It all comes down to the irrefutable fact…You have to have Balance.

So, this is part where you meet ADAM NITTI.

ADAM: That is a healthy attitude actually to take, I think, I don’t know that we truly ever master anything. It’s a situation where we may embark on a particular journey, in a certain direction, but I don’t think we ever truly ‘get there’ on this earth. You can make marks on people and they can be impressed with how far you’ve gone in a certain area. I kinda say the same thing, I’m always learning, I’m still a student. The only thing I am not a student on is experiences that have already past.

ADAM: Yeah, exactly. Everything else is a work in progress.

ADAM: I appreciate you saying that.

ADAM: Actually 14, that was when I really ‘officially’ took it up. I was playing classical piano before that.

ADAM: Ah, that was Mom’s and Dad’s. I think I started that between the ages of 9 and 10. That grew eventually into something that I despised because well, you know, it’s the classic story about your parents making you go to piano lessons. When you’re young and you’re just starting to listen to Rock `n Roll, and you just don’t see any relevance between Classical Music and what you are interested in.

I really wished now that they had forced me to continue doing that stuff, because I was pretty accomplished for my age. I kinda threw away all concern for that, because I wanted to do the ‘rock thing’. But they did kinda help me bridge the gap and allowed me to hold onto the keyboard elements by being nice enough to buy me a synthesizer. When I got the synth I thought ‘Oh neat, here’s an application to show what I know, and here’s how I can use whatever keyboard chops I have to play these songs I like’. Of course, back then it was all about playing cover tunes. One of the bands I played with, with all my best friends, lost a bass player because he wanted to switch to guitar, so I say ‘Hey, let me try that out, I’ll do both!” I did that for a couple of years, but by then I had grown to love the bass so much that that became my main instrument and keyboards become secondary. Although I still do 90% of my composition on keyboard.

ADAM: Yeah, I can easily compose on bass, but I find that what comes out is very different from the way I compose on keys.

ADAM: Definitely, and this is getting away from me being a bassist, but as a composer or writer, I don’t like to be steered too much by what I want to put in a song on bass. I would rather it evolve as the piece of work that it was intended to be. I don’t want it distracted or tainted by what I feel will be a great bass line. It’s a form of discipline, I think.

It’s one of the most powerful instruments, and one of the greatest instruments to go about for improving on others as well. Because first of all, you’ve got the concepts of independence (of both hands and feet), you’ve got the concept of harmony and melody all built into one thing, you’ve got the reading of keyboard instrument music, which is a more challenging task. You can do arrangements on piano using the huge range of octaves. From bottom to top. To really audition parts and try out where different instruments may lay in a certain piece of music.

ADAM: Exactly, so that’s it. I am not saying piano is better, but for me compositionally, I think it allows me to concentrate on the song as a whole as opposed to from my role as the bass player. If somebody hires me to play bass on something that is very different, of course, I have to think, ‘how can I retain my personality and still satisfy the needs of the song?’ And that’s my attitude. When I am writing for me, it’s different. I want the song to be first.

ADAM: Well, this is a topic we could discuss for an hour alone. My perspective on that, and I would never want to offend anyone, but what I find is, this is partly the media’s fault, if we have to point blame at anybody. But people always have choices, all the time. I can definitely identify with this argument, because I’ve been on both sides. I understand where people are coming from.

Here’s the problem…you’ve got people like Victor Wooten; people like him who are in that class of technical brilliance and excellence. And they are flashy, let’s face it. Even though, and I know this for a fact, Victor has paid his dues, he knows how to lay back, he knows all those things. His name has mostly been built on his flash. And that’s not his fault, that’s just the way the media has perceived and portrayed him.

What has happened is, guys like him, like Billy Sheeham used to catch so much heat about his playing, and the fact is that Billy Sheehan helped to change bass playing, I’d put him in the same class of influence in bass history as Jaco. Yeah there may not be as many people who necessarily follow in his (Billy Sheehan) footsteps if you were gonna run the numbers, but he still made such an impact and he got just so much heat. It was like ‘Oh this guy might as well be a guitar player!’

It was still the fact that he had treaded on undiscovered territory. What I’ve found is that the longer I play, and stop me if I start babbling, because I have A LOT to say about this… I think that what has happened is that guys like that have been pushed to the forefront of the media because that’s what sells magazines. The kids, the numbers say, that the kids that listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus, those are the kids that buy records, those are the kids that buy magazines. Those are the ones engaged in this…I’m not gonna call it idol worship, because they sincerely appreciate the player and they love what they’re doing. And so they’re following them.

ADAM: And then you get the working class guy, who never intended to work hours every day on the ‘flash’ stuff, they’re paying their bills playing bass, and they’re doing what the bass was originally intended for. No problem. But I think that guys have gotten so bitter about the fame and I’m not gonna say fortune, because even guys like Victor are not rich by Hollywood standards. They’ve gotten so jaded by that, that suddenly they turned their cheek, and it’s exactly like what you’re saying, it’s like you run into this vehement opposition to what’s going on.

Unfortunately, there have been some figures in the bass media that I feel have delivered mixed messages. The whole topic of what are and what aren't considered important facets of bass playing have become quite confusing. Players are heralded for their technical prowess or pyrotechnic soloing ability and then put on the covers of magazines. The aspiring player is influenced by this and feels he/she needs to be flashy to be a good player. Then you open these magazines, and you have players in positions of influence bassically downplaying these things in print and dismissing the value of the technical or melodic, altogether. These players' intentions are positive, but when they speak in extremes, I think sometimes they forget just how influential they are. Impressionable students adopt these extreme philosophies and then dismiss the pursuit of particular skills that could make them much better players. Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between. Established players and teachers in my opinion, have a responsibility to encourage practical pursuits and valid approaches to becoming a solid player; but at the same time they also have a responsibility to encourage players to strive for excellence in all areas of their playing and to be as open minded as they can. No single player or group of players has the 'best' approach. You've got to 'be a sponge' and soak up everything possible that will help you grow musically and spiritually.

ADAM: It’s horrible. And then there’s guys and I’ll include myself in this too, because I’ve experienced this. When I go to do my bass clinics, when I fly out to a region I haven’t been to before; people’s first impression begin with what they’re hearing from me on stage. And that I have learned the hard way, particularly when people aren’t as familiar with your name. Here you are, being presented by whatever company or whatever store, being presented to the bass playing public, as a person who supposed to have earned this ability to go and do these seminars and clinics.

The minute someone doesn't know who you are and they see you’re face on the promo and they go to your clinic, I call them ‘arm folders’ (Laughs). They’re the type who stand in the back and very discriminating and they’re not sure what they’re gonna think of you yet, but they sure will have problem slamming you if they have a any difficulty figuring out where you stand right away. If you go out to those things and you don’t win those people’s respect early on, then you have lost the whole crowd.

ADAM: Well, the reason I don’t ever worry about that stuff is I thank God for bringing me to a place with self confidence where I am not concerned with that anymore. But being a businessman also, I know that I have to do two things. Clinics are two-fold. My clinics are both to entertain and to educate. If the entertainment factor is gone, it becomes a ‘yawner’. It won’t be because what I am saying isn’t interesting, it’s because, as I said, the peoples attention has not been captured.

When I do these things, whether it is a clinic or a performance, early on I have to make sure that I win that respect. Unfortunately, the thing that ALWAYS wins in that sort of situation, is the flash. It’s not my choice, but that’s what you have to do sometimes. You have to kinda realize that if you don’t have their respect, they are not gonna take you as seriously.

It’s a fine line that I have to walk. You’ve gotta do enough to keep peoples attention, but you’ve gotta tell the people at the clinic…“Look, 90% of what you’re seeing today is not the stuff I use to pay my bills”. I am lucky enough to be able to share this with people on my records, but when I get called to do an HBO commercial I am strictly riding the pocket, doing almost nothing but roots. With a tone that is sometimes almost inaudible, because I have a responsibility to HBO or whoever else has hired me.

Because the client doesn’t want the buying public thinking ‘what a great bass player’. They want the client wanting their product. But at least then the people are able to see both sides of my playing and me. It’s a balancing act.

ADAM: I have a lot of respect for those people, but I just don’t work that way!

ADAM: The Curbow thing, the situation was that I was playing another manufacturers basses. I was using those, and a friend of mine was working in a music store. I stopped by and Greg Curbow was there peddling his wares, and this guy (who’s now the guitarist for Sheryl Crow, of all things!), he called me and says, “Man, you gotta come down here and see his stuff. It’s nice stuff.”

So I drove down there on my lunch hour, I still had a day gig, met this guy, and thought his stuff was incredible. But none of his stuff really fit me, or felt really comfortable. Little things like string spacing or body size, or whatever. I kept his card, and he heard me play some. We established a bit of mutual respect that day. I was really ready to pursue more of a relationship with the other company that I already had a few instruments from already. But their attention was steering more towards mass production, because that’s where their money was being made. They had enough on their plate with just that. I was offering to play for them at NAMM shows, but that never panned out.

ADAM: (Laughs) Right, exactly! So, once I realized that that company couldn’t do the extra promo on the basses, I don’t know, after one day, I decided 'why not try to cultivate something a bit more expansive’. So I called up Curbow and we had a long conversation. And we shared a lot of the same visions of growing with other. He’s a very small company too.

ADAM: Yeah, so I had a few basses built on specs that I had provided and although that particular arrangement with him is a non-exclusive one, it’s a lot more waxed than loose, it’s still been one that has been real nice. I’ve been able to sell a lot of basses for him, and he’s done a lot of nice work on my instruments for me.

ADAM: No not a signature model, necessarily. What had kept me from working with them in the past was that they really didn’t have anything that fit me. All my Curbows are my main basses, then for other studio work, I’ve got some other things…a Yamaha, an old Fender and a G & L.

ADAM: Actually, it was more at that time because of Marcus Miller. But Geddy at that time was a huge influence, that’s for sure. Also Geddy used the Rickenbacker, so I went out and bought a white 4001.

ADAM: Well, not in the literal sense. The bass reacts that way. I use an SWR pre-amp. For “BALANCE’, most of what I did was I ran through my pre-amp section of my SM 900 and out of that and into the board. Since then, I’ve gotten an SWR Interstellar Overdrive Pre Amp and that has now completely replaced the pre-amp section of my SM 900. I just use the 900 for power. The Interstellar Overdrive is an amazing amazing piece! It’s the coolest thing they make. But not many people know about it yet.

That was kinda the last straw for me. I said from now on I’m just gonna go with full range cabinets, and regardless of how I would play, or how I’d place them, I would still have the same thing coming out of both cabinets. That’s kinda where I have arrived. Over the years as well, the SWR Goliath cabinets have really improved. The ‘3’s have a lot better bottom end response than the ‘2’s and the ‘1’s.

My favorite thing about the SWR stuff is that when you plug into it and set all the controls perfectly flat it sounds like your bass. There’s a lot of other rigs out there that when you plug in, they are so colored that you have to EQ the rig to get it back to where you actually hear your bass. I figure if you spend a lot of money on a bass and a lot of time listening to a bass because of the way it sounds, why not start there. It’s what you do in the studio. That’s what I like about SWR’s stuff.

ADAM: Yeah, exactly!

ADAM: If I understand what you are talking about with him, that’s more of a technique to achieve a particular sound, whereas Thumb Trailing for me is more of a theme for my right hand that allows me to always keep things clean and muted.

ADAM: Exactly!

ADAM: The Big Intimidation was moving to five! The transition from 4 to 5 was a nightmare. Moving to the 6 was cake compared to that. I was pretty confident with my technique on the four string at that time, but when I got a 5 string, it was like starting over. My low string reference, which was my anchor, had completely moved! It was completely different. That really threw for a loop! That’s when I had to reinvent my approach technically. Once that was taken care off, 5 to 6 was easy for two reasons. One, I had developed this Thumb Trailing thing going for me, and I had the same low string. My point of reference as an anchor was intact; it was still in the same location.

ADAM: Exactly, and you know, that’s how I thought about it at the very beginning. My opinion is that the best all round bass, is a 5 string. As you know, most of the time, we’re not called upon to be chord comping people or soloists, so if I have a gig that is not my own original stuff, if I’m doing a side man kind of thing, or a session, the 5 string is usually the one I reach for first. I think that there you have the most range. When I do clinics or I perform, if I’m playing fusion gigs where I know I am going to have more of a lead role in addition to my usual supportive one, than of course I bring the 6 string. The 6 is what my sound is defined by. But in the philosophy of things, I believe the 5 string is the best all round bass. I am amazed in fact, that so many 7 strings have been sold as there have been. That really blows my mind.

ADAM: I didn’t ever hear a click, it went utterly silent.

ADAM: To the best of my recollection we both met initially from concerts and maybe got to know each other better at NAMM shows. Over time I got to know him a little better to where I could ask him if he would be into playing a track. We’ve remained friends since.

ADAM: Well let me specific about that. For me, it was more of a thing of where I had practiced so much of the flash that I neglected to pay attention to the other stuff. So I was kinda trying to run before I could walk. So once maturity started to take it’s toll, (although I don’t know if I’ve reached any form of maturity at this point), it was more of a thing of getting fired from a few things and understanding why. I realize that I should have been spending more time on those things. I still had full intention upon keeping what I had worked so hard to develop over the years, but I had to direct my practice and my studies back to where I was able to communicate on a more straightforward musical level. A more roots oriented level with respect towards music.