Archive for June 2012 - Page 6

The long-awaited debut album from Spectrum Road is now available from Palmetto Records. Born out of the Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute band, the foursome consists of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboardist John Medeski, and drummer Cindy Blackman. Even the band name is taken from a Tony Williams song, but Bruce says Spectrum Road has its own identity. Speaking...

This week we take a look at a unique bass made by Delgado Guitars out of Nashville, Tennessee. Proprietor Manuel Delgado is a third-generation luthier with specialties in acoustic instruments, and the Delgado Bass is no exception. The acoustic-electric bass has a hollow-body with about 2? in depth and a 34? scale. Though a variety of woods are available, the...

The game theory of discovery and the birth of the free-gap It all started because of the discovery problem. Too many things to choose from, more every day. No efficient way to alert the world about your service, your music, your book. How about giving it away to help the idea spread? The simplest old school examples are radio (songs...

Daniel Rey’s tapping is masterful, especially in this tune “Danza de los Anunnakis.” Similar to his tune Palenque, Rey’s hands move effortlessly to make his bass sing.

Korn has extended their current “Path of Totality” tour, in support of the album of the same name. The new dates include stops in the Northeast and Midwest US and dates in Canada, including a couple of festivals. The group has released a new video, “Way Too Far”, which followed a series of bizarre photos on their Facebook page, including...

Mesa Boogie unveiled some sweet new gear at Musikmesse this year, including a pair of new all-tube bass amps called the Prodigy and the Strategy. Rated at 120 watts and 300 watts respectively, the pair are both equipped with three 12AX7 preamp tubes and a class A/B multi-watt power amp. The Prodigy’s power amp section allows for running all four...

Q: When is it ok to use chord substitutions on standards? Also, can you explain tritone substitutions? A: The use of chord substitutions is fun to practice but must be used with caution on the gig. Our role as a bass player is to support the harmonic foundation for the rest of the band, as well as lock the rhythms...

During the 2012 London Bass Guitar Show, bassist Steve Lawson took the stage with his Modulus fretted 6 string and performed this solo bass arrangement of Lionel Richie’s “Hello”. The arrangement, the tone and the bass are all pretty sweet.

Slipknot has announced their first release since bassist Paul Gray’s untimely death. Antennas To Hell will be a best-of compilation with songs spanning their career from their 1999 self-titled debut to 2008’s All Hope is Gone, as well as a bonus CD of their performance at the Download Festival in 2009. Tickets are on sale for Knotfest, the band’s first...

Meet Simon Normand, a bassist from Denmark who has a GAS-inducing list of gear, and a nice musical background. We love his super power too. Simon is our player in the spotlight for the week of June 12, 2012. (You could be next!) Bio: I picked up the bass at age 12. Two weeks later, I found myself playing in...

Typically, we share lots of videos featuring bassists doing their thing, laying down serious supporting lines, doing their solo bass thing, and everything in between. For some reason in May, we shared more than our share of funny/entertaining videos without playing. And readers dug it. The first three in the top 10 list this month include a look at the...

Bassist Joseph Cote sent us this video of him playing along to The Who’s “The Real Me”, taking on one of John Entwistle‘s signature bass lines. Joseph not only has the line down, but he’s also nailed the tone. His gear used in the video includes a custom Warmoth Jaguar Bass with all Dimarzio pickups, recorded with a Presonus Studio...