Troy Sanders

Troy Sanders
Troy Sanders performing at Sonisphere
Background information
Born	September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, progressive metal, sludge metal, alternative country
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	bass, vocals, keyboards, guitar
Labels	Relapse, Reprise
Associated acts	Mastodon, Bloodsimple, Dozer, Yakuza
Website	mastodonrocks.com
Notable instruments
Fender Precision Bass Warwick Streamer

Troy Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American bassist/singer best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he shares vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.

Background

Sanders first played when he had picked up his older brother's bass and decided to try it out, even though the bass was strung for a lefty, and he was right-handed. A few months later, he had talked his dad into buying him a bass. Sanders' two brothers Kyle and Darren are both involved in music. Kyle is formerly the bassist of Bloodsimple, and is currently in MonstrO; while Darren is “a one man road crew” and bass tech for Mastodon.

Influence and style

Playing style

Sanders cites Cliff Burton from Metallica, Gene Simmons from Kiss, and Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy as some of the major influences on his bass playing. He plays both with his finger and pick, and usually steps out of the guitar parts in Mastodon, and composes his basslines on his own. He has shown a wide variety of playing styles and techniques, so he is known as a very flexible player. He has stated in interviews that his favorite albums are Men At Work’s Business As Usual, Neurosis’ Times Of Grace, and George Jones’ Anniversary - 10 Years Of Hits. Adding to that list, in a 2005 interview, he also mentioned Through Silver in Blood by Neurosis, Sailing the Seas of Cheese by Primus, Melvins' Stoner Witch, Metallica's Ride the Lightning, and White Pony by Deftones as some of his favorites.

Singing style

Troy with Mastodon at Sonisphere, Stockholm 2011

Sanders performs clean and harsh vocals in Mastodon, where he shares lead vocal duties with Brent Hinds. His harsher vocal style is similar to Dave Edwardson of Neurosis and Buzz Osborne of The Melvins, utilizing low growls but not low enough to be death grunts. His harsh vocalism was largely applied in Mastodon’s earlier Lifesblood and Remission. In Mastodon's more recent albums, Leviathan through The Hunter, Sanders utilizes a different range of clean vocals along with his harsher style.

Gear & Equipment

Sanders owns a wide variety of basses from different companies, from Godlyke, through Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Wal, to Warwick most recently. His most notable basses are:

• Fender Precision Bass - 4-string silverburst bass, Custom Shop
• Warwick Streamer Stage II 4-string bass, Custom Shop
• Fender Jazz Bass American Standard 4-string
• Fender Prophecy II bass
• Ibanez SRX700 4-string bass

Sanders also uses a lot of different amps, pedals & effects. He uses TC Electronic Blacksmith amp & cab, Orange AD200B cabinet & Orange SP410 cab, Ampeg SVT-VR stack, Ampeg SVT-4 PRO head, Mesa 8x10 cabinets, Mesa Engineering Titan V12 head, Mesa Boogie Big Block 750 head and 4x12 cab (synth pedals). As for pedals, he was seen using MXR Octave Deluxe, MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz, vintage Sovtek Big Muff Pi, Cobrahawk B12 Fuzz, Moog MF-104SD Moogerfooger Analog Delay, Moog Taurus Bass Pedals, Electro-Harmonix POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, Digitech Bass Whammy, Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb, Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer, Morley Wah Pedal, Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, Sanford Bluebeard Fuzz, Fern DI, and a Monster Power Pro 2500 power conditioner.

Guest appearances

Troy Sanders in 2011

• "Back to the Mountain" by Yakuza on the album Samsara. (vocals)
• "Until Man Exists No More" by Dozer on the album Through the Eyes of Heathens. (vocals)

External Links & References

• Troy joins Warwick
• Troy Sanders' Gear
• Mastodon Official