Archive for January 2012 - Page 4

Daring Audio has expanded their line of bass pedals with the announcement of the all-new high definition pedal, the Edge Activator HD. The pedal is 100% analog circuitry with a high-headroom preamp as well as constant volume for wet/dry blend between two internal channels. The predecessor to the HD version is a popular pedal for bassists, used to accentuate slapping,...

Here’s an intense jam by bassist Alex Bershadsky, whose incredible groove is matched equally by his impressive technique. The clip features Gal Gershovsky on drums. When you groove it, you gotta move it!

Winter NAMM kicked off last week, and with it, plenty of gear news. We’re back from Anaheim and not ready to rest just yet. Be on the lookout for tons more gear news starting today. Last week was a great bass week with all the gear news, some unbelievable bass videos, plus a few other goodies. Here is the top...

Lakland has reintroduced the Darryl Jones Signature bass in both US and Skyline models. Jones, who originally commissioned a bass in 1985, has played with the Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Sting, and many more. While the bass’s body shape is similar to the company’s Vintage J 44-60 and 55-60 models, the new signature model offers more curve to its contouring...

Korg has just announced the PitchBlack Poly, a new product in their line of tuners. The Poly, which is designed for both bass and guitar, offers many upgrades to typical tuners. The PitchBlack Poly’s display offers a large, high visibility meter with a row of bright white and blue LEDs to determine each string’s tuning, even from a distance. The...

Two days ago I was sitting in the hotel lobby before heading out to the NAMM show and saw a news alert that singer Etta James had passed away. She would have been 74 on Wednesday. Facebook friend Crystal Gloistein shared this video from New Years Eve 1982 featuring one incredible line up: Etta James on vocals, the Grateful Dead...

Last year’s NAMM Show brought the debut of the Washburn Stu Hamm Signature Hammer bass, and as a follow-up this year the company has introduced a fretless version of the bass as well as the rest of the Stu Hamm Electric Bass Series. The SHBH3FLTSS completely follows suit with the fretted version and features a double cutaway designed alder body...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have added 16 new dates to the North American leg of their ongoing world tour in support of their August release of I’m With You. The leg builds upon the six previously announced shows and will take the funk rock quartet from Canada into the United States, where it will mostly visit the East Coast...

Here’s one to keep you in the woodshed for a while. Bassist Matthew Garrison posted this great video explaining his 4-finger right hand technique, which he developed during his time with Joe Zawinul’s band. While he says that the 2-finger technique creates a fatter sound, the 4-finger technique allows for playing lines at mind-boggling speeds.

Prog-rock bassist Chris Squire’s collaboration with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett is finally coming to fruition, according to the Yes founder. Going by the name Squackett, the duo have been planning an album for years, and Squire has finally said that fans can expect the wait to be over this spring with the release of an album of original material....

Fodera expanded its Standard series at NAMM this year with the Matt Garrison Standard. As with the other Standard models, the company says the bass comes in a single configuration to keep the price point and wait time down versus the artist models. Built for speed, the new model came to existence after Garrison decided to switch his string spacing...

TC Electronic’s innovative TonePrint pedals can now be tailored for bassists, as the company has teamed up with high profile players to release Bass TonePrints. The technology allows for the TonePrint series of pedals to be loaded with custom bass presets made with pros including Nathan East, Mark King, Divinity Roxx, Uriah Duffy, Justin Meldal-Johnsen and more. Though the effects...