20 BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 4 ; bassmagazine.com
Harmoni Kelley
class at what he does. He told me that his
biggest struggle is always bass. Playing huge
football stadiums and arenas are super tricky
to dial in, because you have to make this low,
rumbling frequency extend to all corners of
that huge space. Playing a 5-string makes
that even trickier, because you have to proj-
ect that low B and make it heard, not just a
rumbling. I never want my tone to be muddy,
and I don’t want to get lost in the mix, be-
cause the bass lines are so important to these
songs. There’s a fine line between being really
warm and buttery and getting lost. And you
have to make it punch and cut through with-
out making it too trebly and clicky-clacky.
And that, my friend, is the biggest challenge
of playing a big arena as a bass player. So I
leave the sound that’s out in the crowd up to
Chris, and he’s amazing at it. Luckily for me,
I have in-ear monitors, so I hear everything
I’m doing crystal clear. I’m good so long as
the fans hear it, as well.
How much does your gear selection play
into aiding your stadium challenge?
It helps a whole lot. I’ve never been a su-
per-technical gear person when it comes to
my bass, like I don’t have a huge pedalboard
or anything, but Chris and I try a lot of com-
binations to make it work. Every rehearsal
we test a few different things for my tone. I
have my SVT-VR onstage with an 8x10 cab,
and then I have an Ampeg Portaflex in an iso-
lated cab on the side of the stage miked up to
blend with my main mix, and then he sends
it all through a Neve preamp and an Ampeg
SCR-DI pedal. It’s a big science to dial in
my tone. I’m still such a student, and I ask
so many questions regarding what we can
change to better my tone, because I’m so cu-
rious. There’s no such thing as perfect tone,
but I want to get as close as possible. It’s a
constant struggle for us bass players; we’re
always chasing that ideal sound we hear in
our heads.
You were playing Music Man basses with
Kenny and switched to Fenders a couple years
back. What led to that change?
I’ve played Fender basses my whole life,
but the bass player who had played for twodecades before me had used Music Man
basses the whole time. Kenny told me Mu-
sic Man would give me anything I wanted
to play, but it’s my choice to play whichever
type of bass I choose. It was an opportunity
that I didn’t think I’d have again, so for the
first two years of playing with Kenny, I used
a Music Man through a Peavey amp. It was
awesome and sounded great, but after going
to NAMM a few years in a row, I got in touch
with the Fender and Ampeg people, and that
felt like home to me, so I switched back. You
really can’t go wrong with that combo. And
that’s not to knock Music Man and Peavey;
their stuff is awesome. This setup just fits this
sound better for me.
How does your playing technique impact
your sound?
One of my favorite things to do to get a
specific tone is to use palm muting and pluck
with my thumb. That changes dynamics so
much, and it works really well with acoustic
songs. Otherwise, I don’t really think about
my technique while it’s happening. It be-
comes instinctual after playing for a while. I
am conscious of where I’m striking the string
with my finger, though, whether I’m using it
closer to the nail or closer to the pad. That
can really change up the thickness of the tone
you’re getting. Usually it just happens when
I’m playing live and I don’t have to think
about it.
What’s it like working with Kenny as an
artist?
He’s not at all what I expected from some-
body at that level of fame. You can tell that he
comes from a small town; nothing was hand-
ed to him, and he didn’t just put out a #1 hit
and blow up overnight — he worked his way
up. They started playing in flatbed trailers
and built up to small clubs and rodeos and
finally grew a fan base that loved him. That
really comes across when he’s onstage. I’ve
played my fair share of gigs with artists who
don’t really acknowledge the band onstage or
interact with them, which always makes for
a weird dynamic, and it comes across in the
music. Kenny is the exact opposite of that. He
has the “we’re in this together” mentality. I