Michael Manring

Musician

Forbassists, prog/jazz listeners, windham hill fans, experimental music listeners
2 Reviews 0 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

American bassist noted for solo albums on Windham Hill and for extended techniques on electric bass, including altered tunings and advanced harmonics.

Associated with Windham Hill; praised for tapping, harmonics and on-the-fly tuning changes; collaborated with Alex Skolnick and Tim Alexander and was involved with the group Attention Deficit; reviews reference his study of Jaco Pastorius and his reputation as an innovator of electric bass technique.

Two DeBaser reviews (Thonk, Soliloquy) praise Michael Manring's virtuosity and experimentation on electric bass. Reviewers note his Windham Hill background, fusion of genres (jazz, new age, rock/metal), and advanced techniques such as tapping and on-the-fly tunings. Both reviews give generally favorable ratings while offering measured criticism.

Notable Quotes

❝ Service announcement for those who know him: Michael Manring has finally decided to compose an album as God intended, because despite Manring being one of the best bassists currently in circulation (from a technical/performance point of view), due to his disproportionately immense ego, in my opinion, he had never managed to release a truly exalted quality album, whether due to sounds that were at one moment too new age or at another too close to metal, the fact remains that he had never impressed me much.

❝ You’ll be left speechless: "Monkey Businessman", a true showcase of exquisite bass playing, "My Three Moons", three basses played together with a "circular" technique creating a refined polyphonic weave (for the curious, there’s a nice explanatory video on YouTube).