Archive for April 2012 - Page 6

Hosa Technology has announced the release of the second generation of their Elite Series cables. The new instrument cables improve upon their predecessors with the inclusion of Neutrik X-Series straight and angle plugs, which Hosa says provide signal integrity and structural rigidity. Another new feature is a nylon webbing over the cable’s PVC jacket. The polyurethane gland prevents cable kinking...

Esperanza Spalding made a stop on the Daily Show recently, and closed out the show with “Crowned & Kissed”, one of the tracks on the bassist’s new album, Radio Music Society. We’ve been fans for Jon Stewart for some time, but we had no idea he was an air bassist. We love how Esperanza breaks down how holding the bass...

In addition to the Session 30 bass combo, Musikmesse 2012 saw EBS unveiling the HD360 bass amp, which takes the place of their previous HD350 model. The updated version features an “improved preamp with better low frequency and more head room,” as well as a 4-channel footswitch jack, a mix-in filter for the effects loop, and a built-in Speaker Simulator...

Dean Markley has introduced the Helix String Series, including the Helix NPS and SS sets for bass. The new strings are made with a patent-pending hyper-elliptical winding technique that creates a tighter wrap and more mass while also sealing the strings without the need of a coating. Increasing the string mass, the company explains, makes a fuller tone and more...

Here’s another unearthed gem from Weather Report’s live performances in 1978, with one of the greatest line-ups in the band’s history: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine. In this video, the group performs the beautiful Zawinul tune, “A Remark You Made”, which was quite the showcase for Jaco’s fretless sound, playing off of Shorter’s sax. As we...

Adrenaline Mob and Kill Devil Hill are tearming up for an eight-date co-headlining tour this May. Kicking off at Cleveland, Ohio’s House of Blues, the tour will make its way through Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. Combined, the two bands consist of former members of Black Sabbath, Pantera, Dream Theater, Symphony X and Disturbed. The performances will include...

Canadian custom shop Basone Guitars recently unveiled a new 25-fret, 6-string bass guitar. The elegant instrument features a chambered body made of Honduran Mahogany topped with spalted maple as well as walnut and ebony accents. The bolt-on neck is also honduran Mahogany supported with dual truss rods, with a black walnut fingerboard. As an interesting addition to abalone side dot...

As a musician, our greatest tool is our ears. Our job within a musical context is to listen, and quite frankly, to play notes that sound good. As a bass player, we need to be on our toes and quickly decipher the bass line and at the very least, the root notes of the chords that are being played. There...

Here’s the drill: take a tune anchored by one phenomenal bassist and have it covered by another. This is Marcus Miller and his band covering Tower of Power’s “What is Hip”, which of course featured the bass work of Rocco Prestia. TOP fans might notice a difference in tempo from the original. Drummer Jason “JT” Thomas said that Marcus “started...

Agile Partners has released version 1.3 of their AmpKit app for iOS, and with it comes the addition of the first modern bass amp system model for the platform. The company has partnered with Trace Elliot, offering up the Trace Elliot 1215 combo, complete with 12-band Graphic Equalizer – tuned for bass frequencies – as well as an optimized dual-band...

Brubaker is expanding their Brute Bass series this year with the addition of the MJXSC line of basses. The new 5-string models sport a single-cut body design while keeping a low price point. Weighing in a 10 pounds, the MJXSC sports an ash body and a bolt-on maple neck with a slim taper contour. The rosewood fingerboard has a compound...

Apparently, Lemmy Kilmister has one of the coolest bass collections on the planet. One of our very first Bass of the Week features was of the Motorhead frontman’s signature Rickenbacker. This week, we’re checking out his Nick Page Gott 4, which the luthier built specially for him. “The Lemmy Bass was a very special move we did, because Nick is...