Gear

Instruments and equipment Russ plays and records with.

There is no bass amp on Russ's stage. His rig is built entirely from pedals, and it is what shows up on professional gigs, in studio sessions, and on the lessons end of the Zoom rig.

Basses

Two Ken Smith Black Tigers, a 2008 and a 2021. Russ removed the active electronics from both and runs them fully passive, so the tone is shaped downstream in the signal chain rather than onboard.

2008 Ken Smith Black Tiger bass standing on a stand — 2008 Ken Smith Black Tiger.

2021 Ken Smith Black Tiger bass standing on a stand — 2021 Ken Smith Black Tiger.

His amp is a pedalboard

Russ's pedalboard rig that stands in for a bass amp — The board that does the job of an amp head.

Both basses run passive, so the whole tone is built here. The core chain is always the same. The last step changes with the gig.

Bass
SFX Micro-Thumpinator
Trickfish VCA Compressor
Trickfish Overdrive Preamp
Trickfish Minnow

Live, out of the Minnow's DI to front of house, and
through an Empress ParaEq to his RCF powered speakers (his backline in a box) or his in-ears.

For recording, a DI box taps in right after the Micro-Thumpinator; Russ still monitors through the Empress ParaEq to his speakers or in-ears.

When Russ wants effects, his Pedaltrain Nano board patches in between the overdrive preamp and the Minnow.

On the board

The four routes, in full

Bass, Micro-Thumpinator, DI box (recording)
Bass, Micro-Thumpinator, VCA Comp, Overdrive Preamp, Minnow's DI (front of house)
Bass, Micro-Thumpinator, VCA Comp, Overdrive Preamp, Minnow, Empress ParaEq, RCF speaker or in-ears (monitor)
Bass, Micro-Thumpinator, VCA Comp, Overdrive Preamp, effects board, Minnow's DI (with effects)

Speakers

Instead of an amp cab, Russ carries RCF powered speakers as his backline. A 12-inch ART 932-A and a 10-inch ART 910-A, and he brings more than one when a room calls for it.

RCF ART 932-A 12-inch powered speaker — RCF ART 932-A (12 inch).

RCF ART 910-A 10-inch powered speaker — RCF ART 910-A (10 inch).

In-ear monitoring

Russ runs on in-ears instead of stage volume, and mixes his own monitor. A wireless pack feeds his in-ear monitors, and he builds the mix himself from a small mixer at his feet, so he hears exactly what he needs without leaning on the house or a monitor engineer.

Session Ace ESA-V3 in-ear monitors
Sennheiser wireless microphone rig
Shure wireless instrument rig
Mackie 402VLZ4 mixer with an iPad for his personal monitor mix
A BackBeat G2, a wearable transducer that lets him feel the low end through his strap instead of stage volume

Russ's Session Ace ESA-V3 in-ear monitors with a braided cable — Session Ace ESA-V3 in-ear monitors.

The wireless rig, with Sennheiser and Shure wireless bodypacks and cases marked Bass and IEM — The wireless rig.

A Mackie 402VLZ4 mixer and an iPad for the personal monitor mix — His own monitor mix.

A BackBeat G2 wearable bass transducer in its leather case — BackBeat G2.

Effects

A small Pedaltrain Nano board holds the color: a UAFX Heavenly plate reverb, a Walrus Lillian phaser, a Walrus Polychrome flanger, and an Electro-Harmonix Nano POG octave. It patches in between the overdrive preamp and the Minnow.