Manring Master Class SWR Amp Winner Donates His Old Combo

Padron with his WorkingPro combo.

Mario Padron of Hoboken, N.J., didn’t even know he was signing up for a contest when he registered for Bass Player magazine’s Live Online Master Class with bassist extraordinaire Michael Manring. Imagine his surprise, then, when he hit an SWR jackpot—winning a new WorkingPro™ combo amp just for signing up for the class.

“The WorkingPro is pretty awesome,” Padron said. “I use it for a lot of the stuff I do. It has a beautiful, full sound, am I’m just so happy with it. Gear-wise, its one of the best things I’ve ever had.”

Padron plays devotional Indian music and electronica and was just looking for ideas about playing differently when he signed on for the Manring class, which was sponsored by SWR. After learning that he’d won a new WorkingPro combo amp, Padron promptly donated his old one to a local school music program.

“Like the Wailers song ‘Pass It On,’ I had the fortune to win something,” Padron said. “So I felt I should pass that generosity on to someone who could benefit.”

Padron, a longtime Bass Player reader, said he thoroughly enjoyed the live web format of the Manring Master class. “It was different from an instructional video, since there was someone there interacting with the artist, and live reader questions coming through, too,” he said. “I felt like my own questions were being answered, even though I didn’t ask one myself.”

Bass Player’s next online Master Class is in late May and will feature Marcus Miller; watch the SWR website for dates and details. To view archived Bass Player artist Master Classes with Michael Manring and Victor Wooten, click here.