NEWS

“Bass Discovered Me” – Ryan Manna

By: Dino Monoxelos

Photography by Rik Kirby

One of the many things I absolutely love about my job—and, of course, the bass community—is that, for the most part, we’re all the same people. What I mean by that is, if you look at the life journey of, say, twenty different bass players from all different genres and styles, you’ll see that our life journeys are all very similar: how we pursued playing music, how we ended up playing bass—in most situations is very similar.

On top of that, our job as a bass player in most situations is also very similar: to support the song!

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. There are many virtuosic players that go way beyond breaking this mold and create something that is unique to only them. They push the boundaries of what “traditional” bass playing looks like. But when you talk to them about their journey coming up, we’re back to finding that we’re all the same people.

It doesn’t matter what style of music we play either. I think that’s why the bass playing community is so accepting of our own—of all styles, levels, ages, and genders. Maybe that’s also why bass players often make great producers… or why producers make such great bass players, maybe. We’re usually the bond that brings together rhythm and harmony—the foundations of being, well… people, I guess.

So, this brings me to my point here about us all being the same, and why I love my job. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet literally hundreds, if not thousands, of bass players from around the globe—and possibly beyond (I actually think someone once said they were from Mars). A lot of whom, through the beauty of social media (yes… you can find some beautiful uses of social media if you look for it), have kept in touch over the years. And many I consider friends to this day.

This latest project of celebrating Ampeg’s 75th Anniversary continues to amaze me and introduces me to players and producers who’ve been fans and users of Ampeg over the years—people I might not have otherwise met. Thanks to our good friend Mr. Daniel Liston Keller from “Get It In Writing” and his long list of friends and colleagues (players, producers, engineers, techs, etc…), he’s not only introduced them to me and me to them, but he’s also captured their thoughts and the essence of what Ampeg means to them and their role in creating music.

So, with all this being said, let me introduce you to Ryan Manna. Ryan is, again like I said, very much one of us. And like a lot of us, yes, we “discovered” the bass—but more in reality, the bass discovered him, like it did all of us. Especially when he got his first Ampeg, an SVT-7PRO, and discovered how simple it is to get a great bass tone without having to “twiddle” a bunch of knobs, as he says. Ryan talks about his journey with his band Unit 287 and how Ampeg has become a big part of his sound and his creative process within the band. If you listen to his story—not just from a bass player’s perspective but as anyone who’s been in a band and has been playing all these years—you’ll find his journey is very similar to any one of ours. Yes… the bass discovered us, but the music found us first! Hey Ryan… thank you for being a part of the Ampeg story, and here’s to another 75 years!!!

Dino has spent over 25 years in the Ampeg world conducting seminars and clinics all over the globe. He’s also the author of four instructional bass books by Mel Bay and his own publishing company, MonoTunes Music.  His favorite bass to play is his MTD 534-24.