Ernie Ball Music Man: Reel Big Fish at Warped Tour 2018

This week at The 2018 Vans Warped Tour  we caught up with Ernie Ball and Ernie Ball Music Man artist family members, Reel Big Fish. Bassist Derek Gibbs plays with a Music Man Bongo HH and 2018 Stingray Special. Find out what Derek had to say in our exclusive Q&A about his current gear. Stay plugged into the Music Man blog and our Instagram account for exclusive behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from your favorite Ernie Ball Music Man artists throughout the entire tour.

Q&A: Derek Gibbs from Reel Big Fish

EB: Can you take us through a couple of different basses you are using on this tour?

Derek Gibbs: “So I’m out here on the Warped Tour this Summer playing the Stingray 5 Special 2018. Some of the coolest stuff about this bass, number one, 18 volts of power. That makes it really loud. There’s a lot of headroom and I love it. The other thing is the roasted neck. Not only is it beautiful, but out here in the heat and humidity it holds up just great! The 2018 StingRay Special has something new; the contour of the upper body. Some of you may remember the old bass, not quite the same. For me, I used to wear a wristband because, in a 90-minute set, it could really dig into your wrist. I forgot to put the wristband on out here, and I haven’t even noticed it. Very big improvement.”

EB: How does the new design of the StingRay Special help you out while playing with Reel Big Fish?

Derek Gibbs: “In Reel Big Fish, I’m mostly walking around in the lower frets. But there are those few times where I need to come up high, sometimes really quick. As you can see, this new design at the base of the neck really facilitates that. I can get there quick without whacking my hand on the body. It’s really comfortable, you can tell it’s a palm shape.”

EB: Anything you would like to say to your fans watching?

Derek Gibbs: “I’m Derek Gibbs from Reel Big Fish. I play Music Man. Come to check us out all Summer on the Vans Warped Tour!”

A fun fact, Derek’s 5 string Bongo HH (pictured above) was custom made to match his beloved blue Ford Bronco and he chose his new StingRay Special 5-string model in the Dropped Copper finish (pictured below) to match another one of his vehicles.