Brian Gibson (born July 25, 1975) is a musician, artist, and video game developer based out of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. Gibson is best known as the bassist for the band Lightning Bolt. In the summer of 2015 he co-founded the game development company Drool. At Drool, he created the art and music for the video game '' Thumper'' and co-designed the game alongside Marc Flury. Thumper was released with critical acclaim in October 2016. He was previously a lead artist working at

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

company

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...

since 2001, but quit in the summer of 2015.

Sound

Brian Gibson is particularly known for his unique and complex set-up, tuning, and use of his bass guitar. The majority of Gibson's playing draws on fairly simple loops and major/minor chord structures, yet also employs more advanced guitar techniques, such as

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

. Gibson uses a high amount of distortion, feedback and effects. In juxtaposition to Chippendale's frenetic drums, Gibson's playing often acts as a rhythm section of sorts. With the use of his many effect pedals, Gibson often creates multiple layers of his own bass riffs. Due to the high level of distortion used, "lead" playing style, and high register tuning of his instrument, Gibson is often mistaken for a guitarist.

Equipment

According to Gibson, his bass guitar is set to standard

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

tuning, in intervals of fifths (C G D A) with a banjo string for the high A (contrasted with the typical bass guitar tuning of E A D G). He used this four-string setup for several years, but has recently been using a five-string setup, tuned to C G D A E, with banjo strings for the A and E. The banjo string is also tuned down an octave. Gibson also uses several

effects pedals An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

, including a bass

whammy pedal The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It was the first widely used effects pedal that could do foot-controlled pitch shifting effects. The pedal emulates sounds that a guitarist normally makes using the vibrato ...

(

pitch shifter Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are called pitch shifters. Pitch and ti ...

), an

octaver Octave effect boxes are a type of special effects unit which mix the input signal with a synthesised signal whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original. The synthesised octave signal is derived from the original input signa ...

, two overdrive pedals, and more recently a

delay pedal Delay is an audio signal processing technique that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays it back after a period of time. When the delayed playback is mixed with the live audio, it creates an echo-like effect, whereby the or ...

. A complete list of equipment Gibson typically uses, in order, is: *5-String

Music Man StingRay Music Man StingRay is an electric bass by Music Man, introduced in 1976. History In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own ven ...

*DigiTech Bass Whammy pedal *

BOSS Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

OC-2 Octave pedal *BOSS ODB-3 Bass Overdrive pedal *BOSS SD-1 Overdrive pedal * Line 6 DL-4 Delay modeler *

Ampeg Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...

SVT4 Pro with 4x10 cabinethttp://laserbeast.com/photos/cape01.jpg *

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

Macro-Tech MA-3600VZ power amp *More cabinets ranging from 18" to 4x10 As of 2007, Gibson has added a Boss PW-10

Wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...

to his touring gear. In The Power of Salad

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, Brian says his rig is rated to 3000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

Selected discography

* '' Lightning Bolt'' (1999) * '' Ride the Skies'' (2001) * '' The Power of Salad'' (2002) * '' Wonderful Rainbow'' (2003) * '' Hypermagic Mountain'' (2005) * '' Hidden City of Taurmond'' (Load) (2006) * '' Earthly Delights'' (2009) * ''

Megasus Megasus is an American heavy metal band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, in 2006. General info and history Megasus is a heavy metal band, formed by members of Lightning Bolt and Loon, and ex-members of Amazing Royal Crowns a ...

'' (2009) * '' Menace of the Universe'' (2011) * '' Oblivion Hunter'' (2012) * '' Fantasy Empire'' (2015) * ''

Sonic Citadel ''Sonic Citadel'' is the seventh studio album by American noise rock band Lightning Bolt (band), Lightning Bolt. It was released in October 2019 under Thrill Jockey Records. Track listing References External links Sonic Citadel
at Thrill ...

'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Wizardzz homepage on Load RecordsLoad RecordsDROOL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Brian 1975 births Living people Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Rhode Island School of Design alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music Guitarists from Rhode Island 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians