Miki Santamaria

How do you get such a clean bass sound?

A good technique :) A good bass adjustment so there's no fretbuzz... and that's all! I don't use compressor, eq or amp on my videos!

Do heavier woods sound better?

Esto de que las maderas pesadas suenan mejor es una leyenda urbana jaja! Los Fender de los 60 eran ligeros y tienen una resonancia increible.

How do you make a passive bass heard live?

quizá el problema es el monitor de piso :-) estos bajos deberían sonar bien en una PA

Does changing the RF mode always stop wireless dropouts in crowded venues?

Si, hay veces que por mucho que cambies la RF sigue pasando... cuando hay mucha gente con sus moviles con el wifi abierto puede pasar.

How does he handle a hot active bass in front of his pedals?

Suena fuerte pero como muchos otros bajos activos! Yo pensaba que tendria mas problemas con los pedales pero no. Los mismos que tengo con mis otros musicman, tengo que poner un compresor antes de los pedales para bajar el volumen un poco (y de pasada comprimir tb) y ya esta.

Do you need a Gallien-Krueger amp to get Flea's bass tone?

no creas que el gallien krueger es tan importante. Flea no graba los discos con el ampli, lo utiliza solamente en directo. El sonido de Flea está en el bajo. En este video no utilizo ningun ampli, conecto el bajo directo a la tarjeta de sonido y ya ves que suena igualito.

What gear did he and Abraham Laboriel use in their Yamaha jam?

Both Abe and me were playing Yamaha TRBX basses, mine is the TRBX 504 (4 strings) and Abe was playing a TRBX 505 (5 strings). Both basses are stock. I use Elixir strings and I think Abe was using D'addario strings. We didn't use amps or effects. Straight to the sound board!

Why can't a Fender Blacktop P-Bass match the Pino Palladino Precision tone?

No hay ecualización. El bajo suena así. Quizá sea porque el Pino Palladino es casi 10 veces más caro que el P-Bass blacktop? jejeje son bajos iguales de forma pero muy diferentes en realidad. Además el Blacktop ni siquiera tiene la tipica pastilla de Fender Precision!

Does he use an octave pedal, and where in this arrangement?

of course, I have two octave pedals actually. Check out the video where I'm talking about my pedalboard! It's on my channel. In this song I use an OC-2 for the chorus section (for the bass part, top right)

Will different strings give a Jazz Bass this slap sound?

No creo que el secreto este en las cuerdas. Este bajo tiene una pastilla humbucker, como un Musicman Stingray, los jazz bass tienen 2 pastillas single coil... Eso es lo que marca la diferencia. Utilizo cuerdas elixir.

Does he boost the onboard EQ for his slap tone?

yeah, they're completely flat! A good bass makes the difference, for sure! Specially if you're looking for this kind of slap sound, you need a Fender Jazz Bass for that (or any good copy)

Why does a Wal bass sound close to a Ken Smith?

Los Wal son bajos con un sonido muy especial... Si, se puede parecer a un ken smith porque las pastillas son del mismo tipo, son multicoil.

What effect gives his bass that synth sound?

tengo puesto un bass microsynthetizer de electro-harmonix! En los 80s se utilizaba muchisimo los bajos sintetizados, este pedal emula ese sonido muy bien!

How did he get the bass tone on his Around the World cover?

El bajo esta conectado directo a la tarjeta de sonido, ese bajo suena así. La distorsion es un pedal Boss ODB-3, como el que utiliza flea.

How does he get the TRBX504's upper-register tone without EQ?

That sound comes from the bass. I was using the bridge pickup, in passive mode and cutting the tone little bit. Its a great bass for the money.

How does the Fender Flea Jazz Bass neck compare with a StingRay's?

el stingray es más ancho en la cejuela, pero el feel es parecido. Diría que muy parecido al de un Music Man Sterling.

Did Flea record Stadium Arcadium on his Fender Jazz rather than a Modulus?

yeah, he used that Fender in some of the songs, but he still used a Modulus for some of them too!

Is the bass in Looking Back passive, and what pickup does it use?

the specs of the bass are in the video description. It's active, and the pickup is a Legacy Lane Poor

Is the one-knob compressor in the EBS HD360 head any good?

si, me encanta ese compresor. Es sencillisimo pero funciona muy bien.

What control settings did he use on the two Fender Flea basses?

Yeah, pickup and tone at max on the passive and Volume 100%, Bass 100%, Treble 80% on the active one

What is the string spacing on the Yamaha BBNE2 Nathan East bass?

Smaller than the typical Fender spacing. Similar to a MusicMan Stingray 5 (if not the same).

Does he still have his Wal basses?

Sii los vendí, el mk1 de 1987 era el que mejor sonaba! Pero pesaba demasiado

How thick is the neck on the Pino Palladino Precision Bass?

it is thick! 44m on the nut... But it is what it is hehe you can get use to it

Is his chrome Yamaha BB2024X a factory finish?

Es un yamaha bb2024x, era blanco pero lo mandé a pintar cromado

What bass would you get on a tight budget?

i'd go for a Yamaha TRBX 304, or a BB424... or an Ibanez Soundgear

Which Line 6 Relay wireless does he recommend instead of the G70?

Yo mientras tanto seguiré recomendando el g50. No tiene tantas opciones como el g70 pero tiene solucion a los cortes de señal, es robusto y tambien tiene seguro en el jack.

How does the Modulus Flea bass compare with Fender's Flea Jazz Bass?

The modulus is a better bass generally speaking, the carbon fiber neck gives it a unique tone. But this fender sounds more like wood, it has a little more bottom. It depends of your preferences.

Is the Yamaha BBP34 much different from the older BB2024X?

Habiendo tenido los dos te puedo decir que la diferencia es minima. Han podido recortar gastos no se como, pero la calidad es muy parecida entre el BBP34 y el BB20204X. Quizá el antiguo tiene un rollo un poco mas vintage, pero realmente me parecen dos bajos muy muy parecidos.

Is the Sire Marcus Miller V7 five-string a budget or a mid-range bass?

Para mi es un bajo de gama media. Se puede usar profesionalmente, claro que si, pero preferiría un Fender americano, incluso el Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass made in mexico me parece mejor bajo que los Sire (pero es bastante mas caro).

Should you choose a Yamaha BB734A or a TRBX504?

I think they are different concept of basses. The TRBX being a more modern sounding bass. Even though the TRBX504 are great basses I’d take the BB734a every day of the week.

How does a 1970 Fender Precision differ from a 1976 one?

Cada bajo es unico, no depende tanto del año jeje pero en general los del 76 suelen ser mucho mas pesados, y con cuerpo de fresno. Este es ligero y el cuerpo es de aliso.

Where can you find a Yamaha BB2024X?

Este bajo es dificil de encontrar en tiendas. Yo lo conseguí directamente de Yamaha (soy endorser). Contacta Yamaha España y quizá te dirán donde tienen alguno en stock!

Does he prefer the Yamaha BB2024X or the BB734A?

Bueno, este es el bb2024x, lo prefiero al bb734A, se nota que esta hecho en Japon y que las maderas estan seleccionadas y tratadas

Would he recommend a Jackson JS3 bass?

pues no he probado ninguno! Otra marca que recomendaría es LTD, que vienen con pastillas EMG

Yamaha TRBX304 or TRBX504 for a rock band?

yo te recomendaría el 504! la calidad de las maderas y las pastillas es mejor

How does the Yamaha BB1024X compare with the BB2024X?

El 1024 está muy bien pero el 2024 es otra liga.

Is an Ibanez ATK a good cheaper alternative to a Modulus Flea bass?

También estan bien! Tienes en cuenta los Sterling Ray 34?

Which strings does he use for slap, nickel or steel?

como te digo, utilizo cuerdas elixir, concretamente las 45-105 de nickel. Cualquier cuerda de nickel te dara este sonido slap. Las de acero (steel) suenan mas brillantes.

What is a multicoil pickup?

no es una marca eh? es un tipo de pastilla que tiene una bobina para cada iman, ocho bobinas en cada pastilla. Wal y ken smith hacen sus propias pastillas

How much neck relief does he set for a low action?

low action also depends on the neck curvature, mine is almost flat, just a little bit of curvature.

Is a low action good for fingerstyle as well as slap?

yeah it's easier to play. And as I said I dont have super low action, so I dont get fret buzz unless I play hard

How do you practise?

90% of the times I practice with the bass unplugged. The other 10% with headphones. I never really practice with an amp, I only use it for live shows.

How do you slap so smoothly?

the action of the bass has to be low, then you don't need to put much effort on your playing. I guess it's hours and hours of practice and then your playing becomes more relaxed cause you don't do unnecessary movements

Do you play from tabs?

I don't use tabs, I'm sorry. I play by ear!

How can you learn a fast passage from one of his videos?

Te recomiendo descargarte la tablatura y poner el video a camara lenta aqui en youtube, asi veras todos los detalles.

Which scale does he use in his fingerstyle solo?

most of the time it's just A minor pentatonic... sometimes I add the 9th and the 13th from the A aeolian scale.

Is the groove in Miki's Groove double-thumbed, down and up?

yeah! the thumb goes down and up. Using the thumb like a pick

What should an intermediate bassist with little theory work on?

Pues mi consejo es que amplies tus conocimientos de teoria musical, como sea

What amp do you use in the studio?

i didn't use an amp in that session! it's the bass straight to a simple DI

Does the Yamaha THR amp seen in his videos shape the recorded tone?

I use that amp just for monitoring purposes. It's a really cool amp for practicing at home. The bass is plugged to my Macbook and then everything goes to the Yamaha THR. What you hear is not going through the yamaha THR.

Does he use an amp simulator or preamp when recording bass?

nothing at all! What you hear it's just me and the bass! I plug the bass direct to the Native Instrument audio interface... no preamp or EQ at all.

Does the audio interface change his bass tone?

the audio interface doesn't really change the bass tone, it's just an interface! I like the Native 6 cause it has 6 inputs and it's USB powered.

What gear does he use to record and edit his YouTube videos?

I use a canon 600D camera, a Native Instruments konnect 6 audio interface, a macbook pro with Logic Pro 9 and i edit video with Final Cut X.

Is the Olympus LS-100 a kind of looper?

nope, it's a multitrack recorder! Perfect for recording audio anywhere :) and you can record multiple tracks too

What effects are on his Looking Back recording?

Si, la reverb del Logic Pro X y un poco de ecualización para quitar frecuencias agudas

Why does he arrange songs for solo bass rather than guitar?

I can express myself much better with a bass than I do with a guitar. And I honestly prefer the sound of the bass for this type of arrangements! I'm in love with the sound of this instrument and I like to do arrangements like these where I can play melodies and chords and stuff

What songs does he play in his 1977 Fender Jazz Bass demo?

most of my playing in this video is improvised, just some pentatonic stuff. The only bass line that is not improvised is Treasure by Bruno Mars.

Is I Want You Back played in a lower tuning?

Yes, I was tuned half step down on I Want You Back cause the song needs that low Eb. I use standard tuning on the rest of the songs

Which songs does he play in his Modulus Flea Bass demo?

my lovely man, this is the place, don't forget me, can't stop, higher ground, somewhere over the rainbow... the rest are just my own compositions-examples

Why did he arrange Thinking Out Loud without a looper?

the whole idea for this arrangement is to not use a looper. I have one, but I didn't wanted to use it, it's more challenging this way

Is his fingerstyle solo based on Clapton's Old Love?

por supuesto, es un solo sobre la base de Old Love. Lo digo en la descripción del vídeo

Why do bass covers of Scar Tissue leave out the opening part?

quiza sea porque es una guitarra lo que suena y no un bajo???

What key is his All of Me bass arrangement in?

The key of the song is E minor (G major)!