Brenton “B-Train” Aragon (Moxiebeat-bass)
SPB: What type of bass do you play and how did you choose it?
B-Train: I Play a Fender P Bass. For a long time I used a Music Man Sting Ray and loved it. I bought it used from Jorge Cassillas of Voodoo Glow Skulls for $300 (which is super cheap!) when I was 14 years-old. It was the first nice bass I got and didn’t think of getting another for a long time. I probably played it for 15 years straight. I even wore out the frets on it, which makes it unplayable now. The Sting Ray had probably been on 20+ tours so when I got it; it was nice and worn in ready to play. It has an active pickup which made it sound over driven, bright and punchy when cranked. I loved this feature initially, but I outgrew it over time. I have always strived for a dirty bass sound. The active pickup feature helped achieve getting the dirty sound but for years I used to blow speakers frequently. I came to the realization of buying a pedal to help me be louder and get a more over driven tone without having my amp dimed way too late in life.
I feel like I was late in the game transitioning to a Fender because it’s where I should have started to begin with. Most of my favorite bassists play them, so why not? I ventured to take a more classic approach to bass tone and wanted to get my hands on one. I was looking to have a really warm sound with the right amount of growl and bottom end. I never looked back since. I rotate between my Matt Freeman signature Squire P Bass and American Performer P Bass which has both a Precision and Jazz pick up (ya get best of both worlds with it).
I know I need a 300 watt tube amp or a 800 watt solid state amp at the minimum for MOXIEBEAT. It’s frustrating when I’m not loud enough to compete with drums and guitar. Keep in mind we rarely play in settings with a sound system so I gotta know what I’m working with. If we fly out somewhere and I can’t take my gear I always inquire the wattage of the amp I’m gonna be using. Ultimately, I’d like to have an Ampeg SVT ‘70s Blackline Magnavox era but they are so expensive and the maintenance is costly as well.
What has been working for me for a few years now is Gallien Krueger 1001rb and the 700rb. I got both just in case one blows. I feel like punks sleep on GK’s! You can find them used for a fair price and they can take a beating. All I really need is lot of head room to work with my pedal board. A few hardcore bassists in bands over the years who’ve geeked out on my gear got GK’s themselves just from seeing MOXIEBEAT. They’re great because they’re loud and carry a lot of bottom end. I haven’t found a solid state that can do the same.
I used to be an “anti pedal” person but over the years I’ve accumulated way too many that I’d like to admit. It can get addicting but it’s kinda like having a variety tools at your disposal. You never know when you need a certain pedal. Especially in a recording environment. During the POP SOUNDS recording session we busted out a bunch of pedals to make noise and drone soundscapes on top of shooting out pedals for tracking guitar, bass and vocals. It was fun. It’s been a nice journey to find what works best whether it be for guitar/bass/or making noise.
Fortunately we have friends who make dope pedals that we can refer to. In 2017, MOXIEBEAT did a few sessions with Jonathan Nunez of TORCHE and we really hit it off. We learned a lot from him. At the time Jon was really getting his amp and pedal company NUNEZ AMPS going and he let me try out what he was coming up with. I tried the prototype bass pedal for what became the Annex Drive. Geez this pedal blew my mind. I recorded with it and ended getting one myself. It’s an over drive/boost/fuzz. Super simple and complex. Built like a tank. I use it as if it’s my amp. It’s always on. Best bass pedal ever. Nothing beats it. BOLD STATEMENT, I know. But it’s perfect if you play loud music and you don’t want the bass sucked out of your tone to sacrifice being overdriven or gnarly.
My homies in Tijuana also make amazing pedals, they’re called PARADOX EFFECTS. I usually use their Ionizer and the Fuzzy Cat (both are fuzz/overdrive) as extra fuzz/noise for more texture on sludgier riffage. I also use a Red Panda Raster which is a delay pedal that executes pitch shifting and ring modulations that work great for entering psychedelic territories. And, finally, a Line 6 DL4 for looping capabilities in between songs and having saved delay settings for glitchy noise, modulations, as well as dub like repeats in songs or on the fly.
I try to be utilitarian but things are always changing.
