Mick Hunter:
I've been in The Force from day one and as the founder member feel that this lineup is finally perfect musically and socially.
I love the fact that there are four songwriters in the band and I relish the diversity this creates. My own songwriting tends to be quite dark lyrically, but hopefully quite "catchy" musically. Like most other rock singers/writers I write about what I see around me. I hope it's never too pretentious and I promise it's always honest.
I consider myself a bass player first and a singer/frontman second. As a bass player my ambition is to be the most inventive, tightest player with the best tone in the Universe ! That should keep me busy for a few hundred years ...
Over the years I've played in many bands and I have had the honour of performing with some great musicians, at some fantastic venues and on some staggering bills. The most difficult thing I do in the band is singing a lead vocal whilst trying to hold the bottom end down on the bass (ooo er missus). The sense of achievement when you nail this with a new song is still amazing. On my singing, I hope that what I lack technically, I make up with passion, honesty and a lot of help from Phil and Dave.
My Gear
I'm currently using a Warwick Corvette Double Buck backed up with a Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass. I also have an old Japanese Fender Jazz that I've had for years and can't bear to part with. Aaaahh! the good old Jazz Bass, one of the earliest design for the bass guitar, still looks and sounds brilliant and in my opinion. I have Hipshot "D" Tuners fitted to both of the Fenders because we use different tunings, sometimes mid song, and they make life a lot easier.Every musician I've met chases "The Sound" - you know the one that changes with every pair of ears. I feel that I am so close to achieving my "Perfect Sound" with the set-up I am using. I use a Hartke 3500 amplifier into a Hartke 4.5 XL cabinet (that's four 10" speakers and a 5" horn) and a Hartke 1 x 15" Transporter cabinet on the bottom.
I use a Boss ME8B for working stuff out in the house and for live work I use a Carl Martin compressor (great little box), a Boss SYB-3 synthesiser a Boss CEB-3 chorus. And a Sansamp Bass Driver D.I.
I keep my guitars in tune with a Boss TU2 floor tuner.
For my vocals I use a Shure Beta 58A microphone and I monitor my vocals using a Behringer Ultra-Voice Pro VX 2000 voice processor into a dB Technologies IEM 2000T in ear monitoring system.
What I have described above is basically how I monitor my own sound. Phil Thorell our sound mixing maestro takes this sound, blends it with some dark and mysterious magic and creates the sound you hear out front. The guy has an awesome ear (which is a good thing when you get a look at the rest of him).
Epilogue
On a personal note ; music is not a competition, and anyone who partakes, genuinely, has something to say if you listen hard enough. Write, sing, play, listen, but most of all, enjoy.