18 Facts About Michael Manring

Michael Manring was born in Annapolis, Maryland, as the youngest of four children.

Michael Manring's family lived in Norfolk, Virginia and moved to the suburbs of Washington, DC in 1969.

Michael Manring began to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1970s, but canceled his studies in 1979 because of the heavy workload he already had, touring with several different bands like the prog rock band However.

Michael Manring headlined his own band, Montreux, throughout the 1980s.

In 1994 Michael Manring was polled Bassist of the Year by the readers of Bass Player magazine.

Manring's name is tied with that of fingerstyle guitarist Michael Hedges, who was a dear friend and fellow musician.

Michael Manring toured extensively with Hedges and played on all Hedges albums except one.

Michael Manring is known as a humble and gracious live performer with a gift for improvisation with guest musicians.

Since 2005 Michael Manring is member of the band DeMania with guitarist Alex de Grassi and percussionist Christopher Garcia.

Michael Manring remains active, touring the world for performances and clinics.

Michael Manring has a solid musical knowledge and uses the bass as a solo instrument usually in alternate tunings, with additional possibilities and patterns invoked on the fly with lever-activated de-tuners and bridges, somewhat like a pedal steel guitar.

Michael Manring wants to show that the electric bass can be used in a musically rich and expressive way.

Michael Manring occasionally plays on two basses at the same time during live performances.

Michael Manring is a composer of experimental music, mixing technology and fretless bass with the sounds of kitchen implements and cardboard boxes, evidenced on his "Book of Flame" solo album.

Michael Manring is a technical virtuoso, generally using his bass in very different ways.

Michael Manring plays a custom bass by Zon Guitars, called the Hyperbass, a very flexible instrument, which was developed by Joseph Zon and Michael Manring.

When Michael Manring began changing tunings during pieces by turning the pegs while playing, he soon realized the limitations of this approach.

Apart from the Hyperbass, Michael Manring uses a whole fleet of instruments.