Marc T. Bolin
Marc T. Bolin
"I believe in creating a sound that is true to the tuba, while giving the presence of an electric bass. Today’s audience has come to expect a bass sound that is as much felt as it is heard. I’ve achieved this “sound ideal” using a minimal pedal rig and powered speaker cabinets; a combination that enhances the natural sound of the tuba (or sousaphone), rather than change it."
Marc T. Bolin has performed or recorded with such artists as Christina Aguilera, Aloe Blacc, Kenny Burrell, Mötley Crüe, Deltron 3030, Neil Diamond, Sheila E, B.B. King, Black Eyed Peas, and Stevie Wonder and can be seen playing regularly with two Los Angeles Brass Bands Critical Brass and the Mudbug Brass Band. He participated in a state tour of China, performed with the Ambassadors of New Orleans' Jazz at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, has performed in two of Philip Glass' operas, and has even played on the Mississippi riverboats. In 2007 Marc was commissioned to realize Duke Ellington's incomplete opera Queenie Pie for the Oakland Opera Theater then in 2008 was invited to present his research and reflections in his paper Realizing the Duke at the Echoes of Ellington Conference at UT Austin. Marc received both his B.A. (Double Major/Trombone and Tuba performance) and his M.M. in Music Performance (Tuba) from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a doctoral student in UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, his research interests are: American roots and African-American folk music, particularly—particularly jug band music; New Orleans brass band music; marching-performing-street bands in the United States; West Coast Hip-Hop Orchestras; LA Studio Culture; alternative opera; and jazz poetry.
Marc is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Operation Desert Storm for the liberation of Kuwait.
Marc is a Denis Wick Performing Artist.
MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe Effects Pedal
Ernie Ball VP Jr Volume Pedal
TC-Helicon Ditto Mic Looper
DigiTech BP200 Bass Multi-Effects Unit (discontinued)
"I run the above units through two powered speaker cabinets: Alto Truesonic TS215 15" 2-Way Powered Speaker and an Alto TS212S 1250W 12" Powered Subwoofer. I tried several bass amps, but ultimately found them unsatisfactory as they didn’t provide the sound that I was looking for. I switched to PA speakers after a recording session proved unsatisfactory to me, well the sound in the studio was great, as the engineer had a clear understanding of my sound ideal, but my sound was totally changed (read “screwed up”) in post-production/mastering (I’m currently writing an article about the importance of being in control of your sound.) "