Bass Guitar Gear of Tim Foreman

Warming Trend
Tim Foreman (Switchfoot)
By Brian Fox, Jimmy Leslie | April 2007

The energy created when musicians exchange ideas can be extremely powerful. Just ask Switchfoot’s Tim Foreman.

When writing for his band’s latest, Oh! Gravity, Foreman found that as helpful as modern technology can be, it’s no substitute for human interaction.

“Sometimes I’ll throw skeletons of songs into Apple’s GarageBand software to work out bass parts,” Tim says. “But I can feel isolated using today’s technology. I prefer creating with all five of us together. That way you’re not working with a static set of ideas.”

Switchfoot conjured up its latest at a project studio in the hills near Foreman’s hometown of San Diego, where he and his brother, singer/guitarist Jonathan Foreman, formed the contemproray Christian rock band 11 years ago.

How did you get your range of tones on the new CD?

"I played with my fingers on a Lakland Hollowbody with flatwounds to get the warm sound on some of the mellower songs, including “Yesterdays.” On others I went for more of a Paul McCartney sound by playing with a pick and putting some foam under the strings. I never used to play with a pick, but I’ve been doing it for the past few years. I use one when I want driving eighth-notes to cut through the mix. I also used my ’70s Fender Mustang Bass on a couple of songs; it sounds like a messed up Fender Precision. I used a Lakland 4-94 when I wanted a more standard rock sound.

How do you get your live sound?

My main live basses are the Decade and the Hollowbody. The Decade’s Dark Star pickups are great—they’re so even and warm. I use a Gallien-Krueger 2001RB head as a power amp for a Line 6 Bass POD. At first, I was hesitant about modeling, but the sounds I’m getting are phenomenal. I’ve customized all my tones, and I do something subtly different on almost every song. I love that it’s so easy to duplicate the same sounds every night, regardless of my stage volume.

What’s your aesthetic when it comes to tone?

I like an old SVT sound that’s fairly saturated. I tend to want a more vintage sound, as opposed to a clear, modern sound.

How has your playing progressed over time?

I’ve always been a minimalist, but I think I’ve gone even more in that direction. I try to use the least number of notes to play the most melodic part. I played things on our early records that I never would now, but there’s an innocence and freshness to that older stuff that’s still fun.

How do you try to make sure your new material sounds fresh?

This record started off when [executive producer] Steve Lillywhite heard the song “Awakening.” We went to the studio to record it while we were still on tour, and it was an eye-opening experience. Just making sure that all five of us were there together made a big difference. It allowed us to experiment without worrying about who was going to hear it, which in turn created a free-sounding record. We’re trying to do that live, too. We want to take the music seriously, but not take ourselves too seriously.

Can Be Heard On...
Switchfoot, Oh! Gravity [Columbia]
And at the Cuneta Astrodome, Sept 10, 2007. The Philippines
Gear...

* Basses: Lakland Hollowbody, 4-94, and Decade basses; Fender Mustang Bass
* Rig: Gallien-Krueger 2001RB head and Neo412 4x12 cabinet
* Effects: Line 6 Bass PODxt Pro with FBV foot controller

“The 4x12 cabinet is similar to an 8x10, but it sounds warmer and is more portable. I lay it sideways so I can stand on it.”

Jerome's Keyboard Gear : KORG

Jerome’s workhorse up until this spring tour had been his trusty Korg TRITON Classic along with a KP2 KAOSS Pad and microKORG. He’ll be rolling on this leg of the tour with the new Korg TR. “There are a couple thing
s that Korg does thaerome’s workhorse up until this spring tour had been his trusty Korg TRITON Classic along with a KP2 KAOSS Pad and microKORG. He’ll be rolling on this leg of the tour with the new Korg TR. “There are a couple things that Korg does that no other keyboard companies do,” Jerome shares. “There is this feature called RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) that no other keyboard manufacturers can emulate. And because Switchfoot is a live band, we have to trigger everything live. That function is the one thing that I value most about my Korg gear. The new TR has it, and when I was using the TRITON Classic, it had it as well. I love it.”

How about the sounds? “Well the thing about me, ‘cause I’m old school, is I make all my own sounds. With Korg, all of the factory sounds that come with the workstations are great, but I like to manipulate the sounds to make them my own. I made a few cool pads on the TR, you know, you start with the sine wave and manipulate it. Some of the Korg effects are really cool, too, so I like to put some of them in the mix. And I like what Korg has done with their pad beds.

“I remember the T3 when it came out years ago,” continues an excited Jerome. “I was drooling over it at the music store for months thinking, ‘I have to have that keyboard because it has a sequencer built-in.’ It had the technology, the layered sounds…back then that was big!”

Getting back to his love of tweaking and genuine affinity for knobs, Jerome shares a little more insight. “Well, I grew up in an analog world, so everything I know and learned about keyboards had to do with tweaking knobs, filters and oscillators. When I saw the new Korg RADIAS it really got my juices flowing. The possibilities are endless. Obviously my sound has a lot more analog in it than your classic ‘rock’ sound, so I don’t normally use a preset sound like a piano. I have to tweak. It’s just what I do. I do use an analog keyboard live, and I’m thinking the RADIAS has a lot of versatility. I could see myself using it live. It’s polyphonic, which is a big thing for me, and the vocoder is something I’ve wanted to get into.”t no other keyboard companies do,” Jerome shares. “There is this feature called RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) that no other keyboard manufacturers can emulate. And because Switchfoot is a live band, we have to trigger everything live. That function is the one thing that I value most about my Korg gear. The new TR has it, and when I was using the TRITON Classic, it had it as well. I love it.”

How about the sounds? “Well the thing about me, ‘cause I’m old school, is I make all my own sounds. With Korg, all of the factory sounds that come with the workstations are great, but I like to manipulate the sounds to make them my own. I made a few cool pads on the TR, you know, you start with the sine wave and manipulate it. Some of the Korg effects are really cool, too, so I like to put some of them in the mix. And I like what Korg has done with their pad beds.

“I remember the T3 when it came out years ago,” continues an excited Jerome. “I was drooling over it at the music store for months thinking, ‘I have to have that keyboard because it has a sequencer built-in.’ It had the technology, the layered sounds…back then that was big!”

Getting back to his love of tweaking and genuine affinity for knobs, Jerome shares a little more insight. “Well, I grew up in an analog world, so everything I know and learned about keyboards had to do with tweaking knobs, filters and oscillators. When I saw the new Korg RADIAS it really got my juices flowing. The possibilities are endless. Obviously my sound has a lot more analog in it than your classic ‘rock’ sound, so I don’t normally use a preset sound like a piano. I have to tweak. It’s just what I do. I do use an analog keyboard live, and I’m thinking the RADIAS has a lot of versatility. I could see myself using it live. It’s polyphonic, which is a big thing for me, and the vocoder is something I’ve wanted to get into.”

See Jerome live at the Cuneta Astrodome. Sept 10,2007 when he plays with Switchfoot