Kevin Johnson

We got a sneak peek of the new Mane Custom Bass model at NAMM this year, and now we have the full scoop. The KJ5 Standard is based on their KJ5 Signature model but utilizes different woods to offer a competitive price without compromising quality.

Swedish prog metal legends Opeth will return to North America this October for a tour. The band, anchored by the mighty Martin Méndez, will start in Wisconsin before crossing into Canada, then down the East Coast and across the South to wind up on the West Coast.

Megadeth will be taking North America by storm again on the “Destroy All Enemies” tour. The 33-city outing will have stops from coast to coast with special guests Mudvayne and All That Remains along for the ride.

The upright bass gets a reputation for simplicity, especially in bluegrass and folk music. However, Nate Sabat has put the instrument in the spotlight on his new album, “Bass Fiddler.”

Ampeg launched the Venture Series late last year. After introducing a new cabinet earlier this month, the company announced that the lineup’s mid-level amplifier is now shipping.

Pearl Jam connected with producer Andrew Watt last year at the legendary Shangri-La Studios in Miami. Facing each other in one room with their instruments, they were struck with a burst of inspiration and the album “Dark Matter” was created in just three weeks.

This week, we’re checking out a custom Jarius bass from Anka Custom Guitars & Basses with a streamlined design. The 33-inch-scale bass pares things down from the standard Jarius design, which has a pair of single-coil pickups.

High on Fire has returned with “Cometh the Storm,” marking their first studio album since 2018’s “Electric Messiah.” Riff masters Matt Pike and Jeff Matz are joined by Coady Willis.

Since launching Esopus Guitars, Stuart Spector has focused on making acoustic guitars. Now he’s back to building basses. The Tailwater bass is a 32-inch scale instrument handcrafted by the legendary luthier.

Ghost-Note has released their third album, “Mustard n’Onions,” which – as you can imagine from the title – is a funky affair. That's thanks in part to bassists MonoNeon and Marcus Miller.

Boss has released a few bass combo amps in the Katana series, but now they’ve unveiled the first head unit in the lineup. The Katana-500 Bass Head was introduced alongside the new Katana Cabinet 112 Bass.

Opeth bassist Martin Méndez has announced the third album from his band White Stones. “Memoria Viva” follows in the footsteps of the first two albums, but it takes a different approach by being sung all in Spanish.