As a bassist at WaterBear, you’ll likely to be in high demand as we usually lots of bands and artists looking for decent Bass players! We keep our class sizes smaller and you’ll be plugging into your plug in to your own Ampeg amp in class, for personal monitoring. You’ll also get regular time playing live on stage, with access to a range of amps from top quality manufacturers including Ampeg, Ashdown and Marshall, for all the power and tone you’ll need to cover any situation.

You’ll spend time working on a wide range of styles, theory and technique, essential knowledge for any professional Bass player. We encourage you to bring a standard 4-string Bass guitar in standard tuning, but we also love to see players arrive with 5 or 6-string instruments, acoustic basses, and any other specialist gear you may want to use. Be open to innovative new tunings too, as musical diversity is absolutely valued. A decent tuner is a must-have.

Other essentials every Bass player will need include a portable, practical amp suitable for small gigs and practice, a metronome, and ear protection. Don’t feel pressured into having expensive gear though, as it’s perfectly possible to get great tones on budget equipment if you know how to make the most of it.

In addition to accessing the WaterBear studio facilities, the ability to record to a reasonable standard at home is also very useful.