu Hamm, a very solid bass player that can slap, tap, and everything in between, if the song calls for it.

I guess that about sums it up.

Thanks,
Phillip.