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Phil Soussan, Bass player and writer/producer, has been an endorsee of Dean Markley strings since 1983 in his first major recording band, Wildlife. He first came to the forefront in Ozzy Osbourne’s band playing alongside Jake E. Lee and then Zakk Wylde. He wrote Ozzy’s most successful single to date, “Shot in the Dark.”
Named by Mike Varney of Shrapnel records as the “…most underrated bass player in the rock/blues world” he went on to play with a slew of talented artists, including Jimmy Page, Billy Idol, Beggars and Thieves, Johnny Hallyday, Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, and John Waite. He also wrote songs for Vince Neil, Steve Lukather, James Blundell, and Toto, and Phil continues to produce recordings for these and other artists. He is currently producing Hydra and is on the road with Richie Kotzen and Pat Torpey.
Phil favors different strings for different uses and basses. For his five-string Bongo and Stingray basses by Music Man, he always uses the SR2000 in ML gauge. He picks (Half & Half) FretMaster ML for his hard-rock-driving bass sound usually associated with his famed Spector NS-2A basses. For his regular four-string Stingray Music Man basses, he uses the Blue Steels in ML gauge. Phil became one of the first endorsees of Blue Steel and he appeared in three print ads for Dean Markley. [See first ad on page, ad with Eskimo lady, and last ad.]
Of Dean Markley strings, Phil feels that while initially they may require a little more effort and seem a little harder to play due to the higher tension compared to other brands, the final result is a sound far richer in tonal harmonics and wide open in options for unique string expression. “I have been offered many incentives to play other strings and it has never been a consideration, I would never compromise my sound palette!”
As for the Dean Markley company, Phil feels that it is more like a family and not just a company. “There is a camaraderie that exists not just with the company but between all of the artists too. When all of us have the opportunities to get together, for example at trade shows, it is with the warmest love. All of us have been bonded together through all the stages of our own music and through the ups and downs that we have all shared. Dean, Bari, David, and all of the hard working folks at Dean Markley are a family that I certainly feel honored to be a part of.”
Please visit Phil’s website website at:
www.PhilSoussan.com.
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