Apogee Unveils Groove USB Digital-To-Audio Converter
Digital audio company Apogee has unveiled the Groove, a portable USB digital-to-analog converter and headphone amp for listening to music on your computer. The device utilizes their recording quality audio conversion to provide ample power and sound quality. “A [digital-to-analog converter] takes the digital information on your computer and translates it into analog sound you can hear through your headphones...
Bass of the Week: Martin Keith Guitars Elfin Hollowbody
Martin Keith took on the singlecut body design with his Elfin model, and this week we take a look at its hollowbody version. The five-string bass is built entirely like an acoustic instrument with functionality for electric players. The Elfin’s body, which measures 14 inches wide and 3 inches deep, is built with maple sides and back and a braced...
Lorenzo Feliciati Releases “Koi”
Progressive music fans take note: bassist Lorenzo Feliciati has released Koi, a 12-song concept album based on the life the river carp fish. Blending progressive rock and ambient soundscapes, the record features a host of guest musicians including Japan drummer Steve Jansen and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto. “Traditional Chinese folktales tell the story of Koi fish that swam up...
NS Design Introduces WAV4 Radius Bass
NS Design has expanded their bass guitar offering even further with the introduction of the WAV4 Radius, a bass that follows the design of their Radius series with a more accessible price point. It carries many of the same features of its predecessors, including a diradial body, a headless design with self-clamping tuning system, an advanced truss rod design, and...
Hot Tuna Announce Summer Tour Dates
Legendary blues rock duo Hot Tuna is hitting the road again this summer with a string of tour dates in Hawaii and the Northeast. Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen will be performing mainly in their acoustic setting to start the tour, which begins on June 19th in Honolulu. Their tour wraps up with four electric shows ending at the Capitol...
Armored Saint Returns with Seventh Studio Album
Veteran metal band Armored Saint describes their new studio album, Win Hands Down, as “a vintage crush of classic power propelled by a cathartic blast of life.” Bassist Joey Vera holds down the low end with a gritty tone, but he also co-wrote the majority of the music with singer John Bush. “John and I wrote the majority of the...
Ibanez Introduces ANB1006 Adam Nitti Signature Bass
After years of development, Ibanez has unveiled the ANB1006 Adam Nitti Signature Bass. The instrument, which Nitti helped to design, is hand-built by Ibanez’s Japanese master builders. “For me, this instrument represents the ideal balance of tone, playability, ergonomics, and extended range,” Nitti writes. “I love the wider 18mm string spacing and greater access to the highest frets; both features...
The Darkness Release “Last of Our Kind”
The Darkness is back with Last of Our Kind, a stripped-down album that hearkens back to the original spirit of rock. Anchored by bassist Frankie Poullain, the band’s fourth studio effort was written in Ireland and thematically centers around defiance. It’s also the first and only of their albums to featured drummer Emily Dolan Davies, who replaced original drummer Ed...
Bootsy’s Rubber Band: Another Point of View, Live 1976
We’re going old school today with a clip of Bootsy Collins and his Rubber Band in concert from 1976. Taken from their concert at the Summit in Houston, Texas, the video has Bootsy and the gang getting down on “Another Point of View.” The performance came just two months after the release of the bassist’s debut solo album, Stretchin’ Out...
Dean Zelinsky Introduces the Mule Bass
Guitar and bass maker Dean Zelinsky has unveiled the Mule bass. Available in four- and five-string versions, the model is Zelinsky’s first to feature his patented Z-Glide Reduced Friction Neck. The back of the maple neck features a precisely engraved pattern that reduces surface area by putting a little air between your thumb and the neck. Another unique feature is...
Jansen, Barbieri, Karn & Wilson: Bestial Cluster
Mick Karn was the master of creating bass lines that were somehow simple, angular, and melodic all at the same time. Check out this clip of Karn with Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, and Steve Wilson performing “Bestial Cluster” for 2 Meter Session on Dutch television. Karn gets a gnarly distortion to lay down a fat and simple bass line before...
Bass of the Week: Salzmann Virutero NT
This week we’re getting a taste of Argentina with the Virutero NT by luthier Leandro Salzmann. Made in Buenos Aires, Salzmann’s Virutero model shows the bass builder has a strong grasp of creating an organic instrument that features exotic species of woods. The Virutero NT is a neck-thru bass that features a five-piece maple and cancharana with a Guayacán fretboard....