The Score Magazine - Archive January 2015 issue! | Page 46

Rolling Stones’ Bassist
Darryl ‘The Munch’ Jones
relies on QSC for
Clean, Clear & Powerful Sound
Darryl Jones is (and always has been!), without a doubt, one of the coolest cats in the music scene!
Affectionately known as ‘The Munch’ by his peers, Jones is a celebrated musician who has added the
punch to so many memorable studio and live sessions through his signature bass lines that are so
raw and powerful yet so simple and melodic, having played with acclaimed artists like Miles Davis,
Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, and many more. And for the
last 19 years or so, he’s been the bassist for iconic rock band The Rolling Stones.
Ask any musician, and they’ll tell you that playing in the studio is
one thing – but live is a whole different ball game! And when you
play the big leagues like Jones does, live performances come with
the expectation of being nothing short of massive! To keep up with
such massive expectations, legendary musicians like Jones rely
on world class gear – and he’s got the best of the lot on his side,
especially with his personal bass rig comprising pro audio gear
from global leaders QSC.
Darryl Jones is one of the key names in the rapidly expanding
list of musicians who have taken to QSC and have become a part
of the K for Musicians family. Jones affirms that his bass rig,
consisting of a pair of KW122s and a KW181 subwoofer, gives
him a clean, powerful sound which is extremely versatile to suit
the many different types of music he regularly plays.
“The KW rig I use is quite amazing. Because I am involved in a lot
of different kinds of music--rock and roll, electronic jazz, sounds
with synth bass, solo projects with effects-- I always try to find the
sound that fits the music I am playing. For rock and roll sounds,
I use a tube amp sound. I find that I can use the rig for really big
sounds like synth bass and bass with lots of effects, sequences that I
am playing along with. This works great because the QSC rig is full
range. For some of the other things that I am doing, I need a more
of a pure, really clean, clear, powerful sound. The KW Series fits in
well with all of that, because when I need to play at a high volume
level, it’s clean and clear. And when I want to dirty up that sound, I
can add the tube amp to do that. So I can cover a lot of ground with
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the QSC rig. That’s one of the things that led me to QSC” explains
‘The Munch’.
Jones says he had his first introduction to the K Series and KW
Series while on tour, interestingly, by two drummers – Omar
Hakim and Dave Weckl. “Omar Hakim told me he was playing his
electronic drumkit through a QSC rig and recommended it to me.
Then I was out on tour with Oz Noy and Dave Weckl, who was using
it for his drum monitoring system. When I heard what was he was
doing with it, I asked him to hook me up with guys at QSC” says
the ace bassist, going on to affirm that he pretty much ‘fell in love’
with the system as soon as he heard himself play on it.
Talking about some of the stuff that fans can expect from him
in the near future, Jones mentions he is currently working
on a number of projects including ‘Three Brave Souls’ with
John Beasley, and a rock trio called The Stone Raiders which
according to him is ‘kind of blues forward’ (blues-based music that
is more aggressive). And he hints that these projects could soon
turn into a live treat for fans, and would give him the opportunity
to push his prized personal QSC KW series rig to a whole new level
of awesomeness.
The entire range of the K Family of loudspeakers are readily
available within the Indian market through Pro Visual Audio
Pvt. Ltd (the official distribution partners of QSC Audio products
in India) and its various channels across the country, backed by
superlative prompt after-sales service and support.