Archive for August 2012 - Page 3

The Beatles’ third and decidedly psychedelic film Magical Mystery Tour is coming back to life this Fall as the 1967 film has been fully restored and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. Written and directed by the Fab Four themselves, the loose plot is a “dreamlike story of a coach day trip to the seaside” accompanied by six songs...

California-based Kauer Guitars has introduced the Daylighter Bass, modeled after their popular series of guitars by the same name. With several feature options, the company says the bass can cover ground from “classic Motown vibe straight through the most aggressive modern bass tones.” The Daylighter’s body is made of Spanish Cedar and is available in a plethora of color options....

With a new album and videos (see below) to accompany its release, Jayme Lewis has been taking the online bass community by storm with his awe-inspiring playing and tight band compositions. Lewis puts the bass out front in all the right ways, letting his equally skilled bandmates take the lead when the time is right. Beginning on piano at age...

Recorded earlier this summer, here’s Jaco Pastorius’ twin sons and their “Way of the Groove” band performing their father’s tune “Havona”. This combo was originally formed following a gig celebrating Jaco in 2002, with Felix on bass, Julius on drums, Colin James on sax and keyboards and Adam Lucas on guitar. Dig Felix’s extended solo on this one.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has faced a lot of changes over the years, starting with the hardest one of all in 1977, when a plane crash took the lives of three of their members. The band later reformed ten years later for a reunion tour, and several iterations of the band have carried on the Skynyrd name since then. The current line...

In experimenting with neck designs, German luthier Rüdiger Ziesemann was looking for a way to improve sustain in his Bassline brand designs. He came up with a radical neck profile with extended mass and a groove on the back for your thumb. The concept was first introduced into his electric upright model called the Universal, but bass guitarist wanted in...

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the “hows” of bass playing: scales, chords, arpeggios, slapping, tapping, harmonics… Maybe you’re working on getting that one awesome lick just right so you can use it someday. With so much information to digest, sometimes it’s best to take a step back and remember what it is we’re actually working toward. What is...

Andy Saxton really brings it in his tune, “A Fire Inside.” The hard-hitting, bass-up-front song features the bassist going nuts with slapping and tapping to drive unrelenting metal rhythms. The track comes from his new EP, Drum and Bass.

KISS is kicking things up a notch for 2012 with set of new releases, starting with Destroyer: Resurrected. The album is a remixed version of the band’s multi-platinum 1976 record, featuring the songs “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” and “God of Thunder.” Remixed by original producer Bob Ezrin, the new release adds goodies for uber-fans, including a new...

Sonuus is now accepting pre-orders for The Wahoo, a dual analog filter stomp box. The pedal, which was introduced at Winter NAMM 2012, allows for each filter to be configured as low-pass or band-pass and independently in wah, envelope, LFO, and pitch-tracking modes. Among the pedal’s innovations is a pedal sensor that the company says gives extreme precision and won’t...

Q: I am classically trained, so I’m used to Roman numerals to designate chords (I, IV, V7, etc.). I have become aware of lead sheets using numbers 1, 4, 5’ 1/5). Are you aware of any music I could download that uses this system? A: What you’re referring to is the Nashville Number system. The good news is that it’s...

Alberto Rigoni is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album, Three Wise Monkeys with a few teaser videos. Here’s a clip of a funky metal bass riff from the song “Free Falling”. Rigoni’s group also includes vocalist Jonas Erixon, drummer Mark Cross and guitarist Simone Mularoni. Three Wise Monkeys is releasing in October.