"After a solid day of blasting my ears looking for pedals at NAMM, the Amptweaker Bass TightDrive caught my attention as the tightest distortion. It has the sound of grind with the low end intact." - Juan Alderete | Juan Alderete is the newest Amptweaker endorser, and is the bass player for the Grammy award winning band The Mars Volta. He joined the band in 2003, and has also records with Volta's composer/guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López on his solo albums. Since joining the band, he's played in Madison Square Gardens and was featured on the cover of Bass Player magazine in March of 2005.
His early progressive rock and jazz interests combined with his studies at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood have helped him incorporate styles that make him a very unique sounding yet solid player, and this helps The Mars Volta create such interesting and experimental sounds. It was at the Musicians Institute where Juan and fellow classmate Paul Gilbert created the band Racer X.
Aside from The Mars Volta, Juan has been involved with his own musical projects. Big Sir is a group composed of Juan and singer Lisa Papineau. They have released two albums, and are currently recording a third. Vato Negro is a group with a revolving door of musicians, including Deantoni Parks, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and Jon Theodore.
The Mars Volta is currently on tour with Soundgarden on their big 2011 reunion tour.
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