Nathan East Gear Deep Dive | The Studio Legend & Yamaha

To put it simply, Nathan East is a bass player that you’ve been listening to all your life without even realising it. One of the most recorded bass players in the world, East’s career has spanned decades and stretches across musical styles. Possessing skills that smash through genre boundaries and stereotypes, East has worked with artists across the musical spectrum throughout his career, including Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton and George Harrison, as well as Beyoncé, Daft Punk and even Andrea Bocelli.

Nathan East is one of the most recorded bassists of all time and you’ve probably been listening to his grooves your entire life without evening realising it. His career has spanned over four decades, a wide array of musical styles, and has become a go-to session musician, a respected solo artist, and a longtime member of Eric Clapton’s band and the ‘Fourplay’ jazz-pop group. East has worked with an amazing roster of artists throughout his career, including Quincy Jones, George Harrison, as well as Beyoncé, Daft Punk, Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, and even co-wrote the Phil Collins banger Easy Lover.

His tone is instantly recognisable: smooth, articulate, full, yet transparent. At the heart of it all has been his Yamaha five-string basses. In this deep dive, we’ll trace Nathan East’s career, zero in on his Yamaha setups, examine his amplifiers and effects, and highlight a few tracks that really showcase his voice on the instrument.

Nathan East’s Career

East didn’t discover the bass guitar until his teenage years; initially learning to play the cello, which he played in his school orchestra. East earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California; however, his music career started much earlier than that when, at age 16, he found himself touring with Barry White as part of a band called Power. This launched East into the big time, and for the last 40 years, East’s list of collaborations reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the all-time music greats.

As well as being an established member of Eric Clapton’s studio and touring bands since the 1980s, East was also one of the founding members of the contemporary jazz band, Fourplay which he launched in 1991 with Bob James, Lee Ritenour, and Harvey Mason. East’s extraordinary talent continues to transcend generations, which led to him recording the bass line for Daft Punk’s massive hit ‘Get Lucky’ in 2013, which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

More recently, East finally released his own self-titled solo album, which saw him collaborate with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and Ray Parker Jr. and included songs co-written with his brother, Marcel East.

East has had a strong relationship with Yamaha Entertainment Group for over 30 years and has developed various bass guitars with them in that time. A custom 5-string bass guitar signature model (the BBNE) came first, followed by the second signature bass (the BBNE2) in 2001. Inspired by East’s skill, Yamaha also introduced the NE1 Parametric EQ Pedal (also known as the ‘Magic Box’) in the early 21^st century, which enabled bass players to use the ‘Nathan East EQ Curve’ on any bass guitar, clearly demonstrating the impact that East has had on the music industry across the globe.

Want to stand out in the crowd? Check out this exceptional eye-catching 6-string number.

YAMAHA TRB 6P

Serial Number	IJ20043
Colour	Trans Red
Body Finish	Gloss
Body Wood	Maple
Neck Finish	Gloss
Neck Wood	Maple/Mahogany
Fretboard	Ebony
Frets	24
Scale Length	34’
Weight	10lbs5oz/4.7kgs
Electronics	Active
Pickups	Bartolini

Facts and links about Yamaha Bass Guitars and Nathan East

Yamaha first started producing electric bass guitars in 1966, with the first guitar being the SB-2, (originally named the B201).
See Nathan East on the Yamaha BBNE2 and Lee Ritenour perform ‘Morning Glory’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaBLl1OhZNk
Nathan East also plays a Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass, which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U-SBwI3Nkc
Watch East playing Steve Wonder’s ‘Sir Duke’ at an event when Stevie himself drops by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy3bz3cF6Z4
East continues to tour the world, with a series of dates with Eric Clapton taking place this year (2022).

Amplification & Signal Chain

While he’s been a stalwart player of Yamaha basses, Nathan East has been a little more varied in his signal chain. East has been seen playing both Laney amps and cabs, as well as a range of TC Electronic amps and Eden amps across his shows, and has made use of a variety of effects over the years and genres, including delays, octaves, and choruses when required.

The Basslines

It’s pretty tricky to find just a few picks from his incredible career: East has tracked some of the most legendary basslines out there after all. To hear Nathan East’s Yamaha-based gear in action, here are a few standout recordings and moments nonetheless.

Get Lucky (2013)

Daft Punk’s final album Random Access Memories took the world by storm when the single Get Lucky landed. We know, it’s pretty much overplayed at this point, but the bassline – that thing is worth a few more listens.

Despite the entire song sitting on a i-III-v-IV progression (depending on who you ask!) throughout in the key of B minor, East injects so much movement and energy into the piece with his use of punchy timing and octave accents. The added runs help to move sections forward and keep the track interesting throughout its runtime. Such a fun one to play and well worth taking a look at. We’ve tabbed the chorus out below.

Footloose (1984)

The bassline that puts fear into the hearts of gigging bassists across the world, Footloose is East at his most creative. It’s just an endlessly impressive performance throughout, but the iconic chorus etude steals the show.

We’ve put the whole chorus bassline below, and recommend warming up before you tackle it. Nathan makes it look effortless, of course, but it definitely requires a bit of time to get under your fingers, so keep at it.