Archive for August 2011 - Page 9

Hal Leonard’s newest in their Bass Play-Along series focuses on the music of Aerosmith and bassist Tom Hamilton. Aerosmith Bass Play-Along Volume 36 is a 72 page book, presented in the standard Play-Along format, with tab and an accompanying CD. The CD is formatted in both standard audio, playable in any CD player, as well as enhanced for use on...

Fender has introduced the Bronco 40, a bass amplifier with built-in effects and amp modeling. The 1×10 combo also includes Fender’s FUSE software and USB connectivity, allowing it to function as an audio interface with DAWs as well as tweak and swap presets online. Rated at 40 watts, the amp has 24 on-board presets using 8 amp models including the...

Ok, I admit it; I’m not the person that you think of when you envision a “blues bass player.” I’m exactly five feet and one quarter of an inch tall, I’m a 24-year-old girl from a suburban neighborhood in Philadelphia, and, as many people point out, the bass is bigger than I am. I don’t know whether it was the...

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: the only thing better than one great bassist is two great bassists. Recorded during the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival, here’s bassist Armand Sabel-Lecco performing alongside Stanley Clarke.

The Snapshots Music & Arts Foundation has posted an extensive 6-part interview with legendary session bassist Carol Kaye, whose playing can be heard on thousands of tunes ranging from Sonny and Cher’s “The Beat Goes On” to The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” The interview ranges on topics including Kaye’s background, why she picked up bass, the art making music, and...

G&L has unveiled a new special run of instruments called the Korina Collection. Limited to 100 pieces for each model, the company explains that Korina was chosen for its tone and collector’s value. Holding down the bottom end of the line is Korina Collection ASAT Bass. As with the Korina Collection guitars, the ASAT Bass features a 2-piece Korina body...

Strapped — Proper Strap Construction and Use Typically bassists are used to having a heavy weight around their necks. Earlier in this series we studied problems related to the wrists and forearms, which are usually muscle and tendon related (tendons attach muscles to bones, hence when overuse occurs it is from the pulling that the tendons do to the muscles)....

This is one fun video (and jam!) featuring bassist Gerald Veasley, along with Gerald Albright (sax), James Rouse (drums), Jef Lee Johnson (guitar) and Will Brock (keyboards). The group decides to play Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man”, and then jump right into one funky, laid back groove.

Kings of Leon have cancelled the remainder of their U.S. tour after ending a Dallas, Texas concert early, citing lead singer Caleb Followill’s exhaustion and throat problems. However, bassist Jared Followill hints that the group has deeper seated issues. “Dallas, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to...

Queen fans get ready: House Music has unveiled the Brian May Bass. The guitarist (we won’t hold that against him) gave the low-end treatment to his infamous 6-string called the Red Special, which he made with his father as a kid. Finished in Cherry Red, the “Fat Bottomed” bass is a medium 31.5” scale instrument, featuring a bound mahogany body...

Q: Scales… everyone should practice scales. But which scales? For someone that’s beginning to play or even some that has been playing for a long time, this can be a dilemma. How do you practice them? How do you implement them in your playing? A: Great question. Of course, everyone should know their: 1. Major scales 2. Minor scales …as...

It has been a while since we featured Zander Zon and his nifty piccolo bass compositions. Here’s a new video featuring one of this tunes from Zander’s album Sonorous, entitled “Looking Glass”. (read our review of the album).