ROBBY VALENTINE, DIAL (NL)

Liselotte Hegt

"Now that I am playing on my own Mayones it feels like sticking my hand in a cookie jar every time." - says Lilo about purple Victorious 5 labelled Most Beatiful Mayones Instrument.
I started playing bass guitar when I was 16 years old. I was completely enchanted by this instrument after seeing a local band playing in their rehearsal room. Soon Steve Harris of Iron Maiden became one of my main influences. I refused to play with a pick. The way Steve Harris played the bass guitar with his fingers was the ultimate hard rock style for me. Also Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe was one of my bass player heroes. To me Sixx symbolises rock all the way. He was also the reason my first bass guitar was a 4-string BC-Rich Bitch. Along the way I switched from a 4 string to a 5 string (Stuart Spector Design - active). I felt limited with a 4-string and wanted to feel more low bass in my guts.

Over the years I played in several bands from glam-rock till progressive metal and alternative rock. I recorded several albums.

One of my personal milestones is recording the album `Synchronized’ with my new band DIAL , on which I’m not only play the bass but also features as a lead vocalist. Another highlight is my vocal appearance on Ayreon’s `01011001’.

March 2008 I joined the Robby Valentine band as a fulltime bass player. This Dutch multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Robby Valentine is well known for his hit “Over And Over Again’’ (1991) and released a lot of fantastic albums over the years. His musical style is bombastic and very much influenced by Queen . The bass lines are definitely a challenge for me. I felt it was time to have a new bass sound and even a new bass guitar. I learned about Mayones bass guitars through Kristoffer Gildenlöw, e-mailed with the Mayones team in Poland and paid a visit to the Dutch Bass Forum Day 2008, where I met the guys from Musicfacts (Benelux Mayones distributors).

I decided I wanted a Victorious-5 model. I like its round shapes and the intense, killer looks and without being too masculine and big. I was also happy with its light weight.

Since I am not too fond a wood look, I asked for a flamed maple top in my favourite transparent Purple colour, combined with black Shaller hardware. Since the visual aspects are important to the Robert Valentine Band I took blue LED dots on the front of the neck as an extra gimmick.

To make the bass extra personal, I have my own engraved inscription in the trussrod cover - LILO.

Now that I am playing on my own Mayones it feels like sticking my hand in a cookie jar every time. The neck and fret board play so very smooth and easy. I am also very happy with the Bartolini pickups with Aquilar OBP-3 pre-amp.

My sound is much more tight now and especially very clear on every position on the fret board. No more dead notes for me. The audience has definitely noticed my Mayones bass and the blue led’s are a big hit on stage! I am really proud to be a part of the Mayones family. These people take care of the instruments with passion for music and make each instrument very personal. Mayones is giving great service, good advice and they are nice people to communicate with. Thank you so much!