Whynot Jansveld

Whynot Jansveld is an accomplished session bassist, guitarist, singer and occasional keyboardist. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he has lived in the United States since 1993. Whynot has performed, recorded and/or toured around the world with platinum-selling artist Gavin DeGraw, The Weepies, Jonatha Brooke, Emerson Hart (Tonic), David Mead, The Kin, Teddy Thompson, Teddy Geiger, The Crash Test Dummies and Wayne Krantz. He has also worked with legendary producers like Neil Dorfsman, for whom he has become a first-call bassist. Whynot has also performed live on several TV shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson, Ellen DeGeneres, Regis & Kelly, Good Morning America, MTV’s Hard Rock Live and The 2005 Radio Music Awards.

Describe your songwriting and production processes. How does technology play a part?

Most of my production work involves playing bass or guitar on songs that people send to me, so a lot of it is dictated by the song. I tend to work quickly to avoid over-thinking. When I’m recording bass, I try to keep the signal path as short as possible. Some of my best tracks have been recorded with nothing more than a bass, a cable and an M-Audio interface. That simple combination produces a huge, fat sound.

You record a lot of bass tracks while out on the road. What does your mobile rig consist of?

I use the FireWire Solo, Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4, Strike, Velvet, Solaris mics and a MacBook. M-Audio has made it possible for me to carry a fully-functional studio in a laptop bag, which makes touring twice as productive. For example, I recorded bass and guitar tracks for The Weepies while on tour—a process that would have been impossible without the mobility of my M-Audio rig.

How have software titles like Pro Tools M-Powered and virtual instruments like Velvet and Strike changed the way you make music?

Since I record bass and guitar tracks at my home studio, Pro Tools M-Powered allows me to flesh out ideas before I present them to the artist. The session files I create can be easily transferred to Pro Tools|HD rigs at professional studios around the world. Working this way definitely has its own charm and allows me to explore new directions I might not have pursued otherwise.

I’m also a big fan of the virtual instruments Velvet and Strike. Velvet sounds incredibly realistic. For drums, I love messing around with the Feel settings in Strike. Letting a drum groove hover somewhere between swung and straight gives you “instant grease.” Thanks to M-Audio, anyone can put together a bedroom studio without breaking the bank. It’s really changing the way records are being made.