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Archive for January 2015

Fender Updates Geddy Lee and Steve Harris Signature Basses
Basses

Fender Updates Geddy Lee and Steve Harris Signature Basses

Rush’s Geddy Lee and Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris are having their Fender signature models spruced up for 2015. Each of the signature models have been around for years but will be getting new specs and features. The USA Geddy Lee Jazz Bass is getting more of an update between the two. “[It] is a new version that combines the specs...

Future User: Mountain Lion
Bass Videos

Future User: Mountain Lion

Former Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave bassist Tim Commerford is back with his own band called Future User. The band’s electronic sound may be a departure from the bassist’s former bands, but his massive sound is still the musical centerpiece. Commerford, who also handles vocals, hasn’t lost his political edge, either. The song “Mountain Lion” is about pushing the...

King Crimson Releases “Live at the Orpheum”
New Albums

King Crimson Releases “Live at the Orpheum”

King Crimson’s latest iteration features not only three drummers, but also stalwart bassist Tony Levin and founding guitarist Robert Fripp. King Crimson, although established in 1969, is no relic of a past musical age and the prog-rock band’s fall 2014 tour garnered accolades. That tour’s sound was captured live at Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2014 concerts at the Orpheum...

G&L Guitars Introduces MJ-5 Bass Guitar
Basses

G&L Guitars Introduces MJ-5 Bass Guitar

G&L Guitars has introduced a 5-string version of their MJ-4 called the MJ-5 Bass Guitar. The new model retains all the features of the four-string model with re-engineered bi-coil Alnico V pickups. Each pickup features two side-by-side coils configured in a series-humbucking mode to offer a range of single-coil tones without the classic hum. The pickups are matched to a...

Aaron Gibson: A Heart for The Rhinoceros
Bass Videos

Aaron Gibson: A Heart for The Rhinoceros

Hold the phone… we have a brand new Aaron Gibson video. And once again, the talented bassist shows his creativity not only with music, but also with his video skills. This song has an even bigger purpose. “My friend, Andy Irvine, asked me to do a cover of his song. He has a passion for the plight of the rhinoceros...

Year’s Worth of Rush Vinyl Reissues Begins with “Fly by Night”
New Albums

Year’s Worth of Rush Vinyl Reissues Begins with “Fly by Night”

This promises to be a good year for vinyl-record loving and/or audiophile Rush fans. Universal Music Enterprises is reissuing the majority — 14 albums — of the trio’s Mercury releases throughout the year, beginning this month with 1975’s Fly By Night, which was the first record to feature Neil Peart on drums. Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson founded...

Morley Announces Cliff Burton Tribute Series Power Fuzz Wah Pedal
Pedals & Effects

Morley Announces Cliff Burton Tribute Series Power Fuzz Wah Pedal

Morley debuted the Cliff Burton Tribute Series Power Fuzz Wah at the Winter NAMM Show this year. Introduced in part with the bassist’s father Ray Burton, the pedal is a tribute that blends aspects of the 70’s model used by Burton on the early Metallica recordings and the company’s modern models. The Power Fuzz Wah’s fuzz and wah effects can...

Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play: New Stew, Opus 2
Bass Videos

Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play: New Stew, Opus 2

A friend sent in this video of bassist Chris Brubeck and his trio Triple Play performing their song “New Stew, Opus 2” live. Brubeck, whose father was jazz legend Dave Brubeck, brings a bubbly funk groove on his modded fretless Rickenbacker. The fun in the group’s playing is infectious. You’ll be bobbing your head to this one in no time.

Ampeg Unveils SCR-DI Bass DI Pedal at NAMM
Pedals & Effects

Ampeg Unveils SCR-DI Bass DI Pedal at NAMM

Ampeg’s booth at NAMM this year featured their new revamped BA combo series, but it centered around the unveiling of their brand new SCR-DI. The bass-friendly direct box is their first new pedal in years and brings together an Ampeg preamp, EQ section, and their Scrambler Overdrive. The SCR-DI starts with a legacy Ampeg preamp with tone stack circuits, which...

Thinking In Modes or Scales and Constructing Bass Lines
Ask Damian Erskine

Thinking In Modes or Scales and Constructing Bass Lines

Q: I’ve been trying to learn how to play over the changes, but I’m super confused about one particular aspect: I don’t know I should think of scales. For example when I’m playing over a G dominant chord, should I think G mixolydian or should I think fifth mode of the C major scale? In other words, should I treat...

Marco Morandi: Integral’s “Realm Of Atlantis” Playthrough
Bass Videos

Marco Morandi: Integral’s “Realm Of Atlantis” Playthrough

We featured the SiC Instruments Madness 6-string fretless as a bass of the week in December, and it was a fan favorite. Luthier Simon Calabrese followed up by sending us this video of Integral’s Marco Morandi using the bass to play through their song “Realm of Atlantis.” The song is straight tech metal, but takes a breather at the 4:24...

Gov’t Mule Releases 1999 Live Recording Featuring Late Bassist Allen Woody
New Albums

Gov’t Mule Releases 1999 Live Recording Featuring Late Bassist Allen Woody

Gov’t Mule and guitarist John Scofield have released a rarity — a live album featuring original bassist Allen Woody (also known for his time with The Allman Brothers). The music on Sco-Mule is culled from two late September 1999 shows the Mule played with Scofield in Georgia. The shows weren’t recorded by audience members, and while the live album was...