"As vibraphone and marimba player, I realized early on in my professional career that my instrument(s) don't have a long tradition of fitting in the wide variety of styles that I perform in and compose. Through being a multi-instrumentalist and playing bass and guitar in a variety of rock, hip-hop, funk and fusion bands, I wanted to be able to adapt my vibraphone to fit these styles. Augmenting my acoustic Musser M55 Vibraphone with piezo pickups from K&K was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not only does it allow me to do gigs without the vibraphone's cumbersome resonators and amplify my sound through an amp or PA, but it gives me the option to run my vibes through effects pedals that alter my sound and expand my playing in ways that I never would have imagined.

Some of my favorite effects include using the volume pedal to alter the attack of the instrument and create dramatic swells that mimic a vocalist, horn player or guitarist. Delay and reverb allow lines to blur together and create open washes or rhythmic delay effects. Using overdrive and distortion makes the instrument sound almost akin to an overdriven rhodes or electric guitar and the pog octave allows me to double heavy bass figures, create shimmering high textures, or lush organ pads.  Expanding my instrument through the use of pedal and amplification allows me to fit the vibraphone into a multitude of new musical contexts and has allowed me to grow as a versatile and creative musician. There's still much more to experiment with and I'm excited to see where these innovations take me!"

Website: wwwchasejacksonmusic.com

E-mail: chasejacksonvibes@gmail.com