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Michael Todd (musician)

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Michael Todd or Mic Todd (born 1980 in Catskill, New York) is the former bassist for progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. Upon the time of his departure, he had been with the band for ten years. Currently, Matt Williams of pre-Coheed band Jumblehead is Coheeds substitute bassist.

Shabutie

When the band Shabutie needed a new bass player to replace founding member Jon Carleo, drummer Nate Kelley suggested a former bandmate named Mic Todd. Originally a guitarist, he was asked to join the band to fill out their rhythm section. Picking up the bass solely for the new band, Todd became the band's steady bassist through their alt-rock days of Shabutie into the band's transformation to progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria.

Playing Style

While most bassists in the Prog-Rock genre prefer five and sometimes even six string basses, Todd plays traditional four string basses exclusively - similar to Geddy Lee and Chris Squire. His preferred bass is a Spector Euro model which can be seen used heavily in the band's music videos and live performances. Though in the past he has utilized ESP basses (Delirium Trigger video) and Fender's Geddy Lee signature bass (Live At The Starland Ballroom).

Mic Todd plays bass using the traditional finger approach, fingering the strings with the index and middle finger of his right hand; though he has been known to use the slapping technique. His playing style is marked by rapid fire single notes and complex basslines, particularly during the Second Stage Turbine Blade era. He often arpeggiating the chords played by guitarists Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever and makes heavy use of 5ths and octaves of the root of the chord being played.

Vocals

During live shows, Todd provides the screaming vocals when playing older songs such as: "Devil In Jersey City", "Everything Evil", "Delirium Trigger", "Hearshot Kid Disaster", "Junesong Provision", "In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3", "Three Evils (Embodied In Love And Shadow)", and "The Velourium Camper III: Al The Killer". During live performances he has also performed the backing vocals on "The Suffering" - using a falsetto voice as the original lines were sang by a female friend of the band.

Todd's basses

Spectors

  • Rebop5: fretted four-string bass guitar, orange in colour. Called "Amber" by Spector.

It is of the bolt-on construction, with two passive EMG-HZ bass humbuckers and a Spector "Tone Pump" active preamp and EQ. It was made in the Czech Republic and has black hardware with a phenolic nut (a black nut). This bass was used mainly during the Second Stage Turbine Blade and most of the In Keeping Secrets era. This bass can be seen on the Live at the Starland Ballroom DVD.

  • EuroLX 4: A fretted four-string bass guitar with a natural maple oil finish.

It is of the neck-thru construction, with two EMG pickups, one P style and one J style pickup (the P at the neck position and the J at the bridge position). It has the same Tone Pump circuitry as the ReBop. Its hardware is finished in gold and has a brass nut. It is tuned to Eb as Coheed And Cambria currently play all their live songs in this tuning. This is currently the most popular bass of choice for Todd. This bass has been used since the "Good Apollo..." era and can be seen in the videos "Welcome Home" and "The Suffering." He is also known to own a Black Cherry (a Spector custom colour) EuroLX 4. It can be seen in the "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood And Burial)" video.

  • Q4: A fretless four-string bass guitar in a black stain finish. It is the same bolt-on construction as the Rebop, and has the same pickups, hardware, nut, and electronics. The Q4 is the prequel series of basses to the current "Legend" Spector series. It is used mainly for recording, very rarely showing up at live performances.

Fenders

  • Geddy Lee Jazz Bass: A fretted four-string bass guitar in a black finish.

It has two Vintage Jazz Bass Single-Coil Pickups (stock). In the Live at the Starland Ballroom DVD, Todd is seen using this bass to play the Coheed and Cambria song "A Favour House Atlantic".

Trivia

  • Known to his fans as "Mic", pronounced like the more traditional "Mike."
  • He was originally a guitarist, and switched to bass when invited to join Shabutie.
  • Todd is the one member of the band whose appearance has changed the most often.
  • Todd occasionally makes use of a fretless bass.


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