Rotosound Music Strings

All Puddle of Mudd fans – bassist Doug Ardito will be signing on our booth at NAMM with Duff McKagan at 1pm on Saturday. See you there…

The Rotosound paparazzi has been snapping away again – here are some photos taken last summer at T in the Park with Fun Lovin’ Criminals. The band were very well received by the guys at T in the park and Nigel (Rotosound’s pap) watched the show from the side of the stage before heading off to the band’s dressing room to drink Tequila. The FLC guys are great and very happy to be on board as Rotosound endorsees. Huey is currently using Roto Yellows and Fast is using our Jazz Bass RS77LD’s.

Always nice when people take the time to say something nice; here’s an email we received from a loyal Rotosound customer. Great to know that Rotosound has such a big following.

Hi Jason…

I just wanted to let you know I have been using Rotosound strings for my bass since the early 70’s. I had used various strings on the many basses I had previously owned when I decided to purchase a new custom made Fender Precision Bass in 1972. It came with the original stock strings from the factory but when it came time to change them, a friend recommended I try a Rotosound set. From the moment I listened to the difference I was sold for life. It was like my guitar came to life. No bass of mine after that eventful day ever used anything other than Rotosound. I have been promoting them for years to every bass player and aspiring new musician I meet. I backed some famous musicians such as Roy Orbison when I was younger, but have long since been retired from the main stream of music. I still play weekend gigs locally to keep up my joy for sharing music.

Although I’m not a famous musician such as you have in your repertoire of artists, i want you to know there are a lot of us common musicians out here that also appreciate a great quality product. A quality that has not changed since I first started using them.

Wes

Rotosound HQ is flat out at the moment as we prepare for NAMM, probably the biggest event of our annual calendar. We’ve got a select group of endorsees making an appearance on our booth on Saturday 21st January: Duff McKagan, Billy Sheehan and Warren DiMartini.

Joining us fresh from his European tour with Loaded is the legendary metal bass player Duff McKagan at 1pm. Famed for his roles in Guns ‘n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, Duff has had a busy year what with the tour, new album and a book.

Next is guitar legend Warren DiMartini, signing at 2pm.

Then back at the Rotosound booth for another year will be virtuoso veteran bass player, Billy Sheehan who will be signing at 3pm. He’s responsible for shaping a whole new generation of bassists with his fret board pyrotechnics. Again he has had a busy year with a USA tour and new album with Mr. Big.

If you’ll be at NAMM, come and see us at booth #5596, Hall B, for further information and to see the latest new products.

Another Clutterbuck classic – taken on stage with Geddy Lee (a loyal Rotosound endorsee, naturally) at the M:E:N arena earlier this year. Nigel met John (Skully) McIntosh, the bass tech, during the sound check and got the chance to try out all of Geddy’s basses which John had just re-profiled, all of which were fitted with Rotosound Swing Bass strings. When Geddy turned up for the sound check, Nigel was playing his 1972 Fender Jazz. They both chatted for a few minutes, talking about their joint admiration of John Entwistle. It turns out that Geddy uses the same Rotosound strings as Entwistle because he always loved his sound! After the sound check, Geddy asked Nigel if he’d like to hop up on stage for a snap – and not to miss an opportunity, Nigel grabbed one of Geddy’s basses to hold for the photo. The bass in the pic is Geddy’s main bass which he’s owned for 25 years. We’re not that jealous, honest…

Rotosound’s very own paparazzi Nigel Clutterbuck has been on a mission… check out this shot of legendary English bassist Stu West of The Damned taken on stage. The Damned have been playing their 35th Anniversary tour playing to 1500 – 2000 people every night, with a vibe as frenetic as it was when they first stormed on to the music scene in the 80’s. The band are firing on all cylinders and sounding great. As part of their tour they’ve been playing the epic track Curtain Call – over 17 minutes long!

Happy New Year to all! It’s going to be another busy year at Rotosound – join us on twitter and facebook to keep up to date with all of our latest (and keep an eye out for our competitions too). What’s the year got in store for you?

Announcing… brand new endorsee, The Good Natured. The English 3 piece (leading lady Sarah McIntosh, keyboard and vocals, her brother Hamish McIntosh on bass and George Hinton on drums) hail from Hampshire and are set to be the next Big Thing. Sarah has literally exploded onto the British electropop scene, championed by the likes of BBC Radio 1, Radio 6 and XFM with comparisons being drawn to Kate Nash, Ladytron and La Roux with clear influences from Tears for Fears and Siouxsie and the Banshees. As NME succinctly put it, ‘Until yesterday I thought all 18 year olds in Newbury did was nick sweets from Spar and set fires to bins, but being introduced to Sarah McIntosh aka The Good Natured has proved otherwise’. The band’s first UK single, ‘Your Body is Machine’ has already received well over 180,000 hits on YouTube and has won plenty of attention from British press and radio. The Good Natured’s truthful and brave offerings are on the edgier side of the norm (their tracks would probably offend your mum); the electronic love song ‘Be My Animal’, produced by McIntosh/ John Fortis (Razorlight) and mixed by Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters/ Muse), demonstrates their trademark hypnotic beats, blended with alluringly assured vocals. We predict good things for this band in 2012. To get a piece of their sound, try our Rotosound Swing Bass strings, as used by bassist Hamish.

2012 is going to be another busy year for Dani Wilde. Having performed over 200 gigs in 2011, she’s set to match that (plus a bit more) with her extensive 2012 tour dates. Dani’s an inspirational artist (with an incredibly soulful voice) and is credited with ‘bringing blues and soul to a new generation’ with her blend of Stax and Motown, Folk, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Chicago blues. Dani’s new album, Juice Me Up, is now recorded, mastered and waiting for release in February. In her own words, she ‘plays lots of guitar on it’, taking influence from her heroes Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Otis Redding, Bill Withers and James Brown. Juice Me Up features some of the UK’s top session players including Pete Wingfield on Keys (Paul McCartney) and Roger Innis (Chaka Khan) on Bass. Dani Shares guitar duties with Stuart Dixon and also featured her brother Will ‘Harmonica’ Wilde on a track entitled ‘Mississippi Kisses’. The album has been recorded using Rotosound strings – to get the same sound, use our Roto Blue guitar strings.

Rotosound chairman Jason How managed to grab some time out to go and see one of his favourite bands – Manchester’s one and only The Fall (also a favourite of legendary DJ John Peel). Originally formed in 1970’s and lead by Mark E. Smith, their sound has been described as post-punk and indie rock. The Fall’s Dave Spurr uses and abuses our Roto Bass Nickel sets in 45 – 105 gauge strings.