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Archive for March 2015 - Page 8

The Ubass Ambassadors: Mr Z
Bass Videos

The Ubass Ambassadors: Mr Z

Magnus Sjöquist sent me a note announcing a new Ubass video as well as the “world premiere of The Ubass Ambassadors aka UBASSadors…” Joining Magnus on this tune is fellow bassist Armin Alic. The two met at Musikmesse in 2013 and quickly became friends. They were playing around with a chord progression over a drum loop in the studio, which...

Randy Rhoads Honored with Tribute Collection, Featuring Rudy Sarzo on Bass
New Albums

Randy Rhoads Honored with Tribute Collection, Featuring Rudy Sarzo on Bass

The Immortal Randy Rhoads — The Ultimate Tribute honors the career of Rhoads, whose career as a guitarist ended with his 1982 death as a result of an airplane accident. Rhoads’ contributions to metal were already significant when he died at age 25, having played with Quiet Riot in its early days and then helping to create Ozzy Ozbourne’s solo...

Seymour Duncan Introduces Studio Bass Compressor
Pedals & Effects

Seymour Duncan Introduces Studio Bass Compressor

Seymour Duncan has added to their lineup of bass products with the introduction of the Studio Bass Compressor, a pedal the company says is designed to provide increased sustain, accentuated picking and evened out single-note runs. The pedal is designed for versatility while keeping things intuitive. I has Level, Attack, and Compression knobs for controlling the tone, while a Blend...

Esperanza Spalding: Smile Like That (Live)
Bass Videos

Esperanza Spalding: Smile Like That (Live)

Esperanza Spalding always seems to deliver as close to perfection as it gets in her live performances. Here she is performing “Smile Like That” at Jazz à Vienne in 2012. So so good.

Motorhead’s “England 1978” Reissued
New Albums

Motorhead’s “England 1978” Reissued

Motorhead’s England 1978 live album is back, in remastered and reissued form. The album, recorded in February 1978 at The Roundhouse in London, reveals the stalwart metal trio, led by bassist Lemmy, in fine form. The remastered CD is in an 8-panel digipak with new liner notes. England 1978 is available on and as a digital download ( and )....

Bass Players to Know: Richard Bona
Bass Players To Know

Bass Players to Know: Richard Bona

While the past few Bass Players to Know columns have focused on blues, rock, and soul of the US and UK, it’s about time we discover what the rest of the world has to offer. Whenever I think about “world music,” or the sounds, styles, and instruments of different cultures, I frequently stumble upon records featuring Richard Bona. His playing...

Jojo Mayer & Nerve, Featuring John Davis: Live in Europe
Bass Videos

Jojo Mayer & Nerve, Featuring John Davis: Live in Europe

We don’t often feature full sets of music, but when John Davis sent us this video of Nerve performing live in Europe, I couldn’t stop watching. The band – which also features drummer Jojo Mayer, keyboardist Jacob Bergson, and effects specialist Aaron Nevezie – mixes the formats of programmed electronic music styles with live instruments and improvisation. Davis is described...

Groove – Episode #3: Leland Sklar
Groove Podcast

Groove – Episode #3: Leland Sklar

“Who is that bass player with the long beard?” That was my initial reaction when I first saw the video for Phil Collins’ smash hit, “Sussudio”, in 1985. I did not know Leland Sklar’s pedigree as a bass player before that (and, what happened after is a journey of impressive artists and songs that continues to expand to this day...

Mike Frost Band: Armando’s Rhumba
Bass Videos

Mike Frost Band: Armando’s Rhumba

Mike Frost sent us this great clip of his band performing the classic Chick Corea tune, “Armando’s Rhumba.” Taken from a performance at the Shapeshifer Lab in Brooklyn, the band is cooking with some Latin flavor. Frost gets a warm sound from his fretless to pin the band together. “The video is showing my new Fretless Clifford Roi 4 string...

Bassists Join Forces for “Live in Finland”
New Albums

Bassists Join Forces for “Live in Finland”

Bassists Armand Sabal-Lecco and Jan-Olof Strandberg have joined together to create a unique live album, Live in Finland, as the Jan-Olof Strandberg & Armand Sabal-Lecco Project. A Cameroonian, Sabal-Leco is known for his work with Paul Simon, Stanley Clarke, Peter Gabriel and Stewart Copeland. He’s currently part of Robert Trujillo’s group Mass Mental. As for the Finnish Strandberg, for quite...

DOD Announces The Boneshaker Distortion Pedal
Pedals & Effects

DOD Announces The Boneshaker Distortion Pedal

DOD is getting heavy with the new Boneshaker, a distortion pedal aimed at bass, baritone, and extended-range guitars. The circuit was designed by Black Arts Toneworks to focus on anything “heavy, loud and low.” The Boneshaker has Distortion, Depth and Level controls for dialing in the type of distortion. Its twist is a 3-band parametric EQ section that includes Low,...

Exploring Practice with Non-Standard Bass Tunings
Ask Damian Erskine

Exploring Practice with Non-Standard Bass Tunings

Q: I know some pros play using non-standard tuning (drop D, DADG, D standard DGCF, semitone E?A?D?G?, etc.), and I read somewhere that practice with other tunings can be good to help think in terms of the notes rather than finger patterns. What is your take? Is it a good idea to practice using non-standard tunings? A: Non-standard tunings are...