WT1205 / WT1250 / WT550 /
WT400 / WTX-260 / D610XLT x 2 / D112XLT (neo) X 2 /
D210MBX / D210MBW / N8 / EM-5

Websites:
Lane on Bass
Lane on MySpace
Deeper Blues
Deeper Blues Space
Bass Talk with Abe & Lane™

The son of a piano virtuoso, Lane Baldwin (known in much of the Bass World as Lane on Bass) began his musical career at the tender age of 5. But it wasn't until he played a bass that he found his true calling. As soon as he thumped that “copy of a rip-off of a remake of a Fender”, Lane knew he was born to play low notes. A Musical Ambassador for the Nation’s Capitol, he has recorded and toured the world with dozens of artists, including Mason Ruffner, Jules Alexander (The Association), Daryl Davis (Legendary Blues Band) and the late Cesar Diaz (Bob Dylan). Now, after almost three decades of Blues, Lane is the bassist and vocalist for Deeper Blues, which he enthusiastically calls his "dream band."

Deeper Blues is a mesmerizing blend of old-school tradition and modern sound that's rapidly gaining international attention. Legendary Blues bassist Johnny B. Gayden (Albert Collins) says the band is "perfectly named." Rick Bennick (formerly of Todd Rundgren and Mitch Ryder) calls Gary Jones his "favorite guitarist." The band's new release, Dig the Hole, has been praised around the world for it's "great songs [and] great playing and singing" (Jazz icon Mark Egan). Helisnki Blues Café calls it "great stuff" and says it "gets better with each listen."

"We do deeper stories, with deeper emotion," Lane says of the band. "For us, it's not about a specific style or 'period' of Blues; it's Blues the way it was meant to be felt, regardless of whether we're doing a field chant or a rocked-up thumper. It's all in the heart." In addition to providing the muscle behind the band's grooves, Lane also uses his 6-string bass to provide "rhythm guitar" parts and lead lines. "We often use the bass as a second guitar," he says, "just down lower. It gives the music a lot of extra body."

These days Lane balances his music with his writing and business endeavors. His essay “A Gift of Spirit” – the story of an accident that showed him music is as much about heart and soul as it is technical expertise – appears in “Chicken Soup to Inspire the Body & Soul®”. He will soon be published in a collection of essays on servant-leadership, the linchpin of humanistic management. The S-L series has included such notable management philosophers as Steven Covey (7 Habits series), Ken Blanchard (Who Moved My Cheese?), Max Depree (Leadership is an Art) and many others. His work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, ranging in subject matter from spirituality and positive living, to humanistic business practices, to the State of the Bass as he sees it. He also oversees Deeper Blues' fledgling charity arm - Danville Foodstock, which produces concert events in support of their local food pantry.

An Eden endorser since 1995, Lane is now our Special Projects Coordinator and Artist Relations representative. His long list of duties includes assisting hundreds of fellow endorsers, writing and editing for our web site, moderating our forum, maintaining the FAQs, contributing his writing talents to numerous projects and heading our Dealer Training team. When he's on the road traveling to dealers, Deeper Blues often comes along to do clinics in support of Eden and its sister brands Randall and Washburn. (See the Events Page for upcoming clinics.)

Yet, even with all his "day job" activities, Lane still finds time to play. "David [Nordschow, Eden's founder] and I are old friends," Lane says, "and I love working with him. But I was born to play. It's not something I want to do; I have to. I'm very lucky to get to do both."

Lane's main rig, dubbed the Thunder Rig, is a WT1205 powering a D610XLT cabinet. For larger stages, he adds a WT1250 power amp and a second 610XLT. He also owns an original WT400, as well as WT550 and WTX-260 heads. Other cabinets include D210MBX and D210MBW monitor wedges and a brand new pair of 112XLT Neos. In the studio, Lane uses our EM-5 monitors for audio and video production; he uses his Nemesis N-8 for home practice and backstage warm up. "After decades of searching for the right rig," he says, "I tried an Eden and finally heard the tone I'd been searching for - and I didn't even have to use the EQ section to get it! Now, more than a decade and 2,000 shows later, I'm still addicted to that Eden tone. And I've never had a failure. That's a combination that's impossible to beat."