Archive for June 2010

Another stop on our Summer NAMM exhibit journey brought us to the Innovation Strings booth. Innovation makes handmade strings at their factory in Wales, and boast the use of non-metallic cores that hold pitch and are “virtually unaffected by climate changes.” Their different string sets are made with specific genres in mind, ranging from classical and jazz to psychobilly, and...

I was recently emailed a list of questions by a student working on their dissertation. I enjoyed the dialogue and thought they might be useful to the general public as well. With his permission, I’m going to make this weeks post our quick Q&A. 1. In your experience what has been the most effective way of self-promotion? A: The only...

Our friend Billy Voight recommended this video with three words: “Funky funky bass.”

South Florida bassist Jamie Ousley has released his second solo album, Back Home. The album is a mix of many styles, but the theme comes back to Ousley’s roots in Tennessee. “I’ve lived away from home for a long time, like so many of us do,” Ousley says, “but my heart is still there in the mountains of Tennessee, and...

Bio: Josh Hari is an upright and electric bassist from Oakland, California and Guadalajara, Mexico. He has performed in a professional setting and/or recorded with: Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lalah Hathaway, Goapele, Lyrics Born, Killah Priest, Richie Rich, Joe Louis Walker, John Ellis, Bobby Sparks, Gary Thomas, Nona Hendryx, Julian Lage, Greg Osby, Bicasso, Bobby Ozuna and many others....

The Deftones are hitting the road starting in August, for a US tour in support of their latest album, Diamond Eyes. One dollar from each ticket sold will go to the fund in support of bassist Chi Cheng, who continues remains in a semi-conscious state after a 2008 car accident. The band is fitting in this tour before they again...

Here’s a wonderful and intense tune by the Waking Vision Trio which features John Shannon on guitar, Mitch Cohn on bass and Martin Valihora on drums. This tune is composed by Cohn and is called “We Listen to the Star”.

In addition to announcing the album debut of Floored by Four, Mike Watt has revealed that he is finishing up work on a punk rock opera, entitled “Hyphenated-Man.” You read that right, a punk rock opera. This will in fact be his third punk rock opera, following Contemplating the Engine Room and The Secondman’s Middle Stand. Watt explains that this...

During our Summer NAMM adventure, we stopped in at the Better Audio Technologies booth to check out their new custom SMB-series of bass cabinets. The cabinets, which are available in a variety of finishes, utilize innovative 6″ long-throw woofers that give a –3dB cutoff frequency of 37Hz for great low-end extension. That’s lower than many manufacturers’ bass cabs, which generally...

There are countless ways to improve our intonation, both at our instrument and away from it. Here’s one strategy, to be done at our instrument, which can help open our ears and stabilize a key center. It involves isolating and spotlighting a single pitch every time it appears. The technique works well with music of any tempo. You can isolate...

Here’s Brazilian bassist Marcelo Mariano, taking a solo during a performance with the Eumir Deodato Trio. Check out more from Marcelo on his Myspace page.

1. Player News: Whitesnake Seeking New Bassist 2. Interview: Thomas Risell, the Man Behind MarloweDK 3. Video: Jaco Pastorius Solo (Reading, 1978) 4. Gear: The Vee Strap 5. Gear: Fleabass Street Bass 6. Player News: RIP Pete Quaife 7. Gear: Gold Tone PBB and BB-400+ 8. Gear Review: TC Electronics BG500 9. Ask Damian Erskine: Chord Voicings 10. Video: Fingersmoran:...