Weekly Top 10: Bass Gear News from NAMM, GigBlade Reviewed, Top Bass Videos, Two Handed Tapping & Hand Independence and More

We’re wrapping up the annual Winter NAMM trip, heading home with stacks of notes and photos of all the bass goodness from the show. Our coverage began last week – with many of them making the top 10.

But we also featured some killer videos – from Thundercat, Alex Webster, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones.

That, plus Damian Erskine’s excellent column on two-handed tapping and developing hand independence make up this week’s most read stories and most watched videos. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing.

Thundercat: “Them Changes”, Live in New Orleans

1. Thundercat: “Them Changes”, Live in New Orleans

Pitchfork has a great new concert series called Nightcap, where they feature independent artists in late night concerts around the United States. They’re off to a great start with bassist Thundercat, who performed “Tron Song” and a brand new track called “Them Changes”…

Alex Webster: Conquering Dystopia’s “Kufra at Dusk” Playthrough

2. Alex Webster: Conquering Dystopia’s “Kufra at Dusk” Playthrough

I love bass playthroughs. So when death metal king Alex Webster posted a new video, I dropped everything to watch it. The clip shows Webster tearing through “Kufra at Dusk” from metal supergroup Conquering Dystopia’s debut album last year…

Gear Review: Gruv Gear GigBlade Bass Gig Bag

3. Gear Review: Gruv Gear GigBlade Bass Gig Bag

Every once in a while a product comes along that totally reimagines a piece of gear that most of us take for granted. In the world of gig bags, that product is the Gruv Gear GigBlade. Read Kevin’s review…

St. Paul and the Broken Bones: “Call Me,” Live

4. St. Paul and the Broken Bones: “Call Me,” Live

I don’t watch The Late Show a lot, but I know that when David Letterman goes on about how great the band is for two whole minutes before letting them play, it’s going to be good. It was…

Alter Ego Tunable Tailpiece for Double Bass

5. Alter Ego Tunable Tailpiece for Double Bass

Italian string instrument maker Alter Ego has introduced a tunable tailpiece for the double bass. Rather than tuning the strings themselves, the tailpiece allows for tuning the afterlength portion of each string…

Two-Handed Tapping and Developing Hand Independence for Bass Players

6. Two-Handed Tapping and Developing Hand Independence for Bass Players

This week, Damian Erskine tackles a reader’s question about developing independence in two-handed tapping. Damian covers that, plus hand independence in general…

AC Guitars Announces Border Reiver Travel Bass

7. AC Guitars Announces Border Reiver Travel Bass

AC Guitars introduced a new compact model called the Border Reiver Travel Bass. Hand-built in Scotland, the headless bass takes its name from a piece of local history…

IK Multimedia Introduces iRig 2 Mobile Interface for iOS and Android

8. IK Multimedia Introduces iRig 2 Mobile Interface for iOS and Android

IK Multimedia has revamped their popular mobile instrument interface with the iRig 2. The new version adds several new features including a versatile gain control, a 1/4-inch amplifier output, and Android compatibility…

Orange Amplification Announces OB1 Bass Amp Series

9. Orange Amplification Announces OB1 Bass Amp Series

Orange Amplifiers has announced the OB1 Series of class A/B rack mountable bass amplifiers. The amps are based on recent bi-amping trends, the company says. “For years bassists have been combining guitar and bass amps to remarkable effect, adding harmonics and layers of overdrive from a guitar amp to their core bass tone…

Electro-Harmonix Introduces Bass Soul Food Pedal

10. Electro-Harmonix Introduces Bass Soul Food Pedal

Electro-Harmonix has announced a bass-specific version of their Soul Food natural overdrive and clean boost pedal. The company describes the pedal as designed to enhance the original sound of your instrument while retaining its essential character. The Bass Soul Food is set apart with a gain stage, treble control and signal path optimized for bass guitar…

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