Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in June

1. Expanding Hands Music Now Offering Funk Fingers

Funk Fingers are available once again thanks to a licensing agreement between Tony Levin and Expanding Hands Music. Levin invented the Funk Fingers after mimicking his intro to Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time,” in which drummer Jerry Marotta played Levin’s bass strings with his drumsticks while the bassist fingered the notes with his left hand…

2. Höfner Introduces Gold Label Series Violin Basses

Höfner has added a new and colorful lineup of basses to their Gold Label Series they say are “intended to appeal to a new generation of bass players who appreciate the qualities of the Höfner bass but would like it in anything except sunburst”…

3. Deimel Guitarworks Introduces Firestar Bass

German luthier Frank Deimel has mixed elements of several bass styles into his latest creation, the Deimel Guitarworks Firestar Bass. The long-scale bass features a figured hard rock maple neck that is fashioned after a P-Bass’s dimensions and topped with a Pau Ferro fretboard…

4. Peerless Guitars Introduces Retromatic B1 and B2 Basses

Peerless Guitars has launched a pair of 4-string versions of their Retromatic guitar with the Retromatic B1 and B2 basses. Sporting a vintage vibe, the basses feature a chambered, semi-hollow body design finished in natural, teal green, honey sunburst, ivory, black, gold or candy apple red colors…

5. Ibanez Adds 7-String Bass to BTB Series

Adding to their extended range bass lineup, Ibanez has introduced the Limited Edition BTB7. The 7-string bass adds a high F-string to the company’s existing 6-string BTB configuration…

6. Iron Ether Introduces Subterranea Synth/Octave Pedal

Iron Ether’s newest pedal is a multi-timbral analog synthesizer and octave pedal. The handmade “Subterranea” pedal features three synthesized voices that track the input pitch, two of which have selectable waveforms and a third that has its own unique sound and lowpass filter…

7. Providence Effects Announces the Dual Bass Station Preamp

Providence Effects has announced the new Dual Bass Station, a bass preamplifier in pedal form with dual inputs and EQ channels. The pedal’s channels have separate inputs and are toggled with a footswitch, allowing for switching between two basses…

8. DR Strings Adds White Bass Strings to NEON Hi-Def Line

DR Strings has added to their NEON line of bass strings with the NEON Hi-Def White set. The strings, which are white in color, are black light active for a bright appearance and feature DR’s K3 coating for extended life…

9. G&L Introduces Limited Edition Savannah Collection ASAT Bass

G&L’s new limited edition Savannah Collection includes a version of the ASAT Bass. As part of the series, it sports a two-piece semi-hollow Okoume body with a Korina top, which the company says complement each other to create an “airy, three-dimensional” tone…

10. SKB Cases Introduces New J/P Electric Bass Case

SKB is now offering the 1SKB-44PRO J/P Electric Bass case. Previously made exclusively for Fender, the case is built to fit Precision and Jazz style basses. The cases are vacuum formed of lightweight ABS plastic with molded in stacking ribs…