Archive for October 2015 - Page 7

The latest album from Maryland rockers Clutch is poised to build on the success of 2013’s Earth Rocker, which debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #15. Psychic Warfare, which features founding bassist Dan Maines, is the band’s eleventh studio album, released on its own Weathermaker Music. The band worked together in the studio more than in the recent past,...

Custom builder Ryan Hyde has fit tons of mojo into a small package with the Nuvo, a bass that fits in a guitar case and weighs less than five pounds. It features a short 30-3/8″ scale and a thin body to produce a signature tone. “The tonality is right in line with any P-bass, and the Nuvo has a ton...

Alessandro Corsi has a new bass and drums project called A/C Generator, and if this debut video is any indication, it will be kicking out some jams. The band’s lineup will actually be a trio of two basses and drums, though the upcoming album will include solo bass as well as a single bass and drums. “Mario” features Corsi throwing...

There’s more to being a musician than making music. For many, the music making can be the easiest part of establishing a career. Bobby Borg, onetime drummer for Warrant and a teacher of music business classes at Musician’s Institute and UCLA Extension, has written Business Basics for Musicians: The Complete Handbook from Start to Success to help fellow musicians negotiate...

Boutique builder Daredevil Pedals has introduced the Almighty Bass, a driver pedal featuring an original design that they say covers a wide scope of sounds. The pedal, which is hand-wired in Chicago, is described as having an aggressive feel and goes between “warm and deep, bright and fuzzed out, or any flavor in between.” The Almighty bass has a straight-forward...

Vulfpeck’s much anticipated debut full-length album, Thrill of the Arts, has arrived. And as always, the band is anchored by Joe Dart, one of our favorite bassists on the scene. Here’s Vulfpeck’s video premiere for the album, “Funky Duck,” with vocalist Antwaun Stanley. Always great to get some new Vulfpeck in the mix. Thrill of the Arts is available today...

Medeski, Martin & Wood bassist Chris Wood has gone electric on Paradise, his fifth album with The Wood Brothers, which, fittingly, includes his brother, Oliver. Chris Wood is better known for his double bass work, but on Paradise, he plays electric bass guitar while he and his brother rock out a bit more than usual for the Americana band. Just...

Keeley Electronics has introduced the 30ms Automatic Double Tracker. The stereo effect pedal works with bass, guitar, keyboard and vocals and offers an array of studio style doubling effects for creating thick textures. The company cites the early days of recording techniques as an influence behind the design. “Since the early days of automatic double tracking pioneered by Ken Townsend...

In this lesson, we will cover a basic concept for interval shapes to develop your technique, while attuning your ears to hear the root motion of common harmonic progressions in jazz. Follow along with the notation (PDF) and this video:

Bass lines are the heart and soul of any good funk song. That’s why Bruno Tauzin decided to continue his “Best Bass Riffs” series with 30 of his favorite funk bass riffs. From Sly and the Family Stone to James Brown to Parliament, the bassist covers a lot of ground in just under six minutes. Which line is your favorite?

While the Los Van Van album La Fantasia is called a Homenaje a Juan Formell (Homage to Juan Formell), the record from the 46-year-old Cuban dance band both is and isn’t, because Formell had a significant hand in its creation. According to the Timba website, bassist and bandleader Juan Formell chose many of the album’s tracks prior to his 2014...

Sandberg Guitars is now shipping the Forty Eight, a bass that throws back to old school rock and metal. The model is available in several finishes including a metallic hardcore aged red. The Forty Eight is built with European ash body for matte finishes or an alder body for aged finishes. The Canadian hard rock maple neck is attached the...