Michael Manring
Michael Manring is one of the most innovative bass players of contemporary music. Fueled by a deep artistic passion, Michael challenges preconceptions about music through his exploration of new sounds, colors and expressions. Over the years, he has contributed to an impressive array of styles, from heavy metal to new age to electronic pop. Michael Manring can only be described as a Music Master.
Michael's initial plan was to become a music teacher, and so he enrolled at Berklee College of Music in 1978. Just a year later he left Berklee to become a full-time session musician. In that same year, he came across legendary guitar player Michael Hedges. Manring would record in nearly all of Hedges' albums. In the early eighties, Michael became the disciple of legendary bass player Jaco Pastorius, with whom he studied and toured.
Michael has played with an enormous variety of accomplished artists, ranging from Steve Morse from Deep Purple and folk guitar player John Gorka, to New Age musician Suzanne Ciani and synthpop referent Thomas Dolby. He has also formed and headlined numerous bands, such as Attention Deficit with Testament's Alex Skolnick and Primus' Tim Alexander, and Yo Miles, a band tribute to Miles Davis. Since 2005 Michael has been touring and recording with DeMania, a band he formed together with Alex de Grassi and Christopher Garcia.
Since the early nineties Michael plays in virtually all his recordings and performances with a unique bass guitar model: the Zon Hyperbass. This exceptional instrument allows switching over a hundred choices of tuning while playing.
Through decades of musical experimentation, Michael has developed and refined a radically different approach to both bass playing and musical expression. His unbridled joy for music, combined with exceptional technique, have allowed him to imprint his musicality in an eclectic array of world class contemporary music. After thirty years of career, he has become one of the most acclaimed bass players in the world.
Read what Michael has to say about technique acquisition, jamming and improvising, becoming a pro musician and much, much more. Read his exclusive interview.
Michael Manring's official website
