WT550 / D210MBX / D112XLT

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A bassist since the age of 13, Stuart Watkins grew up in Ottawa, Canada. By the time he reached univeristy, Stuart was already recording and touring with numerous international artists from Latin America, Africa, China and the Caribbean. Because of this, the up-and-coming bassist was exposed to "a whole new world of traditions and styles (and food, languages and instruments)," Stuart says, "all based in my home town. These experiences lent themselves extremely well to the Pop, Rock and Jazz gigs I continue to do."

To get an idea of the wide variety of styles Stuart plays, consider these four projects from February, 2005: a Chinese Pop CD, a Gypsy-Jazz album, a children's music project, and tracks on the third album from the Mighty Popo, a Rwandan guitarist and Canadian Juno award-winner. The summer of 2005 found him touring the UK with an Andean group, then the Caribbean with a calypso group from Trinidad.

While Stuart still calls Ottawa home, he spends much of his time touring internationally. In 2004, he traveled to Africa to study the "mbalax" style with master bassist Habib Faye (Youssou N'Dour). That same year, he performed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and will also appear at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. Lately he's been working with the East Village Opera Company, appearing as the house band for the 2006 Miss USA pageant and at the Hong Kong premier of "The Da Vinci Code."

Stuart uses our WT550 to power D210MBX and D112XLT cabinets. "I love my rig," he says. "It's all I need. When you hear Eden players say, 'just plug & play', they're not kidding! When the EQ is flat and the Enhance at about 10 o'clock, nothing beats it, in any style, in any city.