Artist Spotlight: Frank Cavanaugh of Filter
Meet Filter’s bassist, Frank Cavanugh.
Cavanaugh recently spoke to me about his basses, gear and advice to players.
Kellie Stoelting: Tell us about the basses you play and how they’re set up.
Frank Cavanaugh: I play the Washburn M-13 bass. I met David Karon at Washburn and he convinced me that we could design a product that would have no frills and basically be a workhorse of a bass guitar. Along with Robert Stevens (Higher Power Linear Planar Design), the design team at Washburn set out to make a ‘next generation’ bass. It’s a bass that doesn’t play like an axe; it’s a bass that plays like a gun. The bass was designed around the Seymour Duncan Basslines STK-J2B Hot Stack® for Jazz Bass® . We designed a bass that would be like the Russian AK-47. It can take a beating and still function perfectly.
When I play live, I’ve got three tunings: dropped C – CGCF, dropped A – AEAD and dropped D – DGDA. The dropped A and C guitars are set up like a 5-string but with no high string. In effect, this makes the M-13 the most versatile bass guitar in the world. The M-13 can utilize any string gauge and tuning.
KS: Which amps were used to record the tracks on The Amalgamut?
FC:I used a variety of different rigs to achieve different sounds. For my dropped D sound, I used an Ampeg SVT 4-Pro along with a Producers Pack, a Sans Amp or a Mesa Boogie V-Twin pedal. For my dropped A and C tunings, I used a SVT 4-Pro in conjunction with a Crown K- power amp. This supplies me with my feces-liquifying and ball-crushing sub bass tones. For my cabinet setup, I use four Ampeg Classic 8×10’s. I also use a Randall iso-cab for recording.
KS: Do you have any words of advice for aspiring musicians out there?
FC: Never let anyone tell you what you can and can not do. We all write our own story. If you really want to be good, jam with as many people as you can, because nothing can match the unpredictability of humanity. If you can roll with the punches, you will naturally become the best.
Kellie Stoelting is Seymour Duncan’s Artist Relations Manager.