Archive for June 2014 - Page 5

Here’s a fun lick you can use any time the music calls for a fat, dirty groove. This is in E?, built predominantly on a E? minor pentatonic fill (with a 9th added). To achieve this sound, you’ll need a couple of effects: an octaver and an overdrive. I’m using the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, the MXR Bass Overdrive and...

Today is bass legend Chuck Rainey’s birthday, and we’re celebrating with a jam of epic proportions. Here’s Rainey jamming the 1968 Archie Bell and the Drells song “Tighten Up,” from the 1993 “Coolin’ ’N Groovin’” performance in Japan. The session includes a who’s who of R&B session players, including drummer Bernard Purdie, guitarist David T. Walker, organist Sonny Phillips, saxophonist...

Pianist/composer Hiromi’s ninth album, , marks the return of her trio project, with contrabassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips. This is the third album for the trio, following the 2011 release Voice and the 2013 release, Move. For Hiromi, the album’s title has two meanings — one is related to the experience of living. The other is about playing...

Fender is adding a Jaguar model to their American Standard bass lineup, which will be the first U.S.-made Jaguar bass. Built in their Corona, California plant, the American Standard Jaguar Bass will be built with an alder body finished in 3-color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, or Mystic Red. Each bass will be loaded with a P/J pickup configuration consisting of...

Be it on the bandstand, the concert stage, or the corner of a bad club, most musicians yearn for great musical communication in an ensemble. Great musical communication between players leads to great ensemble playing. If you have experienced it once, you will want it again. To have the shot at this, we need to: Play our part, with complete...

If you have young kids, you may have heard this song many more times than you’d like. But we think you’ll appreciate this arrangement by Simon Fitzpatrick, who takes the song and performs one of his trademark solo bass arrangements. If you dig this, Simon has released an album featuring 12 solo bass tunes.

CruzTOOLS has announced a new tool set for bassists and guitarists called the Stagehand Compact Tech Kit. Adding to their line instrument maintenance tools, the kit centers around a screwdriver-style bit holder and a 19-piece magnetic bit set that comes complete with hex wrenches, screwdrivers, and sockets in imperial and metric sizes. The company says the range of bits allows...

This week was a week for videos. Bass videos dominated the top 10 for the first time in a while, including a top 10 list within the top 10 list. But there were also a couple of how-to’s, some new gear and the Bass of the Week to throw into the mix. Here are the top 10 most popular stories...

Digitech has announced two new stompbox effects for bass and guitar to their lineup including the The Drop and a reissue of the DOD Envelope 440. Both pedals feature true bypass and 9-volt operation. The DOD Envelope Filter 440 is a new take on the vintage pedal with upgrades including true bypass, a 9-volt power adapter jack, and a Voice...

Today’s featured video is dedicated to all the Dads out there. Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” was the opening track for his 1965 album of the same name, and a dedication to the pianist’s father. Here’s Silver’s Quintet performing the tune for Jazz Omkring Midnat – Denmark TV in 1968. The line up is killer: Bill Hardman on trumpet,...

If you’re looking to beef up on your sight reading, listen up. Scale the Summit bassist Mark Michell has just published his second instructional book entitled Sightreading 101 for Bass, Reading Standard Notation, Vol. 1. Michell was motivated to write the book after having to learn to read music notation and seeing the gaps in other method books. “Most of...

TC Electronic has added a new twist to their TonePrint technology with the introduction of Combined Toneprints for use in their BG250 and BH250 bass amps. Toneprint is a slot on the amp for onboard effects that can be changed via USB or smartphone app. The company is launching the new effects series with six Combined TonePrints based on the...