Amos Heller

Installed in Heller's American Standard P-bass, as mentioned in this August 4, 2013 Seymour Duncan blog interview.

Tell me about your current tour set up?

I run three different signals, all direct. Signal #1 is a direct line off of my Shure wireless. Line #2 is the mighty Avalon U5. Line #3 runs through the pedalboard, which currently features a Radial distortion and an old purple Ibanez chorus (for the song “Holy Ground”) and into an active Radial DI. I have an Xotic Effects RC Bass Boost that stays on all night. I’m proud to be endorsed by Fender bass guitars. The current arsenal is a ’62 Reissue Precision, an American Standard Precision with the Seymour Duncan SMB-5A humbucker pickup added in the bridge position, a Gretsch Broadkaster, A Fender Cabronita (a new, precision-style single pickup bass) and a ’71 Orlando. I use Fender nickel bass strings.

It’s an interesting choice, pairing a P-Bass pickup with a SMB-5A. How do those two tone complement each other?

In a word? Spectacularly. The bass came off the assembly line with a beautiful warmth and roundness, and I wanted to make sure that the tone path of the original piece would stay intact. Some of the songs that we’re playing on this tour require some very precise placement of notes on the low B string, and that can be a challenge with just the split-coil pickup. My guitar technician Stephen Uncapher is a very creative guy with a fantastic ear, and he suggested that adding a humbucker to the bass would not only give me another place to anchor my thumb, but would add a bite and presence to the sound of the bass.

We added a volume knob to give the bass a Jazz-style control scheme, and I love having the ability to blend the SMB-5A with the precision pickup. It brings a whole new life to the tone, and gives me the presence and definition when I need it. I love the sound of Music Man-style humbuckers with the massive pole pieces, but it can be difficult to get a warm tone out of them. With this pickup configuration I can cover a broad range of tones and styles without changing basses.

I’ll just throw this out there: our front-of-house engineer called it one of the best-sounding basses he’s ever mixed.

Installed in Heller's Fender PB-62, as mentioned in this June 15, 2014 Premier Guitar interview.

Amos remains a bass gear junkie, constantly searching for new tones and sonic toys. He takes a straight-ahead approach to his tone, relying on great basses as opposed to lots of outboard gear. A proud Fender endorsee, Amos used his ’62 RI Precision (loaded with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders) on almost everything during the last U.S. tour, though he also carried a Cabronita P-bass and a Dimension 5 for extended range. His one “quirky” bass, a ’71 Orlando, also sees some use. His pedalboard is modest: an Xotic Bass RC Booster, a Radial Classic Tube Distortion, and an ancient Ibanez chorus, all controlled by tech Steve Uncapher. With no amps on stage, Amos runs it all through an Avalon U5 preamp.

Featured on Heller's official Nordstrand Audio artist page.

Amos is using the Nordstrand Big Splits and nj5s Set.

“I’ve been very impressed with the focused and precise sound of Nordstrand pickups. They give me a full sound that communicates the character of the bass with clarity.”

The edition is unspecified, but it can be dated against the September 14, 2016 upload date of the artist page.

Featured on Heller's official Nordstrand Audio artist page. They are specified to be 5s on the official product page

Amos is using the Nordstrand Big Splits and nj5s Set.

“I’ve been very impressed with the focused and precise sound of Nordstrand pickups. They give me a full sound that communicates the character of the bass with clarity.”

The edition is unspecified, but it can be dated against the September 14, 2016 upload date of the artist page.