Archive for April 2012 - Page 3

Meet bassist Chris LaBenne, who originally started on guitar, but saw the error in his ways and switched to bass. Chris is currently studying music composition, with an eye for music education in his future. Chris is our player in the spotlight for the week of April 24, 2012. Bio: I’m a 21-year-old bassist and composer from northeast Ohio. I...

This is a lesson mostly for beginners, but it should serve as a great refresher for the rest of us. Unfamiliarity with the fretboard has a lot of downsides. It’ll slow your playing, because your mind has to figure out where your fingers should go, rather than just instinctively knowing where you need to be. Your technique will suffer as...

Jamiroquai’s seventh album, Rock Dust Light Star was originally released on November 1, 2010. But not in North America. The band has announced that the album is finally available here, as of today, thanks to the band’s new relationship with Executive Music Group. Rock Dust Light Star was Jamiroquai’s first album in five years, following Dynamite, and anchored by bassist...

Genz Benz has released their newest generation of the Shuttle Series bass amps, including the Shuttle 6.2 and the Shuttle 9.2. Featuring a tube preamp and a Class D power amplifier, the new line builds upon its predecessors with increased tube gain and the addition of the company’s “3 Dimensional Power Management” circuitry (3DPM), which adds heft and girth to...

Accurate shifting is extremely important on an upright bass. It may even be the one technique we use the most often. Most other string instruments can play a few two-octave scales without shifting, while we can play a grand total of zero, even if we “pivot.” Despite how often we must execute flawless shift, for many it is a point...

We’ve featured the John Mayer Trio performing this tune before, but had to share this version, from the 2010 Crossroads Festival. The band plays “Who Did You Think I Was”, ending with Hendrix’s “Power of Soul”. Pino Palladino can do no wrong! Drummer Steve Jordan is really bringing it too. This one has it all, including Bill Murray showing up...

Last week, we celebrated the greatest instrument ever with our Isolated Bass Week series. This was a major hit, with some legendary bass tracks from Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, John Entwistle, Wilton Felder, John Paul Jones, Chris Squire and James Jamerson, isolated in all their glory. They all made the top ten, so we included them all for the #1...

String company Pirastro has introduced a new set of double bass strings called the Flexocor Deluxe. Building upon their pre-existing Flexocor range, the Deluxe strings offer wider tonal range, longer sustain, and better overall playability. Pirastro explains that the Flexocor Deluxe’s structure allows the string to possess great resonance and “unsurpassed carrying power.” It’s core material is high-stability steel rope....

Man, this has been a long time coming. Rush’s highly anticpated 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels will be released on June 12th (available for pre-order on CD and vinyl). The trio has just announced their tour dates in support of the new album, with stops in 33 cities in the U.S. and Canada, beginning in September. Clockwork Angels is the...

We’re wrapping up our “Isolated Bass Week” with the master, James Jamerson. Here’s the isolated bass track for the 1966 Four Tops hit, “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”. ‘Nuff said.

Norwegian bassist Eivind Opsvik has released Overseas IV, the fourth album in a series he started nearly a decade ago. Entirely written by Opsvik, the album brings together styles for an eclectic sound influenced by the 1700s and 1800s. The ensemble includes bass, drums, saxophone, electric guitar, and most notably, harpsichord. “In many ways it all came together and set...

Announced at the 2012 Winter NAMM show, Ibanez is now shipping their 25th anniversary of their SR model basses. The SR 25th Anniversary Limited Edition bass series includes a 4- and 5-string edition, both premium model basses built at Ibanez’s “Premium factory”. The basses sport a Padauk top. The company says the wood’s “subtle reddish hue has long captivated fine...