Benton Kubicki Talks His LEH Offset
We recently caught up with LEH artist Benton Kubicki just before he hits the road with Jordan Davis for some epic tours to discuss his playing and his affinity for his Offset bass.
Photos by Caleb Cockrell
After bassist Benton Kubicki made the move to Nashville in 2011, he emersed himself into the scene by working with as many artists as possible, quickly becoming known for his tasteful playing, strong work ethic, and being extremely easy to work with. After landing numerous big gigs, he received a call in 2017 about a new artist who had just released his first single who was looking for a bassist. Benton agreed to join his outfit, and in the seven years since, Jordan Davis has emerged as one of the most popular new artists in country. Now Benton can be found on the biggest stages, touring all over with JD, and making television appearances on the Country Music Awards, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the CMT Awards.
If you catch him on any of these performances, you will notice that his bass of choice is an LEH Offset 5. After playing a slew of other 5-strings, Benton discovered LEH and fell in love with the modern look and unique body shape. Once he got his hands on his build, it was over. The rich tone and easy playability of the Offset made this the perfect instrument for all of his needs, and now you’d be hard-pressed to see him playing without it. We caught up with Benton before he heads out for a long stretch of headline touring and supporting Luke Combs to discuss his life in bass, the key to his sound, and why his LEH is the best bass he’s ever played.
How and when did you first start playing with Jordan Davis?
Back in 2017 I had just left a gig with another well-known country artist and was contemplating getting off the road entirely when a friend of mine called me up and asked if I’d be interested in doing some shows with a “baby artist” who’d just released his first single. The song was doing well but hadn’t cracked the top 40 yet. I said yes, even though it meant getting back into a van (Jordan didn’t have a bus yet). I was skeptical at the beginning, because JD was primarily a songwriter with very little experience performing live. However, he really rose to the occasion and seven years on he just keeps cranking out hits.
What is it like playing bass in his band?
I fell into country music quite accidentally a couple of years after I moved to Nashville. I started doing random hired gun gigs around town – label showcases, Whiskey Jam, etc. I learned the Nashville number system, which helped me learned a lot of material quickly and is really a non-negotiable when it comes to gigging in Nashville. I love the look on a New York or LA musician’s face when they see a Nashville chart for a minor song charted in major. Of course it’s weird, but that just the way we do it. Stylistically, most modern country has just as much in common with 90’s and 2000’s pop rock as it does with country music. In that regard, it’s not hard for a rock refugee like me to thrive in modern country. More traditional country, however, is a different story and it took a little more effort to get proficient in that style. It’s a very economical style of playing, with none of the Jamerson-isms or soul-infused embellishments that have become baked into my personal style over the years. It takes discipline to serve the song that completely. I never did the Broadway bar gig thing that a lot of folks do, but playing with guys like Charlie Worsham and Chris Janson taught me a lot about “real” country music.
You get powerful tone with JD. What is your ideal sound and how do you achieve it?
Coming from the rock world I’ve always had a thing for beefy yet articulate tones. Bass should be heard AND felt. My ideal stock sound is a Neve 1073-style preamp/EQ, an LA-2A compressor layered with something like an Ampeg SVT or B-15N for a bit of saturation. Nothing too exotic. I wish I could take more credit for my live sound, but if I’m being completely honest our FOH engineer Jesse Vetrone is really doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that regard. His mixes just slam; it’s my job to supply him with the highest quality raw ingredients that I can. Therefore, I use EQ and compression sparingly and I keep my setup pretty simple. Right now it’s just a Line 6 HX Stomp running into a Neve RNDI. Patch changes are accomplished remotely via MIDI from the playback rig, so I can run around and focus on performing.
You definitely get a lot of tone out of your hands. Tell us about your playing technique.
Like most of the folks I play with, I grew up on classic rock and Motown. I tend to do a lot of muting with my left (fretting) hand and really have to watch myself on playing too many ghost notes. Not everything needs to be funky, especially when it comes to country music. With JD, I play fingerstyle with roundwound strings 95% of the time. I try to play with a lighter touch and position my hand so that I’m plucking just behind the neck pickup (assuming a Jazz or PJ setup). I’m typically anchoring my thumb loosely on said pickup. In my rock/alternative projects I tend to go for my Mustang bass, a pick, and flatwounds.
How and when did you first play an LEH bass?
For a long time my #1 bass for Nashville-type stuff was my Sadowsky 5 string. With Jordan, playing 5 string is practically a necessity, and Sadowsky makes great-playing basses that also nail the powerful and articulate tones that I gravitate toward. However, after about 5 years of touring that bass all over, I decided I wanted something more bespoke. I thought an offset body style similar to a Fender Jazzmaster would be cool. So I googled “offset 5 string bass guitar,” and lo and behold, LEH Guitars popped up in the results. I had never played an LEH prior to ordering, but I knew I would be in good hands with Ellis after several emails back and forth. Sure enough, in March of 2022 I took delivery of the best bass guitar I have ever played.
What was your first impression of the bass when you got it?
Just absolute butter. Perfectly balanced. Impeccable attention to detail. Very sexy.
What is it about LEH basses that you love?
The neck, first and foremost. It’s perfect. Substantial yet fast. It suits my hands perfectly. I also love how balanced LEH basses are, both in weight and sound. I like to keep the Nordstrand preamp engaged for the bit of “sauce” it brings, but I boost very sparingly. Finally, I love the looks. People are always asking about it. The Offset 5 just nails the vintage/modern aesthetic in a way that I find very pleasing.
What is it like working with Ellis on your build?
Ellis is so great to work with. Very patient, experienced, knowledgeable, and helpful. Offset #29 is the only custom instrument I’ve ever ordered (so far; I’ve got my eye on a Jetstream), and with so many options I had a tough time ironing out some of the details. There was a vision, but I was open to suggestions, and Ellis helped me decide on some of the specifications that I’m still very happy with a couple of years and roughly 200 shows later.
What sets them apart from your other basses?
Other than how rad they look, which is what caught my attention in the first place, the neck is what truly sets these basses apart for me. It’s the best feeling 5 string neck I’ve ever played. I get reminded of this every so often on occasions where we do a TV date in between shows and I’m forced to play a rental instrument for logistical reasons. The LEH neck profile is a little beefier but doesn’t have the aggressive taper that my Sadowsky does. I find the string spacing of the LEH much more comfortable.
Follow Benton: HERE