What can I say? The guy deserves his own thread.
Enter anecdotes, compositions, performances, meetings, whatever - anything about Scott Ambush.
I thought of this on my way to work today, listening to Big Dance Number.
It's been said that one of the few problems listeners have with Original Cinema is we don't get as much of Scott as we have on other albums. But I've noticed that his bass line on BDN is very much there. (He's felt on most of the other songs, too, but it may take more than a few listens to get it.)
I had my car stereo cranked up to level 25 (out of a possible 30). This by no means is going to cause seismic disturbances and might not even get me a citation from the noise police. But, while I'm in the car, 28 is about as loud as I can stand it for most music.
Anyway, I was stopped at a red light when I noticed that my rear-view mirror was vibrating in time with the bass. In my car, that's never happened before.
Sure, the mirror has been knocked off its mount a couple of times in the past week when I was trying to set up my sun shield. Still, I've played other music even louder than OC, including a mix from an old George Duke album that has lots of good bass and percussion.
When it comes to great bass lines that don't overpower or distract from the rest of the music, Scott's da man!
(Don't get mad at me, 'cause I'm liable to say the same about Kim Stone whenever I get around to doing a mix of Let It Ripp. :p)
Seriously, I don't believe I've heard any bass player - in a group - who can give us that much oomph without being too dominant ... with the one possible exception being Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire.
What do you think?

Well put! Excellent observation Woody! In addition to BDN, I think he does some great work on Extrovertical.

I've been listening to Three Wishes lately and notice the same thing. What a talented man! Can't wait to see the live show this weekend!

BTW, was Three Wishes the first Spyro album that Scott played on?

Anecdotes you say? I've shared this one before, but I'll share again.

A few years ago I saw them at a festival in downtown Akron. Right at the beginning of the Joel- and Scott-only version of Deep End, I noticed that all the highs cut out of Scott's bass. I could see that he was looking quizzically at Joel as he played.

Afterward we went around the back of the stage and were talking to some of the guys. Scott came up and had his bass in his hands. Let me stop here and say that thing is gorgeous close up. If I had an extra $3k laying around and thought I in anyway deserved to play on an instrument like that, I'd...ahem, well getting back to the story. I started talking to him and mentioned what I had heard. He said that he had put his bass down kind of hard, or wrong, on the stand - or maybe it had fallen off - I can't really remember, but it was something about the stand. AND that he thought it had damaged the pot. With that he turned around and walked away yelling "you see , I told you..."

So I turned to my wife kind of nodding my head, straightened my shirt a little bit and, sniffing in gratification, said "See that? I was just talking to, uh, Scott (because, you know, we're on a first name basis now) about the treble pot on his bass and all that and he went to tell the other guy what I said." She said "You're an idiot."

Aw, man, Rob, that is a great story. "You idiot"? LOL. And yeah, I know what you mean about the $3k. For me, though, I'd go for Schu's setup - if I knew what to do with it.
Yes, LibraLady, Three Wishes was his first album with the group. And yes, all those things are there - Breathless, Whitewater, Nothing to Lose, Three Wishes, Inside Your Love .. heck, darn near every song has that presence.
I also noticed he was really on it in the tape that Gary sent me.
Hey, Rob, did you know Scott has his own bass-making company? Check it out:
http://www.ambushbass.com/

Ah, let's see, Ambush anecdotes... Shake out the cobwebs a little...

Is anyone surprised that I'm throwing my hat into this ring?

OK! Not everyone all at once! S#*T!!!!!

Went to see the fellas several summers ago at a festival at Lake Fairfax Park in Virginia on a heavily overcast day. Several bands preceded Spyro on the card, the skies turned more ugly by the hour. Acoustic Alchemy attempted to begin their set in a downpour all the while remarking that the weather was no big deal at all to them - reminding them of home. Soon thereafter, the stage roof began buckling under the weight and force of the water. Bye bye Acoustic Alchemy.

People, musicians included, were just generally milling around the grounds killing time and hoping the weather would ease up - didn't happen. At some point, I ran across Scott among the wanderers and asked for his take on the weather situation. He shrugged and commented that it happens to them all the time and that he had re-named the band "Hydro Gyra."

What a story, huh? Stay tuned, there may be more to come...

Tell you what, probably the sweetest tune I've heard come off his fingers was a rendition of "Blackbird" that he performed in a club in DC as a duet with Mary Ann Redmond. Gave me chills.

Yunz guys had better be right about "Deep End" on the current setlist!

ROFLMAO "Hydro Gyra" That's great!
Keep, em coming, folks.
Oh, and Gary, knowing these guys, they'll keep The Deep End on the setlist, but change how they play it 5 or 6 times before they get to you.
I noticed on the tape that Shaker Song was similar to what they did on Road Scholars, but slightly different.
I listened to Love & Other earlier tonight. It never fails. I am totally thrown when Scott goes off On Liberty Road - especially that dialogue with Jay at the end.
I'm not sure this solo has been mentioned anywhere, although I intended to some time ago — during The Schuu's solo on Rockaway to Sunset, Scott is IN THE ZONE, man!
Just a 4-note pattern played repeatedly, but so awesome.

I'm just hoping they do a live version of Extrovertical where Scott just goes off 'The Deep End' so to speak!! When I saw him and Joel do the duet version of The Deep End, I almost sh** in my pants! That was totally freaky what Scott did there! In fact, to this day, I still can't believe what I saw him do! I place him among the elite when it comes to bassists! Bassdom better watch out for Scott. There's gotta be a solo cd in him!!

Crossing my fingers for that one! That would be abso-freakin-lutely fantastic!

That would be great. But my impression from when Donna put that question to the guys was they don't want to mess with that one - at least not yet.
(I'll be highly peaved - well, jealous anyway - if they do add it to the show and you guys get to see it. :p )

Hey everyone this is Lawrence. The story I have to tell is unique, very unique. I'm a proud owner of an Ambush Bass. What makes its so awesome is Scott delivered the bass to my house personally!!! If you think he works it out with Spyro invite him to your house and have him play the bass he just built you. I see him often when he's off tour, we are very good friends. The bass is amazing, but its truly in the hands, the guy is a beast! Me and a couple of my closest buddies got a 45 minute bass lesson you wouldn't believe. Not to many bass players out there as awesome as Scott. Now that's an Ambush story.

Welcome to the board, Lawrence. Thank for your input. Personal delivery, eh?
The man appreciates his customers.
That's a class act.

Wow, yet another bass player! Welcome aboard! Now, I must tell you I hate you!! You own an Ambush Bass?!?! I'm jealous! I so want a high end bass. Well, higher than my Tobias! Just can't afford it!! I'm gonna have an Ambush Bass one way or another! If I die first, I'll have my family buy one and bury it with me! Just kidding, I don't hate you........................that much!

I think the best thing I've ever see a bass player do was what Scott and Dave Samuels did back in 93 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ.
Just before Scott takes over the stage for a solo, Dave Samuels walks over to him with a mallet and begans to tap on the open A string while Scott plays a melodic verison of Blackbird...UNBELIEVEABLE! I dont think I put my bass down for 3 days after that...hehehe.

B,

I remember that too. That was truly awesome!

I have another story - this one comes via a friend. We both saw the band one night at a small intimate venue in Akron called Tangiers. We sat right next to the stage. I could've reached out and touched Julio's pedal board. I saw the early show and my friend saw the late show. He says that during a quiet part in Scott's solo, someone seated near the front sneezed. Scott said "God bless you" and went on with the solo.

Anyway, I'm done telling Scott stories because Lawrence wins hands down. That is so awesome! Can you post a picture of it?

Rob

P.S. Hey bass players: I'm thinking about upgrading my rig to a Sansamp RBI, Yamaha CP2000, and an Aguilar GS212. What do you think?

Man, I wouldn't know what to do with 650 watts. Nice choice! I just upgraded my rig. Hartke HA3000, Avatar B210 cab, Avatar B115 cab.

Has the image uploader function been disabled?

Well My rig consist of an Eden 4x10 cabinet with a EBS Fafner amp.
I play a Yamaha TRB6p 6 string, Ken Smith and Ibanez 5 strings. Im going to see Spyro in NYC next and Ill place my order for an Ambush...:-)

Oh, you too huh?!! I hate you too!

B,

That Eden 4X10 is my all time favorite cabinet. They sound awesome. I'm looking at the Aguilar so I can gain a little portability w/o losing efficiency. Mind you, I haven't tried any out yet (they seem to be a little hard to come by around here), so for all I know I won't even like it. I've heard good things about them though. I also have a Mesa Boogie 2X10 I can throw on top of it for a little extra.

We've been playing some fairly large venues recently and I've been pushing my amp beyond where I want to.

Maybe we should get that smooth pink person to inquire!

Shhhhh. I was only asking because I was able to link to pics before. I.E. the 6/8 time thread.

I check the different forums and it seems some have it turned on and others, off!

OUCH!

too funnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I had the pleasure of meeting Scott for the first time at his Frederick, MD show last year. Turns out that he's a cousin of the wife of an old Navy buddy of mine. Scott was very nice and appreciative of my coming to his show. We then spoke to him again at the Count Basie Theatre show where he arranged for my wife, daughter, my Navy buddy and myself to meet the rest of SG backstage after one of the best shows I've seen them do. They were also very cordial and signed a few things for us. The next time I spoke to him was at the Philly show last summer. He took a few minutes to talk before the show. Great guy. And one of the best bassist around for sure!
Thanks Scott! See you in Frederick!

Art Altenbach

Okay, I just watched and listened to Scott play Saturday and Sunday. I made it a point to really listen and pay close attention to his work in particular. I knew he was good, but I never realized how good until last summer when I saw Spyro play in Richmond. Scott was off the hook! He was a man possessed! And I saw the same thing again this weekend, more so on Sunday than on Saturday.

He just makes it look so easy, and so effortless when he plays. And I know it's not. I know it takes a lot of talent and practice to be able to get to that point. His fingers just glide. It's like they barely touch the strings, but the sounds and music he gets out of his instruments is amazing.

What a talented musician! I hope he continues to amaze me for a long time.

I was at the 9:30 show at Rams Head this past Saturday. I sat at table 100 right in front of Julio. I could touch the song list they had on the floor I was so close. Speaking of getting off, Julio was off the hook. Scott's bass solo did not disappoint at all. He took center stage right in front of me and did his thing. But I tell you this I've seen him cut loose ten times better when he's off the road. When he's playing local instead of one solo it usually a solo on every song. Especially when he played at Takoma Station a year or so ago with Marshall Keys. It was just crazy the things he was doing. But Saturday I saw a lot of new tricks, I gave up and went to bed when I got home. I did stay up til the break of dawn trying to figure it out.

My second Ambush encounter was a couple of weeks after I got my bass from him. There was a minor imperfection on the finish that he corrected and we met up at Guitar Center in Rockville MD after I got off work. For the most part the place was empty, but he came by sat down and played for about an hour. I played as little as possible because of being a mere mortal. One thing I asked him to do was to compare the Ambush against a high end Pedulla and of course it blew it away. Scott also played a few low end basses and again I say it's all in the hands. The guy made a Mexican made Fender Squire Jazz bass sound like a custom built bass. The thing I found funny was the employee's at Guitar Center never heard of him. They were blown away by his playing but didn't have a clue who he was. Go figure! So those are my top two Ambush encounters. I'm on his VIP list for sure, I was in Seattle on Federal travel and Spyro was playing the jazz fest out there and I got free tickets. He's given me an open invitation for tickets if I'm ever in a town they're playing at. Just a super great guy!

Then there are the encounters I missed. For example I was at the Richmond show last year, and that was the best show, the sound was incredible and Scott was in rare form that night. The Mrs and I were celebrating out 24th anniversary and we were in the front row. Spyro killed that night. Of course we talked to long after the show and the Mrs was buggin, so on the way back to the hotel room I had my cell off. I found out the next morning that Scott called and invited us over to the bar at the hotel they were staying at for drinks with he and the band. The one that got away! Now that's enough to make me buy another bass from him. It’s in the works but after our 25th celebration in August is over and I give the Mrs that new ring. Set a brotha back a grip, but that's how you set it up.

By the way, I have some pictures of my Ambush bass. Here's the URL

http://www.noalternativeband.com/ambushbass.htm

That's my lead bass whenever our band plays.

Peace
Lawrence

That's a beautiful instrument.
But then, I would expect no less from Scott.

That just freaking rules!

It's not surprising that the people in GC didn't know who he is. Fools!

Hey Lawrence,

Do you have any idea how many of those he produces a year? Just curious.

Rob

Oh, by the way, did I tell you I hate you?! I so want one of those!!

Hard to say at this point. Between the real job with Spyro, a job any bass player would die to have, and when he's off the road he's usually playing a local gig, rehearsing to play a gig or recording and/or producing. It's rare I can catch him at his home phone number, I usually get him on his cell, as a matter of fact while I was type this I called both number and got no answer. I'll catch up to him before the week is out and ask. He may be spending quality time with his new girlfriend. She came down for the shows this weekend. I met her she's super cool, wonderful personality. Sorry ladies she may be the one! I've known Scott for a couple of years and he's acting like a man in love.

I will say this, things slow down for him around October with Spyro and when he was building my bass I would usually catch him at home. I would be hearing him working in the background. Every year he tries to make a few basses for the NAMM show and he usually working on several bass orders from customers. That's the down side he's a working luthier so it makes it a little harder to produce as many as he would like.

He won't be able to make the summer NAMM this year but I hope he makes the winter NAMM 2004. I'll be at both. If you never been to a NAMM show especially the winter NAMM in Anaheim you are missing the rest of the baddest bass players around. I mean it should be called the winter Bass Player NAMM show. Scott was at the 2002 NAMM show and me and my crew hung out with him and I can tell you those guys were throwing down some stuff that didn't make any sense. I mean some strong cats, heavy duty players. Marcus Miller played at the EBS booth, I mean stuff you wouldn't hear recorded, just off the hook nasty. And some of the baddest cats are your plain everyday bass playing weekend warriors, just freaks. A local cat who lives Maryland named David Dyson, he's a beast. David has a groove that is plain wack. He plays the MTD's and he's made me believe. I plan to look into the MTD's at the summer NAMM.

I don't know if many know about the CD Scott produced for a local sax player named Marshall Keys. It is an awesome CD, it has Dennis Chambers on drums, Scott plays bass on all but two song. David Dyson plays bass on two tracks. Marshall Keys is a local favorite in the Washington DC area. Producing is Scotts second calling. If you don't have this CD in your collection you have to get it. For all the bass players, its just what the doctor ordered; some slammin bass lines and solo's. Scott does a solo on the 3rd cut just awesome. Hit the following URL and get a copy, you won't be disappointed.

http://www.marshallkeys.com/

Peace
Lawrence

I've seen David Dyson around. The times I saw him play, he's been with Jaared and/or Marcus Johnson. I thought he was pretty good, but he seems to be one of those guys who doesn't get enough recognition.

Marshall Keys is scheduled to perform on Friday 6/20 @ the Westminster Presbyterian Church - 401 I (Eye) St. SW from 6-9pm. It's supposed to be a CD Release Concert.

(Wow! If I would have checked the link you posted first, I would have saved myself some typing! Duh!)

The first time I saw him was at Zanzibar and he cut loose with groove for about 10 minutes that impress the heck out of me. I saw him again in Baltimore with Scott Peaker and at Blues a couple of weeks ago. Scott has more polish on his attack and not since Victor Wooten have I seen someone play with so little effort. His finger just glide. David and Scott were trading at the 2002 NAMM and it was pure gold. Just unbelievable. Well with such inspiration I think I'll take my baby down to the woodshed and do a fake Scott Ambush for a couple of hours. I have the same gun, but I don't pull the trigger like Scott does!

I saw David Dyson years ago with Me'Shell N'dgeocello(sp). Man, he was playing this funky little groove and the way he was bouncing along, I could tell he was in the zone!

Man, Lawrence, that is just phenomenal. I could listen to you go on about Scott all day.

Rob

Cranked my car stereo up to max - which isn't very powerful - during my latest run of the OC tape.
Had to back it down two notches.
Normally, I play between 22 and 26, but stepped it up to 30 because I wanted to annoy some people with Extrovertical.
All was well until ...
And this had never had happened before on a system of mine:
Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! almost to the point of distortion.
Film Noir.

Say what?
Yep. This is one of the songs when played at lower volume, I didn't feel his presence very much during my first several listens.
Evidentally, there are some extreme low-end sounds I wasn't picking up before. Man, I had to back off max so I could hear the rest of the song without blowing out my speakers.

Boy, I feel like a doofus having missed this on the umpteenth previous times I've listened.
I was playing Three Wishes last night, and while I've noted Scott's play on Breathless, Whitewater, Nothing to Lose and the title song, I've totally - until now - overlooked his performance on Rollercoaster.
The dude really kicks!

Hey All,

regarding image uploading, I know we don't want it enabled for security reasons. However, you should be able to link to images off this site using ubb code.

I'll check with Tony on this.

D

Since it hasn't been mentioned here that I have noticed yet, David Dyson's somewhat semi-regular gig for some time has been handling bass chores for Pieces of A Dream. If anyone has taken notice, the last two Pieces cd's have been their best ever ... totally on a new level for them. They are worth a listen. I have Dyson's solo cd "Soulmates" he released in 2002. Very funky stuff.

My compliments on this topic. Its been enjoyable reading.

Dave Lyons
Lyonsjazz1@aol.com

Okay, it's official.
I didn't think it possible, what with more than 230 songs (including live versions) to choose from. But it's finally happened.
The Deep End, more so than any other Spyro Gyra song, is one I can't get out of my head - not that I would ever want to.
Lots of songs just pop into my head even when I'm not consciously thinking of SG music, but on any given day - sometimes, several times a day - I'll hear part of this song, even when I'm playing something by another artist/group.
Pick a spot: Julio's funky intro, Scott's all-too-brief solo, Jay and Chris on the main melody, Joel's drums, Julio and Jay trading jabs in the middle, Jay's climactic buildup toward the end, or Chris' solo on the fade. Even that thing Schuu does with the keys between segments of the main melody. I'm not even sure how to describe the sound - instruments that immediately come to mind are the accordion, harmonica and washboard. It doesn't sound like any one of those things, but at the same time, it sounds like a compressed hybrid of all three.
Anyway, there's no part of The Deep End that I don't love.
That's true of most of SG's music, but this song stays with me more than the rest.

Re: "trio" version of "Shaker Song"

Everytime I play this 10 minute masterpiece I pick up something different.

What about at the 4:45 mark of the song and the next 40 seconds...Scott is playing so frickin' fast but it's certainly not a blur. You can hear every single note. Jeez...what's he playing 1/16th notes? Mind boggling!!

Is he using an upright or an electric on this song, or both?

It sounds like a fretless but it is electric. The only part of this song I don't like is when Tom plays left hand bass on top of Scott's solo. You can still hear Scott but it would have been nice to 'only' hear Scott on that section.