Four Strings And The Truth

Robbie “Rob” Malone started his bass-playing career with Dublin prog-legends LIR. But over the years he has played with an impressive roster of major homegrown acts, including Hothouse Flowers, Hinterland, Damien Dempsey, Mary Coughlan, Juliet Turner and The Sofas. For the past decade, he has been a permanent member of David Gray’s UK-based band, touring, recording and co-producing with the Welsh singer-songwriter. Currently rehearsing in London at Dave Stewart’s old Crouch End studios for a three-week trek across the US with Gray, Malone took time out to discuss all things bass.

First things first – when did he start playing?
“I had an acoustic guitar and played in the local church choir for a while. I was around 17 when Lir was starting out. Someone handed me an acoustic with just one string on it, a low E (laughs). I started plucking away and without realising it. I was playing bass lines and I liked the sound of it. Soon after, I bought a proper bass, a Korina, a bit of a hybrid of several well-known brands. Quickly after that I got an Ibanez Roadstar which I still have. It’s a sort of a bastard Fender Precision – the guy from Supergrass uses one a lot. I’m not really sure why I like it so much. It has a great ‘whack’ from it.”
From the Ibanez, Malone swopped over to a Fender Precision proper: a 1965 pre-CBS model. (Fender was taken over by CBS at one point in the mid-’60s and some regard the earlier models as being of a higher quality.)
“I spent a good few bob on it,” he explains. “It was thought of as the Rolls Royce of basses by a lot of people. I thought I should get one. It was different to the later models in funny ways, the machine heads turned anti-clockwise. That sort of thing. I had it until last year even though, funnily enough, I never really liked it that much. The neck was a bit too wide for a start and it just never really felt right.”
He sold the ‘65 Precision and used the funds to purchase some much-needed studio equipment and accessories. He also picked up a ‘78 Fender Precision, his current bass of choice when it comes to touring and recording. “Everything is perfect with it,” he says. “It’s old school sunburst with a rosewood board. I’m completely happy and comfortable with it. It sounds great and is as reliable as an old pair of Levis.”
For amplification, Malone sticks with a tried and tested combination: an Ampeg Mk 2 head, and two four-by-ten Ashdown cabinets, as he explains. “I had this fancy new head for a while but I went back to the Ampeg and I’m very happy with it – it’s got tubes as opposed to transistors, which gives it a nice warm sound. I don’t use that many effects and in the past I was usually a ‘straight-in’ guy. At the moment I have a tuner, a Boss reverb and tremolo pedal, a graphic equalizer pedal and an Ernie Ball volume pedal. I also use a Boss line-connector which is important if you want to change instrument in the middle of a gig without changing settings. I’m more or less happy with that set up. I would never be a five-string bass kind of guy. I wouldn’t be into that whole Jaco Pastorius style of playing.”
Malone’s influences reflect the diverse range of styles he has played over the years.
“When I was younger, friends around me were listening to Mark King of Level 42. That sort of jazz funk stuff. All that slapping never excited me,” he explains. “I was never really a techie, or a shredder. It was always about the melody. Strangely enough, John Deacon from Queen was the first person who influenced me in a big way. He was just very musical and that’s the kind of playing I like as opposed to being just rhythmic. I got into McCartney later on, and more recently, Alex James from Blur is someone I’ve watched and listened to a lot. He moves around and it’s always very interesting and very melodic. And of course I love listening to some of the legends, such as Led Zep’s John Paul Jones and John Entwistle of The Who. The things that man could do with a bassline – he was incredible.”
Malone feels the bass player’s role is often overlooked in the standard band line-up
“A song is like a house with the foundations being the rhythm section. The bass can be invisible to some people because of the frontman who usually writes lyrics and has people screaming at him, or the lead guitarist or the melody of the song. But the bass playing in a lot of great bands is what gels the whole thing together – without them there would be something essential missing.”

Lir play the Workman's Club, Dublin on February 18. A documentary on Lir, titled Good Cake Bad Cake, will be screened at the Jameson Film Festival this month.