High-end carpenter by day and extreme energy, face-melting bassist by night, Bobby Fernandez started his bass journey 41 years ago and has been going strong ever since! As a 14-year-old kid, like many, Bobby looked no further for inspiration than KISS. With their larger-than-life persona, Bobby and his friends were emulating KISS and as luck would have it, they were asked to play and party and the rest is history as his bass journey had begun. When he was 14 years old, his parents rented his first bass guitar. It was a P-bass except the pick-up was not long enough so you couldn’t hear the G string but he managed to fall in love with the instrument regardless of its shortcomings.
Bobby states, “My parents have always been very supportive of my music. When it came time to purchase a bass, we were near a city called OceanSide and they had a store called Ocean Side Music Supply. That is when I got my first professional bass, a Gibson Ripper. I was sixteen years old. I got it because I saw a picture of Gene Simmons playing it. Also, Louis Johnson had played a Ripper and they didn’t call him the “Human Rhythm Machine” for nothing! I took three years of lessons and learned the basics. In terms of playing, I emulated the people I liked. I was also influenced by Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, even Neil Sedaka and Elvis!”
During his high school years, Bobby played a lot of shows but gave up bass for a small time period and found himself unhappy or not fulfilled. He started playing again, and in doing so, found happiness again. From there things started to grow. His life changed from doing “crazy and stupid things” to getting serious about his music and career.
Bobby now anchors the low end in a San Diego-based band called “Symbolic”. Best described as a heavy-hitting dynamic force hailing from power/prog metal midst of the San Diego, California metal music scene. Symbolic combines their melodic energy with the excitement of old school metal mixed with the power and skill of modern metal. Since the inception of the band Symbolic has built a strong fan base both locally and Internationally.
Last year they signed with EMP Label Group. Bobby says, “David Ellefson is a smart guy and fun to talk too. Being associated with the name is a very good thing for Symbolic.”
Bobby Fernandez on Bergantino gear:
“I had a chance to play a couple of Bergantino cabinets. I tried them out at Bass San Diego. My friend, Rob Jones and Rick Gauthier stressed that I should really give them a try. Then, I connected with the Bergantino team at NAMM 2019. The first time I used the cabinets with my band, they said it was the clearest sounding bass tone they ever heard me play and it sounded amazing! Being lightweight was also huge bonus! In my band context, I need to find my own frequencies between the two guitar players and the drums. It’s a huge win for me because Bergantino gear makes it so effortless. They are pure aural perfection that touches ALL your senses!”
Also, of note, Bobby is an endorsed Dingwall artist and can be seen at the Dingwall NAMM booth every year. Thank you, Bobby, for being an ambassador for Bergantino Audio Systems. We look forward to many more years of your music!
We are excited to add Van Gordon Martin, an amazing Boston-based electric guitarist to our roster of Bergantino endorsing players. Van Gordon Martin has been a veteran of the east coast music scene for over a decade. He just finished a run run of shows with Toots and the Maytals. Also, Van is now heading out with Mighty Mystic’s Summer Tour and he will be using the Bergantino AD212 Guitar speaker.
Van has many hit song releases including his new single “Life Is One” from May 2019 and his 2018 album, “Let it Grow” was inspired by Van’s endless devotion and love for Roots Reggae and Dub Music.
While Van started his music career at age 7 in Chicago, he is now a part of Boston-based Reggae collective, Dub Apocalypse, a Moroccan/Jazz/ Electronic group Club D’elf, Hip Hop Legend Big Daddy Kane’s live band, Paul Wolstencroft of Slightly Stoopid’s Organically Good Trio, The Naya Rockers and many others. Van Gordon Martin is a guitarist, (that’s right, he is not a bass player) songwriter and multi- instrumentalist producer. He always pushes acoustic boundaries…just watch him on stage!
“My goal is to share my story and love for guitar with the world. It has been always been the thing that makes me feel connected to the spirit realm. Rasta, Reggae, Soul, Jazz, Blues and Roots Music…it speaks the truth. Every artist is part of the building blocks of our social and creative consciousness. I feel honored and blessed to share my ideas with anyone that will hear me. Every note we play with honest intention, we tear down a part of the injustices in the world. Love and music are indeed one. Music: It is our highest meditation” – Van Gordon Martin
We’re looking forward to videos and photos of Van’s upcoming tour! Best of luck on the tour, Van!!
https://bergantino.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bergantino-logo-green-white-RGB-300x80.png00Bergantino Audiohttps://bergantino.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bergantino-logo-green-white-RGB-300x80.pngBergantino Audio2019-06-27 14:24:582019-06-27 15:42:02Bergantino's Van Gordon Martin
Bergantino Audio Systems is honored and excited to welcome UK bassist, Dave Swift, to Bergantino’s endorsing artist roster.
Starting with trombone as his first instrument at the age of 14, then picking up the bass a year later, Dave Swift has had an amazing musical journey and career. Consequently, he now has established himself as one of the UK’s finest high-profile bass players.
Throughout that nearly 40-year career, Dave has amassed a truly impressive performance portfolio working with some of the finest musicians and artists in the world. These include playing and recording with George Benson, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Adele, Michael Bublé, Smokey Robinson, Bonnie Raitt, Amy Winehouse and Ed Sheeran, to name but a few … oh and not to forget that Dave has also played with three of The Beatles and two of The Rolling Stones! Dave has also been the featured bassist on seven double platinum selling albums.
Between his professional work with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, recording sessions, TV and radio performances, tour dates and his must-read columns for Bass Guitar and Bass Player magazines, Dave certainly is one of the busiest bassists in the UK music scene today.
Regarding his new relationship with Bergantino, Dave Swift said: “I’m very discerning when it comes to bass amplification, particularly at this stage in my career. In recent times I’ve been craving far greater control over my sound, wanting to sculpt the tone I hear in my head in a specific way, with surgical-like precision, so I have been searching for an update to my gear that would fit me the best. For me, playing double bass, electric upright bass and bass guitar on tv, radio and on tour requires amplification that is reliable, versatile, intuitive and inspiring. It also has to be physically light, but still full-bodied & muscular sounding, yet also be an interchangeable and modular rig. Not to mention when it comes to the quality of the amplified sound itself, I need to be seriously impressed.
From the moment I auditioned the Bergantino gear, the accuracy, articulation and detail from their amps and cabs was nothing short of breath-taking. Jim Bergantino is also a genius! He’s clearly a mind reader too, because within my Bergantino B|AMP is every desired feature I would’ve chosen if I was designing the amp myself, plus when connected with my HDN-112 & HDN-210 cabinets, the immediacy, clarity, richness and definition of sound is absolutely exceptional. Congratulations Jim, you did it!”
Founder Jim Bergantino commented: “It’s been such a pleasure getting to know Dave on both personal and professional levels. We both share the same love of great Italian food and the ability to carry on a conversation! It’s always great talking ‘shop’, learning about his amplification challenges and experiences, both live and in the studio over the course of his career. We spent one of those long conversations going over the feature set of the B|AMP, explaining how it could address these challenges and help him achieve his desired tonal goals. As an engineer, I know working with Dave so closely will certainly help to push the envelope of our bass amplification designs well into the future.
Welcome to the Bergantino family Dave, we’re all looking forward to working and growing with you in the years to come!”
For more information: daveswiftbass.com
https://bergantino.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bergantino-logo-green-white-RGB-300x80.png00Bergantino Audiohttps://bergantino.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bergantino-logo-green-white-RGB-300x80.pngBergantino Audio2019-03-08 10:49:302019-05-02 10:53:22Bergantino welcomes acclaimed UK bassist Dave Swift to our family of artists
As a session player and sideman from Sao Paulo, Claudio is best known as the bassist for the “Brazilian Idol” TV show, X-Factor Brazil and for touring with Disney Brazil’s High School Musical – A Seleção. His studio work can be found in the records of top brazilian artists including Claudia Leitte, Daniel, and many others.
“I have a sensitive ear and am pretty particular on the way I like my tone. My bias is for transparency and a natural organic sound. This is the main reason why I’ve gone to Bergantino head and cabs. When I plug into this rig I hear my bass the way it sounds pretty much the way it sounds when I use a very direct recording chain. Although every situation you plug into colours your bass to some degree, after years of hearing your instruments in a direct signal chain WHILE in recording environments I got to know what they basically sound like as instruments, and when I plug into Bergantino that’s what I hear. Sold! 🙂 If I’m going to spend all this time and energy and money into getting the BASS specs perfect for what I wanted in any instrument, that’s what I want to hear come out of an amp. I believe in getting the flavour of my tone from the bass specs and my hands, and the amp should just reproduce that as accurately as possible”.
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Gear: The Reference 2 10” cab, Reference 1 12” cab, and a Forte head
Bergantino’s Bobby Fernandez
/in Notable Narratives /by Bergantino AudioHigh-end carpenter by day and extreme energy, face-melting bassist by night, Bobby Fernandez started his bass journey 41 years ago and has been going strong ever since! As a 14-year-old kid, like many, Bobby looked no further for inspiration than KISS. With their larger-than-life persona, Bobby and his friends were emulating KISS and as luck would have it, they were asked to play and party and the rest is history as his bass journey had begun. When he was 14 years old, his parents rented his first bass guitar. It was a P-bass except the pick-up was not long enough so you couldn’t hear the G string but he managed to fall in love with the instrument regardless of its shortcomings.
Bobby states, “My parents have always been very supportive of my music. When it came time to purchase a bass, we were near a city called OceanSide and they had a store called Ocean Side Music Supply. That is when I got my first professional bass, a Gibson Ripper. I was sixteen years old. I got it because I saw a picture of Gene Simmons playing it. Also, Louis Johnson had played a Ripper and they didn’t call him the “Human Rhythm Machine” for nothing! I took three years of lessons and learned the basics. In terms of playing, I emulated the people I liked. I was also influenced by Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, even Neil Sedaka and Elvis!”
During his high school years, Bobby played a lot of shows but gave up bass for a small time period and found himself unhappy or not fulfilled. He started playing again, and in doing so, found happiness again. From there things started to grow. His life changed from doing “crazy and stupid things” to getting serious about his music and career.
Bobby now anchors the low end in a San Diego-based band called “Symbolic”. Best described as a heavy-hitting dynamic force hailing from power/prog metal midst of the San Diego, California metal music scene. Symbolic combines their melodic energy with the excitement of old school metal mixed with the power and skill of modern metal. Since the inception of the band Symbolic has built a strong fan base both locally and Internationally.
Last year they signed with EMP Label Group. Bobby says, “David Ellefson is a smart guy and fun to talk too. Being associated with the name is a very good thing for Symbolic.”
Bobby Fernandez on Bergantino gear:
“I had a chance to play a couple of Bergantino cabinets. I tried them out at Bass San Diego. My friend, Rob Jones and Rick Gauthier stressed that I should really give them a try. Then, I connected with the Bergantino team at NAMM 2019. The first time I used the cabinets with my band, they said it was the clearest sounding bass tone they ever heard me play and it sounded amazing! Being lightweight was also huge bonus! In my band context, I need to find my own frequencies between the two guitar players and the drums. It’s a huge win for me because Bergantino gear makes it so effortless. They are pure aural perfection that touches ALL your senses!”
Also, of note, Bobby is an endorsed Dingwall artist and can be seen at the Dingwall NAMM booth every year. Thank you, Bobby, for being an ambassador for Bergantino Audio Systems. We look forward to many more years of your music!
https://www.facebook.com/officialsymbolic/
https://www.instagram.com/symbolic5/
https://twitter.com/Symbolic5ive
https://www.symbolicofficial.com/
Bergantino’s Van Gordon Martin
/in Notable Narratives /by Bergantino AudioWe are excited to add Van Gordon Martin, an amazing Boston-based electric guitarist to our roster of Bergantino endorsing players. Van Gordon Martin has been a veteran of the east coast music scene for over a decade. He just finished a run run of shows with Toots and the Maytals. Also, Van is now heading out with Mighty Mystic’s Summer Tour and he will be using the Bergantino AD212 Guitar speaker.
Van has many hit song releases including his new single “Life Is One” from May 2019 and his 2018 album, “Let it Grow” was inspired by Van’s endless devotion and love for Roots Reggae and Dub Music.
While Van started his music career at age 7 in Chicago, he is now a part of Boston-based Reggae collective, Dub Apocalypse, a Moroccan/Jazz/ Electronic group Club D’elf, Hip Hop Legend Big Daddy Kane’s live band, Paul Wolstencroft of Slightly Stoopid’s Organically Good Trio, The Naya Rockers and many others. Van Gordon Martin is a guitarist, (that’s right, he is not a bass player) songwriter and multi- instrumentalist producer. He always pushes acoustic boundaries…just watch him on stage!
“My goal is to share my story and love for guitar with the world. It has been always been the thing that makes me feel connected to the spirit realm. Rasta, Reggae, Soul, Jazz, Blues and Roots Music…it speaks the truth. Every artist is part of the building blocks of our social and creative consciousness. I feel honored and blessed to share my ideas with anyone that will hear me. Every note we play with honest intention, we tear down a part of the injustices in the world. Love and music are indeed one. Music: It is our highest meditation” – Van Gordon Martin
We’re looking forward to videos and photos of Van’s upcoming tour! Best of luck on the tour, Van!!
Follow Van here:
https://www.facebook.com/VanGordonMartin/
http://www.mightymystic.com/admin/ Summer Tour info
@vgmb13
Bergantino welcomes acclaimed UK bassist Dave Swift to our family of artists
/in Artists /by Bergantino AudioBergantino Audio Systems is honored and excited to welcome UK bassist, Dave Swift, to Bergantino’s endorsing artist roster.
Starting with trombone as his first instrument at the age of 14, then picking up the bass a year later, Dave Swift has had an amazing musical journey and career. Consequently, he now has established himself as one of the UK’s finest high-profile bass players.
Throughout that nearly 40-year career, Dave has amassed a truly impressive performance portfolio working with some of the finest musicians and artists in the world. These include playing and recording with George Benson, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Adele, Michael Bublé, Smokey Robinson, Bonnie Raitt, Amy Winehouse and Ed Sheeran, to name but a few … oh and not to forget that Dave has also played with three of The Beatles and two of The Rolling Stones! Dave has also been the featured bassist on seven double platinum selling albums.
Between his professional work with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, recording sessions, TV and radio performances, tour dates and his must-read columns for Bass Guitar and Bass Player magazines, Dave certainly is one of the busiest bassists in the UK music scene today.
Regarding his new relationship with Bergantino, Dave Swift said:
“I’m very discerning when it comes to bass amplification, particularly at this stage in my career. In recent times I’ve been craving far greater control over my sound, wanting to sculpt the tone I hear in my head in a specific way, with surgical-like precision, so I have been searching for an update to my gear that would fit me the best. For me, playing double bass, electric upright bass and bass guitar on tv, radio and on tour requires amplification that is reliable, versatile, intuitive and inspiring. It also has to be physically light, but still full-bodied & muscular sounding, yet also be an interchangeable and modular rig. Not to mention when it comes to the quality of the amplified sound itself, I need to be seriously impressed.
From the moment I auditioned the Bergantino gear, the accuracy, articulation and detail from their amps and cabs was nothing short of breath-taking. Jim Bergantino is also a genius! He’s clearly a mind reader too, because within my Bergantino B|AMP is every desired feature I would’ve chosen if I was designing the amp myself, plus when connected with my HDN-112 & HDN-210 cabinets, the immediacy, clarity, richness and definition of sound is absolutely exceptional. Congratulations Jim, you did it!”
Founder Jim Bergantino commented:
“It’s been such a pleasure getting to know Dave on both personal and professional levels. We both share the same love of great Italian food and the ability to carry on a conversation! It’s always great talking ‘shop’, learning about his amplification challenges and experiences, both live and in the studio over the course of his career. We spent one of those long conversations going over the feature set of the B|AMP, explaining how it could address these challenges and help him achieve his desired tonal goals. As an engineer, I know working with Dave so closely will certainly help to push the envelope of our bass amplification designs well into the future.
Welcome to the Bergantino family Dave, we’re all looking forward to working and growing with you in the years to come!”
For more information:
daveswiftbass.com
Bergantino Artist Claudio Rocha
/in Artists /by Bergantino AudioAs a session player and sideman from Sao Paulo, Claudio is best known as the bassist for the “Brazilian Idol” TV show, X-Factor Brazil and for touring with Disney Brazil’s High School Musical – A Seleção. His studio work can be found in the records of top brazilian artists including Claudia Leitte, Daniel, and many others.
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Gear: The Bergantino B|AMP
Social Links:
Instagram: @claudioracha1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claudio.rocha.7547
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cruco68/featured
Bass Gear Magazine Bergantino Audio “Best of the Show Award” Winter Namm 2019
/in Press /by Bergantino AudioVery happy to have won the “Best of Show Award” for Namm 2019!
https://www.bassgearmag.com/2019-winter-namm-best-of-show-awards/
Bergantino Artist Mitch Starkman
/in Artists /by Bergantino Audio“I have a sensitive ear and am pretty particular on the way I like my tone. My bias is for transparency and a natural organic sound. This is the main reason why I’ve gone to Bergantino head and cabs. When I plug into this rig I hear my bass the way it sounds pretty much the way it sounds when I use a very direct recording chain. Although every situation you plug into colours your bass to some degree, after years of hearing your instruments in a direct signal chain WHILE in recording environments I got to know what they basically sound like as instruments, and when I plug into Bergantino that’s what I hear. Sold! 🙂 If I’m going to spend all this time and energy and money into getting the BASS specs perfect for what I wanted in any instrument, that’s what I want to hear come out of an amp. I believe in getting the flavour of my tone from the bass specs and my hands, and the amp should just reproduce that as accurately as possible”.
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Gear: The Reference 2 10” cab, Reference 1 12” cab, and a Forte head
Social Links:
https://www.facebook.com/mitch.starkman
https://www.instagram.com/mitchstarkman/