Ryan Martinie

Early life

Ryan was raised in a Christian non-denominational church where his grandfather was one of the choir leaders, so he was exposed to a great deal of hymns, orchestral music, and other forms of non secular music. His father also played guitar, piano, and "has a nice voice that he has good control over." When asked why he decided to play bass, he said, "Why I requested the purchase of a bass is really still a mystery to me. I can only articulate that I remember being drawn by the sense of connection it shared with all of the other instruments." He grew up in Illinois. He studied jazz bass and won several high school awards for classical vocals. Some of his early influences include Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and several big band jazz groups. He was in a Dream Theater styled progressive rock band called Broken Altar.

Mudvayne

In 1996, Mudvayne was formed. They initially had a different bass player. In 1997, still with their old bass player, Mudvayne released their first EP, Kill, I Oughta. However, in 1998, after seeing Broken Altar live, Mudvayne asked Ryan to join their band. Although he was reluctant to leave Broken Altar at first, he joined Mudvayne upon realizing that they were serious about their band. Ryan became a cult bass player, getting positive critical acclaim for his unique style of playing, that "adds Mudvayne a whole new dimension".

Kurai (2013)

Ryan was the guest bassist on a project created by guitarist and vocalist Scott Von Heldt named "Kurai". The drummer for the project was found in Abel Vallejo, the drum tech for Korn. The group released their debut EP, "Breaking The Broken" on the 17th of December, 2013.

Soften the Glare (2015-present)

In 2015, Ryan began playing with a jazz fusion trio Soften the Glare that is currently touring and recording for their first album which will be released in September 2017.

Other activities

For many years, although it was never official, it was rumored that Ryan has a side project. However, just recently, it was found out that he indeed has a side project that's "not yet defined", but he indeed intents to materialize that initial idea of his, saying "People are going to have to see my ugly mug again whether you want to or not. For me this is a great time for me to woodshed and to gather my ideas. To spend a lot of time reading and exposing myself to lots of different types of thought. Fiction and non-fiction..I’m definitely not sitting here idle. There is a lot going on it’s just whether these things end up being Mudvayne things or other things I’m not going to worry about what ends up being what or where it goes". He said that his playing style will differ from the one heard in Mudvayne, because, as he said, he is the servant of music, and he felt that the things he does in Mudvayne fits the band. It is rumored that Matt McDonough will be involved in his new project. On 2 August 2012, Korn announced that Ryan Martinie will join them on their European tour that kicked off in Poland, as the band's bassist, Fieldy and his wife, were expecting a child.

Personal life

Not much is known about Ryan's personal life, as he enjoys his privacy. He resides in Mebane, North Carolina. Ryan is known as a very spirited person, always in a good and talkative mood. He is also a passionate reader. Some of his favorite musical artists include The Beatles, John Patitucci, Chick Corea, King Crimson, Death, Meshuggah, and Mastodon.

Styles of playing

Ryan utilizes many techniques to make the instrumental edge of the band even more rich. His bass playing is a key part of Mudvayne's sound. This is particularly emphasized on the song "A Key to Nothing" from The End of All Things to Come, which he played with a fretless bass. He does not use any effect pedals, preferring a clean, natural sound from his bass. He stated, "I like the natural approach to playing, and I'm not exactly – I'm not a purist, I mean, go for it. If you like synth bass, octave pedals and stuff, then utilize it. I'm not against any of that stuff, but I do like to find those things with my hands."

Right hand

Ryan is known for pushing the envelope that most metal bassists limit themselves to. His right hand is one of the major reasons for this, as he pulls from many different techniques and genres. He is known for flicks (found throughout his music) and a flamenco style, notable on "Dull Boy" and the chorus of "Out To Pasture" in some way. On the chorus of "Out To Pasture", he does a "fast flamenco guitar-picking pattern that's as fast as my hand can possibly play. It's just this [extremely] fast pattern, and it's a sleeper, because it sounds like I'm playing single-notes almost, or chords, like I'm strumming chords, but really what's going on there is something completely different. It's the only thing you didn't mention, which makes me really proud, because it's supposed to be transparent, which is maybe one of the most important things that has come to me – in playing and in relating to the other instruments and in particular my band." He has a unique heavy fingering technique from which he gets the percussive tone and the sharper, more extreme attack from his bass. He also uses slapping and popping techniques on the most of the L.D. 50 album, most notably on the songs like "Dig". Ryan has developed his own tapping technique on the neck where he uses his index and middle fingers to tap an octave chord, usually high on the neck, while his left hand moves notes, doublestops or chords. This is very similar to a technique used by John Entwistle. On the album Mudvayne, he also plays complex bass parts in the intros of "Beautiful And Strange" and "I Can't Wait".

Left hand

Martinie is known as a precise player. Even when playing his Pedulla fretless he uses quick movements and jogs up and down the neck. Ryan tends to accentuate his work with thick low end, double stops, and chords that add warmth or awkward tension ("Pharmaecopia", "World So Cold" and "Not Falling"). He uses harmonics that add a bright sound to his variety of styles, such as the intro to "Death Blooms" and "Out To Pasture". On his unique tapping technique, he stated: "I’m not a pedal guy, but I like the sound that people get from octave pedals. So, to organically create that effect, I used my right-hand middle and index fingers to tap two strings at once: I come down on the strings fairly hard so they actually bounce off of the neck. That way I create some top-end click, but I retain the tonality. At the same time, I use my left hand to hold and/or move the octave. I can do it in walking form, single-note form, or whatever. The whole chorus of “Happy?” uses that technique."

Basses

Ryan is a Warwick endorser. He owns a wide variety of Warwick Thumb Neck-Through basses, which he exclusively plays. On several occasions he has been seen playing a Warwick Streamer Stage II and a Warwick Corvette Standard.

Ryan uses Hi-Beams Black Beauty DR strings (.045-.105/.135).

Amplification

Ryan primarily used Ampeg SVT Pro amplifiers until The New Game was released, at which time he switched to Warwick amplification. He currently uses the Warwick Xtreme 10.1 Amp Head and four Warwick WCA 411 Pro cabinets. He is also known for slaving Greg Tribbett's guitar cabinets during live shows. He uses Avalon DI's for live shows and in studio.

Discography

Mudvayne

Kurai

Soften The Glare