Archive for 2013 - Page 28

At face value, it may not seem like Elvis Costello and The Roots would be a natural pairing, but their new collaborative album Wise Up Ghost is proof that their musical visions sync up in a special way. The project started on the set of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where drummer Ahmir ”?uestlove” Thompson and The Roots are the...

Cort has announced a line of 20th Anniversary editions of their Artisan basses, including the Artisan A-Custom 20th and the Artisan B 20th. Each of the models are limited edition and come in four and five-string versions with a 20th Anniversary logo on the electronics cover plate. The Cort Artisan A-Custom 20th bass features neck-thru construction centered around a 9-piece...

September 21st is a sad day in the world of bass. Twenty-six years ago today, Jaco Pastorius passed away at the age of 35. I’m playing more Jaco music than usual today (if that’s possible), and that has also included several videos. And then I stumbled upon this rarity: Jaco performing “Donna Lee” live in a video I hadn’t seen...

After introducing the Dimension Bass as part of their Modern Player Series, Fender has revealed that the bass is now available as part of their Deluxe and American Deluxe instrument lines. Available in 4- and 5-string versions, the Fender Deluxe Dimension Bass is built with an ash body in the model’s new body shape, the Black-finish model is made with...

Prepare to have your face melted. Here’s an insane video of Cryptopsy bassist Olivier Pinard and guitarist Chris Donaldson ripping through the song “Two-Pound Torch” from the band’s self-titled album. Pinard proves to be just as nimble as Donaldson and employs several techniques to spice up the bass line.

If you happen to follow Esperanza Spalding’s Facebook page, you might have seen from photos of her Radio Music Society summer tours that she’s wielding a slick new 5-string fretless. The bass is a South Paw, created by NYC luthier Simon Propert, and it’s one of a kind. “Each bass is custom and a little different, so there is no...

I don’t know how Zander Zon does it, but he just keeps bringing his incredible bass arrangement videos. In this new one, Zander tackles The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” with a killer piccolo bass arrangement and performance on his Zon VB4.

As bassist and songwriting force behind the seminal rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters has been an icon in the music industry for over four decades. His story is now being told by biographer Dave Thompson, in Roger Waters: The Man Behind the Wall. The 288-page book, which is the first full biography on Waters, follows the musician’s life from...

Earlier this year, Ashdown introduced the ABM NEO series of bass combos and cabinets. Now the company has introduced the ABM-NEO-400-RC, a 400-watt rack-mountable head, to complement the line. Similar to the rest of the series, the new amp couples the company’s ABM EVO III preamp with a lightweight power amp. It starts with a an instrument input with level...

Q: I’d like to know the difference between a quality bass and a mediocre one. I have a 1977 Fender Precision bass I absolutely love (I paid $450.00 for it in 1976. Until this year, I thought it was a ’76 P bass, but according to the serial number it’s a ’77). I also have a 2011 Squire Vintage Modified...

Anthony Crawford sent me this video, and when he’s spreading the love, you know it’s going to be good. Here’s bassist Maurice Ellis playing an all bass arrangement of Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors.” Ellis creates a thick groove and plays the song’s bass line, chords and melody all on bass. After sticking to the radio edit of the song, he takes...

George Porter, Jr. is taking his band Runnin’ Pardners on the road this fall for a solid tour of the South and West Coast. The ever-grooving bassist will be kicking things off in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana on September 20th before criss-crossing the country and ending at the Blue Canoe in Tupelo, Mississippi on Novemeber 11th. A founding...