The bassFREQs

As a session bass player, Colin has never been partial to any genre and has always been game to play any kind of music. Thus far, he has managed to beg & bully his way into numerous International Music / Jazz Festivals globally.

Throughout his career, he has worked with various International and Regional Jazz and Pop artistes like Jeremy Monteiro, Ernie Watts, the late Eldee Young, Eugene Pao, Tots Tolentino and many more. He is also one of the most sought after bassist in Singapore, and is frequently featured in many theatre productions, and gigging with many bands and artists in the local scene.

Colin has been a F Bass Artist since 2003. Here’s what he has to say: "I gravitated towards my F Bass BN5 in 2003 and have used no other axe since. This bass is very expressive, sits very snugly in the mix, and is just as good live as it is in the studio. I've yet to encounter any musician I've worked with that hasn’t complimented the way it sounds. It is truly the ultimate plug-and-play instrument, a work of art!" - Colin Yong

Follow Colin on Instagram and check out this awesome clip of Colin’s grooves!

Throughout his wide-ranging career, Jase spends most of his creative energy with Singaporean band The Steve McQueens. He is also a long-serving member of The Mothership led by Charlie Lim. Following the recent release of the Tape Ends EP, the Steve Mcqueens are currently working on their next full-length LP entitled The Observer to be released in 2021.

Jase has been an endorser for Dingwall Guitars since 2012.

Follow Jase on Instagram @jasesng

Shaun Seow is a highly accomplished bassist, having toured with the top artists in the Mandopop scene, like Jacky Cheung, JJ Lin, Wang Lee Hom, David Tao, and Li Ronghao.

Shaun has been a Sugi artist since 2017. He has two custom Sugi NB5 basses. Both feature an ash body with maple fingerboard. One has single coils, and the other is a P-Humbucker, and he likes them passive!

Follow Shaun on Instagram @shaunseow.wk and this happening YouTube clip!YouTube clip!

A familiar face in Malaysia's pop, jazz, and fusion circles, self-taught bassist Andy Peterson started out with local band The Falcons in 1976, who actually toured extensively in Europe, and even joined up with the Lewis Pragasam-helmed Asiabeat.

Besides playing in big concert venues like the Royal Albert Hall and London's Wembley Auditorium, Peterson has also performed alongside A-list musicians such as Randy Crawford, Robert Palmer, David Tao, Wang Lee Hom, Jacky Cheung, and A-Mei, as well as local artists including Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Jaclyn Victor, amongst many others.

In 2011, Peterson released his debut album titled 'Anusha' (the name of his daughter) under the moniker Andy Peterson Independent (A.P.I.); a fusion effort featuring keyboardist Aubrey Suwito, percussionist Steve Thornton, saxophonist Greg Lyons and drummer John Thomas, the son of Jose Thomas, singer Elvira Arul and others.

(Reproduced from SAYS)

Aloysius Chow plays a wide range of genres from pop, to jazz and in knows a wide repertoire of songs from English to Japanese and Thai! In addition to gigging with his band, he is also a bass educator. In 2015, he was featured as an MTD Kingston Family International Emerging Artist. Aloysius says his Z5 allows him to cut through the mix in every situation, and is a very reliable workhorse, which has served him well in every show. Truly #MTD4LYFE!

Check out Aloysius in action HERE

As a full time urologist, his day job has kept him busy. However, Andar Siregar is equally passionate about bass, and plays music inspired by 80s instrumental rock. This STR bass was the first bass that started the relationship with bassFREQ.

Check out his band HERE

Azman started playing bass since he was 15 years old, and is well-known in the local music scene. He has performed both internationally and locally for concerts, TV shows, and many other venues. Other than playing the bass, Azman also enjoys producing music for artists and commercials. His music influences includes Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and Babyface.

Follow Azman on Instagram @azen19

A bass player since 1988, Bani has played on countless gigs, recording sessions and club stints. He has played bass for Nathan Hartono’s “Feeling Good” album, Singapore’s Idol Taufik Batisah’s “Thank you Concert”, and other Malay artists such as Yasin, Man Bai and Najib Ali’s Popumentari. Bani is also the co-founder of Dr Corey Manders’ Blue Monks jazz band, and regularly hosted jazz jams for the music community. In addition, Bani has also worked as a producer and session musician for programmes such as Cartoon Network’s “Jungle Bells”, Johnny Bravo and others.

Bani performs at Lenoir, Clarke Quay with Syltra Lee. He is also the owner of Epic Studios.

Connect with Bani on Facebook

Artist Relations by day, musician by whenever-else-he-is-free, Benjamin Mah loves keeping himself busy with multiple projects outside of the office. He manages and writes with his band Astronauts, sessions for artists like Disco Hue and Ffion, and creates very un-serious music content as one-half of the online duo, WOKFUNK.

Follow Ben on Instagram with Astronauts and Wokfunk!

An articulate and melodic bass player, Ben’s versatility and ability to play across genres has seen him taking up session work at performing venues and events with various sought-after musicians. At 29, he has performed on various local events and international events which includes Joanna Dong’s sold out concert held at the Esplanade Concert Hall, part of Jeremy Monterio Trio where he play alongside with the special guest, Grammy Award Winning Artist, Ernie Watts and he was in charge of bass duties for the Sing Lang Concert 2019 held at the National Stadium, which featured prominent local artistes such as Kit Chan and A-Do. Most recently, he performed at the JEN (Jazz Education Network) conference in Reno, Nevada and the EFG London Jazz Festival with the Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra (JASSO).

Ben has performed throughout Asia including Hong Kong, China, Brunei and also in the USA and UK, also playing with high profile local and international artistes such as Kit Chan, Sulene Fleming, Vanessa Rubin, Antonia Bennett, Gabriel Hernandez and many more.

Follow Ben on Instagram @benthepoh

A funk & soul groove meister. He has sessions on concert tours for many regional Artistes like Amei, Sandy Lam, Stefanie Sun & Leslie Cheung. Performing as well at the Edinburgh Arts Festival, Tokyo Music Festival and the Paris Art Festivals to name a few.

Follow Bong on Youtube

I grew up in Singapore and studied electronic engineering hoping it will eventually lead me to R&D work. However the turning point came in 1996 when I decided to make music my passion and life, the double bass & electric bass took the main stage amongst other instruments.

Performances and teaching takes up most of my time, and the rest is dedicated to luthiery work from repairs, restorations, bow rehairs and setup, to offering advice to bass players about pickups and amplifications.

I attended the VSA Oberlin Bass Workshop in June 2012 and was surrounded by many bass makers and luthiers wanting to improve every aspect of the double bass world. David Gage, Arnold Schnitzer, Jim Ham and Rodney Mohr were amongst the many gifted teachers offering valuable real world experience and advice to everyone present. The exchange of information, ideas, and scientific research were often too much to remember. We have to document them in pictures, drawings and notes.

The double bass is still a relatively unknown instrument to most people here and often been described as a big cello, big violin, big guitar, and anything that is associated with the word big whenever I walk the streets. There has never been a dedicated double bass specialist in Singapore and I hope to bring to awareness that this instrument is not as scary as it looks. I hope to see more bass players enjoying their instruments, regardless of what their basses are or what genre of music they are playing.

Find out more about Brandon’s Bass Loft here.

Charlene is the bassplayer for Hoodw¡nked, a 6-piece pop/rock cover band. She loves Sandberg basses, and uses them regularly for her gigs.

Check out Charlene’s band Hoodwinked!

David has been actively playing the bass since 1985, and loves blues and rock. He has played with Pest Infested, Curtis King Band, Good Question Band, and Bob Sauler and The Blues Machine, and also the resident bassist at Singapore’s most well-known blues bar, Crazy Elephant.

Follow David’s music on Facebook or email at davidcyng@gmail.com

Desmond is serving as a bassist in church. He enjoys listening to pop rock, jazz as well as catching live band performances from the Esplanade. Abraham Laboriel, Norm Stockton and Josh Ham make the list of his favourite bassists.

Desmond Ong serves as a bassist in his church, and enjoys playing MTD and F Bass.

Din Safari is one of the most well-known bassist in Singapore, and is the bassist for top local band, Jive Talking. After attending Victor Wooten’s Bass/ Nature camp, it inspired him to organise numerous Rhythm and Nature bass guitar camps, training and equipping bassists all over Asia.

In addition, Din also runs an eatery serving some amazing Nasi Briyani!

Find out more about Jive Talking here.

Euntaek (also known as E.T.) is a multi-instrumentalist based in Singapore. Having devoted much time and effort into becoming a musical chameleon that can comfortably blend into any musical situation presented, he actively performs as a sideman in a wide variety of ensembles ranging from singer-songwriter Charlie Lim’s band, the Mothership, to world fusion band Tribal Tide, led by the one of the region’s top percussionists, Mohamed Noor. His pursuits have allowed him to be part of world-renowned music festivals such as Summer Sonic (Japan), Singapore Jazz Festival (Singapore) and BIGSOUND (Australia), performing alongside some of his favourite international artists.

Follow ET on Instagram @etdreamsofsleep

Fly graduated from UiTM Malaysia in 2003, with a Bachelor's degree in Music. Since then, he is best known as a Music Director and a highly sought after bassist in Malaysia, and performed in many festivals and concerts both locally and internationally. Fly is well known for being a versatile bass player in Malaysia in genres such as classical, jazz, rock, fusion, and the list goes on. He has performed for many musicals such as P. Ramlee The Musical, Terima Kasih Cinta, The Secret Life Of Nora, Frogway The Musical and Cuci The Musical. Fly has performed backing up famous artists such as Laura Fygi, The Temptations, Siti Nurhaliza, Salamiah Hassan, Awie, Ella and many more.

Find out more about Fly and his music on his YouTube and Instagram channels.

My name is Ivan and I play bass for Approaching Aphelion. We're a 4 piece instrumental band that plays prog/math rock.

We're influenced and inspired by bands such as Covet, Toe, and Plini.

I started music with piano lessons when I was younger - later on I took an interest in bass and taught myself how to play.

Here’s what he has to say about his bass: “I chose the Strandberg mainly because of ergonomics - its shape and size allows me to play comfortably for longer with minimal fatigue. The preamp configuration also allows me to tweak my tone intuitively, to sit well in the mix.”

Check out Ivan’s band on Instagram - Approaching Aphelion

Jace How is a professional bassist, performer, recording artist and educator.

When he is not touring the region as a session bassist, he's often found with his band, local Singapore progressive metal outfit Aggressive Raisin Cat, performing their own compositions. He has also been featured by various brands such as Joey Sturgis Tones, Blackstar, Hartke and Zoom, producing demo and/or educational content.

Follow Jace on Instagram @jace.arc, arcbandofficial and Spotify Aggressive Raisin Cat

Jacky grew up listening to Cantonese and Mandarin Pop, Rock music played from cassette tapes. Always fascinated by the low-end notes, grooves from bass, he started learning bass in 2002 from Ignatius Bong.

In 2018, he was performed with V’S led by Alex Chia, featuring Paul Wong (黃貫中) from Beyond. The band performed in China 海口火山音樂節, Hong Kong and Singapore. In addition, Jacky plays regularly for other local music events and serves in various churches as a bassist as well.

Here’s what he has to say about his bass:

“MTD bass has always been my dream and choice of Bass along my music journey. The instrument was handmade, well-built and crafted by Mike and Daniel Tobias. My Super 5 MTD custom was installed with Custom Bartolini Pickups, preamp and passive tone control allowing tons of tone options for me to choose. Warm top end, solid midrange that cut through the mix every time and big bottom end fitting well to my wide genre of music which I am playing from soft acoustic sets, gospel music to aggressive Rock music.” – Jacky Wong

Jonathan Sim is one of Singapore’s most sought-after and experienced session bass player, multi-instrumentalist and educator. As a session performer, he has performed on TV shows such as Singapore Idol, Suria and Channel U’s Project Superstar and others. Jonathan also recorded in Dick Lee's Life Story concert DVD and 陈伟联's concert DVD, performed locally and overseas with artists like 葉麗儀，许文友，王識賢 and more.

Jonathan possesses ABRSM Certificates in Percussion and Saxophone and a Yamaha Qualification Teacher’s Certificate. He is currently teaching at Midiworld Music, and served as Percussion Director for various schools, and performed with various orchestras, such as Singapore Youth Orchestra. He has also authored several local music tutorial publications like the Practical Music Theory Music Course, Advanced Bass Guitar Course and the Yamaha Bass Guitar Examination Syllabus. Visit Club ICON to see Jonathan perform live!

Connect with Jonathan on his Website and Youtube

Ken Chung has always been active in the Mandopop scene since the early 2000’s. He has toured with some of the notable big names in the mandopop industry such as: Jeff Chang, Fish Leong, Aska Yang and Rene Liu just to name a few.

Apart from being a sideman, Ken Chung serves as a band member for several rock outfits in Malaysia such as: Arvan, playing most pop/rock/metal and a rather youthful pop/jazz group, JSY.

Back in 2019, Ken Chung formed a live looping bass and drum duo with drummer Wayne Tan. IIBPM has released its debut EP “Live@9 Sentience”. The band has conducted an EP launch show and presented 2 music videos on social media back in January 2020.

Follow Ken on Instagram: @kenchungbass, @ii_bpm, @arvantheband and II BPM MUSIC

As an award winning Producer and Music Arranger, Kenn has been on the 'A' list of who's who in the Regional Mandopop Music Scene. His client list includes Stefanie Sun, Jolin Tsai, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua, FIR, A*mei, Elva Hsiao, Jacky Cheung, Ado just to name a few. He has won awards as an arranger and producer. He is also an incredible bassist and guitarist, and served as the Music Director fr many artists like Sun Yanzi, A*mei, Elva, Corrinne May, Sally Yeh and Sandy Lam, Jolin, Shino, Kit Chan, Ado etc.

Visit Kenn’s Facebook page to find out more!

Mah is a full-time bassist since graduating from SMU Law in 2015, and is also the owner of Tonehouse Studios. He performs regularly with Nathan Hartono; a multilingual Top 40s band at Switch by Timbre X; as well as a Cantonese Top 40s band at a secret location.

He believes every musician should have access to affordable quality spaces for rehearsals and recordings. You may occasionally catch him playing Brawl Stars on his phone.

Follow Mah on Instagram @tonehouse.sg

Hi there, my name is Manson Koh. I have been grooving with the bass since I was 19, and enjoy playing genres like RnB, Funk, Pop, Gospel and anything groovy! My musical journey started out as a kid listening to songs on the radio while doing homework, and was hooked on the basslines! So I decided I have to become a bassist! Serving in church was where I started, and eventually went on touring and sessioned for artists, bands, and recorded over 100 songs.

The Sadowsky I got from bassFREQ is by far my favourite bass for live and recording due to its sonic balance and how easy it sits in a mix. Not forgetting the Genzler MG350 with Bass Array 12-3 to complete the setup that I need to get into my ‘zone’.

Follow Manson on Instagram @Mansonkoh or Facebook @Groovyman

Mervyn has been playing the bass for the last 17 years. Having performed at various events such as Baybeats and the Singapore Street Fest, he and his then-band won Stardust 2011, a band competition organised by the National University of Singapore.

He whas also featured in various local movie soundtracks such as "Faeryville" and " 单身之城“(Single City), working with local film composer Alex Oh.

Mervyn currently leads the bass section for his church band, CityWorship and can also be heard providing the low ends for local artist, Jason Yu. He is also a part time bass teacher.

Follow Mervyn on Instagram @merfinism, and listen to his playing with CityWorship and Jason Yu.

Mylene has been playing bass for over 20 years as a semi-pro. Done the usual pub, hotel and wedding gigs. Best known as bassist for the band Walking on Water. Preferred music genres are Jazz, R&B, Gospel.

Here’s what she has to say about her Roscoe: I love everything about my Roscoe bass from how it looks to how it sounds. I really appreciate how light it is. I pair it with a Sadowsky preamp when I want that extra oomph.

Check out Mylene’s band, Walking On Water on SPOTIFY

Mr Naem Zul has spent the better part of 15 years in the Singapore music scene and has seen it all. Playing in bands since he was 17 years old, Naem (currently in the band Tranquil) picked up the bass out of curiosity when his friends were all rushing to guitars. Growing up with influences like Blink 182 and Iron Maiden, Naem’s influences slowly spread out to bands like Incognito, CHON, Plini and Toe.

Over the years, his appreciation for the bass guitar grew as he saw how important it was to hold the groove and now, is inseparable from his craft.

Naem has been involved with various bands in the past, including Knightwings, Noetic Theory and ADVO. Currently he is the bassist for Tranquil.

Follow Naem’s band, Tranquil on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify

Nicholas Lee is a bass player based in Singapore. He sessions actively in the local music scene, playing all genres like pop, funk, fusion and jazz. Some of the notable artists he has played with are Mark Lettieri, Adam Hawley, Henk Kraaijeveld, Q-sound, Rit Xu, The Sam Willows and Andrew 'Dru' Chen. He is also a part of a few bands, ColdCut Quartet and SMSband. ColdCut Quartet is an experimental fusion band. They had successfully released an EP in 2018. The SMSband was formed by a group of like-minded musicians. They came together to create awareness about the vast music talent in Singapore. They achieve that by working with different local artists on their original songs whilst adding their own spin to them.

Follow Nicholas on Instagram: @nicholasleehc, @coldcutquartet, @smsband_sg

Reginald holds a Grade 6 in Electric Bass, and Electone Organ from Yamaha, and has been playing the bass since 1995. His musical interests include Weather Report, Casiopea and anything that is groovy. In 2005, Reginald was awarded Best Bassist for Yamaha Band Alert competition, and won 2nd runner up in Yamaha Electone Festival in 1996.

His musical ability and versatility across genres has led him to perform with numerous artists over the years, including YouTube artists like Jayesslee and David Choi. Reginald has performed and recorded with local artists like The Freshman, Shili and Adi, Reverie, Jack & Rai, and Johnny Come Lately, an Eagles Tribute Band.

Reginald has also conducted many bass clinics, band workshops for many churches. In addition, he is the owner and founder of bassFREQ, Singapore’s only boutique bass retail store.

Follow Reginald on Instagram @bassfreq.sg and lots of bass reviews on Youtube @bassfreqsg.

If you are an Eagles fan, check out Johnny Come Lately playing your favourite Eagles songs.

I started with music very young, at 3 year old with the piano. However, I ended up being a bass player and a Vietnamese bamboo flute player. Hạc San is a progressive metal band based in Saigon, which I joined since 2013 as the bass player. In addition, I'm also working as a session musician, both in studio and live performance.

Follow Thang Tran on Instagram @Kulnova @Kulnova, and his band on Spotify

Thomas Ee has an exquisite taste for bass guitars, was one of the first people who taught us how to appreciate custom made instruments. His experience includes being the band leader and bassist for PassionArt Sing Singapore in 2015, and has recorded on albums with Bob Fitts (Taste of Heaven, 1997), Daphne June, Jonathan Koh and many more.

Follow Thomas on Facebook and this groovy rendition of What’s Going On.

Tim De Cotta is a vocalist, bassist, songwriter and producer who believes in keeping his art pure. Styled in R&B and HipHop, Tim draws influences from artists such as Maxwell, John Legend, Anderson Paak, Common and Mos Def while styling his bass-playing after the likes of Derrick Hodge and Stuart Zender. Having played with various bands, Tim’s music career constantly gets his hands dirty in musical diversity; pushing the boundaries in writing and production.

He is also a highly sought-after sessionist playing, writing, producing and recording with many artistes including Intriguant, The Good Life Project, Evanturetime, Michaela Therese, .gif, Disco Hue, Mars, iNCH, Sezairi, Charles J Tan (aka Charles Jedidiah) & Ling Kai over the years.

Tim also started arts curation agencies Getai Group Pte Ltd and Warrior Records Pte Ltd, working with various arts agencies since 2015, such as the National Arts Council, Singapore Tourism Board and Temasek Holdings, to bolster and grow the Singapore music and creative scene ever since.

Follow Tim on Instagram @Tim De Cotta

A graduate from The International College of Music (ICOM), Kuala Lumpur, Timothy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Professional Music (Westminster University, UK). With his many skills, he is a session musician familiar to both studio work and live performances.

Tim has shared stages and performed for artists with the likes of Najwa Mahiaddin, Sabhi Sabdi, Luscious, Andalusia and Estranged, Bo Amir Iqram(Seven and Bedroom Sanctuary), Gee Mojina and Roger Wang and others. Tim was then featured as an International Artist for the Michael Tobias Design (MTD) in 2012.

Now, back in his place of birth (Kota Kinabalu), Tim Tang has been busy arranging, performing and improving his skills with the many talented Sabahan musicians in Kota Kinabalu. He started his own band, Air Pockets Experiment (2014), and runs a guitar servicing business.

Connect with Tim on Facebook.

Travis Tan, also known as FluffBox is a bass player, music director and music producer based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is extremely passionate about his work and loves to collaborate with creative individuals.

Travis’ career as a session bass player began during his time attending Aswara doing his studies in Music Performance. As a bandleader and sideman, Travis has always aimed to bring in originality into the band’s sound by arrangements and distinct bass lines.

Travis’ music is influenced by Sharay reed, MonoNeon, Jacob Collier, Snarky Puppy, among many others. He is also part of a funk duo, ‘iscus.’

Check out Travis’ music on Instagram fluffboxmusic and ‘iscus' ‘iscus on YouTube.

Muhamad Nurwafi also known as Wafi, is one of the most versatile bassists on the scene. His dynamic style of performance is showcased internationally in many concerts featuring artists and bands namely Angela Zhang, Ning Baizura, Salam Musik, Ziana Zain, Noryn Aziz, Atilia and Elizabeth Tan.

The stage is like his second home. He has been touring internationally since 2017 to countries such as China, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore and his hometown Malaysia. As a proud owner of a great F Bass BN5 series, Wafi is greatly sought after for sessions and album recordings.

Connect with Wafi on Facebook and Instagram

Wendy Phua is a bassist, composer and educator with extensive experience onstage and in the studio. As a Yamaha (SG) endorsed bassist, she has performed with Akira Jimbo (Casiopea), James LoMenzo (Megadeth), Mel Gayner (Simple Minds), Shaggy, and Emma Shapplin. She has played at events like the Singapore Wine & Jazz Festival, MTV Asia Awards, and ESPNStar Sports X-Games Asia.

In 2008, Wendy released a solo bass EP Between Here And Then to glowing reviews by Musikuz (Czech) and Bass Frontiers Magazine (US). Today, Wendy produces music and sound design for slot games found in casino resorts throughout Southeast Asia.

Follow Wendy on Facebook, and visit www.asoundstate.com and www.bassdojo.pro

My name is Wei Ming. I have been playing music for over 20 years. My music influences are mainly mando pop/rock bands like Beyond and Mayday.

I like to explore different gears for their sounds. And the reason why I picked this Sandberg VM is because it is versatile and covers a palette of sounds which are suitable for songs ranging from Hard Rock to Pop.

I serve in church as a bassist and enjoy writing mandarin songs in my free time.

Check out Wei Ming’s music on Youtube 1 and Youtube 2

Zainal is the bassist and bandleader for local band, O.K. Ready!, and always brings lots of positive energy, fun and laughter through his groovy bass playing and singing. He also loves cats and does fishing during his free time. Follow Zainal on Facebook and Instagram