TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU BECAME A BASS PLAYER.
I’m an Argentinian musician born in 1973. I played electric bass for 32 years now. I played bass with lots of local and international artists. I’m currently the bass player for Rata Blanca, one of the most popular and famous hard rock bands in Latin America. We just finished a world tour that included USA, Peru, Chile and Argentina. I’m also part of Temple, a side project of Rata Blanca’s guitarist Walter Giardino. With Temple we made two Latin American tours with Deep Purple / Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and we just finished a third European tour with Ronnie Romero, actual vocalist for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.
I’m also a studio and live session musician playing all kinds of music from hard rock and funk to Argentinian folk and tango. I have my own recording studio in Buenos Aires, Tercera Estacion, where I put on my producer / recording & mixing engineer suit. I’m currently an official endorser for Aguilar Amplification.
I started playing piano at age 6, at home was a Yamaha double keyboard organ I used to play. When I was about 11 I wanted to start a band with my brother on drums and a friend of mine on guitar. I asked my father to buy me a synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7 was the ultimate axe at that time, my father told me he couldn’t afford it, I insisted for a few months but I never got it. So, in order to start the band we needed an electric bass and it was a much affordable choice for me. I got a cheap violin bass that has been made fretless and had a extremely high action. It was a pain to play it but I quickly fell in love with the instrument and never went back.
WHEN AND WHERE DID YOU LEARN ABOUT SIRE? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION WITH OUR BASSES? HOW WAS YOUR FIRST GIG USING YOUR SIRE BASS?
I learned about Sire in early 2016 watching videos in YouTube. First thing that caught my attention was that the reviews I watched were not from the company or endorsers, they were just people that got a Sire bass and were so happy with it that they had to make a video and post it. So in March 2016 with one of my bass students we ordered two Sire basses from the web, unfortunately the basses were retained under Argentina’s customs office and we never got them. Later that June I ordered another one and asked a friend of mine that was coming from USA to Argentina to bring it with him. I got my first Sire.
I own about 12 basses, since I got my first Sire the other basses spend most of the time in their cases and gig bags!
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A SIRE FRIEND IN ARGENTINA?
Feels great of course and to be the first one in Argentina is really cool! But it’s also challenging, lots of players are so stuck with famous brands that sometimes it’s hard to convince people that a great bass doesn’t have to be stupidly expensive. Another fact is when they find out that although it’s a Marcus Miller bass it’s not Made in USA. Players tend to think that an Indonesian made instrument is not a quality instrument. But fortunately things change when they get their hands on a Sire bass.
ANY PLANS ON RELEASING AN ALBUM? IF SO, PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT.
Right now we are recording three songs with Temple featuring Ronnie Romero (of course with one of my Sires). I also have my own band, we are planning to make a record this year too. I’m constantly recording songs for other bands and solo artists in my studio.
WHAT AND WHEN WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE AND WHY?
It’s hard to pick up one… or to remember!!! May be a video that I made some years ago with a tapping version of the Pink Panther Theme. I won a contest with it and it was published in several bass sites. Unfortunately I didn’t own a Sire bass at that time. It was recorded in a single live take with my Modulus Graphite Quantum 5 bass. It’s not a Sire but it’s fun to watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bfuJCQLinE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TOUR AND CONCERTS.
The next two months I’ll be doing some local gigs with several solo artists here in Argentina. In March we are starting a new tour with Rata Blanca in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. Luckily in September / October we’ll be doing a USA tour too.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT BASS AND WHAT IS YOUR REVIEW OF THE BASS?
In my arsenal I have two Sire basses ( for now ). A Tobacco Sunburst Alder/Rosewood 4 string and a Natural Ash/Maple 5 string. I couldn’t be happier with them, I use them all the time. The basses feel great, they are true Jazz Basses. They are easy to play, they have a great warm tone. The electronics are simply amazing. Over the years I’ve had all types of preamps and eqs installed on my basses and I must say that the Sire electronics are superb, with lots of headroom, extremely versatile and a very useful eq tone. Passive mode also sounds great and the fact that the passive tone can be used in conjunction with the active preamp is a plus. I heard people saying the Sire tuning machines are not very good… Let me tell you this. I played my last two international tours with my Alder/Rosewood 4 string, I carry the bass with me in the Sire gig bag… cars, planes, busses, trains… Before each show when my bass tech gets it out the bag he can’t believe it… 95% of the time the bass is perfectly in tune, and probably that 5% that it’s not has been caused by accidentally turning one of the pegs. I almost never use my tuner pedal on stage, the bass keeps perfect tune through the entire gig. Also I love the thru body bridge, it’s a great feature!
DO YOU STILL REMEMBER YOUR FIRST PERFORMANCE AND HOW YOU FELT? HOW DIFFERENT IS IT FROM THE PRESENT?
My first performance was in first year of high school with a mix of acoustic and electric instruments and a choir of 80 students in front of a 250 people audience. Obviously a lot of things changed from that time to present, I’m a consolidated player now, I feel confident with my playing but the essence remains the same, I still feel butterflies in my stomach before each gig.
I’m developing a new website, hope it will be online during this year. You can contact me through my facebook (www.facebook.com/motyx) , my Instagram user is @motyxgram and my Twitter user is @motyx.
Motyx is a short version of my last name, which is usually very complicated for people.
ANY WORDS FOR THE BASS PLAYERS OUT THERE PLANNING TO GET A SIRE IN THE FUTURE?
I would tell them to break that barrier set up by the musical instrument industry that leads to think that an affordable instrument will never be good. It’s natural to assume that an expensive bass is great, but sometimes that’s not even true.
I think the philosophy behind Sire is one your most valuable goods, keep it that way!!!